University of New Hampshire Lab Tests Tech Products, Prepares Students for Engineering Careers

The IOL as an Industry Space for Students

Bob Noseworthy, Technical Sherpa, Chief Engineer at UNH says the IOL has been used for testing for over 25 years.

“UNH is an independent [testing house], which means they have no bias with any manufacturers. Any manufacturer can send their product to be unified, and they don’t have to tell their competitors what they’re testing.” -Greg Schlechter, Consumer Electronics Segment Chair of AVnu, Marketing Workgroup Chair, Intel.

He says the lab is used to oversee AVnu Alliance services, and employs 160 people, including students and staff.

“We use the space about 65 percent of the year,” says Noseworthy, “Other companies use it to hold testing events, [like plugfests]. Companies come from all over the world for this testing.”

Noesworthy says these services fit the IOL’s main goals, which are “to assist the industry to correct network problems, and prepare the next generation of engineers.”

Noseworthy says the IOL backs those goals through two models of operation:

1) Working with trade groups

“We work with trade groups, and have events like this (tours, plugfests, etc.), and consortiums,” he says.

2) Educate and train students in the tech field

Noseworthy says the IOL takes high school students, undergraduates and graduates to work in the lab.

“We have them get their feet wet, or rather, dive in, and still help the industry,” he says.

Noseworthy also says by hiring students, the lab is able to make a dent in conformance and operability testing for AVnu certification.

“We help the industry, train new generations, make an effort in conformance testing and interoperability,” he says. “It’s important to have this so you can predict the performance [of a tech product].”

“Plugfests” are hands-on opportunities for engineers to test connectivity and interoperability. They are useful for cross-pollinating best practices between developers from different companies and bootstrapping test plans when common implementation mistakes are seen.

-Info provided by Alexandra Crabb, VP of Caster Communications, Inc.

Noseworthy says one of the most important pieces of the IOL pie is that it is funded by 280 industry members.

He also says the equipment that students use for testing is provided by the companies that test their products in the lab, alongside other industry members.