R emember all those college moves? Searching for boxes, piling clothes into the back seat, angling that lime-green vinyl sofa through the front door, trying to remember if the utilities were connected. Each episode seemed like an ordeal.

That was nothing.

Try moving an entire academic department. In the middle of the week. While school is in session. Such was the daunting task facing AEEM as it moved into Howe Hall in October. But before long, stacks of bulging boxes gave way to comfortable, custom-decorated cubicles and offices. Classes were held, business was conducted, and Howe quickly became home.

A team of representatives from AEEM, facilities planning and management, and other departments involved in the move met regularly since March. They planned every detail of the move, which included about 200 people, 3,000 boxes, and lab equipment ranging from computers to wind tunnels.

“Everybody moves,” said AEEM chair Tom Rudolphi. “You just sort everything out, put it in boxes, and hope for the best. You’ve got to try to keep a sense of humor about it.”

By the time Howe Hall was formally dedicated on October 23, AEEM faculty and staff were in place and getting used to their new facility—especially its size. But in this line of work, adaptation is the name of the game. As one faculty member noted while peering down a long hallway on the second level, “That would be a perfect place to conduct a speed-of-light measurement.”

Spoken by a true engineer.