Virginia Tech Showcases Innovation Campus to Reporters, Ahead of Grand Opening Friday
Before the ribbon-cutting February 28, media gets a firsthand look
ALEXANDRIA, VA- Virginia Tech inched one step closer today (Feb. 25) to the grand opening of the Innovation Campus on Friday. Excitement is building as the university puts the finishing touches on an elaborate celebration three days from now, when over a thousand people, including Virgnia Governor Glen Youngkin and city leaders, are expected to converge on the brand-new campus in Potomac Yard.
Members of the media got a sneak peek Tuesday afternoon as VT unveiled its shiny new campus for an exclusive tour. On Jan. 21, the school opened Academic Building One to the first cohort of students. The media was taken on a tour of the new facility on that opening day. Reporters were treated to a far more in-depth look into AI labs and drones and machine learning and computing during this visit. They spent three hours on the site, listening to demonstrations and watching the latest high-tech wizardry at work.
Before splitting into three groups, Dr. Lance Collins, Innovation Campus vice president and executive director, welcomed everyone, calling the campus “the newest and most advanced academic building in the DC area.”
The 11-story 300,000 square-foot building offers graduate programs in computer science, computer engineering, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and much more.
“We are really excited to give you a preview of both our cutting-edge facility and highlight the research it enables,” he said, telling the media what they would see on their trek through the building.
“During this tour today, you will have the opportunity to see firsthand some of the research happening here in the building through demonstrations that will include flying the drone in our indoor drone case and an immersive stone carving experience,” Collins explained. “That is happening simultaneously here on this campus, in our main campus in Blacksburg, our campus in Roanoke, and at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.”
Liza Morris is assistant vice president for planning and university architect at VT. She took reporters back to 2019 in her remarks.
“I was sharing with my colleagues, reflecting back when we were kind of initiating this entire project and we were looking at multiple sites in Alexandria,” Morris recounted. “I had the opportunity to share with the president of the university, the potential vision for a campus for Virginia Tech on this particular site.”
Six years ago, as Morris recalled, the ground where the Innovation Campus now stands tall was a sea of parking with a movie theater smack in the middle of a sprawling plot of land. The Potomac Yard Metro hadn’t even broken ground yet.
“It was just such a thrill to be able to have experienced that opportunity and sort of pitching and selling this notion to our president,” she shared, “and having him accept that as the vision for the university. And now, here we are today, getting ready for the grand opening this week.”
Reporters wandered into labs where they learned about new technology to help people with visual impairments navigate spaces, advances in ChatGPT, testing wireless technology using an indoor drone cage, and a K-12 STEM lab that teaches children how to use AI to build a Mars rover.
Following the tour, The Zebra talked with Collins about the economic impact of having such a premier high-tech graduate facility in Alexandria.
Amazon was looking to relocate its HQ2, Collins recounted. “The state wanted to invest in higher education because that is a way to grow the talent pool and the technology they could access. So once Amazon accepted that thinking and located in Arlington, it became very natural for us to think about Potomac Yard,” Collins explained.
“There was great support from the community, from Alexandria, [City] Council, and the mayor,” he added. “And moreover, we felt like our proximity to Amazon was going to give us a powerful advantage as we were continuing to grow. So it seemed like the very natural place for us to come. And I think it’s really worked out in terms of location.”
The eighth floor features a sweeping terrace overlooking the Potomac. As reporters gazed out at the river below, Zebra asked Liza Morris if building so close to the water helped or hindered the project.
“I think it’s one of the key components of this site on our campus and we really embrace being on the river,” Morris pointed out. “The opportunity to both borrow from the linear park that’s next to us and the GW Parkway really brings in that biophilic experience into our campus.”
As for a hindrance, the university did have to pump out over five million gallons of water to build a below-surface garage. It was well worth it, Morris concedes, because spectacular views have such a positive influence on creative thinking and innovation.
Future construction of two additional buildings is in the works.
