Construction students raise a building frame.

About the Richard L. Bready Applied Learning Laboratories

The Richard L. Bready Applied Learning Laboratories is a hub of labs, project rooms and open spaces dedicated to hands-on, collaborative teaching and learning. With our focus on experiential learning and cutting-edge industry trends, the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management (SECCM) develops students equipped with the skills and real-world experiences to meet the challenges facing the engineering and design build industries.

The Richard L. Bready Applied Learning Laboratories is a 27,000-square-foot, three-story, state-of-the-art laboratory building located in the heart of the Bristol campus, adjacent to the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management. The facility’s unique design cultivates the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical applications and is equipped with cutting edge technology, providing SECCM faculty with the optimal environment and tools to deliver the highest quality applied and experiential education. Below are the signature spaces housed in the new facility. 

  • Construction Management Methods & Materials Lab
  • Applied Engineering & Fabrication Lab
  • Fluid Mechanics Lab
  • Computer Science Software Experimentation Lab
  • Electrical Engineering Lab
  • Advanced Technology and Innovation Studio
  • BIM/Virtual Reality Lab
  • Mechanics of Materials Lab
  • Multi-purpose project rooms, meeting spaces and student commons

SECCM faculty have a state-of-the-art facility to deliver the highest quality educational experience to our students – the next generation of engineering, computing and construction management professionals. Boasting 100 percent placement into jobs or graduate school, SECCM's enrollment continues to grow, and the Richard L. Bready Applied Learning Laboratories will accommodate future growth by providing a collaborative hub for applied learning.

Computer screens
Twenty-four television screens combine to make an interactive display in the Construction Management Emergent Technologies Lab.

"We can have groups presenting their work next to each other and compare them in real time. We create digital models, actual-size, and walk through the buildings," said Bilge Gökhan Çelik, Associate Professor of Construction Management.
Crane
This two-ton crane in the Construction Management Methods & Materials Lab is capable of lifting a small SUV. "It will be used to show safety protocol to students working on the job site," said Laboratory Manager James Dorothy.
Oscilloscopes
In the Electrical Engineering Lab, breadboards and oscilloscopes allow students to build and test circuits.

"We’ll learn electronics and will definitely use the breadboards. It’s nice that we will have equipment for everyone in our lab. Before you had to share, but now you can do your own work," said Jack Marchioni, mechanical engineering major and RWU senior.
Tension Machines
The purpose of these Tensile and Compression Testing Machines in the Mechanics and Materials Lab is to test the strength of materials.

"Believe it or not, metal is an elastic material like a rubber band, except we typically can't stretch it by hand. When you bend a paper clip, you keep bending it until it fails. You get a curve and then it fails, so then you know the failure strength of the metal. Manufacturers will say, 'This rebar has 36,000 PSI failure rate.' You can put a piece of rebar in there and stretch and break it and see if that is a true statement," said SECCM Dean Robert Potter.
Machinery
"That machine is for torsion. It twists materials until they break," said Jessica Jensen, computer engineering major and RWU senior. "For our lab we used Home Depot and Lowe’s bolts and twisted them until they broke and saw which was stronger. It was so close, they were pretty much the same."
CNC Machine
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines are used to fabricate materials using computer input. "You use those in your very first semester to fabricate a piece for the semester long project, which is some kind of game board," said Jensen.
Technology
"This one is a pipe flow lab. We start the lab by setting up all the valves in random ways and we say, 'You have to turn on the valve and get the water to flow in a specific way.' You have to find a way to correct the path to get it to flow the way you want it to flow, taking measurements along the way. We try to mess it up as much as possible and then students can figure it out. It’s really fun, this is one of my favorite ones to do," said Maija Benitz, Assistant Professor of Engineering.
Wind tunnel
"This one is a small version of a wind tunnel. Students can put things into the clear section and it generates an air stream so they can make measurements," said William Palm, Associate Professor of Engineering.
Pressure Measuring Bench
The Pressure Measuring Bench provides ten different pressure measurement systems.

"You can measure the same pressure different ways and compare them. We used to have this really funny thing that was made by one of our lab technicians that was bendy tubing. It worked very well but it looked very DIY. We are excited for this one," said Benitz.
Computer screens
Crane
Oscilloscopes
Tension Machines
Machinery
CNC Machine
Technology
Wind tunnel
Pressure Measuring Bench