The Junior Electronics Laboratory: Opportunities for Invention

An electronic circuit design laboratory for juniors emphasizes creativity and innovation in solving practical problems. Students in pairs do the design, construction, and measurement on each project. Students are free to select the method(s) of attack and the materials and instruments they need. The working circuit is demonstrated and the design is defended in an oral examination once a week. Laboratory scheduling and the duties of each member of the laboratory staff are discussed. The costs in man hours and materials of running the laboratory are broken down and the use of materials donated by industrial gift programs is pointed out. The final project of the semester, lasting three weeks, simulates a typical industrial engineering atmosphere. The students compete to see who can design the lowest cost circuit that meets the specifications. Costs for materials, labor, patent applications, and royalties are totaled in the comparison. The problem selected is one with many solutions and many clever ideas result from this competition.