This project is modernizing the institution's instructional capability in the area of instrumentation and measurement by introducing both computer controlled and virtual instruments into the curriculum. In order to effectively use the power of computer controlled and virtual instruments, the student should be well grounded in the fundamentals of electronic instrumentation and basic computer tools. The use of computer controlled and virtual instruments is being introduced gradually as select experiments in sophomore- and junior-level courses. New courses are being developed at the advanced junior- and senior- level, specifically oriented toward the use of computer controlled and virtual instruments. It is important that students become familiar with these powerful concepts by first using these systems in essentially turn-key operations, in introductory course experiments, and progress to planning experiments and writing control software as they gain experience and confidence. Students are developing the experience to make rational judgments as to whether to use traditional instruments, computer controlled instruments, or virtual instruments in a particular industrial application. This skill is invaluable to future employers of graduates and to the graduates themselves during their careers. *
