1. From left: Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, executive vice president and provost; Dr. Myron B. Salamon, dean, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Diane Kao, student government president; Remsen Jennings, student government vice president; and Dr. Calvin Jamison, vice president of business affairs sign a beam at the topping off of the Mathematics, Science and Engineering Teaching-Learning Center (MSET) on July 2.

Crews Feted with BBQ

Construction crews, UT Dallas student government leaders, cabinet members and staff celebrated the “Topping Off” of the Math, Science and Engineering Teaching-Learning Center (MSET) on Thursday, July 2 on the construction site.

In building construction, topping off, or topping out, refers to a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a new building. The term also may refer to the completion of the building's structure.

2. SG President Diane Kao's message
and signature.

3. Business Affairs VP Calvin Jamison
leaves his mark.

Several members of the UT Dallas community came out to mark the occasion, including Executive Vice President and Provost Hobson Wildenthal; Vice President of Business Affairs Calvin Jamison; Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dean Myron B. Salamon; Student Government President Diana Kao; Student Government Vice President Remsen Jennings; Director of Facilities Management Bill Elvey; and Office of Facilities Planning and Construction (OFPC) Resident Construction Manager Jim Ellis, all of whom gathered to sign the final beam to commemorate the day.

According to Wikipedia, the practice can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious practice of placing a tree on the top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of their ancestors that had been displaced. The last girder to be hoisted is painted white and signed by all the workmen involved.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction, the MSET building contractor, treated its work crew to a catered barbecue lunch on the ground floor of the MSET structure to celebrate.

MSET will serve as a state-of-the-art laboratory for research on effective teaching and learning techniques in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering, both at the college level and through the full range from kindergarten through 12th grade. It will feature a lecture hall, recitation areas, instructional laboratories, offices for faculty and tutors, and shell space for future program elements.

The building’s estimated cost is $29.7 million and expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.

4.With its highest beam in place, the MSET building accelerates toward a completion date in the summer of 2010.