Officially opened in May 10, 2012, as a part of University at Buffalo's 2020 Strategic Plan, construction of Barbara and Jack Davis Hall, known as Davis Hall, started in 2009 with ground-breaking and finished in late 2011 with a construction cost of $75m including nearly $49.6m from New York State funding and the rest from corporate and individual endowments. Besides UB Engineering, Davis Hall is the new host to both Computer Science and Electrical Engineering departments featuring several new laboratories and research centers.The building features numerous state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories to improve quality of research and reach university's projected goals in extension of faculties and scope of cutting-edge research in UB Engineering along with transforming UB into a leading public research university in a national-wide perspective.The building is constructed by Turner Construction and its exterior design is a reminiscent to printed circuit board representing interaction among faculties and students and is designed by Perkins and Will firm. The environmental-friendly building is constructed in accordance with LEED's Gold certificate standards.NamingThe building is named after industrialist-turned-political candidate Jack Davis and his wife Barbara, who made the largest endowment ($5m) among individuals to fund the project. The couple made their first donation of $1.5m to fund the project in 2008. Jack, a UB Engineering graduate in 1955, and his wife donated an additional $3.5m to the project making themselves the people who have made the largest endowment in university's history with $5m endowment.
