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UT Breaks Ground on New Computer Science Building

Artist's rendering of Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex
Image courtesy University of Texas
UT-Austin broke ground today on a new $130 million complex for the computer science department.

Students and faculty in UT's computer science program are currently spread across seven different buildings. That will all change in 18 to 24 months when the new Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex opens.

UT's Computer Science Department chairman Bruce Porter stepped away from this afternoon's ground breaking ceremony at the Speedway Pedestrian Mall to talk to KUT News for a few minutes.

"We are totally jazzed about today," Porter said. "This is the end of an eight or nine year campaign to get a new building."

Total cost of the building is in the ballpark of $120 million, Porter said. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contributed $30 million.

The computer science department is celebrating with a party stretching into this evening. It includes a Rock Band 3 competition and an 8 p.m. performance by the second place finisher on America's Got Talent, local band Arc Attack.

Nathan Bernier is the transportation reporter at KUT. He covers the big projects that are reshaping how we get around Austin, like the I-35 overhaul, the airport's rapid growth and the multibillion-dollar transit expansion Project Connect. He also focuses on the daily changes that affect how we walk, bike and drive around the city. Got a tip? Email him at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on X @KUTnathan.