Blog RSS FeedThis post authored by John Coonrod originally appeared on the ROG Blog hosted by Microwave Journal.
The use of circuit defects is a growing trend in high-frequency circuit design
Successful microstrip circuit design requires a great many factors to fall neatly into place, not to mention high consistency and performance from the printed-circuit-board (PCB) material. Maintaining tight microstrip circuit tolerances helps ensure predictable impedances from those transmission lines, assuming a consistent relative dielectric constant across the PCB. With so many challenges in designing and fabricating high-performance microstrip circuits, why would so many RF and microwave circuit designers currently be interested in adding “defects” to their circuits? As strange as it may sound, the use of circuit defects is a growing trend in high-frequency circuit design, especially for passive circuits such as filters. More precisely, the trend is in the increased use of defected ground structures (DGSs) and defected microstrip structures (DMSs) to alter the responses of microstrip circuit designs.
What are DGS and DMS forms?
Just what are these DGS and DMS forms, and does incorporating them into a high-frequency circuit change the way the PCB material should be specified? Although both types of structures are referred to as “defects,” they are well planned and calculated, essentially resonant gaps or slots that are placed in a PCB’s ground plane or transmission lines, respectively, to achieve modifications in impedance. By inserting a gap in the ground plane underneath a narrow microstrip transmission line, for example, a much higher impedance can be achieved than with a traditional microstrip transmission line having the same dimensions. Impedance transitions are useful in a number of different RF/microwave circuit designs, including lowpass filters which can be formed with a cascade of high- and low-impedance sections.
A DGS allows a circuit designer to insert a transmission zero or notch anywhere in the transfer function of a microstrip transmission line. This type of added attenuation can sharpen the rolloff of a bandpass filter or deepen the stopband attenuation of a lowpass filter. Designers have employed this phenomenon in both active and passive circuits. In active circuits, DGS circuit elements have helped improve the efficiency of power amplifiers. In passive circuits, they are often used to fine-tune a filter’s response or improve the performance of a patch antenna. Even simple DGS and DMS forms can help extend a filter’s stopband by adding attenuation at the resonant frequencies represented by the physical gaps in the PCB’s ground plane or microstrip transmission lines. In recent years, designers have become quite creative in exploring the possibilities of DGS and DMS forms and shapes in high-frequency circuits, eschewing simple slots or gaps in a ground plane, for example, for dumb-bell shapes and meander lines in an attempt to achieve higher-impedance transitions in smaller PCB areas.
DGS and DMS circuit elements must be treated with care
As part of distributed circuit design, DGS and DMS forms are treated as distributed circuit elements, more or less as inductors. They can replace a conventional distributed transmission-line inductor while possibly minimizing circuit loss. In terms of practical PCB fabrication, however, DGS and DMS circuit elements must be treated with care. While they can be used to add selective notches in a circuit’s frequency response, they will not improve passband insertion loss, which will largely be a function of the PCB’s material parameters and the transmission-line characteristics. The best way to achieve low passband insertion loss in a filter is still by choosing a low-loss laminate, such as RO4000® or RO3000® circuit materials, which are available with a wide range of dielectric constants and dissipation factors as low as 0.0013 at 10 GHz. In addition, by using circuit materials with a high relative dielectric constant, such as RO3010™ or RT/duroid® 6010.2LM laminates, both with dielectric-constant value of 10.2 at 10 GHz, the benefits of DGS and DMS circuit elements can be readily applied to edge-coupled filter designs.
DGS and DMS circuit elements can increase the size of a circuit, especially when these structures are fabricated as more element forms, such as meander lines. A DGS essentially acts like a resonant circuit in parallel with the transmission line above it, and the dimensions of the DGS and its position relative to the transmission line will determine the impact of the DGS on the circuit’s response. The precision with which the DGS or DMS form can be fabricated can also affect the circuit’s response. If the DGS is thought of as an equivalent circuit element, such as an inductor, in a distributed circuit design, then the value of that inductor will change according to the dimensional tolerances of the DGS and its alignment to the transmission line. Even the consistency of the PCB’s dielectric constant can play a role in the inductance of a DGS within a circuit. When applying these types of “defects” to a high-frequency circuit, they should be designed well within microstrip fabrication tolerances and taking into account the consistency of the PCB material’s relative dielectric constant.
How do you integrate DGS and DMS into practical RF/microwave circuit designs?
If DGS and DMS circuit elements are so finicky, how is it possible to integrate them into practical RF/microwave circuit designs? For the most part, both types of structures are modeled by means of electromagnetic (EM) simulation software, based on a number of different analytical methods, such as the method of moments (MoM) or the finite-element method (FEM). Through EM simulation, it is possible to estimate the effects of DGS and DMS placement, dimensional tolerances, and even how using circuit laminates with different values of permittivity affect expected performance. However, it is only fair to note that DGS elements can act as radiators as well as resonators. A slot in a laminate’s ground plane essentially forms a slot antenna. Fortunately, most of the incident energy of a DGS slot at its resonant frequency is reflected back into the circuit’s transmission lines, although depending upon the circuit topology, some of this energy can be coupled into different circuit features. Such coupling effects are difficult to model in a practical EM simulation.
This post has only touched upon some of the unconventional structures being used by RF/microwave circuit designers in search of improved performance at higher frequencies. A future post by John will return to this topic with a closer look at some of the other stripline and microstrip circuit structures that are finding application in high-frequency circuits, including torroidal inductor structures using holes in the ground plane, substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), and split-ring resonators as used in terahertz-frequency metamaterials. And for those involved in automotive electronics, John’s next post will explore the role of PCB materials in helping automotive manufacturers meet their performance and cost budgets for automotive electronic systems.
Do you have a design or fabrication question? John Coonrod and Joe Davis are available to help. Log in to the Rogers Technology Support Hub and “Ask an Engineer” today.
This post authored by Joe Blair originally appeared on the PORON Cushioning blog.
What a great time of year….the days are getting longer and warmer, and Major League Baseball has officially begun. It has taken a little adjustment seeing players in new uniforms. I pretty much got used to seeing Pujols in the Angels
uniform during the off season but Papalbon as a Philly and a few others will take some adjusting. And in case you really have not been paying attention, don’t forget the Marlins changed to the “Miami Marlins”. Changes happen all year long on teams to help make them better. The same goes for the equipment they are wearing.
The team at Rawlings® is constantly studying and testing products to enhance the performance of the player. One of the products Rawlings has been testing and designing more and more into their products is PORON® XRD™ Impact Protection. The material is soft and flexible at rest but when impacted, it momentarily “freezes” and dissipates energy creating a “shield”. In the sport of baseball when a hard ball is moving 90+ mph, this protection is obviously important.
Rawlings has designed PORON XRD Protection into the S100 helmet which is standard for all leagues beside the 
Majors. It is designed specifically to protect against high-speed impacts up to 100 miles-per-hour. Rawlings has also designed this technology into chest protectors, leg guard and may of their gloves. Athletes such as World Series Champion and all-star catcher Yadier Molina have even asked for products designed with more PORON XRD Protection. Want another player using the product in his equipment….how about a 1st baseman considered by many as the best player in the game (today and historically). That’s right, Pujols has PORON XRD Protection in his gloves also.
So the next time you’re out looking for equipment, look for Rawlings products with the PORON XRD Impact Protection tag. If the players at the pinnacle of the sport trust the equipment, don’t you think you should also?
For more information about where to find products designed with PORON XRD Impact Protection, check out www.poronxrd.com
By Human Resources Department
Lifelong learning is a key aspect of professional development throughout your career. Methods of learning are frequently changing, but the idea behind them never will: when you learn something new, you gain knowledge and perspective that can be applied to everyday life. One form of learning that is keeping pace with our changing world is e-learning and, more specifically, social media.
Expanding the Boundaries of Lifelong Learning with E-Learning and Social Media
Social media allows us to stay up-to-date with industry news and topics, connect with professionals in related fields, and share expertise with others. In this second blog in the Professional Development series, we’ll discuss ways to get involved in online communities and their social media networks.
Online communities are great resources for professional development and there’s at least one great community for virtually every industry. For example, AIChE’s ChEnected is a resource for young professionals in Chemical Engineering.
ChEnected hosts an active, engaging blog about issues in Chemical Engineering and how they impact ChE professionals. With feature posts like “Young Professional of the Month,” interviews with industry leaders, product and book reviews and much more, this online community offers exciting perspectives on the field.
In addition, ChEnected provides many ways to stay connected through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, YouTube, and Flickr, and even take an online course in a variety of subjects related to Chemical Engineering. You can also submit your own content to the site in the form of a blog, quiz, poll or video.
Within the microwave and RF industry, Microwave Journal is a comprehensive resource for engineers and other professionals. In addition to a monthly magazine and daily e-newsletters, Microwave Journal hosts several industry blogs and a dynamic social media network. Many MJ editors and representatives are active on Twitter, and the RF and Microwave group on LinkedIN is frequently updated with new discussions.
An excellent resource for women in engineering is the Society for Women Engineers. SWE maintains an active social media presence, holds online chats, and offers news and information about seminars, events and scholarships for young women.
Using social media in the pursuit of e-learning is a great way to keep pace in a fast-paced world, technology and engineering in particular. These tools provide the means to stay informed and connected to your industry, as well as to fellow professionals.
How do you use these tools? Would you like to suggest a community not listed here? Leave a reply in our Comments section! You can find this and other articles in our Professional Development Series.
Be sure to follow Rogers Human Resources on Facebook and Twitter for the next blog in the series.
John Coonrod has written so many useful blog posts over the past couple of years. We wanted to pull it all together with this index to make it easy to find his information as it relates using advanced materials in PCB/microwave/RF design. Here we go:
May 1, 2012: PCB Advances Drive Automotive Applications
April 4, 2012: PCB Considerations For Defected Structures
March 20, 2012: Learning To Launch Onto Different Circuit Thicknesses
March 5, 2012: Matching Materials To Millimeter-Wave Circuits
February 8, 2012 Digging Out The Details On Embedded Capacitance
January 23, 2012 Choosing A Laminate That Matches The Model
December 15, 2011 Measurements Help In Sorting Materials
November 29, 2011 Match Material Specs To Application Needs
November 11, 2011 What is Design Dk?
November 3, 2011 Selecting A Suitable High-Frequency Laminate
October 17, 2011 Bending and Forming RF/Microwave PCBs
September 27, 2011 Aiming For The Perfect Wire Bond
September 9, 2011 Taking A Measure Of Copper Surface Roughness
August 23, 2011 Sizing Up PCB Laminate Surface Roughness
August 3, 2011 Modeling A PCB’s Thermal Behavior
July 13, 2011 Picking the right PCB for lead-free processing
June 28, 2011 Planar Resistors Build On Reliability
June 5, 2011 Learn To Apply Design Dk
May 26, 2011 Test Dielectric Constant With Microstrip Circuits
May 6, 2011 Detecting The Dk Of “Raw” Circuit Boards
April 25, 2011 Measuring Performance Of Microwave Substrates
April 1, 2011 Comparing RF Circuit Material Processing Costs & Performance
March 14, 2011 Controlling Conductor Losses In Coplanar Transmission Lines
February 24, 2011 When Digital Signals Reach Microwave Frequencies
January 27, 2011 Transmission-Line Modeling Tool: Free Downloadable Software
January 11, 2011 Substrate Anisotropy Affects Filter Designs
December 20, 2010 Microstrip Versus Stripline: How To Make The Choice
November 9, 2010 What Is Outgassing And When Does It Matter?
November 4, 2010 Thinner Materials Help Target Higher Frequencies
October 13, 2010 Selecting Substrates For Printed-Circuit Antennas
September 24, 2010 Picking PCB Materials for Power Amplifiers
August 30, 2010 Understanding the true meaning of dielectric constant
August 3, 2010 FR-4 Versus High Frequency Laminates
Stay tuned, as we will keep adding to this index over time. Thank you!
By Human Resources Department
Professional development is a life-long process of learning, networking and diversifying our knowledge base to better enrich our careers and our lives. Throughout this series, we’ll look at several ways of developing and enhancing the professional experience.
American businessman Henry L. Doherty once said, “Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” In today’s technologically advancing world, there are many new and interactive ways to learn every day. We can take courses online and read blogs on virtually every topic imaginable.
One useful method of e-learning is engaging with other professionals through social media. Following a Twitter feed relating to your interests can offer new perspectives and updates tailored to professionals in your field.
In this way, individual social media networks can be very beneficial when expanding your knowledge about a specific topic. For a wider range of topics, though, as well as for more diverse groups of professionals, online communities can be excellent networking tools. Many online communities have a variety of ways to get involved from joining their social media sites, posting questions on forums, and live chats among members. Just like going to an in-person event, you can gain valuable connections and relationships with industry professionals, an essential part of networking and professional development.
Taking part in industry networks and initiatives is another great tool for professional development. There are national and international associations for most every profession, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER), and many more. Through a membership to one or more of these types of groups, you can receive industry updates, events and materials related to your field, not to mention valuable connections to other professionals.
There are also many initiatives to get involved in, such as mentorship or STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) education. Involvement can range anywhere from writing a blog article or attending an event or even simply following a group on social media. This is a great way to not only develop professionally, but also to display interest on a personal level.
In future blog articles, we will further explore these and other aspects of professional development. Please share your ideas for Professional Development with us in our Comments section.
And you can follow Rogers Career Center on Facebook and Twitter for more tips and information.
This post was originally written by Angela Walters on the PORON Cushioning Blog.
From protective equipment to hand bags and footwear to apparel, the PORON® Team knows how important it is to set your brand apart from the competition. For our PORON Brand Partners, product and brand differentiation begins at the design stage, when they decide to build their products with the best materials for comfort, impact protection and long term reliability.
Glove with PORON XRD tag
But for the end customer who is choosing between one brand of protective gear versus another, sometimes this form of product differentiation isn’t enough.
That’s why our Brand Partners choose to promote PORON Technology in their latest styles and innovations. Branding with the PORON and PORON XRD name is a key step in ‘closing the loop’ and making an important connection with consumers that products enhanced with PORON Materials have been designed with long-lasting performance, comfort and innovative technology in mind.
To further assist our Brand Partners in telling their product’s story with PORON and PORON XRD Technology, we’re excited to launch the new PORON Branding Portal, which will allow our Brand Partners to search, download and most importantly use a wide range of PORON marketing support materials….INSTANTLY!
The new Branding Portal can be easily accessed directly from both the PORON and PORON XRD websites under the “Brand Support” tab. Or for those planning to regularly visit the site for all the most up-to-date and exciting PORON branding tools, we suggest bookmarking http://www.poroncushioning.com/brandsupport/ under your “Favorites!”
How do you get started?
You’re just 4 STEPS AWAY from getting all the PORON marketing tools and information you need!
1) Access the portal
2) Search and place the PORON information most useful to your brand into your “Shopping Cart”
3) Enter your contact information at the “Check Out” screen
4) Instantly download your selections directly to your desktop!
What will you find?
A variety of PORON and PORON XRD branding and co-branding tools including:
PORON Cushioning Product Highlight
- Logos
- Hang tag and sewn-in tag options
- Product and application photos
- Educational and product demo vide0
- Product literature
- Sales training tools
- AND MUCH MORE!
Items are being added daily, so please check back often and let us know if there are additional PORON marketing, sales or branding tools you would like added!
Simply e-mail us at: poron.cushioning@rogerscorp.com
Okay, so enough reading…now please visit the PORON Branding Portal today and let us know what you think!
How many times have you dropped your mobile phone? In my case, too many to count.
But in those slow motion moments before it hits the ground, I cringe in fear… Will it break? Or not?
Well, the engineers at Rogers have been thinking about this problem for some time and have been designing impact protection materials to provide the cushioning needed to protect handheld devices.
Arjun Srivastava and the team at High Performance Foams recently published this white paper: “Rogers Handheld Shock Control Design Guide” to help design engineers fully understand how to protect handheld devices from cracking in their design plan:
In SquareTrade’s November 2010 Smart Phone Reliability report, drops were the cause of 77% of all accidental damage to the smart phones. The paper goes on to point out that, “the likelihood of drop damage is directly proportional to the amount of glass
on the device,” which bodes poorly for tablet devices.Fortunately, choosing the correct cushioning material will mitigate the risk of cracked screens in these devices. This guide is meant to help you select the proper impact protection materials for your handheld designs. It will cover a variety of tools and concepts including a clear and thorough definition of shock absorption, how cushions dissipate impact energy, and why PORON® materials are great shock absorbers
for handheld devices.
In this design guide, you will learn:
- What is a shock absorber?
- How do cushions help? What is cushioning efficiency?
- Why strain-hardening properties help PORON foams absorb impact?
- What is compression force deflection and how to measure it?
If you are designing mobile devices, this is a must read.
This post authored by John Coonrod originally appeared on the ROG Blog hosted by Microwave Journal.
Multilayer printed-circuit boards (PCBs) have gained in popularity as designers seek to shrink their circuits. They offer the opportunity to stack a wide range of functions on one multilayer design, even combine analog, digital, and microwave circuits on a single circuit assembly. Designers have learned how to stack laminates with different relative dielectric constants, such as PTFE-based laminates and FR-4, in compact multilayer circuits, but creating such circuits requires careful planning and a good understanding of the role that bonding films and prepregs play in multilayer circuits.
One of the most popular PCB prepreg materials is also the dielectric material that forms one of the most commonly used circuit laminates—FR-4. One of the simplest ways to think of a prepreg is as a “glue layer” between two or more circuit layers. A prepreg such as FR-4, which is essentially woven glass and epoxy resin, is cured at a temperature below that of the circuit laminates it bonds together, early in the cure process, flowing around the etched copper traces of the laminates and bonding the multilayer-circuit’s dielectric layers together.
It is not unusual to find a multilayer circuit with a low-loss laminate such as PTFE or RO4000® material forming the microwave circuit layer and with several FR-4 layers for baseband and digital circuitry. This type of mixed-dielectric multilayer construction is often called a hybrid multilayer circuit. The laminates are chosen for the electrical requirements of the different circuit functions, and the prepregs provide the adhesion between circuit layers. The layers are stacked and clamped under pressure at elevated temperature, typically about 100 to 400 psi at the bonding temperature. The temperature in this process is carefully controlled, with materials suppliers each offering recommended guidelines for their prepregs for temperature ramp and dwell times to achieve good flow around the circuit traces and good adhesion with the dielectric layers.
Multiple layers of RO4003C™ or RO4350B™ circuit laminates are typically bonded by RO4400™ prepregs to form integrated multilayer microwave circuit assemblies. These materials are formulated to have dielectric constants as close in value as possible, since the effective dielectric constant of a multilayer circuit construction is the average value of the different dielectric constants. In a multilayer circuit construction, laminates are typically referred to as “core” laminates to distinguish them from prepreg layers. With FR-4-based laminates and prepregs, it is generally not possible to exactly match the dielectric constants of the materials. To facilitate flow during the bonding process, FR-4-based prepregs are formulated with less glass reinforcement than FR-4 laminates, and dielectric constant is a function of material content.
Achieve a close match in dielectric constant
But for some cases of PTFE-based laminates and prepregs, and with specially developed materials such as the RO4000 laminates and RO4400 prepregs, it can be possible to achieve a close match in dielectric constant between the laminate and the prepreg. In some cases, it is even possible to fabricate multilayer circuits using the same material, such as PTFE, as the laminate and the prepreg, although these cases require somewhat unique processing conditions.
For example, the RO4003C laminate has a process relative dielectric constant of 3.38 in the z direction at 10 GHz, with dissipation factor (dielectric loss) of 0.0027 at 10 GHz. RO4350B laminate has a process dielectric constant of 3.48 in the z direction at 10 GHz, with dissipation factor of 0.0037 at 10 GHz. RO4450B and RO4450F prepregs, matched to these two laminates are available with different sheet thicknesses, with RO4450B prepreg available in 3.6- and 4-mil-thick sheets and RO4450F prepreg available in 4-mil-thick sheets. For 3.6-mil-thick RO4450B prepreg, the dielectric constant is 3.30 in the z direction at 10 GHz. For 4-mil-thick sheets of the same prepreg, the dielectric constant is 3.54. RO4450F prepreg exhibits a dielectric constant of 3.52 in the z direction at 10 GHz for a 4-mil-thick sheet. Both prepregs have a dissipation factor of 0.004 in the z direction at 10 GHz, regardless of thickness. Both are engineered with glass transition temperature (Tg) of greater than +280°C for stable expansion characteristics over the wide range of circuit-board processing temperatures.
In the case of RO4350B laminate with dielectric constant of 3.48, the thinner RO4450B prepreg has a lower value of dielectric constant while the thicker RO4450B prepreg is slightly higher in dielectric constant. As a rough approximation, the composite dielectric constant can be considered as an average of the two values. More accurately, the dielectric layers are akin to parallel-plate stacked capacitances, and the dielectric-constant layers can be viewed much like capacitance in series. The composite dielectric-constant value of the stacked layers can be approximated by applying a summation formula, with the parallel-plate dielectric-constant values normalized to each layer thickness. Even so, variations can result due to the type of circuit, the thickness, and other factors.
Design Dk Value
At microwave frequencies, these variations can result in changes in expected impedance for transmission lines. For that reason, we provide a second value of relative dielectric constant for design purposes, such as when using a computer software simulation program. The “design Dk” values for RO4350B and RO4003C laminates are both higher than the process values, at 3.66 and 3.55, respectively, in the z direction at 10 GHz, intended to provide more accurate results when calculating impedance values for dimensions of microstrip and stripline transmission lines.
Taking the average of two or more dielectric constants in a multilayer circuit assembly is really an approximation, since variables such as the copper surface roughness can affect the value of dielectric constant particularly when z-direction dielectric spacing between copper features and planes is thin as is often the case for features that are separated by prepreg bonding layers. A prepreg can also bring the effects of its own dielectric constant to a design, depending upon the circuit layout. Circuits with coupled features or differential-pair transmission lines, for example, will be influenced by the presence of the prepreg material (and its dielectric constant) between them. In such cases, a prepreg layer will exhibit influences in the x-y plane of the circuit and not just in the z direction.
As detailed in this blog post from last summer, a laminate’s copper surfaces are often treated to improve adhesion with dielectric materials. Such treatment increases the surface roughness of the copper to enhance adhesion with other materials, but it also increases conductor losses in transmission lines formed on that copper and can impact the effective dielectric constant of dielectric layers, such as prepregs in multilayer circuits. A laminate’s copper thickness can also impact the thickness of a prepreg layer following processing, since the prepreg will flow around the circuit’s traces but also conform to the features of the copper. When attempting to model the combination of prepregs and laminates in terms of average dielectric constant when working with a commercial computer simulation program, suppliers of prepregs can usually provide guidance on recommended values for dielectric constant for a given number of prepreg layers, type of laminate, copper roughness, and other factors.
Do you have a design or fabrication question? John Coonrod and Joe Davis are available to help. Log in to the Rogers Technology Support Hub and “Ask an Engineer” today.
In this article, Ken Kozicki from High Performance Foams, shares the real cost of a gasket or seal, which has a much bigger impact than the actual cost of the item itself … especially in a rail car:
More often than not, there is a significant amount of emphasis and evaluation placed upon the selection of the materials used within the more prominent features of the interiors. This includes composite materials for side wall and ceiling liners, seat cushion foams and upholstery, and flooring structures, to name a few.
…what is frequently ignored is the hidden value and importance of the multitude of gaskets and seals that protect, preserve and actually integrate the various interior systems and modules together. While one of the main functions of a gasket or seal is to keep moisture or water from leaking into an undesired place, there are also many other considerations that should go into gasket selection. A great deal of engineering effort is spent determining vibration isolation and damping, acoustic blocking and absorption, as well as contribution to EMI/RFI protection and conformance to flame, smoke and toxicity requirements.
Ken answers questions like:
- Does the quality of material that seals two expensive wall panels really make a difference?
- Do you know what a compression set is?
- Do you know what degradation of force deflection is, and how it impacts a seal?
Download the The Real Cost of a Gasket article.
Introducing the L3 Première™: Reduce vibration in rail flooring
The High Performance Foams team recently launched a new product in its BISCO® line of silicone foams called the L3 Première, specifically designed for rail applications.
Employing breakthrough technology, the new L3 Première improves the passenger experience by reducing vibration in flooring constructions. Utilizing L3 Première isolation pads enables a smoother, more comfortable passenger ride especially in high speed rail applications.
Under extreme conditions for temperature and load, L3 Première maintains performance by retaining thickness and performance with low stress relaxation. 20 percent lighter than its L3 predecessor, the durable, long last-lasting material greatly resists compression set reducing the need for costly refurbishments over a railway cabin vehicle’s operational lifespan.
Read the full L3 Première press release.
Download a data sheet.
By Human Resources Department
2012 Engineers Week
Join Rogers Corporation February 19 – 25 as we celebrate National Engineers Week 2012. The National Engineers Week Foundation was created in 1951 to promote interest and literacy in engineering and related fields. For sixty years, National Engineers Week has been a special opportunity for companies, schools and universities to share the unique challenges and rewards of pursuing engineering education and careers.
This year’s theme is “Seven billion people. Seven billion dreams. Seven billion ways for engineers to turn dreams into reality.”
It is estimated that this year, the world population will rise to 7 billion. We need engineers, now more than ever, to develop ways to help move our planet into a cleaner, healthier and more technological tomorrow.
To do this, we must spark interest and passion for learning in students of all ages. The base of every engineering discipline begins with STEM: science technology engineering and math.
“Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike.”
Rogers is approaching this task in several ways. We have shared several video interviews with Rogers employees and interns who specialize in various engineering fields. In these video interviews, employees discuss their experiences at Rogers and interest in engineering.
We’re excited to announce that job shadowing is returning to Rogers Corporation! In collaboration with a local STEM jobs association, CT STEM Jobs one student from a Connecticut university will shadow a Rogers engineer for a day. In the coming months, we hope to invite more high school and college students to shadow Rogers employees, learning about real-world applications of engineering studies.
We are continuing to explore ways to promote STEM education and the pursuit of engineering careers. If you have a suggestion for an event or activity, share it with us in our comments section.
Rogers Human Resources is on Facebook and Twitter! Stay tuned for even more ways to get involved in National Engineers Week, along with ways to share engineering with a student in your community.
