AET News and Events

AET Program hosts NSF Workshop on E-quality and Six Sigma Professional Development, June 8, 2007

The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored a one-day workshop on E-quality and Six Sigma professional development at Goodwin College on June 8. This Drexel University NSF E-quality project, led by Applied Engineering Technology Professor Richard Chiou, creates annual professional development workshops, offering opportunities to share academic and industrial project results related to E-quality technology. The workshop serves a proactive function, in regard to new discoveries and initiatives in E-quality technology education, as well as a responsive function, regarding the dissemination of materials and information on cutting-edge developments in the field. The workshop helps ensure that E-quality, integrated with Internet-based robotics and automation, is at the forefront of engineering technology education, and that institutional goals are balanced with hands-on and technical training.  

This year’s workshop focused on the issues of E-quality learning and effective online Six Sigma teaching strategies that can be used to improve student learning.   The workshop sessions addressed how faculty can:

1. Address quality goals in industry.

2. Develop strategies for measuring quality online and decision feedback for design and manufacturing.

3. Use the online environment to create a continuous, interactive community of learners.

4. Build successful E-quality professional development programs based on the needs of the industry.

The workshop was attended by participants from a number of industries and higher education institutions, including Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), Yamaha Robotics, Boeing, University of Iowa, Post University, Tri-State University, University of Texas at El Paso, and Delaware County Community College (DCCC).  A panel discussion on E-quality integration with Six Sigma was chaired by Professor Andrew Kusiak, of the University of Iowa’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.  A lab tour, highlighting Goodwin’s facilities for E-Robotics and E-quality experiments, followed the panel discussion.