Rochester Institute of Technology – ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute

To Secure the Future

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a leader in cybersecurity education and research and is positioned to tackle the cybersecurity challenges facing our society. The Department of Computing Security within the Golisano College of Computing & Information Sciences (GCCIS) at RIT is the first and only one of its kind in the entire US, and it currently has over 400 students pursuing specialized BS and MS degrees in this critical field. Currently, the cybersecurity programs are at maximum capacity for both space and faculty load. With hopes of expanding, the campus could attract top faculty and conduct more state-of-the-art research, leading to the development of advanced technologies, technology transfer, and start-up companies.

Once fully understanding and identifying the campus needs, the design team helped RIT launch the Intelligent Cybersecurity Institute (ICI), which has become a state-of-the-art facility leading in cybersecurity education, research, outreach, and training. The new facility is a major addition to the B. Thomas Golisano Hall at RIT’s Henrietta Campus, with three floors and approximately 50,000 sq. ft. It will support ICI with classrooms, instructional labs, simulation and training rooms, research labs, student collaboration spaces, community outreach spaces, and offices. This new facility will have a major role in facilitating special events and festivals while providing a showcase to visitors of the Institute’s research and technology.

As part of the design development of the cybersecurity building at RIT, high-level security became one of the main focuses. In addition to professional training, performance-based learning, and complex problem solving, high-level security developed as part of what will soon become a showcase for the program. The impression of a top-secret learning environment will also be one of the leading components in professional cybersecurity development for students and individuals seeking training for cybersecurity careers.

Additional Services Provided

LaBella’s full-service team provided a wide variety of services for this project. Most notably are the following:

Mechanical Engineering

Heating is supplied from the campus medium temperature hot water loop at 240 degrees Fahrenheit and serves the building heating systems through a heat exchanger that discharges 180-degree-Fahrenheit water. A campus chilled water loop supplies the building with cooling. There are three custom heat recovery Variable Air Volume (VAV) air handling units that condition the majority of the building through VAV boxes with reheat coils. The building is also provided with perimeter heat using fin tube radiation and some ceiling radiant heating panels. Snow melting is provided for some of the sidewalk areas outside the building.

Electrical Engineering

Electrically, the scope of this project included extending existing campus electrical utilities (power and internet/telephony/communications) to the new addition, providing electrical service entrance equipment, both normal and emergency power distribution systems, standby power generation and associated transfer switching devices, lighting fixtures and controls, communications and fire alarm systems, and structured cabling distribution for IT/voice devices.

Plumbing & Fire Protection Engineering

The domestic water heating system consists of a tank type electric water heater with recirculation pump. The natural gas system serving the emergency generator is connected to the campus high-pressure loop with monitor regulators and a pulse meter. The fire protection system consists of wet automatic sprinklers compliant with NFPA-13, and includes a floor control valve for each floor, and fire department connection.

Structural Engineering

Structural Engineering provided a shallow spread footing substructure design, which consisted of composite metal deck floors supported by a steel-braced frame lateral system with steel-framed elevator and stair shafts.