<\/p>\n
EWU research to be conducted at Spokane\u2019s new Catalyst building \u2014 the zero-energy engineering marvel featured in the Fall\/Winter edition of Eastern magazine \u2014 got a big boost earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The McKinstry Charitable Foundation, headquartered in Seattle, announced in February a gift of $50,000 each year for 10 years to establish the Catalyst Faculty and Student Research Fund. The $500,000 fund, to be managed by the EWU Foundation, will support Catalyst-based experiential learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud to be connecting research passions of EWU faculty and students with real-world applications at the Catalyst building,\u201d says Dean Allen, chief executive officer at McKinstry.
\n\u201cThe South Landing Eco-District is a living laboratory fueled by public-private partnerships, and we\u2019re excited that this grant program will allow more EWU faculty members and students to engage with that vision in a deeper way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatalyst is a game-changer for Eastern and the region, and by supporting research efforts this fund will allow our students and faculty to flourish in their work and provide more opportunities to connect with business and industry,\u201d says David May, Eastern’s interim president.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Eastern is the primary tenant in the Catalyst building, located on the South Landing of the University District. Catalyst is Spokane\u2019s first zero-energy building and the first office building in the state constructed out of environmentally friendly cross-laminated timber, or CLT. The innovative new space is the result of a unique collaboration among cross-industry partners McKinstry, Avista and Katerra. It will allow Eastern to easily connect students to the regional business community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very grateful for this significant gift from our partners at McKinstry,\u201d says EWU interim President David May. \u201cCatalyst is a game-changer for Eastern and the region, and by supporting research efforts this fund will allow our students and faculty to flourish in their work and provide more opportunities to connect with business and industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funding from McKinstry\u2019s first gift installment was used to support student projects related to the building\u2019s grand opening. Two groups of Eastern students and their faculty advisors worked with representatives from McKinstry to develop an interactive installation with an accompanying digital information piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe created a visual data feed of the energy the building and occupants consume and how much energy the building produces to offset that value,\u201d says student team leader Danielle Flinn. \u201cWe also created an illustrated animation to show the importance of how the [South Landing] buildings work together and benefit the greater community and construction industry in general.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional work by Eastern students produced other \u201cdeliverables\u201d to promote the grand opening. Under the direction of EWU faculty, students collaborated with marketing professionals from Catalyst partner firms to develop copy and videos for a website dedicated to promoting the building: catalystspokane.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Mindy Breen, professor and chair of Eastern\u2019s Department of Design, says the project has been a tremendously rewarding experience for both the students and the faculty members who worked with them.
\n\u201cReal world student projects, like this one, are effective learning experiences, and they help connect students with industry partners,\u201d Breen says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 10-year, $500,000 gift aims to encourage \u2018experiential learning\u2019 at the Catalyst. EWU research to be conducted at Spokane\u2019s new Catalyst building \u2014 the zero-energy engineering marvel featured in the Fall\/Winter edition of Eastern magazine \u2014 got a big boost earlier this year. The McKinstry Charitable Foundation, headquartered in Seattle, announced in February a…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":742,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-741","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_categories-research","stories_categories-science","stories_categories-students","stories_tags-spring-summer-2021"],"acf":{"featured_video":"","subheading":"","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"Links":false,"Resources":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/741\/revisions\/744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}