Most students seem to enjoy taking the course and feel that it is an eye-opener. We have selected a few of their comments to share with you here. These are their responses to the italicized questions asked at the end of the course. (The evaluations are anonymous unless the student permits their comments to appear here.) We have added the overall numerical evaluations from all the students who submitted evaluations from 8/06 to 3/07 (average standard deviation is 0.13).

(LW) = Dr. Larry Webber, President of the Society for Information Display, 2007, provided detailed comments that are reproduced here in their entirety.

Can you make any overall comment about the course; for example, how would you describe it to others?

This course is of great value to anyone that needs to do display measurements.  Students ranging from beginning engineers to well experienced display experts will find this course quite useful.  Both companies that manufacture and sell displays or companies that buy displays to put in end-user-products should consider sending their technical staff to this course.  The principles taught will significantly increase the quality of the company's product and also the efficiency of production.  Much of the material covered cannot be found in any university lecture or book.  The opportunity to learn the proper measurement techniques in a high-quality laboratory devoted to display measurement is unique in the world. (LW)

A valuable course for all professionals who have to deal with Flat Panel Display measurements. (Hans Hoffmann, EBU – Geneva)

I originally came for the instruction and was not so concerned with the experiments, but the experiments are really the key to understanding the problems in metrology and I think are the true value of this course. (Dave Schnuelle, Dolby)

Wanted to drop you a note and let you know how much I enjoyed the Display Metrology course last week. It was informative, delivered well, and quite eye-opening. Though I had read some of the VESA standards already, it was very useful to be able to see the dramatic errors that can be incurred while making measurements that on the surface seem quite straightforward (especially in the veiling glare experiments). And it was also encouraging to see methods presented for making robust measurements at low cost (i.e., reflection measurement). The hands-on aspects of the course helped to develop better instincts about how to navigate the pitfalls of display measurement in a way that just reading about it could not. (Vani Pasupathy, IFire Technology)

An excellent course. Anyone involved in the measurement of displays should stop now and attend this course. It will be worth it! (Andrew Deadman, National Physical Laboratory, UK. [NPL])

Excellent description of display metrology fundamentals, well-planned experiments that tie in with the course material making the content easier to understand and thoroughly enjoyable. (Paul Miller, NPL)

This course is essential for anyone tasked with objectively measuring a display. The source of error is hidden from the uninitiated, so wildly wrong conclusions are easy to obtain. After this course no one will pick up a light meter with the foolish notion that characterizing an electronic sign or measuring contrast is something that can be done easily. A respect for the difficulty of the task is the first step to its solution. This course alerts the engineer to the dangers and provides practical methods to work around them. The lectures and course are complete with examples and tasks that are practical.  (Jim Larimer, ImageMetrics)

Great course. Having the theory in the morning and lab in the afternoon was perfect. During the course, there were a few times when I said to myself, "I've been doing this completely wrong." (Mayime Caron, CBC/Radio, Canada)

Would you recommend the course to others? (5 = yes, absolutely!; 1 = no, terrible!)  = 4.78

Did you feel that the course was of value to you?  (5 = extremely valuable, 1 = not valuable) = 4.62

I have worked in the display field for 37 years as an experimentalist and have made many display measurements.  In spite of my experience, this course was of great value to me.  I learned of many measurement pitfalls that were not initially obvious to me.  I will likely never take another display measurement without using something that I learned in this course. (LW)

 
How was the instruction during the lectures?  (5 = excellent, 1 = poor) =  4.61
How was the instruction during the labs?  (5 = excellent, 1 = poor) =  4.75

Dr. Kelley is an excellent teacher.  His lectures are well prepared with very clear notes.  He really knows the material well and is quick to answer the student’s questions.  He not only covers the fundamentals but also serves as an “expert’s expert”.  The one day lecture is well balanced and compliments the experiments nicely.  During the labs, he let the students learn by doing things themselves, but he was always available to answer questions when needed. (LW) [Note: We now provide two half-day lectures in the mornings so you are not inundated with eight hours of lecture.--EFK]

Was there too much math in the lecture? (5 = no, math was useful; 1 = yes, too much!)  = 3.88
[Note: The students feel that the math may be a little over the top in places. --EFK]

Did you benefit from the experiments? (5 = very much, 1 = not at all) = 4.82

The experiments are the key part of this course!  They have been skillfully designed to teach the proper way to make the measurements and to illustrate first hand the many things that can go wrong. (LW)

 
Were the spreadsheets adequate for you? (5 = excellent, 1 = not very good) = 4.42

I found the experiments well designed for teaching.  They require that the students directly take the data to gain the confidence of the result.  At the same time they guide the student down the path that leads to the correct instructive conclusion.  Many of the myths of display metrology are dispelled by the results.  The spreadsheets have been nicely designed to reduce the math drudgery and allow the student to achieve the results in the minimum time.  Putting the data on the USB memory stick is a fantastic way to allow the student to record the results so that they can be studied after the course is complete.  The reading and explanation are at the appropriate level. (LW)

 
Are there things that you’d like to see changed or added to the experiments?

The biggest problem is that it is not possible to completely do 13 different experiments in 2 days.  However I would not eliminate or change any of these measurements.  Perhaps a 3rd day of experiments should be advertised as an option.   I really wanted to do all of the experiments but could not complete them in two days.  Fortunately I have the spreadsheets on the USB memory stick and can review the experiments that I did not complete at home. (LW) [Note: We now have Friday open (and catered).--EFK]

 
Are there things that you didn’t like about the lecture or the experiments?

There are a few minor software and user interface bugs in the experiments that need to be worked out.  This is very normal for anything as complicated as these experiments. (LW) [Note: We continue to make changes and improve the spreadsheets and laboratory apparatus.--EFK]

Thanks to all our participants. We enjoyed having you all!
A special thanks to Dr. Larry Webber for his detailed and very kind remarks.