Women in Engineering?1 Percent to 10 Percent in Four Years

Special programs which lead high school girls to the college registration lines for freshmen engineering students are very new to most universities. Women enrollments of up to 10% of the engineering student body is equally a new experience. The College of Engineering at the University of North Dakota has conducted summer programs for high school girls for the last four years. The effort to attract, retain, and graduate women engineers seems to be successfully established. Thirty percent of the participants in the summer programs have enrolled in engineering at UND and 85% of those are continuing their study. Fifty percent of the total female engineering students are institute participants; the other 50% enrolled directly into the college or transferred from other disciplines and other schools. Regardless of their origin, women engineering students are talented and well prepared as their average composite ACT score of about 27 indicates. The special effort by staff and students has increased the enrollment of women in engineering by a factor of 10 since 1971.     

Robotics-Centered Outreach Activities: An Integrated Approach

Nowadays, universities are making extensive efforts to attract prospective students to the fields of electrical, electronic, and computer engineering. Thus, outreach is becoming increasingly important, and activities with schoolchildren are being extensively carried out as part of this effort. In this context, robotics is a very attractive and effective tool for fostering interest in science and technology among children and young people and for attracting them toward engineering. In this article, experience with different robotics-centered outreach activities in the Universidad de Chile (UCH), Santiago, Chile, will be shared. These activities include robotics courses for children, social robots as keynote speakers, mechatronics design courses, and participation in international robotics competitions, which contribute synergistically to the goal of attracting students to UCH's Electrical Engineering (EE) Department. Owing to its novelty, the use of social robots as keynote speakers for schoolchildren will be described in detail. Experimental results that demonstrate how sophisticated social robots can be used to foster the interest of young people in technology will be shown. Altogether, more than 3000 schoolchildren have participated directly in these outreach activities here in Chile, creating a sizeable impact in this country.      

Women in engineering: challenges and opportunities

As the makeup of the electrical engineering workforce changes to include more women engineers, industry is recognizing that their competitive advantage can be strengthened by the unique perspective that women can bring to the workplace. The efforts established through academia, professional organizations, and industry have helped to attract and retain women in the engineering profession by enabling talented people to develop to their fullest potential. More importantly, a greater challenge lies with the men and women who make up the engineering profession, managers as well as co-workers. Managers need to initiate the necessary changes in the day-to-day activity in the workplace, in promotions and assignments, and in employees benefits. They also need to support programs that expose women to engineering, and co-workers need to be willing to be involved in these programs. Co-workers need to be actively involved in creating a respectful environment where everyone can feel valued. It is through these efforts that an environment will be created where competent engineers will have the opportunity to perform to the peak of their abilities and industry will reap the benefits of a diverse workforce     

The Junior High Years: A Time for Beginning Engineering Orientation

The thesis of this paper is that the junior high school years are a key time in the development of orientation towards careers. It is suggested that since women are so grossly underrepresented in the engineering profession, efforts to attack the problem should include work with students at this period in their lives. A team-taught discussion of engineering as an interesting and vital career for women and men, accompanied by a dynamic demonstration of applied scientific principles, has been offered by Georgia Institute of Technology to two school systems in the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Three programs-Lasers and Holograms (Electrical Engineering), Polymer Chemistry (Textile Engineering), and High Temperature and High Temperature Materials (Ceramic Engineering) have been developed by faculty in the respective schools and are described in this paper. Reception has been enthusiastic and the suggestion is made that such programs can act as catalysts to produce longer range programs which can help move us toward parity for women in the engineering profession.     

Collaborative distance education in power engineering

This paper presents a perspective on offering “shared-courses,” or courses simultaneously offered at two or more universities via various distance educational frameworks. Over a three year duration, two senior/graduate level courses were jointly developed and offered to the students at the University of Missouri-Rolla, the University of Arkansas, Kansas State University, and Purdue University. This paper discusses the various distance educational technologies including two-way audio/visual via ISDN line, video-tapes, and web-based conferencing. Both instructor and student reactions to these mediums are included. Pedagogical methods appropriate for these mediums are outlined. The paper concludes with recommendations and strategies for engineering institutions who would like to "course-share" with other universities and industry     

Attracting young minority women to engineering and science:necessary characteristics for exemplary programs

A national educational imperative has been issued to reverse the trend of declining numbers of students choosing to study engineering and science. Minority women are particularly underrepresented in engineering and science, but in order to reach this pool of talent, the special concerns that affect young minority women must be recognized and programs that deal with these concerns must be developed. One such program offered at The George Washington University (GW) and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1989 through 1993, utilizes computer technology and cooperative learning in a university setting to interest young minority women in engineering and science careers. As a result of the success of the GW/NSF program, a two-day working conference of experts was convened to determine the characteristics of exemplary programs that focus on this population. Outcomes from the conference included a criteria checklist, a program planning and self-evaluation guide, and suggestions for a national clearinghouse of information about exemplary programs designed to attract young minority women to engineering and science     

Hands-On Summer Camp to Attract K–12 Students to Engineering Fields

This paper explains the organization and execution of a summer engineering outreach camp designed to attract and motivate high school students as well as increase their awareness of various engineering fields. The camp curriculum included hands-on, competitive design-oriented engineering projects from several disciplines: the electrical, environmental, mechanical, civil, and chemical engineering fields. The camp also provided additional information on financial aid, the academic programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) offered at Texas A&M University–Kingsville (TAMUK), as well as various career options for prospective engineers. The implementation of the camp activities and the well-designed hands-on projects not only increased the students' satisfaction, but also improved their self-confidence and their interest toward engineering disciplines. The engineering outreach camp survey results clearly indicated the success of the camp and the effectiveness of the hands-on, competitive engineering design experiences to attract students to engineering professions. Thus, it demonstrated an effective, feasible, and sustainable engineering recruitment approach.      

Helping to shape the future of education

For more than a decade, the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) has continued to extend and broaden its efforts in the revitalization of undergraduate education. This process began with innovative single projects, then expanded to disciplinary initiatives in engineering, calculus, and chemistry that sought to disseminate best practices across all institutions. The current emphasis of DUE programs is on continued systemic reform through faculty and teacher development as well as curricular reform and laboratory improvement. The effect of these activities is the presentation of material in an engaging manner, employing effective pedagogy and instructional technology to attract and retain students in engineering, mathematics, and the sciences. They additionally prepare all graduates-majors as well as nonmajors-for entry into the workforce, rewarding careers, and a desire to continue learning throughout their lives. In considering the recommendations arising from the review of undergraduate education and the opinions of the community at large, DUE will continue to provide coordination and assistance in the comprehensive reform of higher education     

On the structure of a multipurpose introductory course in computerarchitecture at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

In this paper, the authors describe the structure and contents of an introductory course in computer architecture that is designed to meet multiple objectives and offered to the first year graduate students and senior undergraduate students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA. The objectives include providing a solid background in computer architecture to senior undergraduate students, providing prerequisite preparation for advanced computer engineering courses to the graduate students, and offering a self sufficient study of the computer architecture field to those students who do not pursue further courses in the field. Appropriate projects integrated into the course and public domain tools that were used to facilitate the project assignments are described. The paper describes important issues that were addressed in designing the course structure and its contents. The effectiveness of the approach presented in this paper is supported from experience that has resulted after multiple offerings of the course over a period of three years     

The educational offer in Medical Informatics and Telemedicine at the Engineering Faculty of the Politecnico di Milano

Educational programs in Medical Informatics and Telemedicine offered at the Politecnico di Milano are described. At present they refer to the (five-year) Laurea degree, the (three-year) Diploma Universitario degree, the post-Laurea (three-year) Doctoral degree, the (one-year) post-Laurea Master's degree, and a continuing education program. The general aim of the educational efforts is to enable the students to become information and communication technology experts in whom the physician believes. The success in student attendance and in after-graduation company acceptance is remarkable. Nevertheless, in Italy, the universities are now starting considerable reform of all educational engineering programs.     

An analysis of application rates to programs in informationtechnology, science, and engineering

A shift away from generic undergraduate degrees toward an emphasis on vocationally oriented qualifications has been evident in the awards offered by higher education institutions in Australia over the past few years. This has included those in information technology, science and engineering, where the growth in the number of, and variation in, awards has been particularly evident. The past few years have also seen a general, and in some cases significant, decline in the application rates for some forms of science and engineering. This has prompted many institutions to look at their awards with a view to making them more attractive, both to students and industry, often through the development of more highly specialized awards. In this paper, the authors investigate application trends for information technology, science and engineering awards from a number of perspectives, including the market perceptions of the institution offering the degree. Although the paper focuses on three broad categories of awards-information technology, science and engineering-some lessons may be appropriate for other disciplines. Moreover, although this study takes advantage of the centralized admissions systems used in Australia, available indicators show that the results may well be applicable in the United States and the U.K. and possibly elsewhere     

The impact of the “Americans with Disabilities Act” onengineering education

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law affecting an estimated 45 million Americans who, for different reasons and conditions, may fall under the category of persons with disabilities. The law has produced a major impact regarding the way that our society views and provides services to this segment of the population. While religious institutions, including those involved in higher education through universities, colleges, and programs are exempted from the ADA, almost all other public and private institutions must comply with the law that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and requires that special accommodations be made to integrate these individuals into the work place. Among other things, the law requires “modification of examinations, training materials, or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters and other similar accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities”. The impact on engineering education is enormous with ramifications to admissions policies, curricular structure, testing, accommodations of students and faculty, and many other matters of importance. This paper presents an overview of the ADA, its impact on engineering education, some guidelines for compliance, as well as some actual cases that illustrate some of the typical instances of “reasonable accommodations” that engineering programs need to consider     

Biomedical engineering in China. A look at the growth of the BMESociety, and advanced education

In 1978 the Chinese Institute of Electronics asked Dr Qin to organise the Chinese Biomedical Engineering Society. Looking back on 14 years of the Society's history, 13 conferences have been held, and more than 600 technical papers presented. Student paper competitions stimulated students and young investigators to attend the conference and join the Society. The authors also discuss formal BME education including accreditation and curricula. The universities which have BME programs can be mainly classified into two categories: (1) universities of science and engineering, (2) universities of medical science. The curricula can also be divided into: (1) engineering oriented, and (2) clinically oriented. Most engineering oriented curricula are based on electronic engineering around a central task of instrumentation design. Besides the engineering courses, basic anatomy and physiology are offered for the purpose of communication with physicians. Most clinical oriented curricula are executed in medical schools, they are based on the applications of medical instruments and computers, but the hospital internship is a special required subject. Todays typical BME faculty differs quite significantly from the faculties that began the BME effort in China. Members tend to be interdiciplinarians, capable of understanding a broad range of areas. A significant number are bearers of graduate degrees, both bachelors and masters, from both inside and outside of China. Nearly 300 students are presently enrolled in the country's biomedical engineering programs     

Women in Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign

The participation of women as students and as faculty members in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign is examined in this paper. The enrollment of undergraduate women in engineering and the awarding of engineering degrees to them is compared with nationwide averages. Recent efforts undertaken by the University of Illinois to attract more women into the engineering curriculum are discussed next, including the sponsorship of a two-day conference for high school girls to introduce them to engineering and the publication of an award winning guidance brochure. Finally, the low frequency of women on the teaching faculty in engineering departments is considered, and the potential effects of current affirmative action in the tight academic marketplace are evaluated.     

Photonics enrichment of the EE curriculum

The authors describe how the conventional undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum can accommodate, and be enriched by, an infusion of optical-related subjects. Some combination of the following is recommended: incorporating material on photonics into existing electrical engineering core courses; offering photonic electives for undergraduate electrical engineering students; offering photonics options (well-defined curricula for students wishing to specialize in photonics) within existing electrical engineering or physics departments; and developing independent degree programs in photonics     

Conducting online course dialogue on the ethics of weapons design

ABET Engineering Criteria (EC) 2000 specify that engineering colleges and universities must ensure that all students understand their professional and ethical responsibilities upon graduation. While there are many ways that engineering educators and institutions can address this requirement, recently a one credit online engineering class was developed for the Virginia Tech Engineering Education department and piloted in 2001 and 2002. There were many lessons learned both in the development of the ethics and weapons lecture as well as the in the delivery of a course through a Web-based medium. Web-based course delivery technology, while making great improvements over the past few years, can add a layer of complexity for both students and instructors. Specific to the actual ethics and weapons development lecture, because of historical events and a changing global climate, a lecture on engineers and design of weapons need to include a discussion of ethical implications of terrorism as they relate to just war criteria and changes in technology. Lastly, a difficult but important area for future exploration would be the determination of how these engineering ethics modules come into conflict with other values implicitly or explicitly taught in other engineering courses.     

The nuts and bolts of EMBS student chapters! [Student's Corner]

The Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) student chapters and clubs enable students world wide to engage with the global biomedical community, build relationships that extend beyond college, and better understand societal benefits that result from biomedical pursuits. This article addresses lessons learned from the formation of an IEEE EMBS student chapter at Kansas State University (KSU) and highlights some of the activities supported by this group, which include research to aid persons with disabilities and hands-on efforts to interest young women in science and engineering.     

Incorporating computer-aided design into an electricalengineering/computer science curriculum

The restructuring of the circuits and computer hardware courses at the University of Michigan's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to include a uniform set of electronic design automation (EDA) tools beginning early in the undergraduate curriculum is discussed. The ability to teach good engineering in the department has been significantly strengthened by these changes. The program and the details which have made it successful, including using a consistent set of well-supported commercial tools throughout the curriculum, providing adequate computing resources through a tuition surcharge for engineering students, and offering department-wide support through CAD short courses and consulting hours, are described     

Hands-On Experience in HPC With Secondary School Students

It is a global concern that the number of students in computing-related fields has been decreasing in the last few years. As a way to improve this situation, several institutions have been implementing programs to attract and keep students in science and technology majors. This work describes a high-performance computing (HPC) course intended for secondary school students, which requires only the most basic infrastructure. In this hands-on workshop, the students learn how to assemble, install, and test a cluster. In parallel, students are exposed to a complete new area of knowledge, obtaining a more accurate view of the discipline of computer science and increasing their confidence in their ability to follow computer science. This course also provides opportunities for students to meet scientists and lose any misconceptions and negative stereotypes about science in general and computer science in particular. The aim of this paper is to detail the key concepts conveyed to students, share the course organization, materials, and examples used, and describe the overall experience.      

NASA's university engineering programs

While NASA has supported engineering research at universities for many years, much of it has been along prescribed paths of investigation. The author describes how the objective of a newly emerging element of the university engineering programs is to provide a more autonomous element that will enhance and broaden the capabilities in academia, enabling them to participate more effectively in the US civil space program. These programs are an integral part of national policy and the strategy to rebuild the United States space research and technology base; they propose to remedy the decline in qualified space engineers by making long-term commitments to universities aspiring to play a strong engineering role in the civil space program. These programs utilize technical monitors at NASA centers to foster collaborative arrangements, exchange of personnel, and the sharing of facilities between NASA and the universities