With a gift of $170,000 in high-tech mechatronics equipment from Caterpillar, Inc., ISU engineering students will be able to practice what employees of Fortune 100 companies do.

The Caterpillar Mechatronics Laboratory of Hoover Hall was dedicated Friday, and will combine equipment from several disciplines for students to produce engineering systems used in today’s products.

Jim Waters, manager of hydraulics and hydraulics systems at Caterpillar and an ISU alumnus, said a debate developed at the Hoover Hall dedication held on Oct. 4. over what mechatronics was.

He said the Segway Human Transport amazed the group of “highly-educated people,” but not with its wheels or design.

“Rather it was the deep integration of electronic controls and fairly ordinary technology used to produce the extraordinary,” Waters said. “The Segway Transporter is pronounced mechatronics.”

Waters showed a film about “mechatronics — Caterpillar style” that was developed to answer the questions posed at Hoover’s dedication.

The video showed the importance of hydraulic, mechanical and computer components in mechatronics systems of Caterpillar products and the positive effects this technology has on today’s industry.

More than 1,000 Caterpillar engineers develop systems using mechatronics technology, which have optimized production and increased returned profits, stated the video.

Sid Banwart, CIO and vice president of the systems and process division of Caterpillar and an ISU alumnus, explained the significance of this technology being available to college students.

“The real world is interdisciplinary … The toughest problems are solved with interdisciplinary work. The availability of mechatronics equipment for students to practice solving interdisciplinary problems is very important,” Banwart said.

The laboratory will allow students from five engineering departments — aerospace, agriculture and biosystems, computer and electrical, industrial and mechanical — to “transcend narrow discipline boundaries,” said James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering.

“This lab is primarily about the students that use it, to make them better-educated and better-prepared for the workplace,” Melsa said.

Banwart said Iowa State ranks as one of the top five universities at Caterpillar in terms of employing engineering graduates.

He said with the new laboratory, Iowa State is a leader for other institutions, demonstrating the importance of mechatronics work.

“We whole-heartedly support your commitment to the highest quality educational opportunities,” Banwart said.

Sarah Shay, junior in mechanical engineering, said now she understands why she is taking classes in different engineering fields.

“It does kind of make sense. I like the whole idea of the different processes coming together,” Shay said.

“[The laboratory] is an integration of different aspects.”

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said the College of Engineering continues to be the “bedrock” of the institution and the new laboratory is “exactly right for [the] college” and its “Reach for the Top” initiative.

“This facility is a great asset to the College of Engineering, but most importantly a great asset to the engineering students,” Geoffroy said.