ABS helps Stevens Institute build new lab

   Classification society ABS has awarded Stevens Institute of Technology $3 million to create a new civil, mechanical and naval engineering laboratory complex in the Davidson Laboratory.
   The new complex will bear the ABS name.
   “Without question, this laboratory complex will be a proving ground where enterprising students can develop the skills they need to take on the many technical challenges ahead,” said ABS Chairman Robert D. Somerville in a statement.
   Hoboken, N.J.-based Stevens will construct a 25,000-square-foot facility above the historic Davidson Laboratory, including new laboratories critical to the Stevens strategic plan. The complex will meet the research and instructional needs of about 800 Stevens students annually working in such areas as robotics, underwater systems, land- and water-based vehicles and ocean and weather sensors.
   “The new facility will provide Stevens students with access to cutting-edge technologies so they can explore the frontiers of many vital science and engineering disciplines, especially those that contribute to the safety and security of our nation’s maritime resources,” said Stevens President Nariman Farvardin.
   With the opening of the new complex, the former wave tank in the Davidson Laboratory will be preserved as a historical center to educate students about its importance to the development of ship design during World War II.