Bucknell Breaks Ground on Academic East

Bucknell University has begun construction on Academic East, an interdisciplinary nexus of research and teaching that will deepen the dynamic learning experiences distinguishing a Bucknell education.

The 78,000-square-foot academic building will contain more than 25 engineering laboratories — expanding lab space available to students and faculty by 50 percent — as well as four classrooms and additional areas for student-faculty collaboration. These spaces and the equipment they house will support undergraduate and faculty research in areas broadly related to human health that frequently transcend departmental boundaries, including materials science, fluid mechanics, food science and sustainable transportation. The facility will also provide a new home for Department of Education— fostering future engineering-education collaborations and providing new, state-of-the-art resources for training tomorrow's educators.

Together with Academic West, a 70,000-square-foot classroom and office building that opened in 2013, Academic East will complete a new quadrangle to the rear of Bertrand Library.

The facility is anticipated to open in time for the fall 2019 semester. Its opening will also enable Bucknell to reconfigure Olin Hall, the education department's current home, as a modern nexus for mathematics and the physical sciences, fostering further interdisciplinary collaboration.

For information about changes to parking and pedestrian walkways related to the construction of Academic East, click here. Read more about Academic East and the learning experiences it will unlock here.