The Next Revolution in Computer Science

The Brendan Iribe Center, on the campus of the University of Maryland, is a hub for technology at the heart of a new innovation district that connects high-tech companies, government agencies and institutional colleagues. Bringing together the university's top-ranked Department of Computer Science and its renowned Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, the building’s six floors of specialized labs support groundbreaking research in virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, algorithms and programming languages and systems.

Notable features include:

• Two main components — a six-story instructional and research space and a 300-person auditorium — joined by connector space that blurs the line between inside and outside, creating a thoughtful academic and research center that links to student life.
• Materials and details that evoke the University’s Neo-Georgian heritage, including brick finishes on the auditorium and landscape walls.
• A series of intersecting communities that combine classroom and administrative space with collaboration and research space, creating diverse nodes where students and faculty benefit from linkages across disciplines and projects and from observing and participating in investigation, competition and research.
• Hacker space and maker space that allows students, faculty and industry and community partners to share knowledge and ideas via workshops, presentations and lectures and to work on projects individually or in collaboration.
• Virtual and augmented reality labs where students build immersive multimedia experiences and environments that engage the bold new possibilities presented by smartphones, smart glasses and virtual reality devices.
• Welcoming common areas — including an expansive green space along Baltimore Avenue — that extend the collaborative environment to the broader community.
• A double-height ground floor has a plethora of opportunities for casual interaction with seating areas, interactive displays, a café and a sculptural staircase that will host activities from job fairs to hack-a-thons.

The project is funded in part by the generosity of Brendan Iribe, co-founder of Oculus VR, to cultivate the next revolution in computer science and bring Silicon Valley to College Park.