Merrimack College opens RFID lab

An RFID lab has just opened at Merrimack College in North Andover, the college said.

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identifications, and Merrimack said it is now one of the few colleges in the country with such equipment for study; it is also one of the only higher education institutions to include RFID course work as a core requirement for an electrical engineering undergraduate degree.

The college noted in a press release that TAGSYS RFID, a company with offices in Burlington, donated more than $60,000 of equipment to the lab.

The press release said, "The new lab, located in the Mendel Center for Science, Engineering, and Technology on Merrimack’s campus, features a number of demonstration stations to help students learn first-hand how RFID is used to track items in manufacturing and supply chain applications in industries such as libraries, textile services, apparel retail, luxury goods, and pharmaceutical/health care.

In this photo provided by Merrimack, Merrimack College electrical engineering Professor Charles Kochakian (left), TAGSYS chief executive Bill Stuek (center), and Merrimack College pPresident Ronald Champagne tour the new RFID lab.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)