AutomationDirect, of Cummings, Ga., a direct seller of automation and industrial control products, has endowed the Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, in DeKalb, Ill., with a gift of $100,000, to be used to equip the AutomationDirect Laboratory and create an AutomationDirect professorship. Promod Vohra, dean of the college, noted that, “AutomationDirect has been a generous supporter of the college for many years. We are proud to be partners with a company of its stature.”
At the dedication ceremony on Sept. 19, Joan Welty, director of marketing at AutomationDirect, said that it’s important to encourage young people to choose technical careers to keep the United States at the forefront of technological development. Said Welty, herself an electrical engineering graduate from NIU, “We feel NIU’s technology program offers hands-on, practical experience that is a key to driving productivity and competitiveness in the global marketplace.”
Andrew Otieno was named the AutomationDirect Professor, and will supervise and maintain the lab, working with AutomationDirect to ensure that students continue to have access to the most up-to-date equipment. Each student desktop includes a programmable logic controller, input/output (I/O), drives and sensors, as well as access to vision systems and a robotics loop. Said Dean Vohra, “This lab is a showcase for engineering and innovation.”
AutomationDirect
www.automationdirect.com
Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
www.niu.edu/CEET
