A university on the South Coast is preparing for a new engineering program it hopes to have in place within the next two years.
Cal State Channel Islands in Camarillo proposed to launch an engineering program last summer. University officials say they’re still awaiting final approval from the CSU Chancellor’s Office, but they expect to get a green light soon.
So, they’ve begun the planning process for a program focused on mechatronics, which is a combination of mechanical and electrical engineering.
“The animation of mechanical devices by software” said Michael Soltys, chair of the Computer Science Department, which mechatronics will be housed under.
He said few engineering programs have an emphasis in this field.
“We’re thinking of starting mechatronics with small robotic mobility, like drones, like underwater robots. Robots that move, that walk, that drive,” he said.
The university has begun hiring faculty and designing courses. The goal is to start the engineering program in the fall of 2018 with 24 students.