School of Science and Engineering receives systems design and training lab from National Instruments

The School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) received a Systems Design and Training Laboratory from National Instruments, global leader in providing test, measurement, and embedded systems for engineers and scientists. The laboratory, located at CTC 315 at the Ateneo Loyola Heights campus, was unveiled during the official opening ceremony on April 29, 2011. The laboratory houses 10 sets of hardware for teaching and learning LabVIEW? Basic 1 and Basic 2 courses, as well as 10 sets of tables and chairs.

The donation, totaling US$ 45,000, also includes training and certification for three Ateneo instructors in LabVIEW? core courses, Data Acquisition core courses, LabVIEW? Associate Developer Certification, and LabVIEW? Developer Certification.

In SOSE Associate Dean Dr. Evangeline Bautista’s welcome remarks, she noted how the donation will advance Ateneo’s “leadership in creative and innovative research work.” It will also help science and engineering faculty teach and train students in circuits, measurements, controls, telecommunications, microcontrollers and embedded design.

Pete Zogas, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at National Instruments, said that he “hopes a lot of people will benefit from the partnership between Ateneo and NI.” He also talked about Planet NI, the company’s outreach program. Strategically focusing on academic institutions in developing countries, Planet NI seeks to empower engineers in developing countries and aims to make technology accessible and affordable to these countries. To date, Planet NI, has launched 12 programs and initiatives around the world in areas such as clean water, solar panels, wind energy and wave energy since its inception two years ago.

Planet NI’s partnership with the Ateneo de Manila University is its first outreach program with a Philippine academic institution. According to Chandran Nair, Managing Director of National Instruments ASEAN, NI chose to partner with Ateneo because the university carries vision and values that align with NI. Moreover, he also cited NI and Ateneo’s long history of working together, and praised the university for its willingness to put in resources to train engineers. “We wanted to make sure that we work with a university which understands our technology,” Nair said.

Dr. John Paul Vergara, Vice President for the Loyola Schools, accepted the donation. “Here at the Ateneo we place much importance on experiential learning for our students and on finding ways to apply research to real world problems and situations. With the opening of the Systems Design and Training Laboratory, the School of Science and Engineering’s capability to meet these two needs is greatly increased,” he said.

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