UMD Breaks Ground on Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Innovation

COLLEGE PARK, Md., April 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland celebrates today the groundbreaking of the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Innovation, a new building designed for future-focused developments in computer vision, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and new computing platforms. The Iribe Center anchors the Michael Antonov Auditorium and the Andrew Reisse Park, two features named for Oculus co-founders.

"This remarkable building will transform inspiration into new knowledge and innovation," said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh. "We have tremendous faculty and student talent in these fields—Brendan Iribe is a great example—and now they will have the ideal collaborative space to enable success."

Offering unprecedented opportunities for students and faculty to create bold new applications of computer science, the building is fueled by a $31 million gift from Oculus co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe. A $4 million gift from Oculus chief software architect and co-founder Michael Antonov and $3 million from Elizabeth Iribe, are helping to make the building possible and increasing scholarship and endowment support for students and faculty. Iribe, Reisse and Antonov met as students at the University of Maryland.

"It's my hope that the three landmarks of the innovation center – the computer science building,  Antonov Auditorium, and Reisse Park – inspire students to form friendships and teams that last a lifetime," said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus. "Students will be able to walk into the Center and have access to everything they need to build the next great company or breakthrough technology. I'm excited to see what future engineers, entrepreneurs and CEOs come out of UMD and these new facilities."

A striking presence at the University's front door, the Iribe Center's 215,000 square feet will facilitate previously unimaginable creation and discovery on campus. The Center will include dynamic makerspaces, virtual and augmented reality labs to give students a high-tech environment to build immersive multimedia experiences, and a motion-capture lab giving dancers and athletes the ability to record and perfect movement.

Eight classrooms will feature interactive technology and enable collaborative group work, and the 300-seat Michael Antonov Auditorium will bring innovation out of the labs through conferences, hacking competitions and lectures. 

To honor the memory of Andrew Reisse, also an Oculus co-founder, the rooftop garden will be named Reisse Park. Plans for the park include a peaceful sanctuary with natural water features and native plant life. Reisse, a UMD alum and friend of Iribe and Antonov, was an avid photographer and hiker, as well as a talented computer graphics engineer.

Among its many revolutionary features, the Iribe Center's open floor plans and common spaces are built to inspire students to share ideas and collaborate on new ventures. Reset rooms are located on every floor, giving students, makers and entrepreneurs space to engage colleagues. Finally, green space surrounding the building will offer space for recharging, discussion and collaboration.

The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Innovation is expected to open in 2018. For more information and hi-res renderings, visit http://iribe.cs.umd.edu/.

About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget and secures $500 million annually in external research funding. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.

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SOURCE University of Maryland

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