The four departments of engineering, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical, organized in 1952, operated from the Harvey Fletcher Engineering Laboratory Building for many years. As needs for specialized laboratories developed and as enrollment increased, it became necessary to expand the engineering disciplines into various temporary buildings nearby. The Board of Trustees authorized construction of a new engineering building which was completed in the spring of 1973. Central Utah Architects, a Provo association, prepared the plans for this structure which was built by Hogan and Tingey, contractors from Salt Lake City. This building of 198,232 gross square feet and costing approximately $5,500,000 is located south of the Fletcher Building.

Named after W. W. Clyde, a civil engineer who built many of the highways and bridges in Utah, the building houses the departments of Chemical, Civil and Environmental, and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The five story building includes 10 classrooms, ninety faculty and departmental offices, five seminar rooms, a conference room, an auditorium, study and display areas, and 90 fully equipped laboratories.

The Crabtree Technology building was dedicated on October 19, 1985. The newest of the Engineering and Technology buildings, this structure has five levels and contains 55,600 assignable square feet, including a commons areas where nearly 80 students can study, 23 laboratory rooms, 30 offices, three classrooms, and a multi-media auditorium, which serves as a chapel on Sunday.

The laboratories of the Crabtree Technology Building bring students in Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Information Technology, Industrial Design, and the four engineering departments--Chemical, Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical--thoroughly into today's computer age. From its digital locks on laboratory doors and unique electronic ballasts for its fluorescent lighting to its computer-aided design stations and computer-controlled machine tools, this facility demonstrates BYU's commitment to education. Although the entire BYU community benefits from this facility, the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Industrial Design, and Information Technology are the principal occupants.

The building was named after Roland and Dora Mae Poulter Crabtree, who are known and respected for their service and dedication to education.

The architectural firm of Fowler, Ferguson, Kingston, and Ruben designed the structure, and Layton Construction Company served as general contractor for the Crabtree Building.

The former Industrial Arts Academic Departments were housed in a war surplus frame building from 1947-1960. It was necessary, in 1960, to construct a new facility for these departments in order to make room for the new library which was to be built on the site of this temporary building. Plans were drawn by Dean L. Gustavson, an architect from Salt Lake City, to meet program requirements prepared by the Industrial Education Building Committee and the Department of Physical Plant.

Named after William H. Snell, an Industrial Arts teacher of long standing at Brigham Young University, this building includes faculty offices and well equipped shops for instruction in industrial and technical education fields. A total of 34,593 square feet is distributed on two floors.

The Snell Building houses several departments within the School of Technology, including Construction Management, Facilities Management, and Technology Teacher Education.

The College of Engineering and Technology houses and uses a $5 million supercomputer 1,000 times faster than a regular computer, allowing industrial students to design three-dimensional objects without actually building them. The supercomputer also serves many other departments across campus.

Because of the new supercomputer, General Motors has formed a partnership with BYU. GM works with BYU and its supercomputer because it has the capability of cutting the design time from five years to one-and-a-half years.

Among other things, the new machine is utilized for DNA research, genealogical studies and FARMS research. The 14-foot long, one ton computer has 32 processors, 32 gigabytes of RAM and 1,500 gigabytes of hard drive space.

The computer was purchased with money donated by builder Ira Fulton from Phoenix, Ariz. The supercomputer is named Mary Lou, in honor of Fulton's wife.

Fulton is a frequent donator to campus programs who is committed to providing students with the most up-to-date equipment and facilities.

To learn more about the Supercomputer, see the Supercomputer Facility Home Page.