Keysight Technologies Equipment Modernizes Undergraduate Electronics Labs

Illinois Institute of Technology has received a gift from Keysight Technologies to modernize the electronics testing and measuring equipment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Walter L. and Virginia B. Cherry Electronics Laboratory.

Undergraduate students will use Keysight’s state-of-the-art testing and measurement equipment in their hands-on engineering laboratories and independent design projects by student organizations, gaining industry-relevant skills that are highly valued in the engineering profession.

“I am deeply committed to modernizing Armour College’s instructional lab facilities in which our students learn, particularly in ways that bring industry-relevant technologies and ideas into the fold. We are indebted to Keysight Technologies for their partnership in helping us accomplish this important goal,” says Carol and Ed Kaplan Armour College Dean of Engineering Endowed Chair Kenneth T. Christensen.

Mark Wallace, Keysight senior vice president, says, “We’re very pleased to engage with Illinois Institute of Technology in provisioning its teaching laboratories with the same type of equipment students will use in the industry. This collaboration reflects Keysight’s strong and long-standing interest in working with the education community to help shape the next generation of engineers and innovators. We look forward to continued engagement with Illinois Institute Technology.”

The donation supplies 12 lab stations with a suite of equipment that is essential to the profession, which students will use to build and test projects. Each station includes a digital multimeter, waveform and function generator, oscilloscopes, power supply, and precision source measure unit.
 
The devices are designed to be easy to learn and easy to use. They also support remote access and connectivity, giving students the ability to utilize the equipment even during remote learning for laboratory courses. 

“Our curriculum and laboratory experiments have evolved very rapidly over the years,” says Jafar Saniie, chair of the ECE department and the Walter and Harriet Filmer Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Modernizing laboratories and the associated equipment is a top priority for our department, and this donation greatly contributes to our strategic goals.”
 
Doug Baney, Keysight corporate director of education, says, “This equipment donation not only provides excellence with industry-level electronics test equipment inside the lab but also supports remote experiential learning for students unable to attend laboratory classes on campus. These flexible solutions help create industry-ready students with outcomes appreciated by the students, the university, and industry.”