Liberty University’s School of Engineering and Computational Science, which is slated to expand to a new campus starting next fall, received a boost this week by way of a $300,000 grant from Simio, a Pittsburgh-based technology company.
The grant is for a software package from Simio that will primarily benefit the school’s industrial engineering program, said Robert Rich, professor of industrial engineering.
The software’s real-world applications will provide a learning experience for engineering students and open the door to new research opportunities. Commonly used in the manufacturing industry, the software’s simulations can provide projections to aid in things such as long-term planning, capital budgeting and infrastructure development.
Rich said he hopes the software also could be used to make Liberty a more efficient campus by mitigating traffic congestion and planning ways to conserve energy.
“We could use it to simulate traffic flow on and around campus, and beyond that, it could be used also in some research that we’re doing on local grid technology … to help us understand how much energy we want to take off the grid and how much to take from solar power,” Rich said.
The grant is a small part of a major expansion of the engineering school. Last month, Liberty University officials presented preliminary plans to the Camp-bell County Board of Supervisors to build an engineering campus on Liberty-owned land just across the city line in Campbell County between the dorms on Campus East and U.S. 29.
The school plans to begin construction early next year.
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