Fort Schuyler Magazine Spring 2020

BY ODALIS MINO

MODERNIZING MARITIME: Enhancing the Student Ashore and Afloat

E ssential modernization projects taking place throughout Maritime College in 2020 will significantly impact campus life and enhance experiential education. A complete renovation of the Marine Engineering Lab will showcase a state-of-the-art high- and low-pressure training facility, a valuable learning platform for engineering students studying facilities operations and management. Construction of a Student Union will also begin in 2020. Designed with student input, the Student Union will feature a 24/7 café, game room, lounges, and a large gathering space. This project includes renovation of the Ship’s Store (Campus Bookstore) and Veteran’s Center. The Learning Center will be moved and expanded, and when complete in late 2022, the new Student Union will offer a central hub for students to study, socialize and relax. As athletics is a vibrant component of student life, an upgrade of Reisenberg Gym is among the construction projects on the list. Modernization of the strength and conditioning spaces in the gym began in December 2019 and completion is expected by summer 2021. Refurbishment of the baseball field will allow for subsurface drainage, and upgrades to the field’s LED lighting and other safety improvements will take place.

An Academic Seamanship Training Center is the highlight of new construction ashore. This cutting-edge center, set on the beautiful waterfront, will reveal a Marine Environmental Science wet lab on the first floor consisting of aquaria and touch tanks for teaching and research. The second floor will support seamanship training for students and professional mariners. Sustainability design directives for this two-story structure include environmentally-friendly green technologies such as net-zero energy building (NZEB) and mass timber construction. The living, learning laboratory for Facilities Engineering students will be completed in late 2021. Afloat, Olivet Pier will boast the very first National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) in the country. The ship’s construction was officially announced and the agencies involved in the year’s- long planning process – MARAD, TOTE, LLC., Herbert Engineers, and Philly Shipyard – could not be more hyped. The first new NSMV will replace the Training Ship Empire State VI in 2023. Over five years ago, initial discussions between MARAD, naval architects and the state maritime academies helped define and incorporate the preferred attributes into the NSMV design. The vessel will also serve as a national asset and its disaster relief capability will allow the ship to respond to

Academic Seamanship Training Center, Northeast Perspective

Marine Engineering Boiler Lab

Student Union layout at Vander Clute Hall

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