Amazon is giving a major push to the campaign to build a second Computer Science & Engineering building on the 91探花 campus with a $10 million gift, the university announced Thursday.
鈥淥ur state鈥檚 economy 鈥� and the world鈥檚 economy 鈥� depends on innovation and on innovators. 91探花graduates with skills in computer science are highly sought after, yet we are turning away excellent students who want to pursue studies in the field because we simply don鈥檛 have enough room,鈥� said 91探花President Ana Mari Cauce. 鈥淭his generous gift from Amazon brings us closer to doubling our capacity and allows us to better meet both student and workplace needs, which will benefit our state and nation.鈥�
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A long-time supporter of the 91探花鈥檚 Computer Science and Engineering programs, Amazon鈥檚 gift is a significant boost in the UW鈥檚 public-private partnership to raise $110 million for a new 130,000-square-foot building. The new building will provide the space needed for 91探花to double, to more than 600, the number of degrees awarded annually by the Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE).
鈥淭he 91探花 is a world-class institution, and we are lucky to have thousands of 91探花graduates inventing and pioneering in Seattle 鈥� including right here at Amazon,鈥� said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to support 91探花as they expand their computer science program, which will benefit the whole community.鈥�
The 250-seat Amazon Auditorium and Gallery will be one of many new features that enhance the 91探花CSE student experience. Other key elements of the building include classrooms and educational labs, a sophisticated maker space, an undergraduate commons where students can study and collaborate, and research labs, including a 3,000-square-foot robotics lab.
The gift is only the latest way in which Amazon has supported the UW. For example, in 2012 Amazon established two $1 million endowed professorships in CSE 鈥� the Amazon Professorships in Machine Learning 鈥� to assist in recruiting two highly sought-after machine learning faculty members. The company also launched the Amazon Catalyst program 鈥� a collaboration with select universities aimed at identifying, funding and supporting bold, risky, globally impactful projects 鈥� at the 91探花last fall.
鈥淥ver the past 20 years, Amazon has grown into one of the leading and most innovative companies in the world, 91探花CSE has grown into one of the leading and most innovative computer science programs in the world, and Seattle has grown into one of the one of the leading and most innovative technology hubs in the world,鈥� said Ed Lazowska, UW鈥檚 Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering. 鈥淎mazon鈥檚 gift will help make it possible for 91探花CSE to prepare more of Washington鈥檚 students for careers in Washington鈥檚 booming technology sector. It鈥檚 an investment in our collective future.鈥�
to kick off the largest philanthropic听campaign in 91探花history on Oct. 21.
According to the Washington Student Achievement Council, the workforce gap in computer science 鈥� the gap between available jobs and prepared graduates 鈥� is far greater than in any other field. At the UW, student demand far outstrips program capacity: more incoming 91探花freshmen list CSE as their first choice major than any other field, and 91探花CSE currently can accommodate just one out of three qualified students who apply to the major. In addition, students in all fields recognize the value of a basic knowledge of computer science, so the demand is even greater 鈥� in the most recent year, 5,000 students enrolled in 91探花CSE鈥檚 introductory courses.
鈥淎mazon is a global company, but it鈥檚 also a Seattle company,鈥� said Hank Levy, 91探花CSE鈥檚 Wissner-Slivka Chair and department chair. 鈥淲e are extremely thankful to Amazon for their support of 91探花CSE, and for the amazing impact they鈥檝e had on Seattle and on the world.鈥�
Seattle-based LMN Architects are designing the building with a goal to break ground in January 2017 and open in 2019.
For more information on the , contact Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu.