Hundreds of local industry executives at the dedication of the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building on March 31 made it clear that local industry sees itself as a partner with Pitt–Bradford in the technical training of professionals that they need to maintain and advance their businesses.
The building’s namesake — owner and chairman of Zippo Manufacturing Co. — pledged $2 million to Pitt–Bradford last year to equip the new building’s ultramodern engineering labs with the best and newest of everything students need to learn, test and build.
The $24.5 million building — with its labs full of precision measuring and automation devices, 3D printers, a plasma cutter, CNC milling machines and lathes, fluid dynamics systems, strength of materials testers and state-of-the-art electronics measurement systems — has made two new majors possible: mechanical engineering technology and energy engineering technology.
George B. Duke said that when Zippo made its pledge, the company’s President and CEO Mark Paup said to him, “We can make this very cool. Let’s think about this as a collaboration with Pitt-Bradford. … Zippo wins. The university wins.”
Chris Napoleon, owner of Napoleon Engineering Services in Olean, N.Y., said he saw supporting the building financially as an investment. Napoleon, who attended Pitt–Bradford from 1986-88, said former engineering faculty August Freda and Ronald Mattis “invested their time and energy in me for two years, (and eventually) Pitt’s investment (in me) enabled the creation of a business,” he said. “My co-workers and I are thankful to be a part of this project with a real return on investment. … It all starts with filling this awesome space with awesome students.”
In addition to making two new engineering technology programs possible, the Duke Building is the home to one of Pitt–Bradford’s most popular and successful majors, the computer information systems and technology program. The building has a virtual reality lab and a systems, networks and projects lab.
“This is a second-to-none facility,” Duke said. “People will be banging the doors to get in this place.”
Other speakers for the dedication included Pitt Provost Ann E. Cudd; State Sen. Cris Dush; State Rep. Martin T. Causer; Pitt-Bradford President Richard T. Esch; Matt Kropf, director and designer of the new engineering and technology programs; and Mychal Berlinski, a junior energy engineering technology student from Allegany, N.Y.
Following speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the hundreds of guests were able to visit the labs, talk with students and current faculty, and see some of the machinery in action.
— From Pitt–Bradford