Powerplant To Be The Centerpiece Of VPI's New Engineering Building

Rolls-Royce is donating a Trent 1000 jet engine to Virginia Tech as the centerpiece of its new Signature Engineering Building, which will help to inspire the next generation of high-tech engineers.

Construction workers recently positioned the Trent 1000 into the foyer of the Signature Engineering Building where it will hang suspended 15 feet above the floor. The building is being constructed around the engine, which will remain in a protective cover until the structure opens in spring 2014. Rolls-Royce plans to outfit the lobby of the building with interactive kiosks containing information on engine design and advanced manufacturing to inform and excite students about careers in engineering.

“We are honored and delighted to make this engine donation to Virginia Tech,” said Phil Burkholder, Rolls-Royce, Executive Vice President, Engineering and Technology.  “Rolls-Royce enjoys a strong partnership in higher education with Virginia Tech that includes research and development programs, endowments and internships. We hope our Trent 1000 engine, a modern engineering marvel, will serve as a symbol of excellence and inspire generations of talented students to pursue careers in science and engineering.”

“Rolls-Royce is making a significant investment in Virginia based on the Commonwealth’s substantial success in higher education,” said Richard C. Benson, Dean, Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and the holder of the Torgersen Chair of Engineering. “Its partnership with the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is innovative, allowing collaboration on a variety of fronts in engineering. Our long-standing activities in advanced manufacturing enable our engineering faculty and students to move quickly into research projects that Rolls-Royce will find interesting. And the display of the Rolls-Royce engine in our new state-of-the-art academic building will serve as an inspiration to tomorrow’s leaders in the engineering field.”

Rolls-Royce, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia established a research partnership called the Commonwealth Center for Aerospace Propulsion Systems to address critical technology challenges using the founding universities’ facilities. It is in its second full year of operation. Rolls-Royce and Virginia Tech are also partners, along with the University of Virginia, Virginia State University and private companies, in the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which accelerates the translation of innovative research from the laboratory to commercial use.

(File photo Trent 1000 engine)

FMI: www.vt.edu, www.rolls-royce.com