SMU Dedicates Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation
SMU on Dec. 4 dedicated the Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation, a new 50,000-square-foot interdisciplinary research hub meant to help equip faculty, students, and industry partners with tools and resources to collaborate, solve complex problems, and power new enterprises in the digital world.
Gerald J. Ford, his wife, Kelli O. Ford, and the Gerald J. Ford Family Foundation provided the lead gift for Ford Hall in 2013.
“The university is creating an exciting space for bold doers and collaborators. It’s the next step in SMU’s ascendancy as a premier research and teaching university, and my family and I are honored to play a role in this process,” Ford said.
The new facility expands the university’s use of high-performance computing for interdisciplinary collaborations. Both undergraduate and graduate students will work alongside faculty and industry professionals in this new data-driven nerve center.
The building is located on SMU’s main campus at the corner of McFarlin Boulevard and Airline Road and serves as the home to the AT&T Center for Virtualization, the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute, high-performance computing and data science, and the Visualization Lab. In addition, thanks to a gift from Linda Wertheimer Hart and Milledge (Mitch) A. Hart III, Ford Hall brings to SMU’s main campus the Hart eCenter, which includes SMU Guildhall, the graduate game design program.
