Facilities
Our science and engineering faculty members bring years of research and professional experience to their classrooms. They mentor students in personal, professional, and spiritual growth, preparing them to lead their professions. With their guidance, our students consistently best larger and better-funded programs in national and international competitions. Their achievements have elevated Cedarville’s reputation for excellence, and their integrity in service has elevated the name of Jesus Christ at home and abroad.
The School of Engineering and Computer Science (ENS) is located in the Engineering and Science Center, a building that was completed in 1992 to specifically house the new engineering program. In 2004, the Engineering Project Lab (EPL) was constructed, providing much-needed space for student design projects and class assignments. In 2014–15, Cedarville University embarked on a $5 million ENS Expansion Campaign that increased classroom space, updated lab facilities, and added state-of-the-art technology that matches the high caliber of our students and faculty. In 2020, the School opened the Civil Engineering Center (CEC), which includes classrooms, labs, and collaboration space for the civil engineering major.
Classrooms and labs include the latest technology -- all classrooms, faculty offices, and residence hall rooms are connected by CedarNet. CedarNet is the campus-wide fiber optic-based network that puts Internet and approximately 200 application programs in every student's room. Of special interest to the engineers are mathematical and computational packages (Maple, MATLAB, TK Solver), word processors, spreadsheets, CAD, 24-hour access to library research, engineering standards, graphics packages, statistical processors, simulation tools, and general research aids.
Our modern laboratories include the following: fluids lab with an 18-inch cross-section wind tunnel, heat transfer, refrigeration, mechanics, materials testing, internal combustion engine dynamometers, CNC manufacturing, vibrations, dynamics of machines, electrical machines, feedback controls, circuits, electronics, communications, digital logic design, microprocessors, surface-mount soldering, and a parallel computing cluster. We also have extensive PC-based laboratories in which the students use computer-based circuit design, 3-D solid modeling, FEA, CFD, CNC, and industry-standard IDE software.
Technology
Cedarville's mechanical engineering labs feature CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine tools, materials testing machines, a wind tunnel, engine dynamometers, instrumentation benches, refrigeration systems, and vibrations benches, all with PC-based data acquisition. Many design tools, such as FEA (finite element analysis) packages, CFD (computational fluid dynamics) packages, CNC packages, solid modeling, CAD packages, equation solvers (such as Maple, Matlab, and TK Solver), and rigid-body dynamic simulation packages, support the mechanical engineering program.
Electrical and computer engineering labs feature extensive computer-based design tools; communications and control hardware; rotating machinery benches; facilities for integrated circuit chip design; extensive general purpose instrumentation; and spectrum, logic, and network analyzers. Many design tools, such as OrCAD, assist students with circuit design, simulation, debugging, and eventually laying out the printed circuit board. These boards are then populated in Cedarville's laboratories by students using a pick-and-place machine and reflow soldering station. Students also use the Altera Quartus design suite to design their digital hardware and simulate, debug, program, and download firmware into a CPLD (complex programmable logic device) or FPGA (field programmable gate array.)
Computer science labs feature a suite of Linux servers, a Beowulf cluster supporting parallel computing, multiple Web servers, and more than 36 state-of-the-art workstations. Students use industry-standard software packages such as Rational Rose, Microsoft Visual Studio, and Borland JBuilder to design and implement software solutions to challenging real-world problems.
With the help of donors, Cedarville has invested $2 million in undergraduate laboratory equipment during the last 15 years.