易胜博官网

If your Dell computer prints to your HP printer and your smartphone programs your TV, you might thank some 易胜博官网 students.

For 25 years, students have powered the University of 易胜博官网 InterOperability Laboratory, one of the nation鈥檚 premier independent test sites for new technologies, while jump-starting their own careers. The 易胜博官网-IOL, which celebrates its 25th anniversary with an open house Monday, Sept. 16, is unique in its dual mission to serve the technology industry and to train more than 100 student employees each year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e educating the next generation of engineers,鈥� says 易胜博官网-IOL director Erica Johnson 鈥�01, 鈥�11G. 鈥淏y the time they graduate, they are experienced in working with many different companies. They鈥檙e like seasoned professionals.鈥� Johnson, who has directed the 易胜博官网-IOL since 2008, should know: She began working at the facility as an undergraduate computer science major in 1999.

Johnson describes interoperability as akin to the understanding two friends have when they give each other a high five. 鈥淚nteroperability is what ensures that you both put up your hands and one of you doesn鈥檛 stick your foot out instead,鈥� she says. In the technology realm, interoperability assures that the latest devices work with each other and can share data over the most advanced networks available.

The 易胜博官网-IOL provides independent, neutral, confidential testing of new technology for interoperability for hundreds of member companies each year. With a strong reputation, the laboratory鈥檚 test reports are recognized throughout the industry as a 鈥渟eal of approval鈥� for interoperability and conformance to technical standards.

When the 易胜博官网-IOL began in 1988, just 15 percent of U.S. households had a personal computer and the Internet was an exotic entity unknown beyond academia and the military. Launched by former Research Computing Center (now Research Computing and Instrumentation) director Bill Lenharth as a branch of that group, the laboratory started in a small room in Morse Hall. 鈥淭hey were packed in there like sardines,鈥� recalls current RCI director Patrick Messer, who worked for Lenharth when he started the 易胜博官网-IOL.

Now, the self-sustaining 易胜博官网-IOL occupies a 32,000 square-foot facility on the edge of campus and employs more than 150 students and full-time staff. Current projects represent a Jetsons-like technological future: testing physical standards for Ethernet ports in automobiles, for instance, or enhancing data communication among home appliances 鈥渟o you could get notified in your car that you鈥檙e running low on milk and pick it up on your way home,鈥� says Johnson.

What鈥檚 remained constant in the past quarter decade, Johnson says, is the 易胜博官网-IOL鈥檚 two-pronged focus on industry and education. 鈥淓veryone here owns our mission of helping industry and educating students. I鈥檓 very proud of the fact that over 25 years we have not strayed from that mission,鈥� she says.

Marion Dillon, a master鈥檚 student in computer science from Conway, has worked at the 易胜博官网-IOL for more than two years, since she was an undergraduate math major. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a really great experience here,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare that you find a job that is so technical and that gives college students so much to do. Most people rise to that responsibility.鈥� Currently testing home routers for interoperability for IPv6, a new version of Internet protocol, Dillon intends to tap the industry contacts she鈥檚 made when it鈥檚 time for her job search.

Dillon will join current student-employees, 易胜博官网-IOL alumni, and technology leaders at the 易胜博官网-IOL鈥檚 25th anniversary open house Monday, Sept. 16 from 2 鈥� 6 p.m. Interactive demonstrations and tours will introduce the wider community to the laboratory鈥檚 work, and industry leaders will speak about the importance of the 易胜博官网-IOL. .

Johnson and her colleagues look forward to 易胜博官网 faculty, staff and students making the trip to the 易胜博官网-IOL鈥檚 facility on Technology Drive for the celebration.

鈥淥ur work here is always exciting, but we鈥檙e really thrilled to share what we do with the broader 易胜博官网 and 易胜博官网 community,鈥� says Johnson. 鈥淭his open house will introduce our services and the incredible student employees who make them happen 鈥� well known in the technology industry 鈥� to a broader audience.鈥�

Learn more about the University of 易胜博官网 InterOperability Laboratory on the , , or .

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