Howard University’s department of mechanical engineering will soon be home to an interdisciplinary maker space and innovation lab, where students can interact with peers from other disciplines such as architecture, science and business, thanks to a $1 million gift from Autodesk.
“This donation will help us better train and prepare the next generation of interdisciplinary engineers with the hands-on and digital skills necessary for the fast-evolving future workforce,” Nadir Yilmaz, chair and professor of Howard’s department of mechanical engineering, told TriplePundit. “Such an interdisciplinary space, equipped with state-of-the art hardware and Autodesk software, will be used not only to teach courses such as CAD/CAM/CAE [computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering], but also to provide students a medium where they can conceptualize ideas, find innovative solutions…