Intel and Gleason honored for major contributions to Engineering

The College of Engineering recently honored Intel Corporation and the Gleason Foundation for their major contributions to RIT's microelectronic and electrical engineering programs.

RIT inducted Intel into its Microelectronic Engineering Industrial Affiliates Program at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. Intel donated $100,000 to the department to support the program. It also donated $155,000 in equipment to the microelectronic laboratory.

"Intel describes this as a 'breakthrough grant' for them," says Joan Tierney, director of corporate giving in the Division of University Relations. "In the past, they have made very few philanthropic cash donations to universities, only research grants and equipment. This grant to RIT is Intel's way of showing its gratitude for the RIT graduates and co-op students it is hiring."

"Intel's affiliate membership is extremely important to our faculty and students," says Lynn Fuller, department head and Motorola Professor of Microelectronic Engineering. "It allows us deeper interaction with the leaders in the semiconductor manufacturing industry and keeps us close to the state-of-the-art." Intel plans to continue support if their recruiting activity at RIT continues to be successful and the technical relationship grows.

At a second ribbon-cutting ceremony, RIT unveiled the new "Intel/Gleason Multifunction Pentium Laboratory" in RIT's Electrical Engineering department. Last year Intel offered to donate 24 new Pentium computers worth $134,000—but only if RIT could find another sponsor to donate monitors. Gleason Foundation came through, funding $50,000 for 21-inch monitors to go with the computers and also funded the lab's furnishings and infrastructure.

"This new lab is the pride and joy of our department," says Raman Unnikrishnan, chair of Electrical Engineering. "Students will be able to use the latest software in a very high-end computing environment. It is arguably one of RIT's finest showcase facilities." The lab supports a variety of courses from primary design to high-speed digital design and high-speed simulation areas.

"Both Gleason and Intel are dominant players in their respective markets," says Paul Petersen, dean of the College of Engineering. "We're grateful to Gleason Foundation for their ongoing support over many decades and to Intel for joining our college's family of industrial supporters."