Engineers Help Bring Aggie Square to Life
After eight years of planning and development, Aggie Square opened its doors on the University of California, Davis' Sacramento campus on May 2. Among the first experts bringing Aggie Square's story of innovation to life are members of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
On the ground floor of Aggie Square's central building is UC Davis Tech Foundry, a 7,500-square-foot device development facility providing end-to-end design, development and manufacturing services to bring any product or engineering idea to life. With the innovation district bringing together the cutting-edge in academic and private research, Tech Foundry expects to expand its partnership base as more people move in and use the space.
The Aggie Square facility is in addition to Tech Foundry's original location at the Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility in Davis. The two spaces will work in concert, enabling direct support to both the Sacramento and Davis campuses. The Aggie Square facility allows Tech Foundry to expand its team, increase its services with larger, state-of-the-art tools and provide educational experiences open to all.
During the grand opening, the Department of Biomedical Engineering hosted an open house at UC Davis Tech Foundry, where attendees learned about the real-world impact engineers and biomedical researchers are having on the Sacramento region.
The open house also had information stations about the Department of Biomedical Engineering's educational offerings at the innovation district.
The department is set to launch the first graduate program specifically designed for Aggie Square: the nine-month Master of Engineering in Medical Device Development, beginning fall 2025. Classes combine hands-on training and entrepreneurial know-how to fast-track careers in industry, leveraging the strengths of the nearby UC Davis Medical Center and Sacramento's burgeoning biotech industry.
For UC Davis undergraduates, the department offers a clinical immersion experience through the Quarter at Aggie Square program, equipping students with the skills to identify medical needs, design a product to solve those needs and navigate federal approval with a sound business plan.
The grand opening event, which featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, was attended by hundreds of people from all around the Greater Sacramento region. The event celebrated the completion of Aggie Square's first structures, which include three state-of-the-art buildings featuring wet and dry laboratories, modern classrooms, collaborative community areas and various flexible-use areas.
"This is the end of Aggie Square's first chapter, but this story is just beginning," Chancellor Gary May said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Learn More About the Aggie Square Opening Celebration
Read more about UC Davis Tech Foundry's impact at Aggie Square
