Groundbreaking for new Aerospace education and research building is today (UND Newsletter – Jan Orvik, 10/09/14)
The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and the UND Aerospace Foundation will hold a ground-breaking ceremony at 10 a.m. 
Thursday, Oct. 9, on the corner of James Ray Drive and University Ave. for Robin Hall, a new 66,000-square-foot aerospace research facility. It will house secure areas and other spaces for the school’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Research, Training and Education Center, along with additional classrooms, offices, aerospace simulation equipment, and student gathering spaces.
In March 2013, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) ratified the North Dakota University System Chancellor’s interim approval, authorizing a ground lease between UND and the UND Aerospace Foundation for site approval and construction of a new aerospace building. The authorization would allow the new building to be constructed, owned and managed by the Aerospace Foundation.
On Thursday, UND will recognize the generosity of major donors to this project, Si Robin and his wife, Mary E. Bazar, by naming the new building Robin Hall. Mary is president of Sensor Systems, a manufacturer of aerospace antennae based in Chatsworth, Calif.; and Si serves as the company’s vice president.
On Aug. 20, 2014, the SBHE Challenge Fund Committee approved a state grant of $1 million for the proposed aerospace/UAS research building. The state had previously authorized UND to use up to $24.9 million from private donations or grants for the facility.
UND Aerospace’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which will be a major tenant of the new research building, was the first collegiate degree program of its kind in the nation and is rapidly growing into the largest and most widely recognized program in the world. UAS will become the dominate choice for all airborne missions except passenger travel and will rapidly grow large enough to serve to diversify the economy of North Dakota.
The latest UND Aerospace campus building, Clifford Hall, was built in 1991, and the school is literally bursting at the seams. With all of the advancements that are taking place in aerospace studies, the school is in need of a new campus building to sustain that growth and success.
Thus, the UND Aerospace Foundation, with the help of exceptional donors, such as the Robins, and the state of North Dakota, is making it possible to address this need with the construction of a new UAS Research, Education and Training Building. This new building will become the home for technology, training, teaching, classrooms, labs, research support, student space and gathering areas for our world class UAS Center of Excellence, part of the National Test Airspace Operation, as well as the school’s expanding aerospace research programs.
