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The University of Texas San Antonio opened San Pedro II on Monday. The 180,000-square-foot facility in downtown San Antonio that will fuel education, research and economic mobility in the city’s growing technology corridor.
UT San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy said the university is at an important time in the history of the institution and stressed the importance of bringing together multiple components of tech studies.
“We’re at one of these important moments in this bending the curve towards inflection, towards greatness, and we want to take every advantage of this moment in time,” said Eighmy.
Research scientist Jaron Burns showed a heat transfer simulation demonstration at the building’s new lab with a digital twin recreation of San Antonio. The purpose of the simulation was to research how a building’s placement might affect heat distribution as part of a study on the safety of self-driving cars.
“We use photogrammetry, to get a lot of our visuals. And from there we use Nvidia Omniverse for physics simulations. So, that allows things like traffic and cars to have accurate physics and be able to simulate how they work in the real world,” said Burns.
Burns’ demo is an example of the many research projects and structured presentations that over 5,000 already-enrolled students will create as part of their studies.
UT Systems Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Archie Holmes spoke at the opening about how the new addition will help build careers for students.
“All of this is situated in a great city which has the largest concentration of cybersecurity professionals outside of the nation’s capital,” said Holmes. “This is done by building the partnerships rooted in the life of a great city and one with an institution focused relentlessly on student success and opportunity.”
Gifts from Valero Energy Corporation, the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), and philanthropist Harvey Najim made San Pedro II possible.
Head of Corporate Impact at USAA Jenna Saucedo-Herrera said the demand for high-tech talent is greater now than it’s ever been.
“This new college positions Military City, U.S.A. in advanced technologies, reshaping the academic landscape and strengthening our regional economy,” said Saucedo-Herrera. “We are already the largest employer of U.T. San Antonio graduates, and this new college and facility will only continue to strengthen that pipeline.”
The $2 million gift from USAA helps to provide a new data repository, a freshly built Student Success Center for dedicated mentoring and career preparation, and scholarships for student financial support.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $131 million. Officials said San Pedro I and II are part of a larger effort to anchor San Antonio's prospering high-tech corridor and boost economic and community investment in the San Pedro Creek Area.
Disclosure: UT San Antonio is a sponsor of Texas Public Radio. We cover them as we would any other institution.
