As its most recent effort to climb the ranks of engineering schools nationwide, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced the formation of its new “Center for Engineering Innovation & Design.”

Described in a release posted on its website Friday, the center will bring together coursework and extracurricular activities in a new 8,500-square foot facility within SEAS. Led by professor and former Segway engineer John Morrell ’86, the center will offer introductory design courses to students of all majors as well as capstone courses for those majoring in engineering.

“The Center will play an essential role in promoting a culture of engineering on the Yale campus that will attract and retain top engineering students,” Engineering School Dean T. Kyle Vanderlick said in the release. “By enabling engineering faculty to bring hands-on design experiences into the classroom, the CEID will contribute to SEAS’ ability to produce a uniquely Yale brand of ‘Y-shaped’ engineers who apply intellectual depth and breadth to innovate engineered solutions with purpose.”

The center will open in the 2011-’12 school year in a temporary location and move into its new facility when construction finishes in September 2012.

Announcement of the center was delayed when a first press release on Thursday was hacked.