The Peter Kiewit Institute is shaped by the dynamic alliance
of education and industry. The Institute’s mission is to fuel collaborations
and fire the imagination of faculty, students and business alike. In so
doing, the Institute offers exceptional career opportunities for students
and provides the business community with a growing labor pool of skilled
professionals.
In this collaboration, traditional boundaries do not
exist. The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Information
Science and Technology (IS&T) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s
College of Engineering remain separate entities
offering a variety of degrees while they work closely together inviting
students to explore courses and labs in both colleges. The end result,
for example, is a computer science student who not only understands the
issues of data collection, data mining and systems architecture but has
a working knowledge of hardware requirements necessary to ensure efficiency
and connectivity of purpose.
Educators no longer work in a vacuum, apart from real-world
applications. Faculty spend time in businesses to learn about the high-tech
problems facing industry and to offer their expertise. They bring these
experiences back to the classroom providing relevant instruction with
a futuristic bent. Students, too, are enriched by internships and summer
jobs in their field of study, establishing connections with local business
leaders eager to turn today’s bright students into tomorrow’s
expert employees.
Building as a Living Lab:
Through the hallways, informational markers invite students
to monitor, investigate and interact with their surroundings, to understand
the broad concepts and intricate details of the facility’s structure
and systems.
Under Budget and On Time:
A final design of the Institute was approved in June
1996, and construction began one year later. At a cost of $26.5 million,
the building was completed under budget and on time, ready for the fall
class of 1999.
The Institute’s traditional
brick reflects its educational roots. The precast concrete on the back
of the building links the Institute to industry and its neighbor, First
Data Resources.
- 192,000-square-foot facility
- 53 miles of electrical conduit
- 1.2 million feet of cabling
- Over 3 miles of mechanical fitter piping
- Over 5 miles of HVAC ductwork
- 1,100 tons of steel (100% recycled)
- Over 400 precast concrete pieces
- Structurally suspended Pilkington glass entry
- First commercial application of open-web concrete
joist and double-tee systems
- Over 7 miles of copper piping
Specialized Labs:
Specialized labs allow students to learn about lighting,
heating and cooling, computer-aided manufacturing, imaging and animation,
robotics and many other fields of study.
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