North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is celebrating the opening of a new research facility. 

Governor Roy Cooper and Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan were among those attending the Thursday ribbon-cutting for the Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research and Innovation Complex on the N.C. A&T campus.

College of Engineering Dean Robin Coger hosted the event, where she thanked voters for approving a $2 billion statewide bond package in 2016 that helped fund the facility.

Governor Cooper had praise for the facility’s namesake, Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr.

"He believes, as I do, that every single child in North Carolina deserves a sound, basic education," said Cooper. "That equity and inclusion should be our guide."  

The complex occupies 130,000 square feet on the East Greensboro campus.

The four-story building houses state-of-the-art equipment including a 3D holographic design studio, an augmented driving simulator that recreates real-world conditions, and a robotics facility.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misgendered Dean Robin Coger.