Union College Trains Innovators of Tomorrow
Published Apr 15, 2006
A $5 million program will help Union College and Schenectady County Community College establish undergraduate programs to prepare students for work in the high-tech field.
Some people like to relax over a good game of darts. In professor Bill Keat’s “Dynamics and Kinematics” class, it’s a much more complicated state of affairs.
The mechanical engineering students have created “Robodarts,” where robots they designed, built and operate throw the darts. And accuracy counts: The mechanical throwers had to outperform an opponent, human or otherwise. Three robots were constructed and eventually competed against technology coordinator Stan Gorski, who handicapped the competition by throwing left-handed.
“In darts, it’s all about accuracy,” Keat says. “This forces the students to think about how the errors accumulate.”
In the end, most of the darts hit the board, even if they didn’t fare too well against their human competition. But the project is one of many that define Union College’s interest in advanced technology, and why Union is such a good fit for the Tech Valley area.
“Union’s location in the Tech Valley region is now more than ever a key asset to attract and retain the best – both students and faculty,” says Stephen Ainlay, the college’s incoming president. “The tremendous regional growth now affords those in the Union College community unparalleled research opportunities as well as a wonderful quality of life. Few institutions located elsewhere can offer such broad benefits.”
The college also is breaking new ground outside the classroom.
Last spring Union announced a partnership with SuperPower, a Schenectady company that makes superconducting electric cables. The $5 million program will help SuperPower, Union College and Schenectady County Community College establish undergraduate programs that would prepare students for work in the high-tech field. The funds will be used to design curriculum and purchase equipment for the students.
And the program can’t get up and running too soon: SuperPower is in the midst of product development that, if successful, could have the company tripling its 50-person staff in the next five years.
Ainlay touts these projects and more when he refers to Union College as a “remarkable innovator in higher education.
“I look forward to working with leaders in Tech Valley to continue and enhance the remarkable collaborations that exist among the corporate, government and higher education sectors,” he says. “Without question, the strength and depth of these collaborations will define our success as a region in the future.”
Story by Joe Morris
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