SAN LUIS OBISPO — Registration is open for the fall 2015 cohort of the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department’s printed electronics and functional imaging online certificate program. 

Designed with the working professional in mind, the program is comprised of five courses focused on functional printing and hybrid electronics. Beginning Sept. 21, the courses will be offered in a sequence that allows the entire program to be completed in 12 months.

The instructor-led, online graduate courses are fully accredited and may be taken individually or together, after an introductory course is completed. Using Cal Poly’s online learning management system, the courses provide a robust classroom experience with the benefits of online learning, integrating video, simulation, and instructor and peer interaction. Students are able to log-on and complete the work at their preferred time within a given timeframe.

“These are graduate-level courses that use a modern delivery system,” said Malcolm Keif, graduate coordinator for the program. “Having completed the inaugural cohort of the program, we are confident that our delivery system provides an in-classroom experience without the challenges associated with geography.”

The program includes a four-week foundations course (prerequisite to other courses) and four eight-week topics courses:

- GRC 501: Survey of Functional Printing

- GRC 510: Materials for Functional Printing

- GRC 512: Printing and Coating Technologies

- GRC 514: Optical and Electrical Patterning

- GRC 520: Functional Printing Product and Business Development

“Cal Poly's program helped me remain informed about new and emerging technologies in the printed electronics and functional imaging arena,” said Jason Herdon, GM Nameplate manager and a recent graduate of the program. “The carefully crafted courses allowed me, as an R&D department manager, access to a range of useful new ideas and established production techniques that were outside of my area of technical expertise. 

“I have a better understanding of both the business and technology aspects of functional imaging, including tools for ink metrology and formulation, techniques for achieving high-resolution images, and opportunities for workflow improvement.”