UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s Board of Trustees today (Nov. 11) learned of proposed renovations to the North American Refractories Building in the CATO Industrial Park in State College. About 3,400 square feet of the building will be renovated to provide the infrastructure to operate one of the world’s most advanced gas turbine laboratories.
Research at the laboratory, led by the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, will focus on improving the efficiencies of gas turbine engines for aircraft propulsion and power plant energy production. Support for the testing components will be furnished by United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney Co., and the U.S. Department of Energy – National Energy Technology Lab.
The scope of the renovations includes rooms to house large-scale test equipment, a control room and associated mechanical and electrical upgrades. At a cost estimate of $1.5 million, the renovations are slated to begin in January 2012 and be completed by May, with testing equipment to be installed by July.
The University purchased the building, the former North American Refractories Technical Center, in 2001 for a variety of uses, primarily for the College of Engineering.