In November, the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) announced it had received a $34 million gift to fund the construction of a new academic facility focused on computational sciences and artificial intelligence (AI).
With this new facility, the school will be able to provide its students with the skills necessary for ever-advancing technological careers.
MSOE announced in January it will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree starting in Fall 2018 which will be housed in the new facility. This new program will complement the existing software and computer engineering coursework already available. “Computer science is being driven by AI,” said Dr. John Walz, President of MSOE, during a recent industry seminar hosted by the school (see sidebar below). Because of this, the new degree program is “going to have a significant focus on developing graduates with the tools, knowledge and theory to develop AI systems out in the world. 
An exterior view of the new facility from the south on Milwaukee St.Uihlein/Wilson – Ramlow/Stein Architects
“It’s going to be unique in terms of its strong focus on AI, getting students ready for this connected world we live in today, and so much data that has to be understood,” he continued.
“Artificial intelligence and deep learning have reached a golden age thanks to recent hardware and software advancements. The application of this in many industries is still untapped, and in many cases, undiscovered,” said Dr. Derek Riley, Program Director of Computer Science, in an MSOE press release about the new degree offering. “Our students will apply computer science theory, machine learning algorithms, and software engineering practices to produce computing solutions for a wide variety of problems in many industries.”
“More than likely AI is going to have a play in your businesses,” said Walz. “Frankly [al]most all programs will be touched by this facility to be able to educate students in the use of AI in the business industrial community.”
MSOE Regent Dwight Diercks, a 1990 graduate, and his wife Dian made the donation for the new academic facility. Diercks was one of the first employees at NVIDIA—a California-based technology company and global leader in AI, supercomputing and visual computing, and inventor of the GPU (graphics processing unit). He currently serves as Senior Vice President at the company. 
A state-of-the-art datacenter with an NVIDIA GPU-accelerated supercomputer will be housed in the new academic facility.Uihlein/Wilson – Ramlow/Stein Architects
The new Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall will be a 64,000 sq. ft. (5,945.79 sq. m) facility containing modern classrooms, innovative laboratories, an auditorium, and corporate partnership spaces. This will provide companies the opportunity to work with systems in the facility, as well as MSOE faculty and students.
In addition, the facility will house a state-of-the-art datacenter with an NVIDIA GPU-accelerated supercomputer. According to MSOE, the GPU is a high-performance processor fueling AI advancements which impact all areas of business from healthcare and retail to robotics and the automotive industry.
MSOE is currently accepting applications and enrolling students for the new degree program. It intends to break ground on the new facility this Spring, and have it opened by the Fall of 2019.
