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Torrence H. Robinson
Texas Instruments, Inc.
The Infinity Project, Co-Founder
We are in the midst of another major shift in world development.
Government reports, newspaper articles and leading educational
journals1 all tell us that the number of students seeking
careers that utilize science, mathematics, engineering and technology
skills have been shrinking for years. In order for high-tech industries
like, semiconductor manufacturing, wireless and broadband communications,
entertainment, and computer, to continue to provide innovations
and productivity gains required of the 21st century’s
digital world, we must attract greater numbers of students to
careers in engineering, science and mathematics. Not only will
the students benefit from being better qualified for the abundant
opportunities available in the fields of engineering and technology,
but the United Sates will continue to reap the economic and political
benefits of being the world leader in technological innovation.
The Infinity Project grows the talent pool by applying fundamental
science and mathematics concepts to today’s engineering problems.
The all-time favorite student questions of—"Why do I
need to learn this? Where am I ever going to use this math in
real life?"—are answered in ways that are fun and relevant,
utilizing leading edge tools. The time spent by yesterday’s
young engineer using ‘playground’ equipment such as
Heathkit® electronic hobby kits, crystal and ham radios,
have been replaced by time spent using MP3 and CD players, cellular
phones, pagers, and hand-held video devices. Today’s ‘playground’
equipment is sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, computer hardware
and software technology based upon digital signal processing.
The Infinity curriculum encourages students to be innovative and
ask, "What can be?" It enables them to apply long established
engineering design principles to investigate possible solutions.
I encourage you to visit our web site to learn how you can bring
this fun and relevant curriculum to your students.
Bachelors Degrees Awarded in Electrical Engineering
1 US Department of Education,
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
The number of Bachelor Dgrees awarded in Electrical Engineering
declined 44% between 1987 and 1996.
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