My vote is to include instruction in engineering compliance design issues at both the core and specialized levels, much in the same way general physics is taught to all engineers, then expanded on later in specialized classes. In my experience, compliance is impacted by all engineering disciplines. For example, the mechanical design of a structure or mechanism that houses or operates under control of electronics may inadvertently resonate with the energy produced by a high- speed clock, thus enhancing an EM emission. Or the scan rate of a keyboard, set by imbedded software, may be higher than necessary, also inadvertently causing EMI. In these examples the designs are probably the responsibilities of mechanical or software engineers, but impact compliance.
The other thing to keep in mind is that no engineer can isolate him/herself from compliance issues. I went to grad school because I believed I needed more than what I had learned in a standard undergraduate engineering program to perform well in my chosen profession. I took one graduate EMAG class, just to round things out, but my concentration was on electronics design. However, my previous employer from whom I'd taken a leave of absence offered me a job as the lead EMC Engineer on a new product design. When I pointed out that my background was slim (I really wanted a DESIGN job) and I really didn't know much about EMI, the engineering manager said, "Don't worry. We don't either. You'll do fine!" I took the job. -- Scott Roleson ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Roleson, PE | Internet: [email protected] EMC & Telecom Engineer | http://www.WP.com/SRoleson San Diego Division MS 8-60 | Telephone: +1-619-655-4809 Hewlett-Packard Company | FAX: +1-619-655-5931 16399 W. Bernardo Drive | Amateur Radio: KC7CJ San Diego, CA 92127-1899 USA | Any opinions are my own, not HP's. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
