Mechanical Engineering professor Phil Schmidt is acknowledged as the founding father of the Faculty Innovation Center (FIC), which evolved from an earlier incarnation known as the Instructional Media Lab (IML). The IML's mission was to combine traditional engineering education with real-world engineering practice.
In 1994, Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Jack Howell received an NSF grant to develop a series of videotapes for thermodynamics. The seven 30-minute videotapes were sold to over 100 schools, many of which are still in use across the country. Several years later Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Ofodike Ezekoye received another NFS grant to develop web-based materials to teach thermodynamics. The range of the IML's technical capability increased.
The scope of the IML grew to the point that managing it became a burden to Dr. Schmidt. In 1999, upon Dr. Schmidt’s recommendation, the IML was taken into the Office of Academic Affairs. A short time later the IML was changed to the Faculty Innovation Center as Dr. Kathy Schmidt came on board as director. The FIC grew rapidly, engaging many more faculty members and increasing the variety of services to the College. Today the FIC supports lecture capture, classroom response systems, 3D illustration and animation, video production, interactive simulations, and web application development.
