08-26-2010 10:41 AM
Today’s students will be the future engineers and scientists in the workplace who tackle society’s increasingly large and complex challenges. The electronics and telecommunications (EET/TET) program at Texas A&M University (TAMU) is developing courses with an emphasis on innovation and a holistic approach to product development. By selecting industry-accepted software including NI Multisim, Ultiboard, and LabVIEW, TAMU is creating a dynamic learning environment in a range of classes, starting in the sophomore year with the Circuits Analysis II course and culminating with the senior design Capstone project.
A recent TAMU Capstone project team, FourTel, recognized the need for quick and reliable public communication when emergency situations arose. They designed an operational product prototype called Interactive FM Radio Messaging Service (InFoRMS), which an operator uses to send real-time text messages to remote and mobile LED marquees using high-definition (HD) FM transmission. The team won first place in a campus-wide competition and received a cash prize and legal assistance to obtain a provisional patent for their idea. A local company is in the process of licensing the intellectual property (IP) for commercialization.
Every year university teams worldwide participate in the Formula Student competition run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Student teams are given the challenge of designing, building, marketing, and racing a single-seat race car. Students at the University of Manchester chose Multisim software to simulate the entire wiring loom and power distribution circuits of a vehicle prior to buying any components or printed circuit boards (PCBs), which saved the team time and unnecessary cost.
Students at the University of Manchester practiced professional
design principles using Multisim software.
Students in these programs are graduating prepared for the workforce with an in-depth understanding of innovation, system-level thinking, and entrepreneurship – a solid foundation in engineering and product design principles.