EVERETT – A four-decade partnership between cutting edge engineering in Everett and engineering students at Washington State University launched a new chapter in the ribbon cutting of a new lab that will benefit 4000 engineering students across five WSU campuses.
Fluke Corporation, headquartered in Everett, unveiled its new Fluke Engineering Lab at the WSU Everett campus including a cadre of equipment that will be dispersed to give engineering students in Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Everett hands-on experience for their post-graduate careers.
Led by Fluke President, Parker Burke, and Executive Vice President for Washington State University Statewide Campuses, Sandra Haynes, the crimson-colored ribbon was sliced with ceremonial crimson handled scissors, opening a new future for engineering students in Everett and WSU’s other campuses.
Jeff Gust, Fluke’s Chief Corporate Metrologist tells the EverettPost.com, “You can’t develop a technology unless you have the ability to measure it. So, hopefully, our partnership with the WSU engineering program will help (students) to develop new technologies.” Gust’s role with Fluke is about measurement. Accurate measurement. Mind-bogglingly precise measurement. Fluke builds the devices that electrical engineers need to measure as accurately as possible.
However precise you think that is. Chances are, it’s more precise than you can comprehend.
Gust continued, “Some of the physicists win the Nobel Prize from advancing the measurement science. Think of the first American to win the Nobel Prize, Albert Michaelson. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for increasing accuracy in measuring the speed of light”
We’re talking intense precision.
Gust resumes, “Today some of the latest Nobel Prize winners are winning it for measurements in time and frequency that will be redefining the second the next few years.”
Contemplate that for, ahem, just a second.
Tracking the accuracy of what constitutes one second of time. And Gust says that exacting measurement of an elapsed second of time could be achieved in 2031.
“Right now,” Gust explains, that second of time is, “tied to a constant of nature, which is based on the cesium atom. But we’re finding that we need to be more accurate than that and finding other properties of nature that can do it even more precisely.”
Not to conflate that the forthcoming measurement of an elapsed second will be measured by a device made by Fluke and used by WSU engineer students, but Gust’s example is intended to illustrate why any accuracy of measurement is of paramount importance.
A few decades ago, measurements of an accurate gallon of gasoline would be conducted to make sure that consumers were getting what they paid for at the pump. Today, with Fluke’s capabilities, it could be the accurate measure of a volt of electricity for charging an EV that you drive. Making sure consumers get what they pay for.
Gust affirms, “All measurements are basically made so that we could gather knowledge to which we could make a good decision.” Which brings us back to the WSU Everett connection with Fluke. “In fact, our metrology group for the last eight years has sponsored the senior project for the WSU Everett campus. We’ve even had them start to work on ideas and concepts of products that hopefully could be a new product for us,” he notes of the symbiotic partnership between Fluke and WSU Everett engineering students.
Speaking at the dedication of the new lab, Parker Burke, Fluke President, told the crowd, “It’s a space that is built and designed for Innovation, for learning and real-world problem solving. And I think this moment today builds on four decades of collaboration between Fluke and Washington State University. It’s grounded in a true desire to advance engineering education across our wonderful state of Washington.
“And together, we’re strengthening the connection between what our students learn in the classroom and the real-world realities that they’ll see as they seek to solve the next problems that we encounter as a civilization.
“You know, we all know that preparing the Next Generation of Engineers requires hands-on experience solving real problems with the tools that they’ll use when they enter the workplace. And through our partnership with Washington State University. There are now 4,000 students across five campuses that have access to the industry standard devices.”
The Fluke Engineering lab will give WSU’s engineering students hands-on experience with more than 30 different types of Fluke tools and technologies used across industry, from thermal imaging and digital multimeters to calibration equipment and energy loggers.
Fluke will also continue its longstanding mentorship program to connect WSU students with industry professionals for hands-on guidance, career development, and real-world engineering insight. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to closing the gap between academic preparation and workforce expectations, particularly as manufacturers and industrial operators face ongoing talent shortages and increasing technical complexity.
Mike Connell, WSU Vice-President for Advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation lauded Fluke’s contribution at the dedication, saying, “These things happen because the people at Fluke look at a university like WSU and say, ‘your students are our future’. We believe that at Washington State our students are our future. They are your future colleagues at Fluke. They’re the future leaders. And Fluke says, ‘we’re going to invest in that’, and we are grateful for that.”
Sandra Haynes, Executive Vice President for Washington State University Statewide Campuses, closed the dedication remarks saying, “For young people beginning their careers, a graduate who has already helped the instrument run a diagnostic and been coached through a mistake doesn’t spend their first six months catching up. They contribute on day one. That’s what employers tell us they need and it’s exactly the kind of preparation our students deserve.”
Students, she continued, “Will benefit from this investment. While the lab itself is located here in Everett, the impact of this partnership will be felt across the WSU system through shared access to equipment, learning opportunities, and industry engagement. Most WSU Everett students are from this region, and many will stay here. They’re often the first in their families to earn an engineering degree. When they graduate job ready, that changes a family’s trajectory, and it helps keep talent right here at home. Snohomish County and the broader Puget Sound economy depend on a strong pipeline of engineers, and WSU is proud to help meet that need. 136 years ago, this university made a promise to the people of Washington. Days like today are how we keep it.”