Electrical Engineering (55)- Power electronics converters and electric drives are being put into use at an increasingly rapid rate. They enable smarter utilization of electric and electronic systems. Declining student interest in strategically important fields of power electronics and electric drives is the problem being addressed by this proposal. Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Montana State University (MSU), University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF), and University of North Dakota (UND) are the four participating universities collaborating in this proposal. This project will improve education in engineering at the four participating academic institutions through adaptation and implementation of exemplary materials, laboratory experiences, and educational practices that have been developed and proven successful at the University of Minnesota (UMN) under the NSF CCLI-EMD-9952704 grant. Objectives and expected outcomes of this project are intended to revitalize courses in power electronics and electric drives with the state-of-the-art laboratories and, thus, to provide the power industry with a larger supply of better educated and trained engineers. These objectives are being accomplished by restructuring existing courses and laboratories by adapting materials and approaches developed at the UMN. Undergraduate students as well as working professionals needing formal training are special audiences targeted by the project. These initiatives motivate exceptional students to pursue their careers in these exciting and challenging fields. Therefore, they sustain and strengthen the Nation's engineering capabilities. Meeting a critical challenge of revitalizing courses and laboratories in these strategic fields is the intellectual merit of this collaborative proposal. Ensuring highest quality education and multi-disciplinary interaction with mechanical engineering, computer engineering, and other engineering fields is the main broader impact.
