A University of New Mexico alum posthumously gifted the School of Engineering with the largest lump sum cash gift in the school’s history — $3 million.
Dana C. Wood, a former civil engineering major, died in 2013 after battling cancer. The gift was received this March from his estate and will be used to benefit students at the School of Engineering.
Wood graduated from the University in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree and completed his master’s degree in 1990. He created a software that predated “the Cloud,” called PowerMerge.
Christos Christodoulou, the associate dean for research at the School of Engineering, said Wood had a “passion for racing.”
Every four semesters, students design and build a race car from scratch to compete nationally against other universities. UNM’s program has ranked fifth in the nation.
“The plan is to build a first-class facility, we really want to build the best...university facility for a race car,” Christodoulou said. “We want to be first — we want to beat everyone.”
Half of the cash will be used to create an “Innovation Plaza,” a 7,000-square-foot space under the Farris Engineering Center. This space, soon to be named the Dana C. Wood Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Racing Lab, will be dedicated to the FSAE program and provide a larger area for students to build a gas and electric race car.
Mechanical engineers will not be the only students benefiting from this gift.
“This is mainly mechanical and electrical (engineering), but I want to do something for...every (engineering) department,” Christodoulou said.
Not all the money will be exclusive to engineers designing a race car — $500,000 will be used to renovate the civil engineering computer lab and the 4,600-square-foot Structures and Materials lab in the Centennial Engineering Center and will be named in Wood’s honor.
“I want my students to go in from one room to another and (create) equipment...share knowledge, learn from each other. It’s their paradise — an engineering paradise,” Christodoulou said.
Christodoulou said the new renovations and equipment will influence college-bound students to join the School of Engineering and is also “leverage” for increasing attention from companies to hire his students.
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“It’s not just building a facility for us...It’s really building a better future for the entire School of Engineering,” he said, adding, “People want these students who know how to build something from scratch.”
The remaining $1 million will be used to create an endowment position — the Dana C. Wood Chair for Advanced Construction Materials and Technologies — within the Civil Engineering Department. Professors holding this position will utilize funds, research and other academic opportunities for students.
Sam Cox, a freshman majoring in computer science, said this gift was a good thing.
“If things stay funded, that means people are working and getting things done. Everyone is having a good time,” Cox said.
Christodoulou said this will increase with better technology and academic environments.
“If I had a wish, it would be to thank this person and shake his hand,” he said.
Anthony Jackson is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TonyAnjackson.
