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Goodwin Hall

635 Prices Fork Road
Goodwin Hall
Goodwin Hall

Goodwin Hall is the flagship building for the College of Engineering. It houses 40 instructional and research labs, eight classrooms, the Quillen Family Auditorium, and 150 offices for several engineering departments. 

More than classrooms, offices, and laboratories, Goodwin Hall is a ground-breaking experiment to measure even the smallest vibrations made inside the building. The project is designed as a test bed to track data related to building design and security, occupancy monitoring for emergency response, structural health monitoring, and more.

Roughly 240 accelerometers attached to 136 sensor mounts throughout the building’s ceilings will detect information on where people are within the structure, measure normal structural settling and wind loads, and track building movement resulting from earthquakes similar to the event that struck Virginia in 2011. A sensor array mounted outside the building will measure external vibrations, such as wind, the bustle of traffic on nearby Prices Fork Road, the thunderous boom of tens of thousands of Hokie fans celebrating a touchdown at Lane Stadium, and possible seismic activity.

Alice and Bill Goodwin

Alice and Bill Goodwin

Virginia Tech renamed its Signature Engineering Building in recognition of the philanthropy of Alice and Bill Goodwin in fall 2014.

The Richmond couple committed the largest single donation in Virginia Tech history to help fund construction of the 155,000-square-foot, $95.2 million facility.

Bill Goodwin received Virginia Tech’s University Distinguished Achievement Award in 2005, one of the university’s highest honors. He is retired chairman and president of CCA Industries, a holding company with assets that include golf resorts, hotels, and the CCA Financial Inc. technology- and equipment-leasing company.

Building History

Construction started in 2011 and finished in June 2014. The building hosted its first classes in August 2014. The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved the building naming in September 2014.

Originally Built:
2014
Map Grid:
K-2
Abbreviation / Number:
GOODW / 136
Coordinates:
37.23237, -80.42542