MURFREESBORO, Tenn — “Out of the Blue,” the television magazine program for Middle Tennessee State University, introduced its new format in the September episode, which features an expanded second segment and video package by me — this month being an insider’s look at the brand-new Applied Engineering Building.

My goal for this package was to highlight the significance of this state-of-the-art facility for students, faculty and the campus community, while also detailing just how the Engineering Technology Department has evolved.

The expanded education resources, like specialized laboratories and classrooms, showcase how much has changed since the department’s time in the outdated Voorhies Engineering Technology Building, adding to the enthusiasm for advancing engineering education at MTSU.

The story includes interviews with Dr. Greg Van Patten, dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, Dr. Ken Currie, chair of Engineering Technology, and many students from the Mechatronics Engineering Program, all detailing just how influential this new building will be.

“So, the new building is going to be a game-changer for us. It is about $74.8 million; it’s 90,000 square feet and three stories. It’s a huge increase in the amount of space we’ve got compared to what we had in Voorhies,” says Van Patten.

“The department has been split between multiple facilities for the past several years. And this is going to bring everybody together; it’s going to increase the amount of space for students to get hands-on experience. So, it’s really going to be a huge improvement in our programs and our ability to provide state-of-the-art learning for our students.”

Watch the segment below:

Working on this package allowed me to see firsthand how the Applied Engineering Building represents more than just a new structure on campus. Instead, it serves as a foundation for innovation, hands-on learning, and the continued growth of MTSU’s acclaimed engineering programs.

To watch, listen

• “Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

• It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; WKRN+ at 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon Sundays; and streamed on the MTSU Jazz Network through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

• It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

— Karli Sutton (Karli.Sutton@mtsu.edu)