Amazon Robotics Powers New Systems Engineering Coursework

A $100,000 gift from Amazon Robotics will support the development of new coursework in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Designed to promote a talent pipeline for engineers trained in functional safety, Amazon Robotics’ gift will benefit UT Dallas’ Department of Systems Engineering led by Dr. Steve Yurkovich, holder of the Louis Beecherl Jr. Distinguished Chair. By expanding offerings in functional safety, the department is looking to train students with highly desirable professional skills.

“This gift means that our students will be on the cutting edge of something new,” Yurkovich said. “They’ll see that this work is different from what they’ve experienced in other classes, and that it’s something today’s engineers need to be prepared for.”

Automation is taking on an increasingly important role in the modern economy, with companies like Amazon investing heavily in the deployment of autonomous robots in warehouses and delivery services around the globe. When implemented at such a scale, ensuring the safe functioning of every machine becomes a critical concern for corporations like Amazon.

“When you have a control system in charge of a robot, you also need a separate system designed specifically to ensure that this robot can never cause harm to humans, buildings, machinery or anything else,” said Justin Croyle, principal functional safety engineer at Amazon Robotics. “Functional safety engineers are unique in that they must have a holistic understanding of the entire robotic system, they need to know elements of hardware design, software design, development and systems engineering.”

While opportunities for functional safety engineers grow, most engineering programs do not yet offer courses that provide students with the necessary combination of skills needed to succeed in the field. This shortfall of talent is a problem that Amazon Robotics hopes to begin solving through its partnership with UT Dallas.

“Amazon has a passion for trying to be forward thinking, and what we see is that we do not have a supply of engineers experienced in functional safety and that this severe deficit will continue for years to come,” Croyle said. “Connecting with a university in a way that creates a pipeline of engineers who have this exposure is going to help fulfill our needs.”

Amazon’s gift will help expand existing courses like those offered in the Jonsson School by Erik Reynolds, a lecturer in systems engineering. After integrating functional safety elements into its current offerings, department leaders envision the creation of a new certificate program that will provide students with the depth of experience necessary to support the advancement of innovative technologies across industry.

“We were excited to see the work already taking place at UT Dallas,” Croyle said. “But there was also this agility and an eagerness to collaborate and learn. We really feel like we are aligned with UT Dallas in our focus for the future.”