TRP MES

TECHNOLOGY REINVESTMENT PROJECT MANUFACTURING EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Apprenticeship-Oriented Education and Extension Training for Semiconductor/Electronics Manufacturing Technology Reinvestment Project #1221

Award Dates: 1 July 94 - 30 June 98

The University of New Mexico (UNM) will use existing Manufacturing Engineering Program (MEP) and Management of Technology (MOT) faculty to coordinate the use of technical and business manufacturing experts from regional and national companies, private consultants, and federal laboratories to provide lectures, curriculum definition, apprenticeship-oriented company and federal lab site lectures, practicums and mentoring. UNM will develop new multi-disciplinary, across-the-curriculum, apprenticeship-oriented graduate courses in manufacturing engineering, utilizing teaching labs to integrate manufacturing experts (with an emphasis on electronics and semiconductor manufacturing). The courses and facilities are developed under this and the related TRP project entitled "Semiconductor/Electronics Manufacturing Experts in the Classroom".

Nearly forty business entities or affiliates, including Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratories, Philips Laboratory, and the State of New Mexico, will contribute equipment, student fellowships, practicums, internships, projects, curriculum development, adjunct faculty, and program support.

This project seeks to expand the practicum facilities and opportunities available to MEP students. In addition, computer software tools will be developed which will help to comprise an active learning environment that will enable students to understand the dynamics of manufacturing processes and industries. Also, UNM will work with minority engineering and business student populations and regional technical-vocational and disability-oriented institutions to facilitate bi-directional instructional interactions; work with regional technical-vocational institutions to develop courses for university credit; and will work with the State of New Mexico to develop an integrated bi-directional video communications network between major universities and Federal Laboratories, major companies in the Albuquerque region, and small vendors and manufacturers.

The project will assist individuals displaced by the U.S. defense reduction activities, and provide state-of-the-art industry technology information to Federal Laboratory workers, while providing a high quality work force to manufacturing companies, helping them to become more competitive in the global economy. In addition, Los Alamos National Laboratory will be participating through the Department of Energy Work for Others program to assist UNM in developing, improving and testing educational tools.

Contact:

Professor J.E. Wood,
Director, Manufacturing Engineering Program
MTTC Building, Suite 175
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87106
phn: 505-272-7000
fax: 505-272-7152
email: jw@unm.edu