Then, said Gessler, there's horizontal and vertical integration. There was a time, he said, when engineering disciplines were housed in separate wings of buildings. It's at the interface of electrical and computer engineering and of mechanical engineering. So we put the robotics lab near the mechanical and control areas, just as we put the fluids and thermal sciences lab near mechanical and civil engineering. It's a shared facility.
Vertical integration mixes freshmen and sophomores with upperclass students.
Certainly a spark to motivate beginners, it has a more practical value when practiced with horizontal integration. Such integration puts engineers from all fields in touch with what others are doing. Given the complexity of, say, mechanical engineering, no one can master even that field, but a mechanical engineer can learn the needs, general theories and skills of electrical engineers. It means better engineers, better communications and better product. High bays, shared labs, integrated education-all serve to address the needs in today's engineering education, Gessler said.