The field of mechatronics is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, occupying the intersection of mechanical systems, electronics, controls, and computer science. Mechatronics engineers work in a variety of industries ' from space exploration to semiconductor manufacturing to product design ' and specialize in the integrated design and development of intelligent systems. For students wanting to learn mechatronics, it might come as a surprise that one of the most powerful teaching tools available for the subject matter is simply a pen and a piece of paper. 'Students have to be able to work out things on a piece of paper, and make sketches, and write down key calculations in order to be creative,' says MIT professor of mechanical engineering David Trumper, who has been teaching class 2.737 (Mechatronics) since he joined the Institute faculty in the early 1990s. The subject is electrical and mechanical engineering combined, he says, but more than anything else, it's design. 'If you...
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