Contact: Tracee de Hahn
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
805-756-7114; tdehahn@calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Recognizes Simpson Strong-Tie
with Naming of
Materials Laboratory
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly recognized a critical partnership with a longtime supporter recently by the naming of the Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Laboratory in the new Construction Innovations Center.
The facility is part of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED), which includes the Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning Departments.
The naming follows a generous donation of $500,000 by Simpson Strong-Tie to help fund the laboratory. It was announced at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 17.
The Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Laboratory will be the largest element in the Construction Innovations Center. Students in several disciplines will be able to use the 5,000-square-foot lab to design, build and test a variety of structural components. The Materials Demonstration Lab will provide vital support for activities of four adjoining labs in the center, where students will gain hands-on experience with fundamentals of construction management and with residential, commercial and heavy/civil construction.
“We at Cal Poly are proud of our long-standing partnership with Simpson Strong-Tie,” President Warren J. Baker said at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting. “For many years, the company has generously provided resources and support to the College of Architecture and Environmental Design and funded scholarships for future professionals.”
The company is considered the premier structural connector manufacturer in the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe. Since the founding of Simpson Strong-Tie in 1956 by the five original employees, the company has grown to more than 2,000 employees.
“We are particularly proud of the contributions of Cal Poly alumni who are employed at Simpson Strong-Tie,” Baker said. “Simpson Strong-Tie is one of the few examples of a company that cuts across the boundaries of the departments in our colleges by impacting engineers, architects and construction professionals. Together they have helped create unique design responses to the seismic challenges of building in California and other earthquake-prone areas worldwide.”
###