Dartmouth Engineer

Photographs by Douglas Fraser

As the MacLean Engineering Sciences Center enters its final phases of construction, anticipation is rising for building plans of another sort: the move into Thayer School’s expanded quarters. The move is expected to take six weeks, beginning in May and ending in June.

FINISHING TOUCHES: With gleaming copper and glass, MacLean Engineering Sciences Center nears completion.

The task of determining who moves to MacLean and who stays in Cummings Hall has fallen from the start to five building committee members, professors William Lotko, Christopher Levey, and Peter Robbie, financial executive officer Lawrence McKinnon, and facilities manager Gary Durkee.

So who moves? Several labs and faculty offices, reception, the admissions office, the instrument room, and Dartmouth Formula Racing, to name a few MacLean occupants. There are other moves afoot, too. Several offices and labs gain breathing room by shifting into Cummings’ vacated spaces. And Thayer School’s development and communications offices return to Cummings Hall after three years off campus.

The move may sound like a nightmare, but Durkee, who is heading up the physical relocations, makes it seem like a logistical dream. “Hours of planning have gone into the move,” he says calmly. “It’s a matter of design, plan, and execute.”

According to Durkee, he, his four staff members, and some additional movers will handle the physical work. He expects the job will continue through evenings and weekends. “We want the least interruption during the process,” he says.

And when it’s finally done, the celebrations will begin. Thayer School invites everyone to attend Dartmouth’s official dedication of MacLean Engineering Sciences Center Friday, September 29, 2006.

For more photos, visit our MacLean Engineering Sciences Center set on Flickr.

TOPPING OUT: Left to right, Associate Dean Charles Wyman, Senior Executive Officer Lawrence McKinnon; Overseer Peter Fahey ’68, Th’69, ’70; M.E.M. candidate Eleanor Alexander ’04; Ph.D. candidate Douglas Van Citters ’99; Adjunct Assistant Professor Peter Robbie; Assistant Professor Christopher Levey; Interim Dean William Lotko; architect Fred Koetter; and Gilbane Construction Co. executive Douglas Butler with the signature beam. Photograph by Joe Mehling ’69.

One of the steel beams in the framework of the MacLean Engineering Sciences Center carries more than its share of the structural load. It also bears the signatures of scores of members of the Thayer School community.

A flag and tree top out the roof of the MacLean Engineering Sciences Center. Photograph by Joe Mehling '69.

Some 200 students, faculty, staff, and alumni signed the whitewashed beam before it was hoisted into place during a brief ceremony March 30. The festivities also included a “Topping Out” ritual, adorning the final roof beam with a flag and a live tree, meant to bring good fortune to the building’s occupants. A round of applause thanked the various construction crews who have been laboring on the project since July of 2004.

“It’s a lot of fun to be at this point,” noted Interim Dean William Lotko. “The building has the DNA of Thayer School in its structure.”

Architect Fred Koetter beamed as he viewed the building’s skeleton. “It’s always a dramatic moment,” he said. “We enjoyed the engagement of the school and the College in this project.”

The MacLean Engineering Sciences Center, named for major donors Mary Ann and Barry MacLean ’60, Th’61, is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2006.

For more photos, visit our MacLean Engineering Sciences Center set on Flickr.