Lindsay France/University Photography

Tim Bond, right, the Bovay Civil Infrastructure Complex manager, explains the Thurston Hall earthquake simulation testing equipment to Laurel Cassidy, 10, of Pelham, N.Y., at the Harry E. Bovay Jr. '36 Laboratory Complex dedication Oct. 14. Cassidy, who professes an interest in civil engineering, is the daughter of two Cornell alumni. Copyright © Cornell University

Donning colorful construction hats, Cornell faculty, staff, students and alumni gathered during Homecoming Weekend to help dedicate the Harry E. Bovay Jr. '36 Laboratory Complex.

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) unveiled its first-ever major renovation of its Thurston Hall lab spaces, a project five years in the making. Centrally located in the basement complex is the high-bay earthquake simulation lab, part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported nationwide Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.

The renovations include a heavily equipped electronic classroom, a control center, two labs, a fabrication facility and a curing lab -- all named for individual donors. The entire complex is named for Bovay, who gave a pacesetting $1 million gift at the start of the renovations campaign.

"It hadn't been upgraded in quite a while," said Harry Stewart, associate professor of CEE and director of the civil infrastructure laboratories. "We've made it a model testing facility."

The project, funded by $2 million from NSF and $4 million from private donors, is the first and largest of a three-phase renovation for civil engineering teaching and learning facilities, said James Gossett, director of CEE. The school is planning another $3.1 million upgrade for a fluid mechanics lab and a projects lab, both in Hollister Hall, within the next three years.

"The vision overall is to integrate hands-on experience with classroom teaching," Gossett said.

During the morning's dedication, a handful of civil engineering students talked about ongoing projects, including a concrete canoe competition, a steel bridge competition and a solar oven.

John Erickson '07 said the new classroom and labs allow students "quite a bit more space," including his work setting up a testing platform for building a solar oven.