The College of Technology has created a graduate-level course that will tackle a design challenge posed by engineers at Facebook.
CNIT 58100 (Computer Innovation Design Challenge) will include participation in the Open Compute Challenge, which asks participants to design a biodegradable server chassis as part of the open hardware movement. The real-world class experience will also include material from Facebook's hardware engineers and the latest in data center equipment provided by Facebook.
As part of the project, students will interact with leaders in the information technology industry while showcasing their prototypes and talents.
Students will attend the Open Compute Summit in Santa Clara, Calif., in January 2013.
The class is supported by Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Intel and Wells Fargo.
(Photo: Heather Brotherton, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer and Information Technology, has coordinated the Open Compute Challenge since she approached Facebook with the idea this fall.)