2013 Issue

22 classes to provide engineering-based activi- ties and learning modules. Efforts are also made to help the university students stay in engineering programs by offering advising, peer mentoring and activities to engage them both academically and socially. For upcoming students, the University of Utah (U of U), as an example, offers summer camps which focus on the core engineering programs and provide pre engineering stu- dents the chance to work together to solve problems and experience various aspects of engineering first hand. According to the U of U, the university has increased the number of engineering graduates by 84 percent since the begin- ning of the initiative. The College of Engi- neering will graduate about 700 engineers and computer scientists this year. Students will be uniquely positioned to take their place in the technology economy. About 100 undergraduate students per year and 100 graduate students at any given time take classes or do research in the Nanofabrication Laboratory of the James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building. This 208,000-square-foot facil- ity has an 18,000-square-foot cleanroom laboratory, with 6,000 square feet of working space (class 100/1000/10k), adjacent to a 5,000-square-foot microscopy core. The microscopy core is almost an exact copy of the equipment that is used at one of Utah’s leading semiconductor compa- nies, IM Flash Technologies. With these resources, the Uof U is educating engineers and working with Salt Lake Community Col- ENGINEER INNOVATION | continued from page 21