New video lab completed

The Maseeh School of Engineering and Computer Science dedicated a new video-processing lab donated by Beaverton company Tektronix Inc., naming the lab after the company.

According to a Tektronix press release, the company has donated “more than $2.5 million to [Portland State’s] engineering programs since 1984.”

This most recent donation totaled more than $400,000 and has provided the school with the ability to complete and begin using the lab.

Pamela Gesme Miller, director of external relations in the College of Engineering, said that some of the donations were given years ago, but the most recent, which led to the completion of the project, came in just this past fall.

“This is another example of a great partnership where the sum is greater than the parts,” Miller said.

Referencing the strong history the two entities have had with one another, Miller said a primary reason for these donations is that PSU can help with product development.

If students learn how to use this Tektronix equipment, it will make assimilation into the workplace, and the hiring process for Tektronix, that much easier.

Professor Fu Li, the man who runs the lab, said that the lab will be used for a variety of activities, but that it will be used primarily for graduate and doctorate students to provide them with experience.

“This is pretty advanced technology,” he said.

Rick Wills, Tektronix chairman, president and CEO, said in a written statement that this would help students prepare for the rapid pace in which technology is constantly changing.

“We are very pleased to be able to give these students a head start as they enter the workforce and to further enrich PSU’s engineering program,” he said.

Dave Brown, vice president of central engineering at Tektronix, said that partnerships with universities like PSU are win-win situations.

“Through the donation of equipment, we are building better, smarter engineers and work-ready graduates, with relevant knowledge and skills developed using state-of-the-art equipment,” he said.

Li said the large number of personal contacts between the company and the university played a large role in receiving the donations.

“We also provide continued education to their employees,” he said.

Miller said that faculty, as well as students, will be using the lab to work on research.

She added that even though the company has downsized over the years, they continue to keep giving these donations and that they even have scholarships for students.

“They have a scholarship where they were helping to support one to two students per year,” Miller said.

“We hope they gain familiarity with our products that will better enable success in their chosen profession,” added Brown.

Miller said the company will continue donating technology to keep the lab up-to-date with the most current and state-of-the-art-products. She said that Tektronix has been the only company to donate for this lab, with Intel giving some products for curriculum development but not going much beyond that.

With technology giants such as Intel and Hewlett-Packard in close proximity, Miller said it is a competitive field.

“It is hard for high tech firms to stay on top,” she said.