Wichita-based Cybertron International, Kansas' largest personal computer manufacturer, has pledged a gift valued at $2.5 million to provide computers, monitors and five years of desktop support for the new Experiential Engineering Building at Wichita State University.

The gift commitment to the WSU Foundation was announced at a news conference today at the headquarters of Cybertron, founded in 1997 by three Wichita State alumni. Today, the company employs about 130 people building and selling computers and providing managed IT services.

WSU President John Bardo hailed Cybertron as the kind of tech-based company that Wichita State seeks to partner with as it develops the Innovation Campus and pursues a mission of helping the region’s economy grow and diversify. The Experiential Engineering Building, set to open in January 2017, is under construction on the Innovation Campus.

Wichita State will recognize Cybertron’s donation by placing its name on the Flight Simulation and Gaming Hub, one of 25 labs in the Experiential Engineering Building. Specially built computers for gaming are a major part of Cybertron’s business. A gaming facility in the hub will offer educational and recreational opportunities for WSU students, Bardo said.

“Gaming is a huge teaching tool and one where we have a lot of potential for growth,” he said. “I’m excited that Cybertron wants to support what’s happening at Wichita State. The entrepreneurial mindset these successful alumni exemplify will be a tremendous inspiration to our students.”

The donation of hundreds of computers as well as ongoing tech support is a substantial boost for the Experiential Engineering Building project, said Royce Bowden, dean of the WSU College of Engineering.

“Cybertron’s leadership shares our vision for how important the EEB labs will be to the success of our students,” Bowden said. “They are individuals who recognize the value of preparing graduates with not only advanced engineering skills, but also a creative confidence and entrepreneurial bent. We’re enormously grateful for their investment in WSU students.”

Cybertron is led by Ahmed Aziz, CEO; Shadi Marcos, president and CFO; and Emad Mekhail, COO. Aziz earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Wichita State and is working toward a doctorate in engineering. Marcos graduated from Wichita State in 1996 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is pursuing an MBA at another institution. Mekhail also attended WSU. Their connection to Wichita is strong in large part because of their time at Wichita State.

“All of us recognize the importance of education,” Aziz said. “We’re particularly excited to see WSU taking giant steps toward developing students who can contribute creatively to a world that is changing so rapidly, especially in the area of technology.”

Said Marcos: “We identify with Wichita State because we were all just students when we set out to start our own business. The first few years were very tough, but we persevered and now find ourselves in a position to help other young men and women do so as well.”

The computers that Cybertron donates to Wichita State will be branded with WSU logos and colors. Recognition of the in-kind gift also will include naming the lobby of the Experiential Engineering Building for Cybertron, said Keith Pickus, vice president for corporate and foundation relations for the WSU Foundation.

“This gift is an extraordinary investment in Wichita State, its faculty and its students,” Pickus said. “It represents a strong belief in the university’s mission and, we hope, is the start of a partnership that will strengthen the contributions that both WSU and Cybertron make to the economic wellbeing of this region.”