UTEP Celebrates Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center Construction Milestone
EL PASO, Texas (Feb. 14, 2024) – The new $80 million Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center (AMAC) on campus is progressing toward completion. Today, officials from The University of Texas at El Paso and Sundt Construction celebrated a major milestone in the building’s progress — the Topping Out Ceremony.
The traditional ceremony in the construction industry occurs when the last beam of a new structure is hoisted on top of a major building.
“This building represents the commitment by the people of Texas to research and innovation, particularly in the areas of additive manufacturing, aeronautics and space,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson.
About 100 construction workers who are contributing to the building attended the ceremony, as well as dozens of UTEP students, faculty and staff. Guests were invited to sign the beam as part of the event.
“The topping out ceremony represents a major milestone in the construction schedule,” said Joseph Ricillo, vice president and El Paso regional director at Sundt. “Our team is delighted to share this event with our colleagues, alumni, faculty and staff of the University.”
At nearly 93,000 gross square feet, the building will house UTEP’s Aerospace Center and the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, two powerhouses for research and teaching at the University. The exterior of the four-story building will reflect the treasured Bhutanese architectural style that is distinct to the UTEP campus.
The building will provide new space for research and fabrications laboratories — 37 laboratories in fact — as well as administrative offices. Plans are in place to train more than 600 graduate and undergraduate students annually in the new facility.
AMAC is expected to be complete in December 2024, with occupancy by spring 2025. It will be located at the corner of Rim Rd and Hawthorne St., directly northeast of UTEP’s Chemistry and Computer Science Building.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 172 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on February 14, 2024 at 12:00 AM | Originally published February 14, 2024
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
