Beginning in the summer quarter this year, we will be consolidating two certificate programs: Network Engineering and Management, and Systems and Network Security. The resulting high-value certificate program will be Network Engineering and Systems Security. The two certificates are closely related and have shared a number of core courses. All existing courses will continue to be offered and will be included in the new, combined certificate. We will apply previous course credits toward the new certificate. There should be no impact to students currently pursuing one of the certificates, and they will be able to finish their original certificate as planned. Students just beginning a certificate program will follow the re-designed curriculum.

Silicon Valley industries demand sophisticated training. Hiring managers seek out engineering and IT professionals who can design, manage and support advanced networks with high security. Beyond the fundamental courses, we offer specializations in various networking technologies and security fields. As a result, the combined curriculum for this new certificate will strengthen students’ job prospects with a rich and diverse skill set. Silicon Valley is home to the market leaders in networking, cloud computing and systems security industries. This new certificate program will help students acquire the knowledge and hands-on lab experience needed for career advancement in these hot fields.

We will be rolling out the new certificate and combined curriculum in early June. Existing Web pages and other materials may change, but our commitment to practical, high quality instruction stays the same. We encourage you to explore this dynamic new certificate program. If you have questions, contact program@ucsc-extension.edu.

Windows remains the dominant computing platform for desktops and laptops and Windows Server ranks second only to Linux as a Web server OS. Despite, or because of, their commercial success, Microsoft's software frameworks are often overlooked by software developers while other open-sourced software frameworks enjoy the spotlight.

Over time, Microsoft has in fact delivered a robust development environment for developers complete with runtime libraries, virtual machines, and object-oriented programming languages. Parts of it are bundled with the Windows OS on your computer, whether you want it or not. It is capable of supporting enterprise applications, graphical user interfaces, database access and application programming by users. As a result of its ubiquity and ease of use, many software companies are migrating their environments to the .NET framework.

At UCSC Extension, we provide training for software developers in virtually all the major development frameworks. We recently overhauled our offerings in the .NET area with a series of courses on C# programming and .NET (beginning, comprehensive, and advanced). We've introduced training on the most popular components of .NET with courses on WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and WDF (Windows Drivers Foundation). We also offer students the latest skills in application programming with Visual Basic and Excel VBA. At UCSC Extension, you explore this complete framework and derive immediate value for your company and your career.

This month marks the anniversary of the launch of UCSC Extension's Internet Programming and Development certificate. This new program focuses on the latest software technologies powering the Internet. During its first year, this program received high marks from students, both for the relevance of its content and the quality of instruction.

The program features overview courses covering the traditional systems programming frameworks such as Java, C#, and .NET, which are supported by the major software companies. Courses are also available on the so-called "Web 2.0 programming languages" such as JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Ruby on Rails. We commonly offer two levels of courses for each language to suit students with varying backgrounds. We cover all the major platforms and languages that employers typically seek in job listings. Nearly all of these skills have seen increased demand in recent years. Determining the right system for a particular application can be challenging, as each language involves trade-offs in terms of features, speed, memory, and productivity. In most cases, employers are also seeking more than one area of expertise. For those reasons, we encourage you to acquire as broad a skill-base as possible.

We continue to enhance our program every quarter. For the upcoming spring quarter, we have added several new courses and revised numerous others. Please check out PHP, Ruby on Rails, MySQL, and Windows Presentation Foundation. This coming Summer, we will add courses on JQuery and Windows Driver Foundation. Come study with us and you'll find instruction geared towards immediate application in Silicon Valley industries.

In his January State of The Union address, President Barack Obama reiterated his call for clean energy jobs as a step in meeting climate and economic challenges. He cited California in particular for its job creation in this sector. In the Federal government's 2009 stimulus package, tens of billions dollars were earmarked for clean technology and environmental sustainability.

Why would an engineer working in Silicon Valley’s high tech industry take interest in these announcements? The same question could have been asked in the early 90’s when then-Vice President Al Gore started talking about a new “information highway” (a.k.a. the Internet). The coming surge in funding from both government and private ventures will drive the transformation of our energy infrastructure. Savvy local companies have already started new businesses in smart meter, home appliance control, high efficiency DC-AC conversion, and energy monitoring software, to name a few. In fact, a large portion of the funding surge is expected to land in Silicon Valley- not surprising given the concentration of technical talent here.

At UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, we will be introducting new courses related to clean tech in the coming quarters to help our students prepare for emerging job opportunities. Knowledge is an edge in the job market. Current courses include: Renewable Energy, which covers the technologies behind each of the renewable energy sources, and Clean Technology: Smart Grid, Energy Storage, and Green Building, which provides an overview of the energy distribution, battery and building technologies. The upcoming summer course Smart Grid will introduce the smart power grid from a system prospective, including the function of real-time devices and bi-directional communications.

Facebook is the largest social networking site on the Internet today, with more than 200 million users worldwide using the system to connect and communicate. Internet programmers and developers are naturally attracted to this vast network. They can use their expertise to enhance the user experience with smart applications or to promote products.

Facebook launched the Facebook Platform two years ago to provide a framework for software developers to create applications. The Facebook Markup Language and Facebook Query Language were also introduced. Since then, many innovative applications have appeared on Facebook. Nearly all major companies have some presence on the site and It has rapidly become the newest Web powerhouse. To get in the game, developers need to learn the platform environment and infrastructure such as the LAMP stack, the PHP language and MySQL database.

At UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, our engineering and technology curriculum includes a certificate track for Internet Programming and Development. Beginning this quarter, we're offering a new course on “Developing Facebook Applications”. For those who are not yet familiar with LAMP, PHP and MySQL, we have excellent introductory courses to prepare you for professional development in this field. For those who want to build Facebook applications for mobile platforms, we also have programming lab courses specifically for Android and iPhone ™ smart phones. While we're on the topic of Facebook, take a moment to join our UCSC Extension Facebook page to keep track of school news and events.

Two years after the iPhone's™ introduction, Motorola and Verizon have announced the Droid ™ phone (based on Google’s open Android platform). The smart phone war is heating up. The rapid and widespread adoption of these devices is just the latest trend in ‘computing while moving’ and solidifies the small form-factor computer as a key driver of innovation.

The technological challenges for a mobile device are numerous. The power management and cost requirements typical for larger devices become even more stringent. These devices are also a major impetus behind the expansion of mobile broadband services. Power-friendly OS and code footprints are now the priorities for software developers. Mobility also brings with it new incarnations of the old computer security and signal interference problems. At conferences, research in the field of human interface design for mobile devices often steals the show. The iPhone Store ™ and Android Market ™ are full of interesting and innovative products sent in by programmers (including a few from our students).

At UCSC Extension, our engineering and technology curriculum covers mobile computing on several fronts. We have programming lab courses specifically for Android and iPhone ™ devices. We're introducing a new Mobile Linux course for application developers, as well as new embedded programming courses for internet devices and video streaming, each with hands-on, small-board projects. To help students enter this field, we also offer comprehensive foundational courses on wireless technology, networking stacks, Linux devices, wireless security and EMC design,

Cloud Computing has been a prominent and recurring topic in technology news in recent years. Many of the largest Internet and computing companies are aggressively positioning themselves to take advantage of this exciting technology. The "Cloud" is a metaphor for the Internet. Cloud Computing refers to the paradigm in which computer processing tasks are decoupled from physical hardware, instead tapping in to the cumulative power of a virtually unlimited number of machines. Most likely, you have heard this promise before, but recent advances have begun to make the cost-value proposition irresistible.

What's so attractive about Cloud Computing? For users, it is the lure of uncompromised “computing anywhere”. For IT professionals, cloud computing makes scalability and redundancy truly affordable. For software developers, the programming environment and the OS must be modified for the cloud software to achieve its full potential. For hardware designers, virtualization of IO, storage and server functions are now part of the architectural design. For researchers, there is still plenty of territory to be conquered.

At UCSC Extension, we offer an overview of the core concepts in the Cloud Computing course. As the instructor points out, the cloud technology is still evolving. However, we can provide a summary of the technology in its most recent incarnation. We offer Ruby on Rails and Java courses, the two popular open source languages in the cloud. As for the infrastructure that builds the foundation for the cloud, we offer courses on Server Virtualization and Storage Networking. We are also preparing to introduce a new architecture course on Software as a Service. Stay tuned!

Open Source refers to free software built with source code in the public domain. It encourages users to improve on the software by contributing to the codes. This model first emerged in 1983 with GNU but gained popularity in tech circles during the late 90’s with the emergence of Linux. Major technology companies now support this model and build multi-billion dollar businesses around it. The movement is now a dominant force in many industries.

The interesting question is why the open source model can achieve such status, even in highly competitive environments where technical merits often trump cost considerations. Businesses and academia have studied the phenomena in recent years. If you're looking for insight on this phenomenon, we recommend the book The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, by James Surowiecki. If you're just looking to master the tools, we offer a slew of related courses and certificates.

At UCSC Extension, our engineering and technology curriculum is largely built around open source software. More than 30 different open source tools are used in our courses. We have a complete certificate program centered on Linux Programming and Administration. Our popular Computer Programming and Internet Programming tracks feature Java, LAMP and many open source platforms and languages. In Embedded Systems and mobile device programming, open source software is leading the way in the industry. In Network Engineering and Systems Security courses, we show students how to use open source tools to study IP packets. The Database Systems program begins with a series of courses on MySQL. Web Design now has courses on open content management systems and Wiki. We embrace the open source movement and our experienced instructors help students to master these tools.

Wireless communication technologies connect us and transfer information essentially anywhere, anytime. The networking, cellular, consumer electronics and computing industries are embracing emerging wireless technologies such as 3G, 4G, WiMax, and ZigBees in their products and services. Engineers will be involved in designing and programming more new devices and protocols in the coming years.

Engineering schools lack a well-defined body of knowledge and courses to train students to become proficient on these new wireless technologies. One must learn radio engineering, data communications, computer networks, power management and device programming. UCSC Extension, in keeping with its tradition of offering practical professional courses, has assembled the important pieces of the puzzle.

We offer Network Engineering and Embedded Systems certificate programs with solid courses on networking fundamentals and device hardware and software for those who need the fundamentals. Beginning with the fall quarter, we will add two new courses to these certificate programs. Wireless Communications (#5455) teaches the basics of radio engineering, including CDMA, TDMA, WiFi and WiMax protocols. Embedded Programming: Internet Ready Real-time Applications (#3942) includes practical skills in programming network stacks into device functions. We also offer a Wireless Security (#5836) course in the Systems Security program. Together we can help you acquire the skills to engage in this growing field.

Virtually any new computer or laptop you buy today has at least two processor cores, and quad core or 8-core machines are widely available. Computer companies have developed multicore systems to get higher performance with lower total power. But what about the software that runs on computers? How many use the multi-threaded features in those computers today? In reality, not too many.

The software industry is facing a development gap with hardware again. The challenges for software developers adapting to multicore processing cannot be ignored. Performance critical applications will demand it. Consumers will ask for it. The programming paradigm is evolving rapidly around it. It is not just a matter of adding threads to your programming codes. New problems surface – coherency, load balancing, partitioning and communication among tasks, even code reuse, software testing and reliability are getting complicated.

To keep you on top of these challenges, we offer a Multicore Programming course that starts with parallel architecture and operating system processes. It teaches developers, step-by-step, how to write codes for multicore. When the course starts in September, we will be in our new facility with nearly all computers upgraded to quad-core and we will provide a lab with Intel Parallel Programming Tools for hands-on learning. Universities around the world are teaching the next generation programmers how to program multicore. Here is the opportunity for working professionals to catch up to the trend.

Virtualization refers to the separation of the user resource of computing from its physical resources. This concept is not new to IT and software professionals. However, virtualization, in particular Server Virtualization, has exploded on the IT scene in the last few years with the success of VMWare (the largest IPO since Google).

What is driving the emergence of virtualization technology is the realization that decades of CPU and storage advancements have left most powerful servers with abundant under-utilized resources. The continued one on one growth of logical and physical resources is no longer sustainable. In the era characterized by conservative use of power and budget, it is becoming imperative for companies to implement virtualization at various levels. In short, multiple “systems” can run on a single hardware and users can access a “single storage” that is managed by multiple hardware.  

The benefits of virtualization are not only of interest to system administrators and IT managers, but also to software developers who must take into account the evolving hardware interfaces.  UCSC Extension features several virtualization technology courses in the summer and fall to help our students learn these interesting technologies in the most efficient way. Server Virtualization explains the core technology that is being deployed in datacenters all over the world. Storage Networking Architecture and Design introduces the new storage paradigms. Multicore Programming teaches software developers to write software to run on several cores concurrently. Network Storage Essentials introduces the concepts of SAN and NAS. We also offer a basic course in IO technology that lays the foundation for the world of virtualization.

UCSC's main campus won the EPA's Green Power College and University Challenge Award (see news) last month. Green Power includes solar, wind, biomass, hydro, ocean (both tidal and wave) and geothermal. Several Silicon Valley companies have emerged as leaders in creating clean technologies and sustainable business practices. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are always at the forefront of innovations and seeking investment in clean technologies. It is estimated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress earlier this year appropriates close to $70 billion for renewable energy, clean technology and the creation of green jobs. A significant portion of that will support Silicon Valley enterprises.

Starting this summer, UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley will feature new green technology courses. You'll find a new section in our catalog pointing to available courses in several areas. We will be offering an introductory course on Renewable Energy, which gives students an understanding of the fundamentals and practical aspects of green energy. We will also feature a Server Virtualization course which allows IT professionals to dramatically lower the power consumption of datacenters, among other benefits. VLSI chip designers can learn practical techniques to lower circuit power. The results are electronics that conserve energy and become more reliable. We've also included an in-depth course on solar cell devices.

We offer professional level training that is both relevant and challenging. At UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, working professionals from several disciplines can learn to contribute to the development of green technology and see plenty of green — and that means dollars too.

We are announcing an enhanced certificate program in our Software Development offering. Beginning in the Spring 2009 quarter, we will officially introduce a new certificate program, “Internet Programming and Development,” to replace the previous “Enterprise Java Programming” program.

The certificate program originally focused on the Java Enterprise Edition platform. We have a series of courses on Java EE that offers the best value for such training in Silicon Valley. Over time, however, the Internet and the enterprise applications have evolved into a multi-tier, multi-platform architecture. While Java EE is still a major player, we have started to include other technologies into our curriculum to provide complete education on Internet application development.

We retained all the previous Java EE courses in the new certificate. In addition, we have brought in several technologies now emerging on the Internet scene, such as .NET Framework, Open Source Framework, Client-side Technologies and the new Internet Architecture. We also included a wide selection of programming languages commonly used in Web development. Together they offer students a rich curriculum with practical applications.

The certificate offers comprehensive training geared to professionals working on e-commerce,
enterprise applications and interactive Web sites. Individual course topics range from basic programming languages and server development to Rich Internet Applications (RIA) and Web 2.0 technologies. Specialized lab courses augment learning through hands-on instruction using open source or commercial tools—and new courses are introduced regularly. If you have any questions about this expanded certificate program, please contact program@ucsc-extension.edu.
 

An embedded system is a special-purpose computer designed to perform a few dedicated functions. It is in contrast to a general-purpose computer such as your PC or Mac that has a standard hardware and can accept any software written for it. Examples of embedded system are cell phones, game consoles, networking equipment, industrial controllers, and military electronics, just to name a few.

Embedded systems are relatively inexpensive but some are sold in billions and billions of units a year. While only a few computer companies are still designing standard PCs, a very large number of Silicon Valley companies are designing and manufacturing embedded systems for various segments. UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley has had an Embedded Systems certificate program since 2005 (under Hardware Engineering since 1995). Over the years, we trained thousands of hardware designers and software developers in the industry. We have expanded the curriculum in the past year on hardware (architecture, FPGA, board design, IO), software (real-time, Linux, drivers) and consumer electronics (DSP, compression, codec).

Our courses take you from the overview to the advanced topics. Our instructors are professionals working in the field; many of them have over 20 years experience to share. We helped bridge students from their general-purpose computer education in schools to the practical knowledge that is employed in the embedded industry today.

During March 30 to April 3, at McEnery Convention Center , San Jose, the Embedded System Conference (ESC Silicon Valley), which is the largest Embedded Systems event in the industry, will graciously give out 3 scholarships of $1,000 each to sponsor 3 attendees to take our Embedded Systems courses at UCSC Extension. Details will follow in an email to our current students in all related programs. You may also contact us if you don’t receive the email.

With the tremendous growth of data volume and multimedia content, the adoption of new networking technologies continues on the Internet and in the enterprises, as such advances deliver ´disruptive´ performance and cost advantages.

Optical networks, which are faster, hold more information, and allow for more traffic flow than traditional copper cabling or wireless networks. It is moving from the Internet backbone into the corporate networks. (See Optical Networks Essentials, Course # 3943) Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) delivers voice communications over the Internet (See Voice Over Internet Protocol Networks, Introduction, Course # 2337) Many of our students use Skype (commercial VoIP) on the daily basis. A few of our online instructors use it to hold online office hours too. As companies search for ways to efficiently manage expanding volumes of data, storage networking is now a big part of the business for networking and computing companies. (See Storage Networking Design and Architecture, course # 21939)

These are examples of the new technology courses we will be offering in the coming winter quarter. All together, they will build a solid foundation for understanding the emergence of the New Networking World.

Following the success of the iPhone, a consortium of 34 major companies developed open standards for phone and mobile devices. The open sourced software platform is known as Android. The first product T-Mobile G1 became available on Oct 22, 2008. Because of the momentum created by these companies, there is high demand for applications running on this platform (for example, the $10M Android Developer Challenge offered by Google).

In addition to our existing iPhone course, UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley also offers a new course on ´Developing Applications for Android Mobile Devices´ beginning in March 2009. The open standards are based on Linux and Java libraries. For students interested in becoming a developer in this emerging field, we offer strong and complete curricula on Linux programming and Administration and Java programming. For students who are already equipped with the basics, this course will get you started writing applications (in our lab) and have fun with those versatile mobile devices.

RIAs are the web sites that allow interaction with the users (web clients). They mimic the functions of desktop applications. This is what enables the Web 2.0 wave. RIAs are done by a layer called Client Engine. While RIAs offer many advantages but they also complicate the internet programming tasks.

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley continues its tradition of providing top-quality, professional training in technologies that matter most. We offer unique courses for the client engine technologies in addition to traditional courses on application server platforms such as Java Enterprise Edition and .NET Framework. Starting 2009, we will be adding a new course on Developing RIAs with Adobe Flex and Java. This adds to our strength of existing courses on AJAX, Flash, CSS, XHTML and JavaScript.

These courses are part of the Enterprise Java, Web Design and Development and Computer Programming certificate programs. We can help you learn the job skills that are in demand.

YouTube and HDTV brought the digital video revolution into our computers and living rooms. The impact of DV reaches beyond the consumer application and well into the medical, industrial, security and scientific fields. Hardware and software engineers will likely encounter DV and image processing on their jobs sooner or later.

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley continues its tradition of providing top-quality, professional training to engineers in technologies that matter most. We have a popular series of courses on Digital Signal Processing (DSP). Starting with the Fundamentals of DSP, followed by DSP Using MATLAB and Simulink, and DSP and Image Processing. On the algorithm and design front, we offer courses on Digital Video Compression (including H. 264) and Digital Video Codec Design. We will be adding a new course on practical camera design in the coming winter quarter: Embedded Camera Design: Image Sensors and Image Processing.

These courses are applicable toward our certificate in Embedded Systems, which include other good embedded hardware and software courses. Embedded Systems remains one of the dominant industries in Silicon Valley.

Data storage is exploding. Some internet companies are adding 250GB storage space a day. Large enterprises and medium companies are also facing the challenge that local storage can no longer meet the demand of the collaborative workforce. Innovative network storage architectures have come into the scene in the last 10-15 years. SAN, NAS, Fibre Channel, iSCSI, InfiniBand, ATA, RAID,..., etc. Many such technologies are the inventions of leading Silicon Valley companies. For students who are associated with such technologies or want to be associated with them, finding a structured learning venue is not easy.

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley continues its tradition of providing top-quality, professional training to engineers in technologies that matter most. We will be offering new courses on the storage networking in the coming quarters. Starting from the fall of 2008, we will have a course on ´Data Storage Essentials´, which starts with the basics. Followed in the winter (January) 2009 by courses on ´Storage Networking Design and Architecture´ and ´Optical Networks Essentials´. Also in the winter quarter, we will be adding ´Voice Over Internet Protocol Networks, Introduction´ to bring to our students another new filed on the horizon -- the internet phone.

These courses will equip you with new skills and open doors for your careers. They represent the revamped, exciting new curriculum in our Network Engineering certificate program.

Do you remember the days when a phone was just a device you talk to? Nowadays with a cell phone or hand-held device, you also do text messaging, email, take pictures, surf the web, check your appointment, listen to MP3 music, play games, and watch videos. All these mean huge growth in the mobile platform design and programming. Several Silicon Valley technology and venture companies have set up funds to encourage third-party application development.

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley provides professional training to technologies that matter in the workplace. There will be more offering in mobile devices or phone applications in the coming quarters. Starting from the fall of 2008, we will be offering a course on ´Developing Applications for iPhone and iPod Touch´. Followed in the winter (January) 2009 by courses on ´Developing Applications for Andriod Mobile Devices´ and´Developing Rich Internet Applications´. A few new courses are in the planning stage: ´Mobile Internet´,´Low-power Design for Mobile Devices´,´WiMax and LTE Technologies´.

These courses will equip you with new skills and open doors for your careers. They are extensions from our rich traditional courses on computer programming, Java, and web programming. Jump on the bandwagon now (and leave the old phone behind)!

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley offers a Linux Programming and Administration certificate program. We are a sponsor of the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo to be held at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, August 5-7. All our students who are interested in attending this conference and the exhibit can obtain a free Exhibit Hall Pass (a $50 value) from the extension (ask at the front desk).

The LinuxWorld conference features 3 days of exhibits by 175 vendors offering Linux related products. With the free pass, you can also attend the keynote and featured presentations. Of course, you can meet with many company reps and do networking with other working professionals. When you visit the Exhibit Hall, don´t forget to come to our UCSC Extension booth near the entrance where our friendly staff will be there to greet you.

Linux is gaining popularity on personal computers, devices, embedded systems and enterprise servers. We have more than 10 cutting-edge Linux courses, ranging from the introduction to Kernel programming. They include device drivers, system administration and application

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley offers a VLSI Engineering certificate program for the professionals working in the integrated circuit, ASIC, semiconductor, EDA, device and system industries in Silicon Valley. We have more than 20 cutting-edge VLSI courses. Many of them are taught in our newly upgraded VLSI Lab which gives students hands-on training in using state-of-the-art EDA tools.

Benefits of our VLSI Engineering certificate program:
• Hands-on learning of marketable skills
• Up-to-date knowledge of best design practices
• Interactions with instructors
• UC quality curriculum

Featured courses students can exercise tools
in our lab:
• Logic Synthesis and Simulations
• Verification and SystemVerilog
• Physical Design (Place & Route)
• Circuit Design (Digital and Analog)
• Timing Closure

Our state-of-art lab and tools feature the following:
• Quad core CPUs and high memory
• Real tools used by professionals
• Practice as you learn

UCSC Extension Silicon Valley announces a new certificate program on Software Engineering and Quality (SEQ).

Our newest certificate program offers an integrated approach to solving the challenge of how to educate the workforce on the software engineering process and quality control. This program provides essential courses covering all key factors of software success: requirements, design, programming, testing and management.

The new SEQ program is a consolidation of three current certificate programs: Software Engineering (SE), Software Quality Engineering and Management (SQEM) and Software Engineering Management (SEM). Our new curriculum still maintains the three focused areas while allowing students the freedom to broaden their knowledge and develop new career opportunities. This new program prepares professionals with hands-on skills and the knowledge necessary to be successful in a career that is touched by rapid changes in software technologies and business methods.

Classes are conveniently located in Cupertino and Sunnyvale. Students receive UC-quality instruction and a certificate with 14-units of credited courses.

UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley announces the first Green Manufacturing course for the electronic industry. It is part of our Embedded Systems certificate program under Hardware Systems and VLSI Engineering area. The course title is ’Designing and Building environmentally Sound Electronics’ (X400.087).

Today’s ’high-tech trash’ often ends up in landfills that may present harm to the people and the environment for generations to come. To combat this situation, most electronic companies have developed alternative materials or processes to become RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) or JIG (Joint Industry Guide) compliant, even though the reliability and economic impact of these new processes are still under intense debate in the industry.

This new course guides the manufacturing and operations professionals through the selection and certification process required for products to be RoHS and JIG compliant. This course enables the project team to pinpoint the right questions to ask of component and materials suppliers and provides a toolbox that will, when followed, enable fast introduction of RoHS and other compliance standards.

Hands-on learning has always been a big part of our engineering and technology education. UCSC Extension has been providing lab learning environment to complement classroom lectures for many years, investing resource and providing cutting-edge tools that are often not available to individuals.

We are pleased to announce that over the holidays we have upgraded several components of our labs. The VLSI Lab computers are now all Intel-based PCs while the server is 100% Linux based with quad CPUs. The Lab is open any time our Cupertino office is open (Monday through Sunday in most weeks). In our Mac Lab, the design suite has migrated from Adobe CS3 to Creative Suite 4. CS4 introduces a new user interface and offers better hardware support. All Web and Graphic Design courses will feature CS4 immediately. Our Database Lab has gone from Oracle 10g to 11g based, which is a major release in 3 years. Instructors are busy updating their teaching material to include the new features.

These investments reflect our commitment to professional learning. We want our students to practice with the best tools in the labs, which can help them gain experience and advance careers. We also want to thank our dedicated IT staff who have made this happen!