GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 21, 2012 – Colorado School of Mines will celebrate the grand opening of Marquez Hall, the new $27 million, technologically advanced interdisciplinary teaching and research facility located at 16^th and Arapahoe streets, during a ceremony and open house Sept. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Tim Marquez (pronounced “Marcus”), the founder and chief executive officer of Venoco Inc. and a 1980 Mines alumnus, and his wife, Bernie, issued a $10 million challenge grant through the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation in 2005, laying the groundwork for the facility.

Additional generous funding by more than 200 alumni, friends and industry partners makes Marquez Hall the first academic building on the Mines campus funded without state support since the 1980s.

Designed by the architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (known for designing the Apple store on 5^th Avenue in New York and the Pixar Studios headquarters in California) in partnership with Anderson Mason Dale, Marquez Hall features 64,000 square feet of computer classrooms, laboratories and research centers. The 24,000-square-foot classroom wing that will be used by all departments on campus was made possible through student fees.

The LEED Silver certified building, which is the new home for Mines’ Petroleum Engineering Department, is as efficient and technologically advanced as it is beautiful. One example includes the cutting-edge 3D visualization lab that will allow students to virtually fly through petroleum reservoirs thousands of feet below the earth’s surface.

For more information and a photo tour of the building’s construction, visit the Mines Newsroom.

Contact:

David Tauchen, Public Relations Specialist / 303-273-3088 / DTauchen@mines.edu

Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / KGilbert@mines.edu