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Florida Tech's WiCE geared toward meeting wireless needs
Wireless phones are just one example of the many wireless applications students will work with at Florida Tech's Wireless Center of Excellence

By Anne Straub
Brevard Technical Journal

Photo courtesy Florida Tech, © 2002.

When local companies need to strengthen their ranks of employees well-versed in wireless technology, Florida Institute of Technology wants them to look no further than its Melbourne campus.

The university has launched the Wireless Center of Excellence, or WiCE, to attract research funding and develop curriculum geared toward meeting employment needs in the booming wireless industry.

"It's hard to find qualified people," said WiCE director Dr. Philip DiPiazza, who speaks from experience. DiPiazza spent more than three decades in the industry in addition to his time in academia. "Companies hire, train and teach employees - then they leave because someone offers an IPO, or more money."

The rapid growth of the industry means competition for employees is heated, making the potential of getting in on an initial public offering a useful recruiting tool. According to WiCE, almost one-third of the world's population will have a wireless phone by the year 2006. And wireless technology is used in much more than phones: It plays a part in many systems, including satellite, geo-positioning and radar. At the same time, the RF and communications engineers who will make that happen are in short supply.

Florida Tech wants to change that, particularly for the benefit of the high concentration of wireless technology firms in Melbourne and along the I-4 corridor in Orlando.

Melbourne-based Harris Corp. sees benefits in both hiring and research spending.

WiCE's impact will mean students will get more hands-on experience, through WiCE's laboratory facilities, said Tom Wells, RF analog ENE engineering manager for Harris. "Core curriculum is useful in the classroom only," Wells said. "The WiCE program is going to add a host more application. It goes beyond the theory."

That's significant for Harris, as Florida Tech has provided the fourth-largest quantity of new college graduates for the company over the past five years. Harris also sees many of its employees seek master's degrees at Florida Tech after they're hired.

On the research side, the company hopes to get more impact for its spending by pooling resources with the grants that WiCE professors and students will win. "For the money we put in, we may get the benefits of 100 times that," Wells said.

Harris' participation in WiCE is in the form of a founding member of the advisory board, which carries an obligation to contribute funding. The amount of money that corporate board members will pay has not been determined; officials are considering whether to use a flat fee or sliding scale.

Founding member Intersil hopes its participation will help steer Florida Tech toward meeting the company's hiring needs. Intersil generally doesn't hire Florida Tech graduates because the university's engineering areas haven't been in the company's field of expertise, said Mike Jayne, senior manager of advanced development.

Intersil's need for engineers familiar with wireless, RF and digital signal processing technology is better met by the wireless programs more common at California universities. Unfortunately for the Palm Bay company, those graduates find plenty of opportunity where they are.

"It's hard to recruit from California to Florida," Jayne said.