Coilcraft Inc. recently delivered two sets of Power Magnetics Parts Cabinets to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The parts will be used in Professor Philip Krein’s undergraduate- and graduate-level Power Electronics Labs.
According to Len Crane, director of technical Marketing at Coilcraft, “Coilcraft is pleased to offer free product samples and designer’s kits to students, both individually and for full classroom support. We often find that inductors are not the most easily understood components for students, so we’re trying to make ourselves accessible to them in any way possible.”
Coilcraft worked with Professor Krein, Assistant Professor Robert Pilawa and Department Research Engineer, Kevin Colravy to customize the parts cabinets to the specific needs of the Power Electronics Labs. “Coilcraft was very open to providing us with exactly what we needed. Professors Krein and Pilawa defined the specifications for the various products they were looking for and Coilcraft came back with a recommended parts list for each group of components. The cabinets they delivered are great – even more than we had hoped for!” said Colravy.
Professor Krein commented, “Our Power Electronics Labs provide students with in-depth experience in the design, operation, and application of electronic circuits and power conversion. We explore all major power conversion families, covering multiple applications for each. Depth is supported by digging in to specific device behavior. For example, we examine the design of magnetic devices and consider how the performance of components such as inductors can deviate from textbook — or ‘ideal’ — behavior when applied to a real circuit. We greatly appreciate Coilcraft’s support. Having such a wide variety of magnetic components in our labs will help the students tremendously.”
As a part of its expanded effort to support the next generation of electrical engineers, Coilcraft has added a Student Resource Center to its website, offering free access to powerful design tools, a deep library of application notes, and free product samples for student design projects and full classroom support. Students can also follow Coilcraft on Facebook and LinkedIn for special offers and contests.
For more information on Coilcraft’s Student Support Program, contact Len Crane, +1-847-639-6400, lcrane@coilcraft.com or visit: http://www.coilcraft.com/students/.
For more information on the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, visit: http://www.ece.illinois.edu/.