A $5,000 grant from the Sierra Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering has been used to install the Linux operating system at Western Nevada Community College's Engineering and computer science laboratory.
Dr. Dave Williams, WNCC engineering instructor, applied for the grant and is enthusiastic about the impact the lab will have.
"WNCC's engineering program is unique among Nevada's community college," he said. "We have a degree program in engineering science, and we're inaugurating degree programs in electronics engineering technology, computer engineering technology and electrical engineering technology."
Linux is becoming the operating system of choice for engineering and business.
Students can earn an associate of science degree that transfers to a baccalaureate degree program. Or they can earn an associate of applied science degree and become an engineering technician. Initially, the lab will be used primarily by the computer science and electrical engineering students and for research and curriculum development projects.
For information about WNCC's engineering programs, go to www.wncc.edu, e-mail to drdcw@wncc.edu, or call 445-3299.
