The Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences opens

Ansley Miller photo Chancellor Dr. Jack Hakwins Jr. cuts the ribbong during the CMMS opening along with the Board of Trustees, deans Troy major Jason Reeves and Student Government Association president.

Troy faculty and students gathered to commemorate the grand opening of the new Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences Building (CMMS) on Saturday.

The ceremony was held on the northwest corner of the main quad where Director of the Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences Dr. Govid Menon,, chopped a cardinal ribbon in half, launching Troy into an era of research.

“The opening of this building has been a long time coming,” Menon said. “I’ve been waiting for nearly a decade for this day to come.

“Having this facility is a game changer. On the inside, I’m all kinds of excited. I am looking forward to all the research that will be done here.”

Unlike other buildings on Troy’s campus, the CMMS building is strictly research-based.

“Fundamentally, we will use this new facility to study polymers,” Menon said. “We will study how to recycle polymer more efficiently.

“This building is entirely dedicated to research. Now, that does not mean that students will not be in this building. We will have student scholars, but they will be doing research. They will be learning hands-on in that sense. We don't have classrooms; every room here is a research lab.”

Not only will the new CMMS building be beneficial to Troy’s campus and community, but it could potentially classify Troy in a whole new way.

“I believe this new building is going to serve as the cornerstone for the future of Troy academics,” said Kyle Shook, executive assistant to the chancellor. “We are all aware of Troy’s goal of becoming an R2 research institution.

“We just got re-classified as a doctoral institution last year by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Now, we are gunning for the R2 research classification by Carnegie, and having a facility such as this will help us get to the next step.”

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves applauds the university for its advancements.

“Where we are headed is limitless,” said  Reeves. “This is a step forward into the arena of research.

“I’m so proud to be here today, and I’m proud of this University.”

Researchers are already hard at work in the new CMMS building. The next step for Troy will be to hire a full-time director that can drive the university into the future.