The University of Oklahoma’s historic structural engineering laboratory was made possible because of a generous donation from Donald G. Fears. The visionary OU structural engineering professor Tom Murray used this donation to begin the construction of the first research facility on what is now OU’s South Research Campus. Murray and his colleagues gathered donations of brick and steel from companies such as Acme Brick and Star Metal Buildings, and eventually assembled all the ingredients that make up this laboratory.
In 2006 Chris Ramseyer led an effort to expand the research lab portion of the lab by 50%. This expansion was completed in early 2008. Three months later Ramseyer started construction of the “Advanced Concrete Research Laboratory” to the Fears Lab grounds.
Fears Lab Facilities consist of:
Description | Square feet of space |
|---|---|
| Office Space – Including conference room, 2 faculty offices, 1 Lab technician office, 1 graduate assistant office and the ODOT bridge squad. | 3,483 |
| Original High Bay – Including 40’ x 60’ strong floor, 5 ton under-hung crane, 1 cu yd rotary concrete mixer, fabrication shop area, electronics and computer lab room | 8,435 |
| Lab Expansion – Including (3) 3 ton jib beams, storage racking system | 4,218 |
Advanced Concrete Research Laboratory – Including 7 slab on grade test pits | 1,800 |
Total lab research space of 14,453 sq. ft.
Fears Lab now hosts structural engineering and structural mechanics research efforts at the University of Oklahoma, as well as some structural engineering faculty and staff.
Please use the following link for equipment available at Fears Lab:
Fears Lab Equipment List (PDF)
