Facility to bridge SEAS blgs.

Construction on Levine Hall -- a new building for computer science and technology programs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science -- is slated to begin sometime in mid-May, newly named Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt announced Friday. The 40,000-square-foot facility, which will cost more than $15 million and stand on a site adjacent to the Graduate Research Wing of the Moore School Building, will be funded primarily through a $5 million donation 1946 Wharton graduate Melvin Levine and his wife Claire made last February. The building is designed to provide much-needed space for expanding computer science programs and is projected to provide a physical and intellectual link between several now-separate Engineering facilities. In its preliminary stages of planning, Levine Hall is slated to break ground in mid-May, so as not to conflict with the University's annual Commencement ceremonies. "We have a footprint," said Glandt, who was named the Engineering School's permanent dean Friday after serving 16 months as its interim head. "We want to accomplish the physical integration of the school -- something which I think brings with it tremendous intellectual value." Once completed, Levine Hall will connect the Towne Building with the GRW, creating a small courtyard between them and the existing Moore Building. "Basically, we have two buildings we want to connect," Glandt said. "It's really something of a miracle. We're going to connect two [architecturally] mismatched structures." Featuring expanded and updated computer facilities, additional space for student activities and a large auditorium -- complete with state-of-the-art electronic and distance-learning equipment -- Levine Hall's construction will also open up additional space for Engineering departments in other buildings, as the Computer Science Department settles into its new home. "Whenever you have a new building, you get a 'musical chairs' phenomenon with all the space movements," Glandt added. "We think several departments will benefit from the additional space." The remainder of the facility's funding is being largely provided by a $10 million grant from the United States Air Force. An anonymous donor has also contributed $225,000, which will be used to construct a "cybercafZ" -- a small cafe with Internet-ready computer terminals -- on the new building's ground flood, Glandt said. Currently, much of the building's space is occupied by a small parking lot. And while Engineering officials remain optimistic about the benefits Levine Hall will bring to the school, Glandt joked that the new facility will bring with it at least one drawback. "For 18 years I was on a waiting list for a parking spot in that lot," he said. "Now I'm dean, and it looks like I'm going to have to find another place to park."

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