Long before the Clinton administration made manufacturing its No. 1 priority for science and technology research and development, the College of Engineering at Brigham Young University believed American industry could dominate the international manufacturing field.
To support that belief, they created a department to educate engineers and engineering technologists in manufacturing.The school believes that foresight has been confirmed with significant national recognitions to the two manufacturing programs housed within the department of manufacturing engineering and engineering technology.
The 25-year-old manufacturing engineering technology program has been named the No. 1 program of its kind in the country and the new manufacturing engineering program, established in 1990, also received accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
A survey of faculty in manufacturing engineering technology programs in the United States asked faculty in all accredited programs nationwide to indicate which program they considered the best.
Having two manufacturing programs in one department is unusual, but it offers students a choice between an applied major (manufacturing engineering technology) or a more theoretical major (manufacturing engineering), said A. Brent Strong, department chairman.