Left: Pratt owns and operates a Bell JetRanger helicopter "user facility" outfitted with a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made environmental processes. Learn more about the Helicopter Observational Platform (HOP) Middle: Pratt owns and operates a fully enclosed, six-sided virtual reality environment. The Duke Immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE Tank), which is located in the Fitzpatrick Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and Applied Science, is the only facility of its kind in the Southeast and the seventh such system in the world, and part of a range of research tools operated by the Visualization Technology Group. Right: The Fitzpatrick Center is one of Duke University's first facilities to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) building standards. Learn more about our LEED certification.

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2009 Fall Tour Schedule

Engineering tours are NOT offered from August 6th to August 23rd.*

The Fall engineering tour schedule begins on Monday, August 24th, and tours are offered Monday through Friday @ 11:30 am (please see holiday schedule below for the dates engineering tours are not offered). Tours are NOT offered on Saturday or Sunday, and are only offered at 11:30 a.m. on Monday through Friday.

Reservations are necessary. If you would like to sign up for a tour, send an email at least 48 hours in advance to gct2@duke.edu, along with the number in your party. The Pratt tour schedule allows visitors the opportunity to attend both the University tour on Monday through Friday, as well as the Pratt tour--which lasts approximately 60 minutes. Our tours showcase Pratt's newest facilities, typical labs and classrooms, as well as cover information about the various opportunities available to engineering students. Please note, our tour guide is not equipped to answer questions about financial aid, admissions requirements, etc. Those questions should be directed to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

All tours begin in the 2nd floor lobby of the Teer building (FYI, the ground level main entrance of Teer is the 2nd floor). You may park in the visitor parking section of the Bryan Center PGIV Parking Garage. Print out these directions to take with you.

Because we rely on the expertise of our students as tour guides, tours will NOT be taking place on the following dates:

• August 6th through August 23rd (end of Summer Session 2, Finals, Interim, and Freshman Orientation)*
• Friday, October 2nd through Tuesday, October 6th (Fall Break, tours will resume on Wednesday, October 7th)
• Wednesday, November 25th through Friday, November 27th (Thanksgiving Holiday, tours will resume on Monday, November 30th)
• Monday, December 7, 2009 through Monday, January 15, 2010 (Holiday Break--check back in December for the Spring 2010 tour schedule)

Questions about Pratt tours can be directed to Lupita Temiquel-McMillian at 919-660-5573 or lupita.mcmillian@duke.edu.

Questions about the University tours and/or Information Sessions, please call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 919-684-3214, or visit https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/campus/visiting_tours.html.

The Fitzpatrick Center

The Fitzpatrick Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and Applied Sciences (FCIEMAS) is designed to position the Pratt School and its partners to make major advancements in the fields of bioengineering, photonics, materials science and environmental engineering. It will support specialized initiatives that drive interdisciplinary activities, and encourage the creative interactions essential for making significant progress in these fields. Students working in the Fitzpatrick Center will learn that major advances occur at the boundaries between disciplines.

This comprehensive facility provides extensive wet bench laboratories, departmental offices, teaching labs, and other lab support spaces, and provide direct access to the café. A highlight will be a state-of-the-art cleanroom for nanotechnology research. The center’s carefully designed interaction spaces and proximity to the Medical Center and colleagues in photonics and materials engineering foster highly productive collaborative projects. The center is also the home of Pratt's computational resources.

The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke

The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke University is a 6,000 square foot live-in research laboratory operated by Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. The Home Depot Smart Home, part of a Duke Smart Home Program, creates a dynamic "living laboratory" environment that contributes to the innovation and demonstration of future residential building technology. The central concept of this project is our belief that smart homes can improve that quality of life for people of all ages and incomes.

Hudson Hall

Hudson Hall is the oldest of the buildings in the Engineering Complex. It was built in 1948 when the Engineering School moved to Duke's West Campus and was known as "Old Red." An Annex was built onto the back of the building in 1972, and in 1992 the building was expanded again and renamed Hudson Hall to honor Fitzgerald S. "Jerry" Hudson (E'46).

Hudson Hall is home to all four departments in the Pratt School of Engineering, as well as some of the school's laboratories, offices, and classrooms.

Teer Building

The Nello L. Teer Library Building opened in 1984. It is located next to Hudson Hall, separated by an azalea-filled courtyard and a walkway. The Teer Engineering Building houses the Vesic Library, the Dean's Office, and more.

The Vesic Library for Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, named in memory of Dr. Aleksandar Vesic, houses books and journals supporting the teaching and research interests in the following engineering disciplines: biomedical, civil, computer, electrical, materials science and mechanical. The Vesic Library also houses the university's computer science holdings, a microcomputer cluster, and terminals providing online access to the entire university library system.

LSRC - B Wing

The Levine Science Research Center (LSRC), named for Leon Levine, the CEO of Family Dollar Stores, is a 341,000-square-foot facility located behind Hudson Hall and was opened in 1994. The LSRC is a multipurpose facility housing classrooms, student labs and the Love Family Auditorium, and shared by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Pratt School of Engineering, Department of Pharmacology, the Molecular Cancer Biology group, our NSF-Engineering Research Center, the Cell and Molecular Biology group, the Center for Macromolecular Structure, Center for Cellular and Biosurface Engineering, and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience.

When LSRC opened, Duke hailed it as a paradigm shift in how universities coordinate academics, research and administration. Not only does the LSRC enhance laboratory space, faculty offices and teaching facilities campus-wide, but it fosters collaboration between researchers from a variety of disciplines and cooperation between administrative units.

Additional facilities information...

Below is a list of common Pratt facility related links.

• Pratt Research Facilities
• Pratt Computer and IT Support