Prof. Jonathan Rogers Lockheed Martin Associate Professor of Avionics Integration

While the nation's colleges and universities rev up for a return to the classroom this fall, Aerospace Engineering professor Jonathan Rogers is looking for ways to make the virtual experience more relevant, more valuable for fledgling engineers.

Judging from the response to his first Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) this spring, he's hit on something.

More than 10,000 students from more than 150 countries signed up for his initial online offering, Mechatronics Revolution: Fundamentals and Core Concepts, which incorporated an optional lab kit for building a fully functioning robot. While he develops a follow-up online course on control systems implementation, Rogers took some time to reflect on the larger issues that framed his efforts. 

We invite you to read his thoughts, published this week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.