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Lehigh University receives $10 million gift to launch Jackson Laboratory for first-year engineering
Stacy Wescoe//March 18, 2026
The Business Innovation Building on Lehigh University’s Asa Packer campus PHOTO/JEFFREY TOTARO
Lehigh University receives $10 million gift to launch Jackson Laboratory for first-year engineering
Stacy Wescoe//March 18, 2026//
Bethlehem’s Lehigh University has announced that it has received a $10 million gift to create dedicated space within its Packard Laboratory to establish a home for the First-Year Rossin Engineering (FYRE) program for first-year students that has emerged as part of Lehigh’s Inspiring the Future Makers Strategy.
The gift, from David Jackson ’67, Patricia Jackson, Suzanne Jackson, and the Suzanne and David Jackson Foundation, will create the Jackson Laboratory, an open-concept studio designed to immerse engineering students in hands-on problem solving, providing students with 3D printers, laser cutters and other evolving technologies to tackle real-world challenges, from advancing sustainable infrastructure to developing energy storage solutions.
“The Jackson Laboratory will solidify Lehigh as a leader in cultivating critical thinkers and doers, engineers who are best prepared to create, to lead and to succeed,” said Joseph J. Helble, president of Lehigh University.
The FYRE program is currently a pilot involving 34 students that will expand to all first-year students in Lehigh’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science by 2028.
Unlike a traditional course for first-year engineering students that focuses almost exclusively on math and science courses with some engineering theory, FYRE immediately introduces students to hands-on learning, research and capstone projects. Students will actively engage in solving authentic engineering problems with broad societal relevance, equipping them to meet the demands of today’s workplace.
