Transforming Shepherd Labs

Shepherding in the future

The Shepherd Labs renovation is a multi-year project in two phases:

  • The first phase, completed in 2018, introduced the Gemini-Huntley Robotics Laboratory. In this two-story, 25,000-square-foot lab, groundbreaking research in robotics, AI, intelligent transportation, and environmental monitoring has flourished. The space also serves as home to the Patrick J. Starr Solar Vehicle Project Laboratory, enhancing hands-on project-based learning.

  • The second phase, scheduled to be complete in 2025, will bring robotics and Human-Centered Computing (HCC) researchers under one roof, advancing studies on the evolving relationships between humans, machines, and computing. The renovation also creates an experiential learning hub for Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics students and more.
Shepherd Labs building at dusk with lit windows
Graphic showing Human-Centered Computing at the center of six areas of study in Computer Science
(l-r) Harmanpreet Kaur, Loren Terveen, Joseph Konstan and Stevie Chancellor
Video thumbnail that says Human-Centered AI
3D virtual-reality representation of a brain scan

HCC Faculty Spotlight

Eight UMN Rocket Team members raising a large rocket in an empty green field
Five people kneel around a drone aircraft and a laptop
Two students in a lab wearing protective gowns and gloves hold a small box satellite

Hands-On Learning in Action

Maria Gini smiling next to a kneeling, person-shaped robot on a workbench

Maria Gini: Advancing Robotics and AI in Shepherd Labs

With dedicated spaces for interdisciplinary and groundbreaking research, leaders like Maria Gini—Distinguished University Teaching Professor in Computer Science & Engineering and U.S. Presidential Award winner—will thrive.

Inside Shepherd Labs 

Entry of building with the words Shepherd Laboratories above the doors
Robert Pepin_Hubert Humphrey moon rocks

The renovation honors Shepherd Labs’ legacy as the University’s Science Space Center, where scientists studied Moon rocks from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Today, experts will advance discoveries guided by the dean’s interdisciplinary vision, a joint effort from Computer Science & Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, and generous philanthropic support.

An opportunity to support the renovation, research, and students

Your gift to the Shepherd Labs renovation will help create an interdisciplinary space where faculty and students can come together to solve challenges once thought insurmountable. 

Support the renovation

For more information on building naming opportunities and other ways to support the faculty and students, contact Tanya Hauck at [email protected].