NI Engineering Education Webinar Series Focuses on Mechatronics

At the beginning of March, the Engineering Education Webinar Series presented by National Instruments is focusing on mechatronics education. As this topic is of main interest for our community, here is a brief description of the webinars as shown on the NI website, for all those who would be interested in joining:

Transforming Labs to Accelerate Student Understanding of Core Mechatronics Concepts

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 - 11 am CST
Presented by Dr. David Mac Nair, Director of Laboratory Development, Georgia Tech

Laboratory experiments are a mainstay of undergraduate engineering education. To increase inquiry-based aspects of the lab, a redesign is necessary. Future engineers must both gain an understanding of the fundamental concepts as well as build their engineering intuition on the how, why, where, and when these concepts must be applied. Dr. David MacNair explains the techniques he uses at one of the largest engineering universities in the world and shows how they can enhance the preparation of students to meet the growing needs of industry and research. 

Preparing Our Undergrads for Ambitious Engineering System Design Through Mechatronics

Wednesday. March 8, 2017 - 11 am CST
Presented by Dr. Tom Lee, Chief Education Officer, Quanser; Adjunct Professor of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo

Most engineering schools have introduced some form of mechatronic design into undergraduate curriculum over the past few years. Ambitious mechatronic design, however, refers to the skills and insight that the emerging generation of engineers needs to create driverless vehicles, travel to and from Mars, and technologically respond to severe physical ailments. But how do we close the gap between introductory concepts based on hobby-grade embedded platforms and the advanced methodologies required to perform modern mechatronic magic?

To establish a comprehensive framework for mechatronics education, Dr. Tom Lee has been working with institutions around the world. Technologically, he has worked with commercial partners to establish flexible, scalable, and persistent lab platforms. Pedagogically, he has been working to reconcile the theoretical foundations of the engineering sciences and mathematics with the digital realities of modern design. Practically, he has explored techniques to make new teaching strategies consistent with the course structure of academic programs.

In this webinar, see an overview of these new approaches in the context of global trends fundamentally changing if not challenging the way we teach undergraduates.

To find out more about the webinars and to register, visit the NI website.