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                  SDC

     Steelpan Development Centre

The SDC is a centre of the Engineering Institute of the Faculty of Engineering at the Trinidad and Tobago Campus of The University of the West Indies. It is devoted to the development of the steelpan instrument,  unquestionably the most significant acoustic musical instrument invented in the 20th Century.

One of the major successes of the SDC is the creation of a dedicated engineering course on the steelpan "The Technology of the Steelpan." The course is offered to final year students of the Faculty of Engineering and seeks to build knowledge of the instrument, and music technology in general, in those formally trained in technology.   

The web pages listed above provide insights into our aims and goals as well as our activities to date. Questions and comments are welcome. 

Mission
The mission of the Steelpan Development Centre is to explore and develop all aspects of the technology of the steelpan for the production of instruments of the highest quality, flexibility and marketability, and to enhance the capability and productivity of tuners and players.
 

Objectives
1. To develop expertise in the fundamental technologies of the instrument.

2. To carry out aggressive research to define the major parameters which determine the quality of the instrument using local expertise in collaboration with extra-regional researchers.

3. The improvement of the use, performance and marketability of the instrument.

4. Provide technical support to the body of lay researchers and developers (the tuners) in the steelpan community at large.

5. Seek robust mechanisms for commercialising marketable developments of the instrument.