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The authors outline the progress and experiences to date on the development of an automated laboratory workstation configuration funded by the National Science Foundation Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program, (NSF-USE-9051175). This workstation was developed at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville using the NeXTStep Unix Mach-based object-oriented operating system. This networked workstation configuration is designed to increase efficiency of the laboratory sessions by automating the data acquisition process and permitting students to analyze data in laboratory session at the workstation. The automation, the ease of data acquisition, and the programmability have provided the students the time to explore and the opportunity to expand their horizon. The authors discuss types of experiments that lend themselves well to automation, review the network configuration and software, and describe both the positive and negative results with this approach. >

All developing countries need electrical power for their industrial, commercial and domestic use. Furthermore, the use of electricity will increase very rapidly in underdeveloped countries as their economies improve, as it did in the developed nations during the 1960s an 70s. This paper discusses the standardization of power plant design and construction as a means to achieve power plants with high overall efficiency, promote international competition to reduce power plant cost, and promote careful planning to safeguard the environment.

To improve the laboratory component of the electrical engineering curriculum, the authors have been developing a workstation environment to provide effective integration of theoretical calculations, computer simulations, and electrical measurements. The goal is to provide a standardized computer interface that coordinates and eases the student's utilization of these components in their work and thus increases their productivity. Several faculty are involved in this wide-ranging, ongoing project which is partially supported by NSF's Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program. The project includes assessing the capabilities of the NeXT computer for such an environment. The workstation environment is described for circuit analysis, digital signal processing, and digital design applications. The applications described demonstrate the potential effectiveness of the integrated workstation approach and lay a foundation for future work. >