Jim Hedrick
Union College
Blank Line
For several years the ECE department has received requests from engineering students for a place with electronic parts, hand tools, and test equipment to work on projects that are not connected to any formal course. In response to this request I have developed what we, at Union, are calling the “Discovery Lab”. The name was chosen to reflect the lab’s purpose of developing a lifelong love of learning in our students. The student’s projects allow them to apply material presented in classes and explore new concepts on their own. As the Discovery Lab has grown, there have been requests from liberal arts students to work on projects in the lab. Some of these projects have been connected with a formal course and some have not, but they have all had an electronics aspect. In some cases the facilities needed by these students are not available in their home departments. The Discovery Lab is student driven and as a result collaborations have resulted between engineering and liberal arts students that have benefited both. In addition to the space and equipment provided, I am available to help with technical questions, which may be beyond the student’s experience.
This talk will highlight projects completed in the discovery lab by engineering and liberal arts students, the equipment currently available in the lab, and the lab management structure we have developed.