Hasta La Ideas

Considering it’s not even an ID program, Stanford’s Mechanical Engineering department has got a seriously kick-ass facility with their Product Realization Laboratory. Featuring a machine shop, a model shop, a foundry/welding room and a CAD loft/photo studio, the PRL is a place where students of any major can pay for a “shop license” and just start making stuff.

As an article in The Stanford Daily explains,

Professor of mechanical engineering David Beach, a co-director of the lab who has been working at Stanford for 39 years, described the lab as one of the most unique teaching projects in the world.

…Under the philosophy that Stanford graduates should not only be good citizens but also excel in a profession, “making things” has been an important part of a Stanford engineering education, Beach said.

…Final products can range from skateboards, guitars and golf putters to complex machines. While many of the projects are related to students’ research, some are simply an extension of students’ hobbies.

“We don’t tell people what to do here,” said Craig Milroy, professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the lab. “We help them do what they want to do.”

Check out the rest of the article to see what both individual students and entire classes are doing at the PRL.

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