The Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has received a $3.5 million gift from Texas Instruments (TI) to develop state-of-the-art teaching and project labs for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The TI Laboratories will be located in the Cockrell School’s Engineering Education and Research Center (EERC), set to open in 2017.
The EERC will feature 430,000 square feet of open and flexible space for multidisciplinary learning and student projects. The center will also be the new home of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Cockrell School’s largest department.
“TI understands the value of a well-rounded workforce and has been a long-standing partner in our efforts to bolster hands-on learning opportunities for our students,” said Ahmed Tewfik, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Thanks to TI’s extraordinary support, our students will be well positioned for the engineering jobs of the future.”
One of the Cockrell School’s primary initiatives is to provide engineering students with multiple opportunities to engage in hands-on projects. Inside the TI Laboratories, electrical and computer engineering students will work together to build devices such as sensors, drones and wearable technologies, gaining technical and project management skills for career success.
The TI Laboratories will house project-based undergraduate systems, analog and communications classes, while also providing much-needed space for senior design project classes. A portion of the gift will be used to equip the labs with the latest TI technologies. The company will conduct annual reviews to ensure equipment is current, optimally used and meeting the needs of students and faculty members.
“Students are critical to creating innovative solutions for the world’s biggest challenges,” said Greg Delagi, senior vice president and general manager of embedded processing for Texas Instruments and member of the Cockrell School’s Engineering Advisory Board. “By putting TI technology into the capable hands of these future innovators, we hope to accelerate their work and help professors address the ever-evolving needs of engineering.
A longtime supporter of the Cockrell School and UT Austin, TI is a partner in several research efforts and provides numerous student internships that often turn into successful careers. Since 2010, more than 70 electrical and computer engineering students have received TI scholarships and fellowships. Of the more than 500 UT Austin alumni currently working for the company, approximately 300 are graduates of the Cockrell School.
