Foothill College invites you to an open house to celebrate the new Physical Sciences & Engineering Center (PSEC)—home of the Foothill College Science Learning Institute—Tuesday, Feb. 26, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The program begins at 5 p.m. and will feature tours of the new buildings, as well as guest speakers who have been instrumental in the PSEC project. Refreshments will be served. Please e-mail your RSVP to LaGalanteAmy@foothill.edu by Feb. 15.
The new PSEC houses integrated instructional technology and classrooms; state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment; signature sculpture; and unique sustainability features. The facility has also been designed to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership
in Energy & Environmental Design LEED® silver rating.
“The PSEC is not just another building but a locale dedicated to student mastery of STEM-content through interdisciplinary teaching and applied learning,” says Foothill College President Judy C. Miner, Ed.D. “The PSEC is the home of the Foothill College Science & Learning Institute (SLI), which promotes an innovative instructional model that is based on educational research and best practices for the successful teaching and learning of STEM at all levels.”
All design and structural components of the new facility and grounds complement the distinct Pacific-style architecture for which Foothill College is internationally renown. The PSEC is 65,800 square feet and consists of three buildings. The lab building houses five chemistry labs, two physics labs, materials and nanoscience labs, a multipurpose lab, and one classroom. The classroom building features six classrooms and two large lecture rooms. The commons area includes conference/multipurpose space, a small cafe and faculty offices.
“Tradition is here, but there’s more,” says Peter Murray, M.S., dean of Foothill’s Physical Sciences, Mathematics & Engineering Division. “Come inside the buildings and courtyard, and you sense a fresh perspective. Interior space that captures natural light; wireless cloud access; clear dry-erase boards throughout so student and teacher can work out a math problem in a hallway, an art installation that features the periodic table of elements, a coffee bar for solo and group study sessions that run late into the night; the latest technology for teaching and learning—Foothill’s PSEC has the signature style elements of committed STEM students and teachers.”
Construction of the PSEC began in February 2011 by the Bay Area's Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company. The project, which cost approximately $41,576,000, is funded by Measure C—a $490.8 million bond approved in 2006 by voters residing in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District service area.
