Architectural Engineering Curriculum at Illinois Institute of Technology

Illinois Institute of Technology started a bachelor of science degree program in architectural engineering in the fall of 1995. The program's curriculum requires the students to take 136 semester credit hours during a period of eight semesters, with the option for specialization in one of the three main areas of architectural engineering. To share the experience worldwide with schools that intend to offer similar bachelor degrees, this paper presents the architectural engineering curriculum at Illinois Institute of Technology. It discusses the objectives of the curriculum, the constraints upon its structure, as well as the challenges that face the establishment of an architectural engineering program.     

A Five-Year Master of Environmental Engineering Curriculum

The master's degree is essentially the entry-level degree for those wanting to practice environmental engineering. Although the BS∕MSCE (environmental emphasis) path produces graduates in high demand by employers, certain parts of the environmental engineering discipline demand graduates with a more specialized degree program. In response to the need for a specialized, or “professional,” degree program, Texas Tech offers an alternative to the traditional path to becoming an environmental engineer: the Master of Environmental Engineering (MEnvE) degree. The courses in the curriculum (EnvE course numbers) are taught by either civil or chemical engineering faculty. The MEnvE degree is a five-year “freshman-to-master's degree” program. The BS∕MSCE (environmental emphasis) degree program and the MEnvE program essentially require the same number of credit hours and many of the same courses. One principal difference between the two programs is that the BS∕MSCE path provides graduates with a broader civil engineering or chemical engineering background while the MEnvE program provides graduates with more concentrated preparation in biology, chemistry, chemical engineering, and environmental engineering. A second principal difference is that MEnvE graduates are focused on environmental engineering design. Thus, the MEnvE degree program is referred to as a professional degree program since graduates from the program typically enter professional practice rather than continue for a PhD degree.     

Architectural Engineering Curriculum at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly, the University of Missouri-Rolla) began a Bachelor of Science degree program in architectural engineering in the fall of 2002. The 4-year academic program’s curriculum at Missouri S&T requires the students to complete 128 semester credit hours during a period of eight semesters, with options for technical electives in one of four focus areas: structural engineering, construction engineering and project management, environmental systems for buildings, and construction materials. This paper presents the architectural engineering curriculum at Missouri S&T. It discusses the objectives of the curriculum, the constraints upon its structure, along with challenges that faced the establishment of an architectural engineering program.     

Architectural Engineering Program at University of Miami

The baccalaureate and masters programs in architectural engineering at the University of Miami are described here. The Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering (BSAE) program contains required courses in all the specialty areas of architectural engineering (structures, construction, and environmental systems), as well as courses in architectural design. Students can pursue each of these subjects in more depth by the proper selection of electives. The BSAE program requires 132 semester credits and is nominally a four-year program. The Master of Science in Architectural Engineering (MSAE) was introduced in 1990, and the course content of this program provides for specialization in one of the key areas of architectural engineering, and is customized for each student. Students with nonengineering backgrounds are typically admitted to the MSAE program with deficiencies.     

Hands-On Engineering Experiments for Secondary School Students

A program entitled T4MS∕E, “Teaching Teachers to Teach Mathematics and Science via Engineering Activities” was initiated at the University of Toledo to attract secondary students (grades 6–12) to start along the academic path toward careers in engineering. T4MS∕E is a collaborative effort between several engineering and education professors, which targets secondary mathematics and science teachers and students. The core of T4MS∕E is a set of hands-on experiments that the teachers learned, practiced, and then took back to their classrooms, in order to excite their students about the engineering applications of basic mathematical and physical concepts and to start their students along the path towards engineering careers. Many of these teachers taught in schools with large minority populations.     

The Bowers Program: Effects of Cross-Disciplinary Design Activities on Architectural Engineering Student Performance

This paper describes the implementation of problem-based instruction program in the integration of architectural design and planning into the architectural engineering curriculum. The program consisted of two components: the use of a problem-based structural design exercise administered to an entire class of upper level architectural and civil engineering students, followed by two design exercises undertaken jointly with architecture and landscape architecture students by a selected group of students from the same class. The effect of participation in the joint design exercises was assessed by means of a final examination question and a questionnaire administered before and after participation in one of the exercises. The results of the assessment indicate that the participants achieved a greater ability to integrate architectural and structural design than the nonparticipants, and that the architectural engineering students have greater ability than civil engineering students to integrate architectural and structural design.     

The First Professional Degree: A Historic Opportunity

Historically, ASCE has worked to develop civil engineering (CE) education to ensure that the profession is continuously strengthened. Based on recent events, ASCE is poised to lead CE education into the twenty-first century. Of specific interest in this regard is the recent support shown by the Board of Direction for the master's as the first professional degree (FPD) for CE practice. To understand the ramifications of the board's policy statement, it is necessary to grasp the evolution of the FPD concept as well as undergraduate engineering curricular reform in general. Examining the shape of past debate opens a window onto the board's historic policy statement, which in turn helps illuminate the future course of action. Moreover, the writers contend that significant educational reform is necessary for CE to confront the changing, competitive global marketplace. Accordingly, three possible models to implement the FPD are explored: (1) Current master's degree programs; (2) 150-credit hour requirement used by accountancy; and (3) professional school.     

Geometry in Architectural Engineering Education Revisited

Geometric conceptualization has always been among the essential mental tools required for the invention, modeling, and visualization of spatial building structures. Furthermore, without an understanding of the geometric and mathematical base of computer graphical procedures, the ability to cope with significant developments in advanced architectural graphical representation and to adapt to the ever-changing technology in this area is limited. Despite the unquestionable significance of geometric thinking for the conception, design, and realization of buildings, the role of geometry in the education of architectural engineers, a role that traditionally constituted a significant part of their education, has been downplayed. This paper presents a systematic effort to strengthen architectural engineers’ skills in the understanding of geometric concepts and approaches that are directly related to their profession. Toward this effort a body of knowledge, mainly from Euclidean and Parabolic geometries, has been identified and organized in content units. The manner in which these content units have been consolidated into the curriculum of the architectural engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin is also presented.     

Underrepresented students in STEM: The transition from undergraduate to graduate programs.

We used longitudinal tracking data from Cohorts I and II of the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program to test whether this intervention program and being a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) undergraduate major helped underrepresented students transition into STEM graduate degree programs in 2006–2007. We found that being a GMS Scholar increased the odds of being currently enrolled in a graduate program and in a STEM graduate field, regardless of whether the student was a STEM undergraduate major. We also found that STEM undergraduate majors were more likely to transition into these graduate degree programs, and that being an undergraduate STEM major was especially beneficial to GMS Scholars. These findings varied considerably across underrepresented groups. We found that undergraduate intervention programs can both retain and insert underrepresented students at the STEM graduate level, thus potentially adding needed diversity at these educational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Launor Franklin Carter (1914–1986).

Presents an obituary for Launor Franklin Carter. Carter earned a BS degree and MS degree in experimental psychology from the University of Washington, and a PhD in experimental psychology from Princeton University. He had a long career in military psychology, and worked on the early development of the Army's classification system. Launor joined the psychology faculty of the University of Rochester, as an assistant and later associate professor, with responsibility for undergraduate and graduate instruction in social psychology. Later he joined the Human Resources and Research Organization (HumRRO), where he directed a very productive program of research on the selection and training of junior leaders, on interactions among members of air defense artillery units and infantry squads, and on the characteristics of effective and ineffective infantrymen in the Korean conflict. This was followed by 25 years of service at the System Development Corporation (SDC), where he served as principal psychologist and as leader of research programs on military and civilian problems. Over the years, Launor also served in many military, civilian, and professional activities outside SDC. Launor died in 1986. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incorporating a Sustainability Module into First-Year Courses for Civil and Environmental Engineering Students

As articulated in the Bodies of Knowledge for Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, all civil and environmental engineering students should be introduced to the concept of sustainability. A sustainability module was added into two required first-year, 1-credit introductory courses, one for civil engineering and one for environmental engineering. Data from approximately 150 students were collected. Student attitudes about sustainability were evaluated using a written survey. There was greater initial knowledge of sustainability and positive attitudes toward sustainability among students enrolled in the environmental engineering course compared with those in the civil engineering course, but this did not translate into better performance on the related homework assignment. There was strong evidence that the inclusion of the sustainability module encouraged the students to consider sustainability in subsequent course assignments, even when not explicitly prompted to do so. This indicates that early emphasis of sustainability may affect the students’ concepts of its importance in civil and environmental engineering.     

Synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinone derivatives as potential antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents

A number of 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinone derivatives were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and mass spectra (MS). These compounds and their synthetic precursors were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity. The most potent antimicrobial compound was the thiadiazolyl derivative 4b, which was 2- to 4 times more active than the antimicrobial drug sulfathiazole. All the tested compounds were active in the Brine Shrimp Lethality (BS) Test. Compound 4e which was the most active in the BS test was also found to possess a significant cytotoxicity against two tumor cell lines. Some of the compounds were found to be mutagenic at relatively high concentration.     

Integrating Sustainable Design into Architectural Engineering Education: UNL-AE Program

Given the profound impact of the built environment on the resources of the earth, a growing number of institutions of higher education are preparing engineers to make sustainable design a standard in the construction industry. This paper looks at the diverse ways in which education in sustainable design can be integrated into engineering curricula using the architectural engineering (AE) program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) as a case study example. The UNL program is unique in that it prepares students for careers in sustainable development through a curriculum that promotes both traditional and hands-on, experiential learning. Through coursework, research, workshops, student competitions, and even interaction with the UNL engineering facility, students learn how to make our built environment more sustainable. A key facet of this program is to connect the institution with the local community and industry to give students an opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world problems in professional settings. Hence, this “green” integration actually takes place on two levels, within the UNL curriculum itself and within the larger context of the community and industry. Together, academia, the industry, and the community are preparing engineers to help ensure a more sustainable future for our world.     

Potential impacts of creating biomedical engineering programs on gender distribution within leading engineering colleges.

During the past decade, the number of biomedical engineering (BME) undergraduate degree programs that reported engineering bachelor's (BSE) degree recipients to the American Society for Engineering Education increased from 19 to 38 among the Association of American Universities institutions (AAUs). This increase in BME BSE degree recipients coincided with substantial decreases in the percentage of women receiving BSE degrees at the public AAUs. AAUs that had BME BSE degree recipients in 2000 or first reported BME graduates between 2000 and 2009 experienced a decrease in the percentage and number of women receiving engineering undergraduate degrees across the other engineering disciplines. Demographic data for public and private AAUs and within the four largest engineering disciplines, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and chemical engineering show that the percentage and number of non-BME female BSE degree recipients decreased contemporaneously with an increase in the number of BME degree programs and BME BSE degree recipients. Academic leaders and diversity professionals should see the results presented here as cautionary. The targeting of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines toward specific underrepresented groups is discussed with respect to ongoing limited degree attainment of women in these fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The chemical structure of new substance as the metabolite of baicalin and time profiles for the plasma concentration after oral administration of sho-saiko-to in human

Baicalin (BG) is one of the major components of Sho-Saiko-To. We found a new substance as the metabolite of BG in human plasma after oral administration of Sho-Saiko-To. The metabolite was identified as baicalein 6-O-sulfate (BS) by comparing its retention time in HPLC and electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS)/MS methods with that of an authentic sample. Time profiles for the plasma concentrations of BS and BG after oral administration of Sho-Saiko-To (EK-9) at a daily dose (6 g), were investigated in 14 healthy male volunteers. The determination for the concentrations of BS and BG in human plasma was developed by the HPLC method using electrochemical detector (ECD). Each 1 ml of the plasma specimen was used for the solid phase extraction. The calibration curves of BS and BG showed a good linearity between 5 and 300 ng/ml. The quantitative limits of BS and BG in human plasma were 5 ng/ml. Using this method, BS was detected after 1 h, reached a maximum level at 5 h and then decreased to the level less than the quantitative limit after 36 h, and the plasma level of BS showed a slight peak at 24 h. BG was detected after 1 h, reached a maximum level at 5 h and then decreased to the level less than the quantitative limit after 36 h, and the plasma level of BG showed two peaks at 12 h and 24 h.     

Practitioner and Employer Assessment of ABET Outcome Criteria

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has revised the accreditation criteria that are designed to assure that graduates of accredited programs are prepared to enter the practice of engineering and satisfy industrial requirements. The general criteria also specify that engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates possess or satisfy eleven (11) educational outcomes generally known as “a” through “k.” This investigation suggests that graduating seniors in civil engineering believe their educational experience has given them a strong background in two of the outcomes required by ABET. These include: (1) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; and (2) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems. In contrast, three outcomes received slightly lower ratings from alumni practitioners and employers. These include, a knowledge of contemporary issues; the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context; and an ability to communicate effectively. Overall, the data may suggest that not all ABET educational attributes are considered by graduating seniors in civil engineering, employers, and industrial practitioners, to have the same level of significance and perhaps should not be stressed to the same degree in an engineering program. In this regard, it was found that the scores from a benchmarking study tend to be lower than those of students and practitioners educated at Lamar University Nevertheless, for comparative purposes, the findings of the investigation could be utilized by other institutions and departments that may wish to study and/or assess their curriculum and satisfy ABET criteria.     

Factors Affecting Engineering Productivity

Engineering performance has a major impact on subsequent project phases, such as procurement and construction, and thus, has the potential to affect the overall project outcome. This study utilizes metrics and a database from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) benchmarking and metrics program to investigate relationships between factors thought to affect direct engineering labor productivity during detailed engineering. Collaborating with industry practitioners, quantitative assessments were analyzed with industry input through various CII committee meetings and industry forums. Significant correlations are found between engineering productivity and project size, project type, project priority, and phase involvement. Correlations are also found between degree of modularization, funded front-end planning effort, and quality management and engineering productivity. These findings extend and, in some cases, contradict previous research.     

Understanding K–12 Engineering Outreach Programs

The United States relies on technology. To continue the development of new and the expansion of existing technologies requires a strong background in science, math, and engineering. Because students are falling behind in these areas, many universities are attempting to reverse this trend and attract more students to their engineering programs through outreach programs. These outreach efforts can take a variety of forms, with the simplest being the development of classroom and web-based materials. Outreach programs can also include professional development programs, engineering contests, on-campus activities, activities at schools, and the sponsorship of teaching fellows and service learning programs. Programs can be directed at preservice teachers, teachers, and/or students as well as specific groups such as females or minorities. The programs may occur throughout the school year or during summer vacations. Personnel presenting the outreach programs can include older K–12 students, teachers, college students, and/or university professors. Regardless of the mechanism, each outreach program has one common goal, to increase the interest that K–12 students have for math and science and, thus, engineering.     

Industrially Sponsored Senior Capstone Experience: Program Implementation and Assessment

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) 2000 requires that students participate in a major design experience prior to graduation. A well-planned senior design capstone program will satisfy this criterion while meeting the Criterion 3 (a–k) program outcomes. Seattle University has an industrially sponsored, year-long, senior design program that has been in existence for the past 20 years. In addition to applying the knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering to solve a real-life engineering problem, students develop the soft skills such as project management, leadership, team work, written and oral communication, and professional networking which are important for a successful career. This paper describes the program within the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, lists the various tools used to assess the program outcomes, and includes assessment of the program by sponsoring agencies, alumni, and reflection by faculty.