Make, Break, Discover
he brand-new Autodesk Technology Engagement Center marks a massive leap forward for academic programs in CSUN’s Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science. The center is a nexus of innovation and exploration for K-12 and university students, focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) learning.
Under the leadership of Anagnost ’87 (Mechanical Engineering), Hon.D. ’24, Autodesk’s president and CEO, the design-and-make software leader has donated more than $7 million to CSUN for the center, which opened to the campus and wider community Aug. 22.
“By leveraging their vast resources, expertise and belief in the power of technology as a force for positive social change, Autodesk is addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said CSUN President Erika D. Beck. “CSUN is incredibly fortunate to have Andrew Anagnost’s unwavering leadership, and Autodesk’s investment in the future of our academic community.”
Designed by architecture firm AC Martin, the facility features fabrication labs — including Anagnost’s favorite, a High Bay Structural Test Lab complete with an indoor, hydraulic “bridge crane” — as well as state-of-the-art research, design and digital capture labs, and a makerspace for the campus and wider community.
A $25 million state budget allocation under California Gov. Gavin Newsom was made possible with support from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, then-Congressman Tony Cárdenas and Congresswoman Luz Rivas (then Assemblymember), who succeeded Cárdenas in California’s 29th District. Padilla also helped secure $1 million in federal funding for equipment.
And, with significant support from Apple Inc. as part of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative — as well as from TOLD Foundation, the 1994 Blommendahl Family Trust and alumnus Varoujan Chakarian and family — the ATEC will house and be equipped to support programming for the Anagnost College, as well as the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub program, which has launched initiatives in the region, statewide through the CSU system, and nationally.
To current and future Matadors, Anagnost had a message: Take advantage of what we’ve built here.
“[The ATEC] is meant for the entire community of the university. It’s not meant to just be the place where the engineers figure something out,” he said. “There’s a makerspace, there are creative spaces. Come and use the place, and experiment with making something. You don’t have to be an engineering major or STEM major. You’ll be surprised what you find.”
—Olivia Herstein
