NFPA Curriculum Grant Awarded to Western Michigan University

By Eric Lanke, NFPA President/CEO

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation awards grants of up to $25,000 to 4-year universities to develop, replicate, or disseminate high-quality, high-impact undergraduate-level fluid power curriculum. These initiatives engage faculty in the teaching of fluid power and create heightened awareness of and engagement with fluid power among students — the next generation of engineering leaders.

A grant was recently awarded to Professor Alamgir Choudhury of Western Michigan University.

Project Title: Design of Fluid Power Systems

Project Description: A senior level course on the design of fluid power systems will be developed. The goal is to teach fluid power theory, application, circuits, system design and simulation, laboratory prototype development and performance testing, and system control. It will consist of six modules, and students will be able to take two modules at a time as a one-credit-hour elective or all six modules as a single three-credit-hour course. The course will broaden student learning in engineering design and prepare them to pursue careers in fluid power industry. Specific deliverables for the proposed work will include:

• Course syllabus and details of subjects of the modules
• Lecture materials, including class presentations and exercises
• Manual for labs for each exercise and instructions for the final project
• Evaluation and assessment documentation applicable to student learning

Congratulations to Professor Choudhury.

Last year, two similar curriculum grants were awarded to professors at Lawrence Technological University and Ohio University. Those projects are now nearing completion and will soon be offered as new fluid power curriculum pieces to NFPA’s entire network of education partners at more than 60 universities.