MANCHESTER — The mill building that was once the “Home of Pandora Sweaters” may soon be the birthplace of the next generation of computer scientists — homebred talent, trained by the state university to work in the state.

The fabric mill, one of the first of its kind in Manchester's millyard district, is the last of the antebellum structures to be renovated for the 21st century.

Pandora Woolen Mill is best remembered for the60,000 sweaters produced by 2,000 workers working 1,000 looms through the first half of the 20th century until the mill's eventual decline and closure.

But the mill, like others in the complex owned by one of entrepreneur Dean Kaman's companies, has been restored.

Kaman, founder of the FIRST robotics competition which encourages young people to become involved in the application of technology, is now the landlord to the University of New Hampshire-Manchester's Emerging Technology Center.

The UNH center will work to encourage the study of computer science to create new generations of innovation.

A first step will be taken this week, as UNH-Manchester Dean Ali Rafieymehr will meet with Manchester School Supt. Thomas Brennan to discuss a program to expose high school students to the study of computer science through a for-credit course on the university's city campus.

“We will talk about it to see what we can do tho help the Manchester schools,” Rafieymehr said.

Drawing high school students to the campus is an early strike in the battle to get more of them to consider computer science majors when they get to college, he said.

Rafieymehr said there are a lot of students who show an early interest, but it wanes.

“Students that come to college are all excited about computer science; they think computer science is surfing the Web and they're good at that,” Rafieymehr said. “But then they start taking programming language and math courses and they say 'wait a minute, this isn't what I thought.'”

Rafieymehr sees part of the answer as an early introduction to computer science and programming languages.

This academic year, he launched a course for Manchester middle school students which runs through the end of this month. Taught personally by Rafieymehr, students are introduced to computer programming through a language known as “Alice”. They use Alice to create three-dimensional videos, exposing them to the possibilities in mastery of a computer language.

“When I talk to high school students, they say they don't like computer science,” Rafieymehr said. “They don't realize that almost everything we see and everything we touch has computer science in it.”

Rafieymehr said he wants to build a bridge from the high schools and community colleges to the four-year computer science degree. It is a need he sees in an intellectual capital gap confronting technology companies in the state.

High-tech entrepreneur Mark Galvin, head of the New Hampshire Innovation Commercialization Center, estimates that New Hampshire companies need 1,000 more computer engineers than are currently in the workforce.

Once the bridge to a enrollment in a four-year technology program is crossed, Rafieymehr wants to move the students toward a hands-on approach to learning how to innovate.

The Emerging Technology Center will give computer science students real work on real projects for real companies with long to-do lists and a shortage of talent.

“This is going to be a revenue-generating entity, students will be paid for it and the companies will get charged for it,” Rafieymehr said. “Students graduate having worked on real projects, not just term projects.”

The center will move toward full operation in January, the Manchester school initiative will help recruit students over the years.

“The program will start small, but I definitely see this is going to grow much faster, it's going to be a technology showcase of the Manchester area,” Rafieymehr said. We have support from a few of the companies around here and more people are hearing about it and we are building better relationships. People are excited.

billsmith@unionleader.com