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Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Therkildsen Industrial Engineering building

Building On Our Past, Building For Our Future

Construction is officially underway on the future home of Iowa State University’s Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering!

Located on the southwest side of Howe Hall, the building will have nearly 80,000 gross square feet of space and will be designed to complement the current aesthetics of the university’s engineering corridor. It will feature an advanced manufacturing lab to train engineers for the Industry 4.0 era, a human factors and ergonomics teaching and research lab, along with a data-intensive engineering analysis and visualization lab for teaching and research.

drone view of Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building

The Therkildsen story

The facility is named in honor of Iowa State graduates C.G. “Turk” and Joyce A. McEwen Therkildsen. Their $42 million lead gift for the facility is the largest gift for an academic building in Iowa State University’s history.

Industrial engineering has a long and proud history at Iowa State. This gift and the new facility it will provide will ensure IMSE remains a top-ranked program and a premier destination for students, faculty and staff for generations to come.

Wendy Wintersteen, Iowa State University President

Breaking ground on the new Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building

A groundbreaking ceremony held in September 2022 marks the beginning of construction on the new Therkildsen Industrial Engineering building.

(Pictured left to right) Landon Getting, Graduate Student, Industrial Engineering; Larissa Holtmyer Jones, President and CEO, Iowa State University Foundation; Wendy Wintersteen, President, Iowa State University; Joyce A. McEwen Therkildsen, ’59 Zoology and Physical Education; C.G. “Turk” A. Therkildsen, ’59 Industrial Engineering; Sarah Ryan, C.G. “Turk” and Joyce A. Therkildsen Department Chair; W. Samuel Easterling, James L. and Katherine S. Melsa Dean of the College of Engineering.