bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Next Frontier in Engineering Education: The Master's Degree
Authors: Cranch Edmund T. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractEngineering education in the United States is at an evolutionary turning point, poised to move forward by elevating and strengthening the educational base of the profession through greater utilization of the master's degree. The primary reasons for this are (a) the demands placed on the engineer arising from the increased rate of change of technology, (b) the need to cope with the increased breadth and complexity of modern professional practice, and (c) the impossibility of crowding ever more material into the four‐year curriculum. Educators need to examine the program structure and curricular content of master's level education to take into account these changes in the engineering workplace and the need to appreciably extend the years of productive performance. A recent comprehensive study by the Council of Graduate Schools reveals that the professionalization of master's education has advanced to the stage where virtually every profession has adopted the master's degree as the basis for modern practice.
Teaching Design to Freshmen: Style and Content
Authors: Dym Clive L. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractThis paper describe a freshman course in engineering design that stresses the open‐ended and ill‐structured nature of design in a project‐based context. The projects are chosen in part for their social context and utility. The projects are supplemented by lectures on design methodology and other topics related to engineering practice. Among the deliverables required of the students are proposals, progress reports, and written and oral presentations—the latter to an external design jury as part of a design competition.
Comparisons—Learning Theories, Design Theory, Science
Authors: Eder W. Ernst 
Published: January 2013

AbstractIf various learning theories and psychological typing are to apply, they should relate to each other in some explainable way. Some of these relationships seem to be hierarchical and show parallels with two other phenomena: product development and design, and progress in science. Product development is a function which initiates engineering design and carries the early life of a product. Piaget's model of early learning shows some similarities. During designing, the needs, requirements and constraints for a potential solution are progressively transformed into a description of a system that can be manufactured and implemented. Proposals for alternative solutions can be generated at abstraction levels used in designing, selecting the most promising. This seems to have some parallels to Perry's learning model. Similar events occur in the crisis points in developments of science. During designing, a cycle of basic activities known as problem‐solving takes place. This cycle shows useful analogies to Kolb's model of learning. Some consequences for engineering education are indicated.
The Fundamentals of Engineering: The Art of Engineering
Authors: Quinn Robert G. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractThis sequence of courses is a major component of Drexel's E4 experimental program which spans the freshman and sophomore years. It is based on the premise that there exists a central body of knowledge, methods and attitudes which constitute the “Art” of Engineering. Further, exposing students to this art at the very beginning of their education is an excellent way to introduce them to the profession. The subject matter emphasizes design as the critical professional essence, interdisciplinary and common fundamentals, the pivotal roles of the computer and experimentation, and the imperative for superior communications skills. The methodology is experiential, consisting of several practicums, experiments and projects. The achievement and growth of participating students has been impressive. Evaluations indicate that the program also generates considerable interest and enthusiasm among the students and a sense of pride in their accomplishments. It appears that most students begin to understand what it means to be an engineer and many begin to enjoy the practice of the profession.
Influential Structural Engineers: A Project in a Third‐year Structural Analysis Course
Authors: Thurston Howard M. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractA study of structural analysis is enhanced by an exposure to the pioneers in the field. Students can more fully appreciate the tools and techniques of structural analysis when given life through a study of those engineers who developed and used them. Of special significance in this age of powerful computer capabilities is the technological context within which many of the important engineers lived and made their contributions. This paper describes a special project undertaken in the second of a two course sequence in structural analysis during the Spring quarter, 1992, in the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction at North Dakota State University. The class of 65 students was divided into 13 groups of five students each. With some guidance, each group chose an engineer who made a significant contribution to modern structural engineering theory and/or practice. Each group was required to research the life and work of the chosen engineer and present an oral, in‐class demonstration, experiment, or other visual illustration of a theoretical or applied concept that characterized a major contribution of the selected individual. In addition, each student was required to submit an independently written paper addressing one of a set of standard questions posed to all groups. The project encouraged the students to discover the unique engineering skills demonstrated by some of the great engineers who made important contributions to modern structural engineering practice. By integrating the stories of influential engineers and their achievements into a quantitative analysis course, the students experienced the technical material within a broader context, helping them to appreciate the practice of engineering as a living, human endeavor.
Student Participation, Faculty Involvement, and Costs in the NGV Challenge — A Large‐Scale Automotive Design Project
Authors: Lueptow Richard M. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractLarge‐scale automotive design projects offer an outstanding opportunity for students to obtain practical experience in engineering design. This paper reports a survey of faculty advisors for student teams participating in the Natural Gas Vehicle Challenge. About fifteen students were typically involved in the project at each university participating in the competition. Five or six were typically “key” to the project. Usually faculty advisors had a research interest in automotive engineering or alternate fuels, and they often incorporated the project into a design course. Although the funding level for such a design project varied substantially, the typical funding level was about $25,000, most of which came from local sponsors. Faculty advisors often commented on the educational value of the project and their satisfaction in working closely with students.
A Methodology for Determining Engineering Curriculum Contents
Authors: WAKS SHLOMO 
Published: January 2013

AbstractAs the life span of engineering subjects decreases the importance of valid determination of engineering curriculum contents increases. A methodology for determining and updating contents of an engineering curriculum has been developed and implemented by a curriculum design research team from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. According to this methodology, the decision‐making process of the Curriculum Committee members is based on data collected systematically from relevant work sites, relating to cognitive, affective and instrumental skills and knowledge items, required at present and for the foreseen future, from graduates of the educational program. The theoretical foundations of the approach are rooted in the Facet Theory which provides a framework for defining a universe of observations and arrive at an empirical structure for reality based decision making processes. The establishment of a definitional system, by means of a mapping sentence, is devised and a corresponding questionnaire for systematic determination of occupational field demands required from engineering graduates, is designed. The sampling issue of the questionnaire‐run is discussed and illustrated through experimental data, representing reality‐based situations. The purpose is to arrive eventually, through verified data analysis methods, at a hierarchy of skills and knowledge items, to distinctive occupational field demands, to a professional content portrayal and to a structure of professional field requirements.
Project Preserve: A Program to Retain Minorities in Engineering
Authors: Morning Carole , Fleming Jacqueline 
Published: January 2013

AbstractA national effort, begun in 1972 to increase the numbers of minorities in engineering, has made substantial progress, but the attrition for minority students is still estimated at 70%. To address the problem, Project Preserve was designed to confirm, by demonstration, the results of previous research showing that the combination of explicit cognitive development, close relationships with faculty, and strong bonds to an institution can raise the performance and retention of minority engineering students. The project enrolled over 100 minority engineering students who had been dismissed from freshman engineering studies on other campuses or placed on academic probation, but whose high school grades and SAT scores were indicative of success. They were channeled into participating institutions chosen for their record of basic support services, willingness to augment or restructure those services, and for variation among institutional variables: Xavier University of Louisiana (XU), California State University at Northridge (CSUN), and City College of the City University of New York (CCNY). A 2 1/2 hour battery of evaluation instruments was given to 79 students upon entry and to 26 students upon their attaining Junior status after two years in the program. The results demonstrated that: (1) an admirable 64% of would‐be drop outs had achieved Junior status or were still enrolled in engineering at the conclusion of two years; (2) cognitive growth occurred on basic memory skills and one critical thinking skill, but there were institutional differences in the extent of intellectual development, with Xavier producing the most change; (3) closer relationships to faculty were outcomes; (4) the most positive feelings about, or bonding to, the institution occurred at Xavier University, while the most evidence of social participation and connectedness occurred at CSUN.
Project‐Based Civil Engineering Courses
Authors: Mahendran M. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractProblem solving is an essential element of civil engineering education. It has been observed that students are best able to understand civil engineering theory when there is a practical application of it. Teaching theory alone has led to lower levels of comprehension and motivation and a correspondingly higher rate of failure and “drop‐out”. This paper analyses the effectiveness of introducing practical design projects at an early stage within a civil engineering undergraduate program at Queensland University of Technology. In two of the essential basic subjects, Engineering Mechanics and Steel Structures, model projects which simulate realistic engineering exercises were introduced. Students were required to work in small groups to analyse, design and build the lightest / most efficient model bridges made of specific materials such as spaghetti, drinking straw, paddle pop sticks and balsa wood and steel columns for a given design loading/target capacity. The paper traces the success of the teaching strategy at each stage from its introduction through to the final student and staff evaluation.
Integrating Ethics Into a Research Experience for Undergraduates
Authors: Acharya Mukund , Davis Michael , Weil Vivian 
Published: January 2013

AbstractA Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is an extra‐curricular opportunity for science or engineering students in the sophomore, junior, or senior year to participate in academic research in much the way graduate students do. It is a way to introduce undergraduates to the excitement of real research. Because it also seems an easy and attractive way to integrate ethics into undergraduate education, working out how professors of engineering or science might actually incorporate professional ethics into an REU seems desirable. This paper describes one effort to do that with engineering students.
Thinking Preferences of Engineering Students: Implications for Curriculum Restructuring
Authors: Lumsdaine Monika , Lumsdaine Edward 
Published: January 2013

AbstractThe thinking preferences of engineering students at the University of Toledo have been assessed in a longitudinal study, using the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). The scores and profiles reveal thinking preferences in four different ways of thinking and “knowing”: A = analytical‐logical‐quantitative, B = sequential‐organized‐detailed, C = interpersonal‐sensory‐kinesthetic, and D = innovative‐holistic‐conceptual thinking. With the HBDI, we have a tool that can assess the effects of curriculum restructuring. Data from 1990–1993 fall freshmen classes and 1991–1994 spring senior classes have been evaluated, where the 1994 seniors are the first group for which freshmen data are available. Conclusions drawn from the results are: 1) Overall, there has been a shift from “plug‐and‐chug” quadrant B thinking to increased “creative” quadrant D thinking, because more students with strong quadrant D preferences are being developed and retained, primarily due to the new creative problem solving course. 2) Avoidance of quadrant C thinking (teamwork skills) is persisting and creates classroom climates that are uncomfortable for some students, a high percentage being females. Students are not developing the teamwork and interpersonal thinking skills demanded by industry. 3) A majority of students are still being cloned in the A‐dominant profile of the faculty. Students who have developed independent ways of practicing right‐brain thinking and all students who were involved in creative problem solving as class assistants became more whole‐brained or right‐brained. Quadrant C and D thinking activities must be integrated into the curriculum each term for students to develop their full potential and reinforce the whole‐brain thinking skills introduced in the first‐year creative problem solving course.
Downsizing the Curriculum: A Proposed Baccalaureate Program and Contextual Basis
Authors: Kulacki F. A. , Vlachos Evan C 
Published: January 2013

AbstractEngineering education is confronted with two realities which call for a rethinking of the undergraduate curriculum: (a) the baccalaureate degree, as the terminal degree for practice, has received much criticism in both industry and academia, and (b) the typical undergraduate student generally requires more than nine semesters to complete a curriculum designed for eight. We propose that the current highly impacted curriculum must give way to a reduced program oriented toward engineering science, which can be completed in four years. Such a curriculum must be based on a limited set of core educational outcomes and would educate engineers within an integrated, liberal framework while preparing graduates for a wide variety of career options. Also included in this proposal is a formal role for the masters degree as the first professional degree and a restructuring of the professional registration process.
Practitioner and Student Recommendations for an Engineering Curriculum
Authors: Koehn Enno 
Published: January 2013

AbstractFor over 100 years studies have consistently recommended that the engineering curriculum should stress underlying principles and have a considerable range of cultural studies. Nevertheless, some employers continue to state that they are not totally satisfied with the average engineering graduate. The findings of this study, however, suggest that practicing engineers and students are generally satisfied with the civil engineering curriculum. Nevertheless, both groups recommend that the credits allocated to surveying, graphics, and computers should be increased. Practitioners, in general, believe that there should be a decrease in mathematically oriented subjects such as calculus, statistics and numerical methods. Older graduates, in particular, recommend an increase in business courses such as law, accounting, and personnel management. They also believe that technical writing and oral communication skills should be a vital part of the program. It appears to be difficult to design a curriculum, requiring a reasonable number of credits, that satisfies all age groups. Therefore, at commencement, an engineer must expect to initiate a life‐long process of informal/formal education to supplement the knowledge obtained by satisfying the civil engineering degree requirements.
Recruitment to the Profession: A Student‐Led Approach
Authors: Bozynski K. , McCowan J. D. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractMany engineering Faculties have developed programs in recent years to attract young people generally, and young women particularly, to the engineering profession. This paper describes a student‐developed, student‐managed program which has proven to be both effective and inexpensive in attracting elementary school children to consider engineering as a career. It has served as a model for the development of programs in other Canadian engineering schools, and may be adaptable to engineering schools outside of Canada.
Becoming an Aerospace Engineer: A Cross‐Gender Comparison
Authors: Hecht Laura Frye , Pinelli Thomas E. , Barclay Rebecca O. , Kennedy John M. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractWe conducted a mail (self‐reported) survey of 4300 student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) during the spring of 1993 as a Phase 3 activity of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. The survey was designed to explore students' career goals and aspirations, communications skills training, and their use of information sources, products, and services. We received 1723 completed questionnaires for an adjusted response rate of 42%. In this article, we compare the responses of female and male aerospace engineering students in the context of two general aspects of their educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which women and men differ in regard to factors that lead to the choice to study aerospace engineering, their current level of satisfaction with that choice, and their career‐related goals and aspirations. Second, we examine students' responses to questions about communications skills training and the helpfulness of that training, and their use of and the importance to them of selected information sources, products, and services. The cross‐gender comparison revealed more similarities than differences. Female students appear to be more satisfied than their male counterparts with the decision to major in aerospace engineering. Both female and male student respondents consider communications skills important for professional success, but females place a higher value than males do on oral communications skills. Women students also place a higher value than men do on the roles of other students and faculty members in satisfying their needs for information.
Teaching Students to Document a Design Project and Present the Results
Authors: Fentiman Audeen W. , Demel John T. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractKnowing and being able to apply the design process are important to the practicing engineer. Being able to thoroughly document the design process and present the results effectively are skills that employers and clients expect engineers to possess. Students have an opportunity to learn and practice the design process throughout their engineering studies. While they are often asked to document their design projects and present the results, they rarely receive instruction on how to do so effectively. At The Ohio State University, in courses developed as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)‐sponsored Gateway Engineering Education Coalition, students are taught to document their design projects and present the results in a professional manner. They produce a variety of documents including laboratory notebooks, a design schedule, progress reports, and a final report. In addition, they make an oral presentation on the project. Instruction on producing a particular document is provided when students are ready to begin work on that document. This paper outlines the instruction on documentation provided at each stage of the design process and discusses evaluation of the documents prepared by the students.
Teaching Concurrent Engineering at the University of Central Florida
Authors: Armacost Robert L. , Mullens Michael A. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractU.S. manufacturing has discovered that the serial, over‐the‐wall approach to product development has to give way to a concurrent engineering approach. This customer‐centered, multi‐disciplinary team approach is being more widely used and today's graduating engineer must be prepared to understand and function in this environment. This paper describes an approach used to teach concurrent engineering at the University of Central Florida.
SELECTING COMPUTER‐AIDED INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE
Authors: Montgomery Susan , Fogler H. Scott 
Published: January 2013

AbstractInteractive computing can address the needs of a variety of learning styles, and a broad range of educational objectives, while serving a number of pedagogical roles: Presentation, Assessment, Exploration, and Analysis. These three issues are discussed in detail, along with examples from chemical engineering educational software, to help faculty learn how to analyze educational software to ensure that it's meeting the needs of their students.
Basic Engineering Software for Teaching (“BEST”) Dynamics
Authors: Flori Ralph E. , Koen Mary A. , Oglesby David B. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractEngineering dynamics is the study of motion, but textbooks and chalkboards, the traditional classroom teaching tools, cannot show that motion. Mechanical models are helpful, but relatively inflexible; they are qualitative, not quantitative. Since July 1992, personnel from the University of Missouri‐Rolla have been developing and classroom testing “BEST”* (Basic Engineering Software for Teaching) Dynamics with the goal of improving the teaching and learning of engineering dynamics. About forty‐five different problem simulations, representing a selection of typical kinematics and kinetics problems for both particles and rigid bodies, have been completed. These problems enable the user to vary inputs to view a wide variety of configurations and behavior. Students using “BEST” Dynamics have reported improved ability to visualize motion, and somewhat improved problem solving ability. Recent work has focused on adding, to some of the problems, “Solutions” which give detailed support in writing and solving equations. This paper will introduce the reader to “BEST” Dynamics and its classroom use. It will also provide some philosophical commentary on the applicability of instructional software to the problem‐solving‐oriented engineering classroom.