IEEE Communications Magazine • January 2012 153 PREAMBLE The American Engineers’ Council for Profes- sional Development defines engineering as: “The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, appa- ratus, or manufacturing processes, or works uti- lizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cog- nizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property” [1]. Or put simply, the application of scientific knowl- edge to practical problems. The current pedagogy in engineering education is to impart practically applicable general concepts to students. The engineer is then tasked with uti- lizing these concepts to develop solutions that meet specific requirements. Introducing the recon- figurable high-speed platform into the curriculum is proving to be enormously beneficial to students in preparation for actual technology development in industry, exposing them to real-world design techniques and multi-disciplinary problem-solving. This hands-on education provides and reinforces the link between education and industry. Research in engineering takes on a slightly different role. Due to the rapid progression of technology, researchers focus more on scientific concepts and are less concerned with engineering development. These concepts are then used to provide engineers a pipeline of new ideas that ultimately influence practical development. How- ever, in an academic setting, there is often an information gap between cutting-edge research and education that results in a somewhat vapid educational experience. Facilitating collaboration between academic research, education and indus- trial development has the potential to not only significantly enrich technology but to shift the paradigm in technology development as well. In this article, we suggest how closer collabo- ration can be facilitated by presenting the bene- fits and capabilities that reconfigurable high-speed platforms can bring to the academic research community and how students can bene- fit from increased interaction with research activities. Several case studies of currently ongo- ing research projects at Iowa State University from multiple engineering disciplines are provid- ed that epitomize the benefits of using repro- grammable platforms to enhance academic research and undergraduate education. The uti- lization of these platforms for research prototyp- ing to accord researchers a more holistic view of research problems and insight into the formula- tion of more robust solutions is also discussed. Finally, the effect of this interaction on engi- 0163-6804/12/$25.00 © 2012 IEEE This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CISE-EAI- 0306007. ABSTRACT Keeping students acclimatized with the increasingly rapid advancement in technology requires major changes in the manner in which education is designed and conducted. With the utilization of more sophisticated equipment in the classroom and laboratory, students are better exposed to real-world design techniques and multidisciplinary problem-solving, providing a positive link between education and industry. Much of the impetus for this change is the avail- ability of more affordable and easy to use micro- controllers and embedded systems, including reconfigurable multipurpose hardware platforms. At the heart of this paradigm shift is the prolif- eration of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs), and the growth of system-on-a-chip (SOC) design. SOC designs facilitate innovation by incorporat- ing the speed of dedicated hardware and memo- ry with the flexibility of general purpose processors on a single chip. The use of this reprogrammable high-speed platform helps stu- dents reach a stage of true emancipation, com- bining their coursework knowledge in a more holistic engineering approach. In this article, we discuss the benefits of the reconfigurable high- speed platform in academia. By enhancing infor- mation sharing and collaboration between research and education, undergraduate students can gain more exposure to cutting edge research. In addition, the use of this platform for research prototyping serves to enhance the visibility of research projects to the industrial community. We illustrate how this platform can be co-opted into current practices via several case studies and the associated benefits that can be gained. ACCEPTED FROM OPEN CALL Jin-Wei Tioh, Nathan VanderHorn, Mani Mina, Robert J. Weber, and Arun K. Somani, Iowa State University Reconfigurable High-Speed Platform: Shifting the Paradigm in Education, Research and Engineering