Silicon Valley Career Technical Education

Bio:

Jim Burnham worked in the high-tech industry for 25 years. As an Electrical Engineer, he has worked on both Hardware and Software products. Jim is passionate about helping students learn about electronics, electronic control, programming, motion, mechanics and manufacturing. He wants to show students how to build and interfacing mechanical systems to the real world. Jim worked for a small phone company, programming in assembly and C++, and building hardware to track the phone usage, worked on Amdahl mainframe computers, and recently spent 20+ years at Xilinx (now AMD), working on both Hardware and Software, and even Marketing. Jim is now turning his talents to Mechatronics. When not thinking about teaching electronics and mechanics, Jim enjoys hacking electronics to work as Halloween props or prep for epic snow camping expeditions.

Why do you teach Career and Technical Education?

I love giving students access to technology, robots, and 3D printers—things they may have never had the chance to explore before. They get to work with the same tools found in an electronics lab, giving them hands-on experience. It’s amazing to see them discover their skills early on.