A visit to the University

I had to go to UQ (University of Queensland) for a work related meeting.

Parked near the Dutton park end of the Green Bridge and walked toward electrical engineering.

Things have changed (progress?) since I was there.

My recollection is that this building used to be called the "Hawken Building" after some famous engineer.  In a sort of basement was the Prentice computer centre.  I assume the mainframes were tucked away there.  To thr right in this picture, you can see the side of a big buidling.  That space used to be populated by a couple of large demountables with rows and rows of computer terminals.  these were dumb character based terminals all connected by serial (RS232 I guess) to said mainframes in the basement of the Hawken building.

The building has gone through a face lift.  As well as sporting a mobile phone base station phallus,   it appears to now be called the Prentice building or words to that effect.  The tiny basement office that one used to go cap in hand to attempt to negotiate permission to dial in directly or to resolve some minor digital glitch has been replaced by a massive ground floor entrance.  The big ground floor lecture theatre (what was its name) and the lower ground lecture theatre B18 are still there but have new numbers. 

I walked through the old entrance and past that forgotten name lecture theatre and out the back door down past mining and met and mechanical engineering to electrical engineering.  The power lab has been replaced with a superb modern building where the architects have created huge covered community spaces etc etc etc.

In my day (you know when I was a lad) the only coffee available on campus was instant in a white foam cup at some ridiculous price available from the 'refec'.  well elec eng now sports not one but two coffee shops.  Two coffee shops!

This one in the middle of the place.   

Behind it through the glass windows was a tutorial room with students sitting in clusters and people with ... get this... fluro vests with 'tutor' printed on them.

To the left of the photo, two lecture rooms with glass walls.

How do these students work.  The coffee right there tempting them.  They can look through the glass walls and see it.  And where do they get the money from. Ah yes I can answer that one - mum and dad.