David L. Archer President | Christian Brothers University website

Christian Brothers University recently unveiled and dedicated the St. Benilde Packaging Laboratory, a significant addition to their engineering facilities. The lab is named after Dr. Siripong Malasri, CPP, and funded by a generous donation from Richard Gadomski, a CBU alumnus.

President Archer highlighted the significance of the new lab, stating, “This building is named after Saint Benilde Romançon, the first Christian Brother to be canonized after St. John Baptist de La Salle, who founded the order. In his lifetime, he quietly introduced many innovations to the teaching profession and to education itself. It is fitting then that our St. Benilde Hall has become a home to educational innovations at CBU. It is also fitting that this addition to the building has been made possible and fully funded by a CBU alumnus in order to continue and expand those innovations.”

The expansion, led by Fleming Architects and Linkous Construction, added about 4,700 square feet to the original building, primarily for use by CBU’s Packaging Program. Dr. Malasri expressed his excitement about the project, stating, “I couldn’t be more excited about creating such an exclusive and innovative program for our students and our university. My early vision for this project started with a dream about a packaging institute for our collaboration with industry partners.”

The enhanced St. Benilde Hall now includes an ISTA Certified Transport Testing Laboratory and a future ISTA Certified Thermal Testing Laboratory, positioning CBU to be a leader in packaging education and research. Dr. Malasri also mentioned the collaboration with industry partners such as FedEx, International Paper, Smith + Nephew, Medtronic, and Stryker, which will be elevated to a higher level with the new lab spaces and equipment.

The new laboratories feature state-of-the-art equipment like vibration tables, drop testers, and environmental chambers, enhancing students' learning experiences and expanding the university's capabilities in cold chain packaging, medical device packaging, and commercial testing. Dr. Malasri emphasized that the program has the potential to become a revenue generator for the university while providing valuable services to the community.