Mac Sheila Hogan
Mac and Sheila Hogan of North Little Rock have contributed $150,000 to the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. The funds will be used to support the Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate (CDIO) Initiative in the department of mechanical engineering through the purchase of equipment for a Virtual Machine Shop.
The department of mechanical engineering is now an official member of the Initiative, which is considered the state-of-the-art approach to educating engineers. The university joins the ranks of MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Purdue and the University of Michigan in this movement, as well as other universities worldwide.
Department head Jim Leylek is leading the effort, which helps students master the engineering fundamentals through design projects. When it is fully implemented, engineering students will be provided with design projects at the start of their curriculum and have the opportunity to accumulate design experience through many short, medium and long-term projects by the time they graduate. The Virtual Machine Shop will be an integral component of the initiative, as it provides students the opportunity to test the functionality of their designs by machining them in virtual space before actually making parts.
Hogan is a 1965 mechanical engineering graduate and received the Distinguished Alumnus award in 2012. He is chairman and president of Poloplaz Inc. and Air Tech Coatings Inc. and is also a member of the College of Engineering’s Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee.