The path, built with personalized bricks, will lead to an eco-friendly “Central Park” gathering spot at the CEC campus.
By Isadora Rangel
Alumni from the FIU College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) can leave their permanent mark at the school. The construction of a brick path with the names of alumni, staff, supporters and students is scheduled to start within the next month at the school’s 38-acre campus, located on West Flager Street near University Park.
The path will lead to an eco-friendly “Central Park” that will have as its centerpiece the Solar Decathlon House, a student-built, solar-powered house that will be constructed using sustainable materials. It will be similar to Future House USA, a student-designed and student-built green building that was constructed last summer near the Beijing Olympic Village.
The idea, conceived by College of Engineering & Computing Dean Amir Mirmiran, is to create a bridge between past and present and honor alumni and friends of the school. The park is also an initiative to create campus life at the CEC campus. College leaders hope it will become a meeting place for students and alumni. It will also serve as a research center for renewable energy and energy efficiencies of new green products.
“The idea is one that equally benefits our students and alumni and our faculty and staff,” said Mirmiran. “It links us to our alumni, giving them a solid 4″ x 8″ reason, the bricks, to come back to the campus and see their names engraved in a pathway that ultimately leads to engineering excellence.”
The first phase of the project is building the path. Once it is completed, the school will host a student design competition to help create the park. The students will be required to use green technologies in their projects.
So far, more than 100 bricks have been sold. The money raised will be used to fund scholarships, laboratory and equipment upgrades, student projects, faculty development and student competitions.
Each 4″x8″ brick is $100 and allows for three lines of text, 18 characters per line. Interested buyers can access the CEC website to place their orders and make payments.
After graduating in 1978, 15 years designing electronics, 20 years U.S. Navy reserve officer, and 16 years design electrical systems for buildings and entire U.S. Embassy compounds. FIU provided a good background for my engineering career.
Its a great new addition to FIU, but this is nothing new. I used to work at the Alumni center at USF, and I used to sell these bricks over there. Plus, the bricks purchased from USF were 100% tax refundable, so they were practically free!
It is very encouraging to read how much the students ot today are interested in an alternative energy source. An example of this is a student-built, solar-powered house that will be constructed using sustainable materials.as sited in the above article. An alternative energy has a lot of positives to offer including the fact that solar is free and renewable. Keep up the good job.
As the faculty leader for the 2005 FIU Solar Decathlon project, and one of the Project Directors of the Future House USA, I would like to make the following corrections to the following statement:
"… The path will lead to an eco-friendly “Central Park” that will have as its centerpiece the Solar Decathlon House, a student-built, solar-powered house that will be constructed using sustainable materials. It will be similar to Future House USA, a student-designed and student-built green building that was constructed last summer near the Beijing Olympic Village…"
It should be corrected as such:
"… The path will lead to an eco-friendly “Central Park” that will have as its centerpiece the Solar Decathlon House, a student-built, solar-powered house that will be restored using sustainable materials. It will have many features similar to Future House USA, a green building that was designed and constructed by an FIU/industry consortium last summer near the Beijing Olympic Village…"
Thank you.
This is quite inspirational to see young people taking an initiative to improve the environment and ultimately the world. This park will be beautiful and I look forward to my visit to FIU. Keep up the great work and thanks for the post!