No picture online, but printed in the paper:

From left: John Joyce, a grad student in strategic management, and Jeremy Zink a junior electrical engineering technology major, are shown how to use new technology by project management grad student Jerrett Harris Tuesday in the automation laboratory in Still Hall.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

NIU given $14M donation
CEET receives engineering software from Texas company

Article by:
Christopher Strupp - Staff Reporter
· cstrupp@northernstar.info

UGS, a Texas-based software company, has donated $14 million worth of software to the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology to help prepare students for employment after graduation.

This grant is the second contribution from UGS, which donated $5.6 million of software four years ago.

“Companies are looking for people with experience,” said Jan Brown, UGS director of internal and executive communication. “This software will give them real-world experience.”

Promod Vohra, acting dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, said more than 1,600 enrolled engineering students will have an opportunity to use the programs in their classes.

“The engineering building now has more than 600 computers in the building networked together,” Vohra said. He said the use of these technological tools will help students become more competitive globally.

The new software will include programs such as Factory CAD, which allows students to lay out a factory in a more detailed way than drawing lines, arcs and circles on regular paper, Vohra said. It also allows students the opportunity to work with "smart objects" that represent sources used in a factory - from basic floor layouts to overhead conveyors.

Students will have a better chance of succeeding in this field if they use the software, Brown said.

The College of Engineering and Engineering Technology has grown by almost 50 percent over the past eight years, Vohra said. That in itself is an example of the college providing an effective and student-friendly learning environment, he said.

Radha Balamuralikrishna, associate professor of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, said that the dean is taking a proactive approach. He said not many schools are bringing the kind of technology to students that Vohra is.

The engineering department hopes to maintain a working relationship with the company to enhance benefits for students, Vohra said.

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