Univ of Illinois Micro + Nanotechnology Lab 2016 Highlights Report | Page 18

Increasing diversity in engineering
ECE 444 Lab opens in MNTL

EDUCATION

Increasing diversity in engineering

ECE Associate Professor Lynford Goddard is helping the University of Illinois launch an academic redshirt initiative that provides bright , low-income students with a bridge year as freshmen to prepare for the rigorous engineering curriculum . This effort , which is part of a $ 5 million NSF initiative that includes five other schools , will award scholarships to 800 students . Goddard is also well known for his support of two summer programs : the Girls Learning Electrical Engineering ( GLEE ) for high school women students and the Research Experience for Teachers for high school and community college faculty to develop innovative curriculum .
The famous ECE 444 undergraduate Fab Lab moved to MNTL in 2016 from its previous home in Everitt Lab .

ECE 444 Lab opens in MNTL

A premier semiconductor and bionanotechnology research facility , MNTL expanded its training mission in Fall 2016 with the addition of the popular Undergraduate Fab Lab , which was relocated from its longtime home in Everitt Lab . The 2-year $ 3.7 million project involved renovating space at MNTL and moving equipment from Everitt Lab , which is undergoing its own renovation as the new home for the Bioengineering Department . Part of the ECE 444 Theory and Fabrication of Integrated Circuits course , the Fab Lab enables 250 students each year to learn how to fabricate integrated circuits using modern equipment donated from industry . Companies like Intel , IBM , Texas Instruments , Micron , Lam Research , Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company , and many others value the lab course because of how it prepares students .
ECE Professor Lynford Goddard , who is well known for his efforts to increase opportunities for underrepresented groups in engineering , helps a 2016 GLEE camp student with her circuit design .
MNTL | 16 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign