Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1093246
20 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 I get to train some volunteers to help with PCB design. We have a Voltera machine that prints traces and their whole thing is that they don't want to wait for a manufacturing lead time. So, you get to make your own boards in- house. And it's not meant to be a final design, but it's meant to be something you can proto- type on before you send it off to Sunstone or OSH Park, etc. It's all in-house. You can take substrate, pop it down, and I get to train other people. The juniors are going to get to come through and learn how that process goes. It's giving me a real look at the industry. I've decided that I've learned a lot in school, but I'm looking forward to getting a job, so that's where I'm at right now. Johnson: Have you interned at all yet? Whipple: I worked this past summer with Dr. Harder and Dr. Stillinger at GFU. Dr. Harder is the dean, and Dr. Stillinger is an electrical engineering professor. We did a renewable energy project with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and I was able to work from campus remotely. We were into a renew- able outreach program to local farms, which was a big thing. The USDA had some grants that they were able to promote to these people, and as an intern, I was able to make phone calls and do some bookkeeping. I saw what that process looks like for companies that want to switch over to solar panels and renewable energy sources. I also worked at the college's engineering maker's space in the summer, which was enjoy- able. I got to play with all sorts of machines. We have a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter, the PCB machine, lathes, mills—all sorts of toys. It's really fun stuff. I have two years of experience being here at the shop and learning all about our machines. Johnson: Let's shift topics and talk a little bit about the curriculum and how PCB design and manufacturing is included in the curriculum for you as a computer engineer. Did you have any prior experience with PCBs before you got into that part of the class, and how did that go for you? Whipple: I had no experience going in. It really starts in your junior year. If you're on the stan- dard curriculum, when you're a junior in the George Fox University holds regular job fairs for its engineering students.