PHYSICS

New Center Nearly Doubles the Size of University's Computer Science Facility; Fosters Highly Advanced Interactive Research and Learning Environment -- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) today announced the grand opening of the Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science. This new 225,000 square foot education and research facility accommodates almost twice as many faculty and students as the previous Computer Science facility -- more than 100 faculty and researchers, 1,100 undergraduates and 450 graduate students. Uniting faculty, researchers and graduate and undergraduate students for the first time under one roof, the Center provides advanced research facilities as well as 14 classrooms and instructional labs, an auditorium, and ample meeting space. The Siebel Center is intended to build upon the leading position of the University of Illinois Computer Science Department by enabling the creation of a "Computing Habitat," a living laboratory that will attract world-class scholars to redefine computing for the 21st century. This "Computing Habitat" is an environment where the physical and digital infrastructures are tightly coupled with the human element, creating a single integrated ecosystem. The College of Engineering at UIUC created the $80 million Siebel Center through a $32 million gift from its computer science alumnus, Thomas M. Siebel, chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems, Inc., and support from the State of Illinois. "The Center represents infinite opportunities for the advancement of education in computer science," said David E. Daniel, Dean of the College of Engineering at UIUC. "This building will not only have a significant impact on the education of generations of students, but also will profoundly influence the development of computer science in this nation and throughout the world. The Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science will act as a catalyst for a comprehensive program that extends our leadership in education and research." "The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is recognized as a global leader in information technology," said Thomas M. Siebel, Chairman and CEO, Siebel Systems, Inc. "I am one of the many people who have benefited greatly from this leadership. It gives me great pleasure to play a role in the enhancement of this great resource." "Computing Habitat" Incorporates Smart Building Features for Highly Interactive Learning The building is equipped with leading edge digital technology for the control of its physical systems, sensing, communication, multimedia capture and display, computation and storage. This programmable environment is being used as a test-bed to advance computer science research and education, and to create the first instance of an environment where the physical and digital infrastructure seamlessly blend to support the individual and collective pursuits of its inhabitants, by anticipating and responding to their activities and by continuously learning and adapting to their needs and preferences. "The Siebel Center will create a virtuous circle where students and faculty develop leading edge applications to better support their daily research and education activities, thus improving their ability to create such applications," said Marc Snir, Head of the Computer Science Department at UIUC. "The new center will significantly enhance our ability to provide top education and to pursue research on problems of broad significance for tomorrow's world." -- Building Intelligence: Extensive digital control of the physical building infrastructure is provided through features such as electronic locks, proximity and location sensors, digital cameras, and light and heat controls. -- Multimedia infrastructure: Large video walls and plasma screens are located throughout the building to provide a constant stream of information. All classrooms and lecture halls are equipped with state- of-the-art video capture and display equipment and are streamlined to a central video control room where they are digitized for archival and remote access by students and faculty. -- Communication and Computation: State of the art wireless and wired communication networks connect the building sensors and actuators and the video capture and display equipment to high-performance storage and computing capabilities. -- Pervasive Computing: Context-, location-, and identity-sensitive computing are built on top of the digital infrastructure. Students, faculty and researchers can collaborate interactively, leveraging the computing features of the building to consult with a professor or to help find study partners, as well as to research, learn about or teach highly advanced computer science concepts. Sensing and actuating capabilities are part of this infrastructure. -- Security and Privacy: Highly reliable, fault-tolerant, secure devices accessible only by appropriate authenticated and authorized students and faculty, provide privacy and security within the living laboratory and ensure users have detailed control of their private information. -- Art: Multimedia art that blends with the elegant building architecture leverages the pervasive computing infrastructure to create a pleasing working environment that continuously challenges the intellect and the senses of its users. The opening of the Siebel Center continues a dramatically expanded presence for leading facilities at the University of Illinois that have a global impact on the development of new technologies and that make a critical contribution to the economy of the state and of the nation. An anchor in the new information technology quadrangle, the Siebel Center is co-located with a new building under construction for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and will be adjacent to a planned new science and technology research park and incubator focused on information technology and IT start-ups. The architect for Siebel Center was LZT Associates of Peoria, Illinois, with major design services provided by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of the of top engineering schools in the world, for 135 years the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has provided educational leadership, research innovation, and technological breakthroughs to the people of Illinois and the world. Currently, Engineering at Illinois is ranked 3rd in the country for its undergraduate programs and 5th for its graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report. Of the approximately 200 engineering schools nationwide, only ten schools have more than one engineering program in the top five and only four schools have eight or more programs ranked in the top five. Those schools are MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Illinois. One of the oldest, largest and most distinguished computer science facilities in the world, for 47 years the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been a leader in education, innovative research and technological breakthroughs. The Siebel Center is the latest in a long line of innovations that have come from the Department that include designing and building the world's fastest computers, providing the inspiration for HAL, the intelligent computer in Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey," and creating the Internet revolution with the Mosaic web browser. Currently, the department is ranked 5th for its graduate program by U.S. News & World Report. It is the largest provider of software engineers to companies such as Microsoft and other major IT companies. Nearly 8,000 alumni can be found in leading positions at all major companies that create and use information technology. Thomas M. Siebel is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Siebel Systems, Inc. A frequent industry spokesman, he received the David Packard Award from the Business Executives for National Security in 2002 and was named CEO of the Year by Industry Week magazine. In 2000 and 2001, he was recognized by BusinessWeek as one of the top 25 managers in the world. He is the author of three books -- Virtual Selling, Cyber Rules, and Taking Care of eBusiness. He serves on the board of advisors of the University of Illinois College of Engineering and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Siebel attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a B.A., M.B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science. Siebel Systems Inc. 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