The topmost section features a physical volume dial that also serves as a mute switch when pushed, surrounded by a circular cluster of LEDs (for clockwise-flowing level indication) and then a secondary outer ring of capacitive buttons and LED indicators.
Donald Goldfarb, the interim dean of Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, said the latest project is aimed at helping the university's engineering school overcome its biggest hurdle in reaching the topmost echelon of the field: its relatively small size.