Trafton Science Center was completed in 1972 and named in honor of Gilbert H.Trafton, professor of biology and for some time chairperson of the Division of Science and Mathematics.
The Trafton Science Center addition houses various science, engineering and technology classrooms, offices and laboratories. MSU's Water Resource Center is housed here, and the Departments of Social Work and Anthropology have offices in the main Trafton Building.
With the completion of Trafton Addition, undergraduate students in MSU's two engineering and three technology programs complete their degree requirements in state-of-the-art facilities which are among the best in the Upper Midwest. An interactive television system enables one of the classrooms to be linked by fiber optics to any other Minnesota public institution: pre-engineering coursework is offered to students at several surrounding community colleges. The entire facility is handicapped accessible. Student study spaces are dispersed throughout the building.
