AUSTIN, Texas — The Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall officially open this week at The University of Texas at Austin.

With high-tech collaborative laboratories and spaces, the complex marks the start of a new era for the university’s top-10 ranked Department of Computer Science.

“Technology plays an increasingly important role in almost every aspect of our lives and will shape the future of commerce, communication, health care and much else,” said Bill Powers, president of the university. “Advances in basic computer science are driving this development, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex will serve as a catalyst for progress in this field. It also will make our Department of Computer Science an even greater economic driver for the state of Texas.”

The Computer Science Department is home to more than 1,700 undergraduates and 42 faculty members. It produces 20 percent of computer science graduates in Texas and 18 percent of all computer science graduates from top-10 departments across the United States.

Through technology development and workforce production, the department is credited with an $8.7 billion per year strategic economic impact on Texas. Faculty members and students excel in areas such as cybersecurity, computer systems, artificial intelligence and robotics.

The 140,000-square-foot Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex (GDC) is located on Speedway and consists of two buildings and a connecting glass atrium. The north building is named Dell Computer Science Hall and connects with the O’Donnell ACES Building.

The complex, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, features 10 “research clusters,” which are designed to encourage collaboration and innovation with large glass-walled labs surrounded by a mix of faculty, graduate student and visitor offices, open discussion areas and a large conference room.

The building also features an open atrium for student community-building and studying, a lecture hall, dedicated spaces for the Turing Scholars undergraduate honors program and other computer science student groups, computing labs and study lounges.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributed $30 million to the project. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation contributed $10 million to the building, which was part of a $50 million May 2006 gift to the University of Texas System to support a variety of programs in technology and human health.

The total cost of the complex was $120 million. In addition to the $40 million in private funding, the University of Texas System committed $20 million and The University of Texas at Austin committed $60 million.

Contact: Lee Clippard, media relations, 512-232-0675, clippard@austin.utexas.edu