Penn's newest technology haven to open in February

Students hover over a laboratory table for hours, tinkering with devices for use in a futuristic solar car. But this is not an engineering class, and the students are not doing this for a grade. This situation is what the founders of the soon-to-open Weiss Tech House envision for their hub. That is, students gathering in one spot, where facilities and guidance are plentiful, and where students are excited about technology. Slated to open its doors at 3350 Walnut Street sometime in February, the Weiss Tech House was inspired by the successful models of the Kelly Writers and Civic Houses. Along with the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the four centers will form Penn's new Undergraduate Hub system. The system both affords new opportunities for undergraduates in terms of resources and community and centralizes the already existing services. And the people behind the tech house are eager to jump on the bandwagon. Faculty Director Karl Thatcher Ulrich says he believes the impact of the new center -- made possible by a $1.5 million gift from University Trustee George Weiss -- will be significant. The Weiss Tech House "will enable students at Penn interested in technology to pursue their ideas, as well as increase in attracting students to Penn who are interested in technology and employers who are interested in them," Ulrich said. The tech house plans to make this happen through a number of different strategies, and one of those strategies involves a serious cash incentive. The Student Innovation Fund, run out of the tech house, will award $1,000 research grants to students with exciting technology projects. The money will be given based on an application process to be determined by a 12-person student committee to an indeterminate number of students. The Weiss Tech House expects to begin accepting applications for the Fund at the end of this month. Beyond the monetary perks, the center plans to hold an array of workshops ranging from patenting procedures to ways to apply for science grants. "We would love to bring in a very big innovator," Weiss Tech House Director Anne Stamer said. "Someone who has innovated something great and has a big name." A one-on-one coaching system is positioned to be put in place to augment the workshops. Stamer says they hope to bring in an innovator on a weekly or monthly basis for a few days at a time to work individually with the student inventors to give them guidance on their work. And the students and coaches will not have to go far to do this. The tech house will feature a mechanical laboratory, an electrical laboratory and a computer laboratory for work on software. However, the mechanical and electrical laboratories will not be ready until next fall. While the house will open its doors in February, many additional facilities will not be ready until the fall. Stamer says the official opening will be at that time. "We want to have our grand opening in the fall," Stamer said. "We'll bring in George Weiss, and cut the ribbon in a gorgeous ceremony." That ceremony will mark the beginning of a campaign to involve the entire undergraduate body in the tech house. "This hub is really for the entire undergraduate community," Stamer said. "An English major may not know how to make it, but they know they want to solve the water problem in Africa." A board of approximately 25 students has already been selected to begin programming for the house.

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