ISU Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building

This June, the Board of Regents will consider approval of schematic design, project description and budget to build the Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building at Iowa State. If approved, the building will serve as the new home of ISU’s Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) department.  

The proposed 77,000 gross square foot facility will be located west of Howe Hall and provide new space for teaching and research labs, classrooms and office space for the IMSE department. In addition, ISU’s Mechanical Engineering (ME) department would gain significant space in Black Engineering Building, which it currently shares with IMSE. 

All told, the Therkildsen project will result in a new state-of-the-art home for IMSE and will help alleviate critical space constraints for both the IMSE and ME departments. 

“Although IMSE faculty, staff, and students demonstrated an amazing ability to innovate and adapt to virtual interactions during the COVID emergency, this experience also underscored the value of face-to-face contact and hands-on education,” said Sarah Ryan, Therkildsen Chair of ISU IMSE. “This new building will provide a wonderful home for impactful teaching and research, and a jumping-off point for our department’s continued engagement with industry.”

Schematic designs presented to the Board include a four-level structure with instructional spaces and dining space located on the lower floors. Teaching and research labs and office space will be located in highly visible locations for ease of access. Finally, formal and informal meeting spaces are distributed throughout the building to promote collaboration among students, faculty and staff. 

The $54 million project will greatly enhance IMSE’s areas of study, including operations and research, analytics, advanced manufacturing, human factors and ergonomics and systems engineering and engineering management. The project budget will be funded by university funds and private giving, including a $42 million lead gift commitment from C.G. “Turk” and Joyce A. McEwen Therkildsen, for which the building is named.