Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 18:33:49 CST
From: Jim Graham <jim@n5ial.chi.il.us>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Need Information on Telecommunications School
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 742, Message 7 of 9

I don't know how I missed the original post on this topic ... good
thing someone else did catch it! Anyway, I'll include a few more
details here that might help out a bit, as well as some of the
highlights (IMHO) of the program.

scm3775@tamsun.tamu.edu (Sean Malloy) writes:

> The person you want to contact at Texas A&M University is Pierre
> Catala.  I'd give out his office phone number, but I don't think
> that's a wise course of action without checking with him first.

I'm 99.99999% certain he wouldn't mind, but since his number doesn't
forward to the main office when he's not around, there is a better
number to call if you don't know when to reach him directly. More on
that in a second.

> He can be reached at PJC3151@VENUS.TAMU.EDU

Folks on BITNET can also use pjc3151@tamvenus (pjc3151@tamvenus.bitnet
for Internet users) --- this all goes to the same machine as the above
address does, so other than any limitations on which addresses you can
mail to, they're all the same.

> or you can call 409-845-4741 (Texas A&M General Information Number)
> and get the number for the Department Of Engineering Technology.

Here's a better number:  409-845-4951. This is the main ET office
number. There is also a number for the EET office downstairs, but
that went in just before I graduated, and 4951 was already deeply
embedded into my brain by then.  :-)

> In case you need to know for some reason, Telecom is three levels
> deep in the hiearchy, which goes Engineering Technology ->
> Electronics -> Telecom.

I'm not absolutely certain on this, but I believe, right as I was
graduating, the EET program itself became ABET approved, and can be
referred to specifically as EET (if I remember correctly, everyone
graduating the semester after I did got a diploma that read EET,
instead of just ET).

Also, for those who might be mislead by the Engineering Technology
label, which has many varying degrees of meaning depending on where
you see it, the program is most certainly not a technician-level
program. The primary difference between the telecom program at A&M
and EE-based telecom programs is the emphasis on system/network design,
as opposed to, say, designing muxes, etc.

Some of the courses (highlights) that were around when I was there (and
I know Pierre has added a lot since then) included:

   *) Digital Telephony (T-1, T-3, etc., ISDN, and so on)
   *) Data Communications (protocol-level --- mainly lower 3 or 4
      OSI layers)
   *) Transmission Systems (microwave, satellite, cellular, etc.)
   *) Implementing Private Networks
   *) Telecom Testing Techniques
   *) Senior Project (usually a project sponsored by outside companies,
      and may be system and/or equipment design, depending on their
      needs from the project)

Where possible, courses in both the electronics and telecom programs
(remember, telecom is a specialty in the electronics program) have a
lab associated with the course.

In addition, there are often one or more trips (usually to service
providers' sites) associated with various courses, as well as an
annual Symposium on Information Transfer (held in January). Recent
topics have included Signalling System 7, Personal Communications
Services, etc.

There is also now a Masters Degree, which is in cooperation with the
business school at A&M.  I have no info on this handy, but I'm sure
Pierre would be happy to give you lots of info ... :-)

> Also, I'm sure that Dr. Catala would love to hear from persons wanting
> to donate equipment to the program as well ;-)

Don't take the above statement too lightly. Pierre is always glad to
get donations for the telecom lab (when I was there, one small room
 ... now two fairly good sized rooms). Computer equipment, telecom
test equipment (voice, data, line testing, etc.), network equipment,
switches, muxes, and just about whatever else you can imagine may very
well find a very nice home in the lab.

Enough for now --- I need to get back to other things here. Later ...

jim
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