Misty's Home Page | Directions | Design

Welcome to the The Mathematics and Computer Science Building page.
Next time you come to our building, take a minute to note the various ways the architect incorporated mathematical concepts into the design.

THE ABBREVIATION FOR THE MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE BUILDING IS MSB.
   

Views of the Building

New Winter Pictures of and around the Building

Directions:

    To get to Kent State from various highways follow the directions on the KSU home page. The Mathematics and Computer Science Building is located two buildings southeast of the Student Center on Summit Street, between Campus Center Drive and Rhodes Road. The building is easily spotted due to the wavy roof. 
   On the Kent State University Maps and Directions page, our building is located on the south end of the KSU Campus Map.

Some interesting information and quotes about our building:

Building plan created by: Van Dijk, Johnson & Partners.

Steven Litt; The Plain Dealer, Sunday, May 30, 1993
   "Dedicated on May 6 [1993], the building sports the latest architectural fashion...
   The library roof ripples in a sine wave. The west facade leans at an angle. The curving, aluminum-coated back wall of the auditorium cantilevers our from a flat wall of brick like the cab of a truck. The computer science wing has a sloping roof and a facade of beige, stucco-style panels incised with - gasp! - a diagonal grid...
   The Lobby has a terrazzo floor with tiles in a spiral pattern derived from the Golden Section, the ancient Greek geometric formula for the creation of pleasing proportions."

Raymond Janson - Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees 
    "Let no student ignorant of math leave here."

Carol Cartwright - 10th President of Kent State University (at building dedication)
    "I assure you , (the architecture) cannot compare with the exciting work that is going on inside the building..."

Each floor of the Math building has its own unique mathematical feature:

• Floor 1: Door Windows are square on this floor. The floor in the main hall has tiles in a spiral pattern derived from the Golden Section, the ancient Greek geometric formula. The wall that leads to the main student lounge curves to the back entrance doors. The column holding up the the ceiling in the main lounge is cone shaped, not your average pillar. Not all classrooms on this floor are perfect squares.

• Floor 2: Door Windows are triangles on this floor. The wall surrounding the main department is curved. The seminar room actually hangs out over the first floor wall, even if you don't notice it when you're sitting in it. The windows at the front of the main offices and research institute are built with small grids inside the glass. The offices on the east side of the floor are divided up into odd and even numbers.

• Floor 3: The Bhargava Floor. This floor was dedicated to T.N. Bhargava and his Wife, without whom the Math and Computer Science building would not be complete. They donated $500,000 to complete the building. Door Windows are circles on this floor. The wall to the left curves out as you exit the elevators. The offices on the west side of the floor are divided up into odd and even numbers. The Faculty Lounge is an architectural beauty in itself. Ceiling high glass windows and asymmetrical ceiling are just part of the beauty the faculty members get to enjoy during their lunches. The Mathematics and Computer Science Library shows the inside view of the sine wave roof, covered in glossy white strips, which seems to roll above the books from one end to the other. Windows are placed at the top of the ceiling above the wave and also below the wave, letting in enough natural light to make anyone comfortable.

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