WSU opens new engineering lab at Everett campus

WSU Executive Vice President Statewide Campuses Sandra Haynes and Fluke President Parker Burke explore the Fluke Engineering Lab at WSU Everett on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald) Kate Wick and Colin Taylor work through a series of tests in the Fluke Engineering Lab on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald) Brian Nguyen works in the Fluke Engineering Lab at WSU Everett on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald) EVERETT — Washington State University Everett celebrated the opening of a new lab for electrical engineering students on Thursday that features donated equipment from an Everett engineering company. The new Fluke Engineering Lab bears the name of that company, Fluke, which creates equipment to make precise measurements for industrial and electrical work, among other fields. The lab will include over 30 tools developed by Fluke, including thermal imaging devices, digital multimeters and calibration equipment, according to a Fluke spokesperson. Sandra Haynes, the executive vice president for Washington State University's statewide campuses, said before the celebration Thursday that the new lab would give students the opportunity to get experience the equipment they would need to use in the engineering industry. 'They'll be ahead of the game as far as getting ready for their jobs, for the workforce,' Haynes said. 'That will benefit not only the students getting jobs, but also the employers that are going to hire them.' WSU Everett opened a similar lab with a sponsorship name in 2017, the Boeing Innovation Studio. Fluke's president and CEO, Parker Burke, said the company is donating equipment across all five of the university's campuses across the state. The donation totaled about $1.2 million, according to a Washington State University press release on Friday. About 4,000 students statewide will have access to the tools. 'We are incredibly invested in the community where we live and operate,' Burke said Thursday. 'Fluke has been in Everett for over 50 years, and we've hired people from the community, of all parts of our workforce. We're invested in ensuring that here in Everett, we have the next generation of talent that's going to solve the world's biggest problems.' Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.