Congratulations go out to Project Engineer, Natarajan Ashok Anand, for becoming the first graduate from IEU.

For the past decade, Natarajan has been employed with Tectronics in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he designs, tests and commissions special integrated systems related to Industrial Ethernet. One future project is the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) in Dubai which requires Ethernet switches. That's how he became interested in the IEU.

Not wanting to miss any opportunity to learn more about this technology, he enrolled in IEU. Natarajan says, "the material presented in the curriculum is excellent, even for someone in the field." "It is structured with detail and clarity providing proper training on the basics in order to achieve more complicated solutions."

OTHER ALUMNI

As of May 1, 2008, over 360 students have graduated including:

M.N. Jayaram

Don Thomas Rhoades

Craig A. Stoudt

Iain Scott

Marius van der Wait

Chen Xiao

J. Rocca

Paula Doyle is a doctoral researcher with the Circuits and Systems Research Centre at the University of Limerick in Ireland. She has a first class honours B. Eng. degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Limerick.

Her research interests include embedded real-time systems, with emphasis on control networks for smart tranducers with applications in the field of industrial automation. Paula is currently in the final stages of her Ph.D. research, based on the time-triggered transducer clusters in an Ethernet networking environment.

For the past five years, Jens Pionczewski has been employed with Pilz GmbH & Co.; KG, Germany which is a leading provider for safety solutions. His work entails project management and application engineering. Jen's key areas of expertise are the development of customized visualization systems, industrial computers and HMI solutions which also includes advice and instructions on which fieldbus communication method is the best to utilize.

Jens says the information provided by IEU is comprehensive and easy to understand. He says the information has already aided him when tracking down communication problems with Modbus/TCP and other Ethernet-based fieldbus protocols. Jens feels it is important to get the basics of Ethernet to be able to keep up with the rapid development of this medium and its applications in factory automation.

In 2003 Dafei Fan received his B.A. in Mechanical Engineering and Automation from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST) in China. Dafei intends further study in the same speciality at the University. As an engineering graduate, Dafei says he is very interested in industrial control and network technique.

Dafeil says that one day he read about the Industrial Ethernet University in a magazine, and he realized this was a good learning opportunity for him. He says the IEU site provided him with a better understanding of Industrial Ethernet and the chance to further his knowledge about this technology.

Carlos Ramirez Carrascal has applied his experience and studies in the field of telecommunications as head of the automatization area and telecommunications in the mining company, "CONSORCIO MINERO HORIZONTE S.A." in Peru.

Carrascal says the information provided by IEU was very beneficial to him and his co-workers. They were able to successfully deploy Ethernet technology in all of the industrial processes for the extraction of gold in the underground mines and plant.

Andy Verwer is a Principal Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University where he currently runs the Automation Systems Centre, ASCENT. He is involved full-time in industrial training and consultancy at the university for modern automation and control technologies such as industrial networking, fieldbus and programmable control systems. A number of "Certified" courses have been developed over the last few years for PROFIBUS, AS-i and Open PLC technologies.

Marcos de Oliveira Fonseca is employed as the director of the Automation Technology Division at ATAN Sistemas in Brazil He has an extensive background in Industrial Automation including Control Systems and Information Technology design. Interest areas encompass Automation Systems, Information Technology, Process Control, Optimization and Artificial Intelligence.

"The IEU site increased my knowledge about Ethernet technology greatly," he said. "I feel that Ethernet is going to be the winner among network technologies on the plant floor. The IEU site gave me a better understanding of this technology. By being able to better comprehend and to work with Ethernet, this is a major goal for automation engineers like myself."

Karl Hodil has worked for 31 years in the industrial electrical field for a number of Midwest companies. Hodil's experience spans from power systems to industrial controls and instrumentation. Most recently, he has worked extensively with PLC control systems, and he has already used knowledge gained from the IEU site on a recent fiber optic project. Hodil is presently employed as a consultant at LHB, Inc., working in their Pipeline and Industrial areas.

Hodil feels the IEU site is a well-designed resource for Industrial Ethernet information. He feels that the "mini course" structure followed by short exams not only promotes interest and retention, but also allows the process to qualify as Personal Development Hours for professional license renewal.

Constantino Seixas Filho is a part-time instructor at the public university in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. He is also the P&D Director of ATAN Automation Systems, a 350 engineers' system integrator.

Filho recently graduated from IEU and invited his students to attend IEU and become graduates. He felt the IEU training was so outstanding that he eliminated the regular Industrial Ethernet courses in his school's curriculum and encouraged his students to study this technology on IEU (allowing him to concentrate on other subjects). He also recommended Contemporary Controls training to Brazilian automation professionals. He felt it rewarding to know IEU benefits professionals and students around the world. "It is nice to know that all the work that you and others place into IEU is having a positive impact."

Huy Trong Le is an Automation Engineer and Project Manager of the BMS section within the T&D Engineering Co. in Vietnam. Le works in building automation design so the knowledge of Industrial Ethernet provided by the IEU site was very useful to him. He adds that IEU gave him a better understanding of Ethernet technology.

Suresh Adusumilli is a consultant in India. Earlier, he was employed as a Senior Projects Manager for Oil Country Tubular Ltd in Hyderabad, India. He says the material on IEU was quite informative and more important, relevant to the needs of the industry. "I would like to thank Contemporary Controls for the opportunity and experience," says Adusumilli.

Larry Ziniel is employed as a Senior Electrical Engineer for Abbott Laboratories in Columbus, Ohio. His primary areas of expertise are in the fields of industrial power systems, process controls, process instrumentation and process automation.

Ziniel says that Abbott Laboratories uses many network systems such as Modbus, Data Highway Plus, DeviceNet, Fieldbus and Ethernet in their process control systems. "Ethernet gives us faster communication speeds and permits us to remotely monitor our production lines and collect data on their performance," says Ziniel.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1979 and his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1980—both from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Ziniel says the Industrial Ethernet University has helped him to understand design requirements as well as limitations for the new network installations that he will install in Abbott's plants in the future.

Ritesh Kumar Sahai works as a Sr Software Engineer in Bangalore, India. He has completed his B. Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering in 2005 from IET Lucknow, India. Ritesh has more than 3 years of experience as a software professional and has explored many areas of Networking Technologies. As a software developer, he has worked on Multimedia Protocol Development (VOIP Protocols) and Retail Software Solutions. His main focus area is C/C++ and Networking.

He said that IEU helped him much in his professional life. "The contents on IEU is very useful," he said. "It is very compact and precise, just like short notes. In our busy professional lives its really good to be able to visit a site to refresh our knowledge on Industrial Ethernet so we are able to do our best in our jobs. I have encouraged many of my friends to enroll in IEU."

Richard van de Laarschot is employed as a software architect at ICT in the Netherlands. His work focuses on embedded and real-time applications, mainly in the medical domain.

Laarschot says he enrolled in IEU to learn more about real-time Ethernet and Ethernet as a fieldbus He also took this opportunity to refresh his understanding of Ethernet technology in general.

"The material on IEU was quite informative and relevant to my needs," he says. "Much thanks."

Li Jianfeng is employed as an Application Engineer with the Misubishi Electric Automation (Shanghai) Ltd Shenzhen office. Jianfeng says his work employs Industrial Ethernet technology. He desired to learn more about Industrial Ethernet. Jianfeng says the information on IEU was very useful, taking him step-by-step to learn what he required in his position.

Marco Solazzi received his M.S. in Electronic Engineering (summa cum laude) in 2001 from the University of Ancona, Italy and his M.S. in Business Engineering in 2005 from University of Rome "Tor Vergata," Italy.

Since 2002 he has been working as a Senior Technology Consultant at Altran, Italian subsidiary. His main fields of interest are digital design (particularly System on Programmable Chip), real time software in distributed environments and software reengineering processes.

He found the IEU site as a useful resource providing a unique access to a collection of valuable classes about Ethernet technology. He particularly appreciated the organization and the modular nature of the courses.

Thamer M. Munir AL-Salek is employed as a mechanical engineer for the largest construction and maintenance company in Saudi Arabia, known as Saudi Oger Ltd.

Currently, he is involved in various projects using communication protocols such as Ethernet. Thamer has good knowledge with various types of PLCs as well as solid experience in Scada.

He considered the IEU site to be very beneficial to his work. He is happy to be an IEU graduate.

Mubarak Ali Shaik Ismail is a Senior Programmer/Analyst in a reputed government organization in Saudi Arabia. Mubarak has more than six years of software experience, but he is interested in networking and troubleshooting.

Mubarak says he is fortunate in having the golden opportunity to improve his knowledge in Ethernet solutions. He says, "I'm proud and happy to be a member of IEU." "I thank the entire IEU team in providing this valuable resource."

S. Inthikaf Alam is an Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate. Alam is employed as a Systems Engineer with more than 10 years of experience in the Process Control and Automation field. Currently, he is working with Kuwait National Petroleum Company. His field of interest includes DCS, PLC and Data Communication.

Alam says he found the material about Industrial Ethernet on IEU very informative and interesting. "I am proud to be among the IEU alumni," says Alam. "My sincere thanks to Contemporary Controls for bringing this innovative idea to light."

Sachin Mane is an Instrumentation Engineer with more than eight years of experience in the Process & Automation field. He is employed with General Electric-India Innovation Center (GE-IIC), Hyderabad, India as a Technical Specialist. His projects focus on industrial communications as well as PLC-Ethernet.

Mane said he enrolled in IEU as an opportunity for self-development since he is working in this area. "IEU provides lots of knowledge on Ethernet layers, its implementation and networking concepts," he explained. "The information is very useful and structured properly. This will definitely help me in my job and in my future career. I recommend all those who are in this field to enroll and make it your solid base of information on Ethernet. This sets a good example of online learning. Thanks!"

Craig Lindley is a controls and automation technician with a major automotive manufacturer. The company employs robotics and scada in it manufacturing environment. Lindley says IEU helped him a great deal to understand Ethernet technologies and how they apply in the company's processes.

Jon Rose graduated NMSU in 1997. Shortly after that time, he was hired by Innovasic Semiconductor as a Digital Design Engineer specializing in ASIC design. Rose has worked on several ASIC/FPGA design projects related to obsolete IC replacements. In 2001, he began working for Mission Research Corporation as a Senior Design Engineer specializing in design related to Radiation Hardened Design. Last year, Rose rejoined Innovasic Semiconductor and continued to work on ASIC designs related to obsolete IC's. The company's current focus is still on replacement devices for obsolete IC's, plus the design of their own 32-bit MCU (FIDO) based on years of experience with industry standard devices.

Rose praised the IEU site for its excellent courses.

Vijayamurugan is an Industrial Ethernet Functional Engineer Verification Engineer. He works for Global Technology Center, an R&D Center of Schneider Electric, located at Bangalore, India. With more than 4 years of experience in industrial automation, he is involved in various activities like planning, designing, commissioning, development of reusable function library and Ethernet verification. Vijayamurugan received his B.E. in 2002 from Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, India and his M. Tech in 2005 from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India. His interests include Industrial Ethernet (Modbus TCP; EtherNet/IP; CIP), Industrial Network Security, PAC, MES and Smart Sensors.

Vijayamurugan wishes to thank the IEU team for their efforts to promote such a great vendor-neutral learning platform. He says IEU is very useful in understanding the basics of Industrial Ethernet and serves as a good technical reference. He recommends it to anyone interested in achieving more knowledge about Industrial Ethernet.

C. ArulMani Vasagam is Regional Sales Manager in India for Advantech's Industrial Automation Group. He is responsible for channel and key account sales of communication products like switches, media converters, HMI, embedded PC controllers, and distributed DAQs in the area of rugged industrial applications. Earlier he worked for 15 years with ABB India in the SCADA Group for Power, Railways & Oil Pipeline. He received his engineering degree in Electronics from CPT Chennai, India and graduated in Computer Science. He is pursuing his MBA in International Business.

ArulMani felt the course content of IEU was well structured and provided in-depth knowledge of Ethernet technology — making his fundamentals of Ethernet that much stronger. He is thankful for IEU and wishes all the staff involved much success with the site.

Shengzhi MA is a PLC programmer and has been operating his own company for five years. His company provides clients with automation solutions, including: concept, hardware configuration, software (PLC programming, HMI construction), commissioning and service. He realized that the automation task no longer only referred to stand alone machines but need to be networked. His clients frequently asked about Industrial Etherent and he needed to learn about this technology.

Shengzhi MA said the training material on IEU is clear, easy to understand and very well organized. He felt that IEU's information fit his skill level and guided him through the necessary fundamentals. He feels Industrial Ethernet will have a huge impact in China and that is why he decided to learn this technology.

Afifa Rahatulain is a design engineer in the E&I department of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Ltd, Karachi, Pakistan (a subsidiary of Al-Tuwairqi Holding Company, Saudi Arabia) on their project for MIDREX DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) Technology. She has gained a lot of helpful knowledge regarding instrumentation and control in the process industry. She states, "Though my experience is still less than three years, I have worked on planning and design and would soon be a part of the commissioning team for further enhancement of my skills. I graduated from NED University of Engineering & Technology in 2007 and since then am working with TSML. Presently I am also enrolled in the Masters Degree program, majoring in Industrial Electronics.

"The IEU helped me a great deal in learning the basic concepts of Industrial Ethernet. The course structure is well defined and informative enough to guide a beginner, like me, in understanding the technology."

Aliya Idris is a Design Engineer in E&I Department of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited (Karachi, Pakistan) and writes, "I have been associated with the organization for two years now and have acquired tremendous knowledge regarding Field Instrumentation, Automation and Control Systems. TSML has offered full freedom to thrive in the field of Instrument and Control. I intend to see the plant being commissioned soon so that could develop my skills and expertise to a large extent. I graduated from NED University of Engineering & Technology in the field of Electronics in 2007 and plan to pursue further studies.

"IEU offered an organized and well structured course of study that a basic learner can easily get acquainted to. It helped me attain in depth of knowledge of Industrial Ethernet for which I extend my great pleasure and thankfulness."

Zeeshan Aslam writes, "I graduated from NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi in December, 2006 in Electronics Engineering. Presently I am completing the Masters Degree program, majoring in Industrial control & automation.

"I am Instrumentation & Control Engineer in the E&I design department of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Ltd, Karachi, Pakistan (a subsidiary of Al-Tuwairqi Holding Company, Saudi Arabia). On their project for MIDREX (USA) DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) Technology. I have acquired a great deal of useful knowledge regarding instrumentation and control in the process industry. I have worked on planning and design of a project and would soon be a part of the commissioning team. Furthermore I have a good working experience of designing, installation, testing & commissioning of Fire Alarm & Suppression Systems, as I have worked with many renowned vendors like Honeywell, Kidde-Fenwal, Fike, Gents and GST. Moreover I gained few International Trainings, recently training on DCS (Distributed Control System) of Honeywell (PKS-Experion) from India in August 2008.

"The material on IEU was quite informative, educational and relevant to needs of engineers working on Industrial Ethernet."

Muhammad Talha writes, "I am a Design Engineer in the Electrical & Instrumentation section of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Ltd an ancillary venture of Al Tuwairqi Group of Companies (ATG) one of the leading business and industrial concerns of Saudi Arabia. I was involved with this Industry since August 2007. In this period I have been given a number of assignments associated to my field (Instrument and control) and by the grace of GOD, I have fulfilled them by gaining lots and lots of knowledge. Errands majoring pressure gauges, control valves, safety and regulating valves, gamma system, Instrument tools etc.

"Moving towards my Education, I have passed B.E degree (Majoring Electronics) in December 2006 and I am a member of PEC (Engineering Council of Pakistan). I am now very anxious to gain the knowledge coming ahead in my field and wants to be a part of professional and groomed engineers. May GOD Bless all of us and sustain us in the write path to achieve our career goals. "

Alejandro Barraza writes, "Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be an engineer. I love electronics and computers. I graduated as an automation engineer from Universidad Don Bosco, El Salvador.

"These topics integrate the information that allows us not only understand the protocols and the way networks interconnect, but also the equipment used today in the industry.

"Courses online like IEU are a important. In my case, I learned so much information that I wanted to show my interest online. Now, I’m very happy that I turned what I love into a career."

W. M. "Mike" Luffey, P.E., earned a B.S. from Louisiana Tech University in 1971. He has served as Design Engineer, Project Engineer, and Construction Manager on many projects in various technologies in both public and private organizations throughout Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee. His extensive experience includes varied positions in telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, transportation, education and retail organizations.

His knowledge of technologies includes SCADA, CCTV and HVAC.

Kapil Agrawal has done M Tech from IIT BHU and worked for two years in industrial automation and networking in Siemens India. He has a BE in Electronics and Communication and is interested in networking and internet technology(ies).

He adds, "It was really a great experience to go through IEU course material. The content was easy to understand and grasp. The concepts were described very clearly and it gives a great deal of learning online.

Muhammad Fahad earned his bachelors degree from NED University of Engineering & Technology in Karachi, Pakistan and his MSc. in Electrical Engineering (Automation and Control System) from National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2008. He is currently working as a Automation Engineer in Synertec Asia Pte Ltd (Singapore) and has 2 years of experience in Automation.

Muhammad notes, "IEU helped me a lot to understand basic terminologies of Ethernet. The course is well structured and organized for basics to advanced level. Actually this course enabled me to work more confidently in the process industry and will help me in commissioning as well."

M. Knezic received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2005. He is currently working toward the M.Sc. degree with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

His research interests include industrial communication protocols, embedded systems design and power electronics.

As part of developing Ethernet expertise, I enrolled in IEU to gain knowledge of Ethernet. IEU provides a lot of basics and in the internals of each module. Its a very good forum where beginners as well as experienced can develop their expertise. I would also like to add more topics and information to spread the knowledge. Thanks for the support. Interested in forums to gain more expertise by interacting with experts around the world.