Dr. Glen Zeitzer, Provost and Senior Vice President at New England Tech, has received notification from the Champlin Foundations that the college has been awarded more than $120,000 for three very important projects. The projects funded by the foundations include a mobile computer laboratory, an engine analyzer and two FANUC robots. "We are extremely pleased to have received these grants to improve the educational experience for our students," stated Provost Zeitzer. "The Champlin Foundations grants again serve to verify the value of technical training at the post secondary level."
    George S. Champlin and his sisters, Florence C. Hamilton and Hope C. Neaves, established the first Champlin Foundation in 1932. They founded the second Champlin Foundation Trust in 1947. The third and largest foundation was established in 1975 by George S. Champlin. The Champlin siblings grew up in Rhode Island, and George and Florence lived their entire lives in Rhode Island. They were extremely active in the world of philanthropy for many years, and made substantial personal contributions during their lifetime. Many of their contributions were made anonymously. Consistently, education, youth and fitness, libraries, hospitals and healthcare, open space, conservation, parks and the environment have received the most funding from the Champlin Foundations. The projects at New England Tech continue that tradition. Descriptions of the funded projects follow.
    A request was made to the Champlin Foundations for $45,400.00 to purchase a mobile computer cart. The nature of the NEIT college curricula has an emphasis on hands-on workplace experience and this requires a higher than usual laboratory component in all of our technical courses, especially in the use of computers. The NEIT commitment to make a computer available to each individual student in all our labs has made it necessary to convert many traditional classrooms into computer labs. Today we have more than 450 computers dedicated solely to student use.
    A solution to accommodating more laboratory computer experience without giving up more traditional classrooms is to employ a relatively new innovation - the mobile computer cart. The mobile cart will allow for increased access to computer equipment together with increased scheduling flexibility. The mobile cart with its 20 laptop computers will be rolled into traditional classrooms, computers will be handed out to each student and the lab work will begin. Printing and Internet access is available through the wireless network built into each computer. At the end of class, computers will be returned to the cart and the cart will be rolled into another classroom to serve another class.
    The mobile computer cart will allow NEIT to test the migration from a traditional PC laboratory to a wireless environment that turns every classroom into a potential computer laboratory. This new technology will vastly increase the availability of computers for student use without incurring the tremendous cost associated with constructing new classrooms and buildings.
    The second request to the Champlin Foundations that was funded was a grant of $30,365.00 to purchase a SUN Equipment Co. Model 500 Engine Analyzer complete with a Nox (Oxides of Nitrogen) bench and catalytic converter tester. This piece of equipment allows faculty to train our students enrolled in the Associate Degree program in Automotive Technology in the diagnosis and repair of emission-related problems using the most up-to-date computer-based technology.
    Beginning this year, the State of Rhode Island vehicle emissions testing program will require state licensed facilities to begin using the on-board diagnostics capabilities of the vehicles themselves to identify emissions failures. The on-board systems will point the technician in the direction of the problem but often it takes considerable additional diagnoses to pinpoint the problem. A SUN Engine Analyzer provides the sophisticated level of analysis which must augment the on-board system, and is in use in most inspection stations. This new equipment will be a replacement for the college's Allen, analog based analyzer, which does not test for engine gas emissions.
    The Sun 500 Engine Analyzer along with the Automotive Technology Department's MT2500 Scan Tool, another tool which can communicate with the vehicle's computers as well as interface with the SUN 500, will allow students to test all the systems of the car. It will test for all five emissions gases (required by the State) and will allow the technician to trace the cause of failures back to the emissions control systems on the engine. This equipment allows NEIT to stay at the forefront of the automotive industry. Moreover, more students are returning to college for retraining, which must include the use of engine analyzer equipment, essential training for automotive technicians today. The new equipment will be used in parts of eight different courses for Quarter 4 and Quarter 6 students.
    The third proposal accepted was in the amount of $45,000.00 for the replacement of robotic equipment used in the Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering Technology programs. NEIT will purchase two FANUC LR-100 Model B Robots and two Robohand Grippers which will give our students access to the latest and best industrial quality robotic technology available today.
    FANUC controlled robots account for more than 70% of the installed robot base worldwide. Fanuc Robotics of North America, through its local representative, will work with the Manufacturing Engineering Technology Department (MET) to enhance the educational experience of our students. Currently, the robotic equipment in the MET laboratory is used in classes in Manufacturing Automation and Instrumentation. This equipment allows our students to experience basic robot programming utilizing a pendent, pick and place exercises, and stress measurements. With the Fanuc equipment, NEIT will incorporate robotic technology in several courses including Design for Assembly, Manufacturing Processes, Advanced Manufacturing, and in the Senior Capstone Projects.