New Hall on the Block
In an engineering building in early ’ 70s UC San Diego , a single open door changed the life of Franklin Antonio ’ 74 . The door belonged to then Professor Irwin Jacobs , and Antonio remembers it well : “ Late in the day , when all the other office doors were closed , Irwin ’ s door would be open , and there would be a line of undergraduates waiting to talk to him . And he didn ’ t just talk to students about coursework ; he talked to them about their projects , gave them guidance and ideas and suggestions . And this had a tremendous impact on a large number of people .”
It certainly had an impact on Antonio , who went to work for Jacobs ’ company , Linkabit , after graduation and then partnered with his former professor and others to co-found Qualcomm in 1985 . Given that Qualcomm would ultimately go on to fuel the mobile revolution in the ensuing decades , one might say that open door — and the connection it made — has in turn touched the life of anyone who has ever used a cellphone .
Just as Antonio ’ s work at Qualcomm has transformed how we live , his generosity is now transforming the student experience at UC San Diego . Franklin Antonio Hall is an archetype for the future of education , facilitating the kind of student access and interaction with faculty that made all the difference for Antonio .
“ I don ’ t like the idea of professors being behind a locked door ,” says Antonio . “ One of my main requests for this building was that students be able to access professors ’ offices and have direct interaction . Undergraduates , especially — they benefit tremendously from direct interaction with professors .”
Approximately 25 percent of Jacobs School faculty will be based in the new building . In addition to offices and classrooms , 11 collaborative research spaces will make up the heart of Franklin Antonio Hall . Known as “ collaboratories ,” these collaboration-focused laboratories will house five to seven professors and their respective research groups , all coming from a mix of different academic departments within the Jacobs School of Engineering .
“ We are designing this building to encourage more of the innovative collaborations that are a hallmark of the Jacobs School ,” says Dean Albert P . Pisano . “ Collaborations that cross between academia and industry multiple times are critical for developing systems-level solutions to challenges in medicine , energy , security , robotics and more . I won ’ t be surprised when I see our industry partners starting to collaborate with one another in the new building .”
With longstanding ties to UC San Diego both personally and professionally , both Jacobs and Antonio know the amazing things that can happen through partnerships between academia and industry . And as an alumnus , Antonio is especially pleased to help the next generation of Triton innovators use their skills and education to improve and enhance lives . “ It ’ s been fun to watch the incredible growth and evolution of UC San Diego since my graduation ,” says Antonio . “ I ’ m privileged to be a small part of it .”
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