Information Updated August 2019
Jim Pytel is the lead faculty for the Electro-Mechanical Technology Program at Columbia Gorge Community College
The Renewable Energy Technology program evolved from an existing Electronics Engineering Technology program in 2007. In 2017, the program was rebranded as the Electro-Mechanical Technology program to highlight the diverse number of manufacturers that employ graduates.
Nationally – primarily Pacific Northwest
Maximum enrollment = 32 each cohort
Typical enrollment = 24 – 30
3 Full Time Faculty
Gender: Male 90%, Female 10%
Ethnicity: Caucasian 80%, African American 5%, Hispanic 15%
Veterans: 5%
AAS: 2 years, 6 quarters
Certificate: 9 months, 3 quarters
Power Generation & Transmission
Face-to-Face, Online Component, & Lab
Quarter Schedule
5 Credits
Yes. Regionally and nationally wind turbine technicians remain in high demand. Additionally, graduates routinely find employment in hydropower, power transmission, advanced manufacturing, avionics, and food and beverage processing.
The Electro-Mechanical Technology program is rooted in rigorous and thorough electronics and motor control. These skills remain in continual demand regardless of industry. Additionally, content for the first year electronics, hydraulics, and motor control courses has been placed online and the courses are
taught using the flipped classroom approach in a hybrid format. Students watch lectures at the time and place of their own choosing and class time is spent in a hardware lab working with actual equipment. The online format additionally allows a student to review content and cuts down on text book expense.
The Renewable Energy Technology program was created with the assistance of GE, Vestas, Siemens, Avangrid, and EDF. Since rebranding the program as Electro-Mechanical Technology, the STEM committee has grown to include representatives of Bonneville Power Administration, US Army Corps of Engineers, Cardinal Glass, Turtle Island Foods, HP, Insitu, HoodTech, CloudCap, and SDS Lumber.
Students are not required to obtain an internship, however, a large number do accept summer internships with Field Core, GE, HP, SDS Lumber, Powder Pure, and Zepher.
Columbia Gorge Community College’s (CGCC) Renewable Energy Technology program was one of the first three schools to receive the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) seal of approval in 2011. CGCC’s Electro-Mechanical Technology program was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) to develop online resources for the first year electronics, hydraulics, and motor control courses. Links to free online content:
Basic Electronics: DC Circuit Analysis
Basic Electronics: Single Phase AC Circuit Analysis
View the syllabus for Columbia Gorge Community College's Power Generation & Transmission course, or visit Columbia Gorge directly for more information on their Applied Associate Degree & Certificate programs.
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