The Engineering Computer Lab (ECL) contains twenty-five personal computers with full network capabilities and is open seven days a week (hours of operation vary), with a student operator always on duty.  Printing and plotting in the lab is available for students majoring in Engineering, Nutritional Sciences, and Design Merchandising and Textiles.  Software available on the computer systems includes:  MS Office, Autocad®, Mathcad®, MATLAB®, SIMULINK®, Multisym®, Visio®, and PSpice®.  All Network Services are available in the lab.  Additional information on network services is available from the Information Services Help Desk in the Sid Richardson Building http://www.is.tcu.edu.  This lab also contains four UNIX workstations which serve as a resource facility primarily for junior and senior engineering students.  These stations utilize industrial grade software packages including finite element software and mathematical system programs (Mathematica®, MATLAB® and SIMULINK®).

In the Dynamics and Vibrations Laboratory students investigate the phenomena associated with structures and machines.  Experiments include the study of natural frequencies and modes, damping mechanisms, critical speeds, destabilizing mechanisms, and various forms of forced response and control.  An electrodynamic shaker with computer control, rotordynamics test rigs, and control systems rigs are available for use in the experimental projects.  Another portion of this laboratory supports the investigation of phenomena associated with mechanics of materials.  Experiments include the study of stress-strain relations; static and dynamic force-displacement relations for structures and axial, bending and torsional loads; buckling phenomena and fatigue.  A 20,000 lbf electromechanical tensile test machine with computer control and data acquisition system, torsion test rig, and structural test rigs are available for use in the experimental projects.

This twelve-bench laboratory accommodates students enrolled in ENGR 20404 Network Analysis I, ENGR 30444 Electronics I, ENGR 30454 Electronics II, and ENGR 40483 Electromechanics.  The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art electronic test equipment.  Each laboratory bench is equipped with DC power supplies, function generators, digital/analog oscilloscopes, and dual-display digital multi-meters.  One-third horsepower motor/generator systems are available on eight of the benches, An electrical power distribution panel supplies each bench with fixed and variable, single and three phase AC voltage, variable DC voltage, and Variable frequency signals.

This laboratory supports the engineering senior elective course, ENGR 40544 Optical Fiber Communications.  Students use lasers, positioners, fibers, cleavers, and other optical tools to characterize the propagation of light through optical fibers.  Students will use tools to characterize the propagation of light through optical fibers.  Students will use much of the same equipment to build prototype sensors and communication systems.

The Manufacturing and Materials Laboratory supports students enrolled in ENGR 30634 Manufacturing I, ENGR 40633 Manufacturing II, ENGR 30861 Materials and Mechanics Lab.  This lab provides the opportunity for modeling a complete manufacturing cycle with the support of a computer controlled robot, turning lathe, and milling machine.  AutoCAD®, a computer aided design program, is used to design the mechanical component to be manufactured.  After the design is complete, a computer numerical control (CNC) program is written to control the robot, lathe, and milling machine to produce the desired part.  This laboratory is arranged so the student may design the desirable component using computers in the ECL, download the AutoCAD® file over the network to the CIM workstation via the TCU campus computer network, and then program the equipment to manufacture the component.   Also in this lab, students investigate the microstructure of materials, such as metals, polymers, and ceramics, to discover the influence on their macroscopic properties.  Equipment used by the students for this investigation include:  a belt grinder, cut-off machines, twin grinder/polisher, hydraulic mounting press, modular inverted microscope, color charge-coupled TV system with video printer, digital micro and rockwell hardness testers, sonic cleaner, and a box furnace. 

The microelectronics and microsensors laboratory supports research and educational projects concerned with the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of microelectronic devices, as well as the characterization and application of electronic materials.  An emphasis is placed on using silicon micromachining techniques to synthesize novel microactuators and microsensors.  Example applications include the piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride polymer robotic tactile integrated circuit sensor, the metal-doped phthalocyanine coated interdigitated gate electrode field-effect transistor toxic gas sensor, and the micromachined gas chromatography system synthesized on a single silicon wafer.

The Applied Photonic Laboratory supports research and educational projects in the field of integrated optics for applications in communication and sensing.  Emphasis is placed on synergistically integrating optics and digital signal processing.  Active research projects include wavelength division multiplexing, airborn acoustic sensing, and quasi-optical power combining.

The engineering senior elective course, ENGR 40454 Semiconductor Device Electronics, is the lecture portion for this laboratory.  During this lab, students will electrically characterize the performance of transistors, diodes, and other semiconductor components with the use of a gain/phase analyzer, function generator, semiconductor parameter analyzer, power supply, capacitance/voltage analyzer, and digital/analog storage oscilloscope.

This laboratory is designed for those students enrolled in ENGR 40903 Systems Design I and ENGR 40913 Systems Design II and supports this two-semester senior design sequence.  The lab is supplies with electronic test equipment similar to the equipment used in the other engineerin glaboratories.  It includes:  digital/analog oscilloscopes, power supplies, digital multimeters, hand-held multimeters, and functino generators.  The mechanical lab equipment used in the manufacturing, dynamics, and thermal laboratories is available for project design and production.  In addition to the engineering software packages available in the Engineering Computer Laboratory, students have access to the professional verison of PSpice® for computer simulation assistance in their design projects.

This laboratory houses experimental test rigs for the courses ENGR 30871 Thermal Systems I Lab and ENGR 40871 Thermal Systems II Lab which are required for all mechanical engineering emphasis students.  Areas of study include fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.  In the area of fluid mechanics, students investigate the behavior of incompressible fluids using a fluid circuit system, and study the fundamental characteristics of a centrifugal pump.  Heat transfer experiments focus on the fundamentals of convection heat, and students apply these concepts through experiments with different types of heat exchangers.  The thermodynamics section of the course includes experiments evaluating the performance characteristics of a refrigeration and air-conditioning system.  Test rigs used in this laboratory course are supported with a data acquisition and analysis system that allows the student to accurately measure, record, and analyze the appropriate phenomena associated with each experiment.

An Engineering Electronics Support Area, coordinated by Ms. Tammy Pfrang, is included in the Department of Engineering.  Ms. Pfrang is the Electronics Technical Manager for the Department of Engineering and is responsible for all activities related to the engineering laboratories and equipment.  The electronics support area, located in the Engineering Electrical Laboratory Building, includes equipment for repair and calibration of most of the instruments, computers and other equipment in the engineering laboratories. 

TCU maintains and operates a fully-equipped Machine Shop which is located in the Sid W. Richardson Science Building.  It occupies a main floor with 2128 sq. ft. and a mezzanine with 504 sq. ft.  Two full-time Instrument Maker/Machinists (Mr. Mike Murdock and Mr. David Yale) support the machine services of the shop for Engineering and other departments in the College of Science and Engineering.  Both machinists are typically involved with special projects in the Department of Engineering and with the senior projects associated with the Systems Design sequence. 

The Mary Couts Burnett Library, with three floors and a partial sub-basement, contains 158,000 square feet and houses in excess of one million items.  The general and special collections of the library exceed 1,200,000 items with annual additions of books, microfilms, and documents.  Several thousand journals are currently received.  In recent years, the library has established telecommunication with more than 100 computerized bibliographic databases, both national and international, and has installed within the library a number of database workstations which utilize laserdisc technology.  The CD-ROM indexes offer fast and easy searches of the literature in many fields, and printers allow the creation of instant bibliographies.  Interlibrary Loan, a division of the Reference Department, offers a service through which materials not owned by the Mary Couts Burnett Library are borrowed from another library for the use of TCU faculty, staff, and graduate students.  Eligibility of undergraduate students must be determined by a reference librarian or be approved by their professor. 

The Writing Center assists all TCU undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff with issues involved with writing.  Staffed by professional writing instructors, the Writing Center offers one-on-one conference about writing in all disciplines.