You are Invited to an Open House - ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility

-

You are invited to the College of Engineering’s Open House of the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility. Come see for yourself what all the excitement is about!

WHEN: Saturday, September 18
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Student team members will be on hand to show off their projects and answer questions including Sooner Racing, Baja Off-Road, Sooner Powered Vehicle and the Naval Electric Drag Boat, to name a few.

By Tara Malone

The ExxonMobil Lawrence G . Rawl Engineering Practice Facility may only have opened earlier this year, but this state-of-the-art structure is already playing a key role in the lives of University of Oklahoma engineering students.

Named for former Exxon chairman Lawrence G. Rawl, the building features five first-floor practice bays that allow students to gain hands-on experience in engineering. Four of the bays are open to the second floor. One of the one-story bays is designed to provide students with an enclosed space for projects that may generate dirt. The bays are adjacent to a machine shop that provides new and well-maintained tools and equipment needed for student projects.

In addition, two bench labs in the building cater to students with smaller projects, such as electronic circuit boards and small robots, along with student locker space for project storage. Collaborative spaces on both floors are available 24/7. These spaces overlook the open practice bays, giving students a bird’s-eye view of engineering projects in progress.

“The ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility is a window for the community to see the vitality and value of engineering; to inspire, recruit and develop talent so vital to the future prosperity and security of our nation,” says OU College of Engineering Dean Tom Landers.

The building’s practice bays serve as a workshop for nationally competitive groups, such as the Sooner Racing Team, composed primarily of mechanical engineering students who use the outstanding resources of the building to design, construct and test their entries for annual racing competitions. This past summer, the team sped to glory, taking second place at the Formula SAE West competition in California and eighth place overall at the Formula Student competition in Hockenheim, Germany. At this writing, they are ranked first in the U.S. and fifth in the world, out of 450 teams.

Other teams housed in the EPF include the Concrete Canoe, Human Powered Vehicle, Mini-Baja and Design Build Fly, to name a few. Students work side-by-side in work bays that foster collaboration amongst the diverse engineering disciplines. An information technology area provides the finest in computer aid analysis, design and visual simulation tools.

The facility also played host to incoming OU freshmen at last summer’s AT&T HEADS UP Summer Bridge Program, where students were introduced to the collegiate lifestyle and engineering projects, and provided with tips on how to become proficient in such core engineering areas as calculus and chemistry. The camp lasted three weeks, with students staying on the OU Norman campus for the duration.

Popular posts from this blog

OU Engineering Welcomes 14 New Faculty Members for 2023-24

-
Image
OU Engineering has welcomed 14 new faculty members for the 2023-24 academic year. This marks a milestone in the college's growth journey, with faculty numbers increasing from just over 100 in 2017 to 175 in 2023. OU Engineering is committed to expanding its faculty ranks, aiming for over 200 faculty members by the 2025-26 academic year, says OU Engineering Dean John Klier. To achieve this goal, the college has initiated more than 20 faculty searches. The State of Oklahoma continues to acknowledge the need for more engineers. They recently responded to OU Engineering’s request for additional recurring funding. The funding will play a crucial role in offering undergraduate student tuition waivers, supporting graduate students and helping recruit new faculty and staff. These positions will be phased in over the next three years. "OU Engineering extends its gratitude for the ongoing support from the State of Oklahoma as it continues to address the growing demand for engineers,&quo
Read more

OU Engineering 1 of 28 Teams Nationwide to Receive DEPSCoR Grant

-
Image
University of Oklahoma engineering researcher Reza Foudazi, Ph.D., has been selected to receive a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense under the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or DEPSCoR. The highly competitive grant was awarded to only 28 academic teams nationwide.  An associate professor in the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, Foudazi’s research centers on the exploration of electrochemical energy storage systems that incorporate multivalent ions. He says the systems are of interest due to their potential for higher energy density when compared to conventional lithium-based systems.  “We are dedicated to advancing the field of electrochemical energy storage. The primary goal of this research is to understand the fundamental design principles behind nanostructured thermoresponsive electrolytes for multivalent ions,” Foudazi said.  Foudazi's team will produce ionogel electrolytes by using block copol
Read more

OU Engineering Students Shine in Community Projects

-
Image
At the University of Oklahoma, a transformative course called Pathways to Engineering Thinking is leaving a mark on OU students and the community. In the first-year engineering course, over 800 students across 16 sections collaborated to tackle real-world challenges presented by community partners. Their projects ranged from developing prosthetic limbs for injured animals to creating innovative solutions for community gardens and zoos. The course aims to guide students through the engineering design process, emphasizing collaborative teamwork and problem-solving skills.  This semester’s projects reached many areas of the community. Partnerships with the OU Food Pantry, OU Community Garden, Oklahoma City Zoo, OU Engineering K-12 Outreach, a local dog rescue and the City of Norman provided students with real-world challenges to address. Each team delved into issues presented by the partners, working toward delivering functional design solutions by the semester’s end. The heart of the cou
Read more