Ethics Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Education

This paper asks how undergraduate engineering education supports students' ethical development, broadly defined, in a diverse sample of U.S. engineering schools and offers an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of those efforts. The paper draws on observational case studies that were based on site visits to undergraduate mechanical and electrical engineering programs at seven universities or engineering schools in the U.S. It begins by proposing professional codes of ethics in engineering as a useful framework for thinking about the goals for student learning in the area of ethics and professional responsibility. The paper then discusses how and to what degree these goals are being addressed in the case study schools, with additional context provided through reference to published research in the field. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening the teaching of engineering ethics and professional responsibility.     

Quality Assurance in Engineering Education: A Comparison of EC‐2000 and ISO‐9000

This paper explores similarities and differences between the new ABET accreditation criteria (EC‐2000) and a well‐established quality assurance standard in industry (ISO‐9000 series). The premise of the paper is that an appreciation of EC‐2000 as a tool for quality assurance will lead to greater faculty interest and participation in accreditation‐related activities. Some suggestions are also provided for effective implementation of EC‐2000.     

Lin2k: A Novel Web‐Based Collaborative Tool‐Application to Engineering Education

In this paper we present the educational process of Lin2k, a Web‐based tool, which supports distant asynchronous, written, peer‐collaboration in a case study. The tool constitutes an open learning environment that endows engineering students with collaborative competencies, necessary for their successful shift to professional practice. Students are engaged in a process of experiential learning of collaboration while, in parallel, we follow up their interactions and collect communication data of interest. Lin2k collaboration evaluating and adaptive feedback mechanisms are aimed at equipping students with the necessary conceptual knowledge that underlies collaborative activity. Lin2k experimental uses in the Civil Engineering Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, proved the efficacy of its pedagogy. The Lin2k educational process serves as a prototype that may contribute to the revision of engineering curricula so as to face the challenges that the new technologies impose, along with the necessity of relating academic to professional life.     

Advancing Engineering Education in P‐12 Classrooms

Engineering as a profession faces the challenge of making the use of technology ubiquitous and transparent in society while at the same time raising young learners' interest and understanding of how technology works. Educational efforts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (i.e., STEM disciplines) continue to grow in pre‐kindergarten through 12th grade (P‐12) as part of addressing this challenge. This article explores how engineering education can support acquisition of a wide range of knowledge and skills associated with comprehending and using STEM knowledge to accomplish real world problem solving through design, troubleshooting, and analysis activities. We present several promising instructional models for teaching engineering in P‐12 classrooms as examples of how engineering can be integrated into the curriculum. While the introduction of engineering education into P‐12 classrooms presents a number of opportunities for STEM learning, it also raises issues regarding teacher knowledge and professional development, and institutional challenges such as curricular standards and high‐stakes assessments. These issues are considered briefly with respect to providing direction for future research and development on engineering in P‐12.     

Bayesian Network Resource for Meta‐Analysis: Cellular Toxicity of Quantum Dots

A web‐based resource for meta‐analysis of nanomaterials toxicity is developed whereby the utility of Bayesian networks (BNs) is illustrated for exploring the cellular toxicity of Cd‐containing quantum dots (QDs). BN models are developed based on a dataset compiled from 517 publications comprising 3028 cell viability data samples and 837 IC₅₀ values. BN QD toxicity (BN‐QDTox) models are developed using both continuous (i.e., numerical) and categorical attributes. Using these models, the most relevant attributes identified for correlating IC₅₀ are: QD diameter, exposure time, surface ligand, shell, assay type, surface modification, and surface charge, with the addition of QD concentration for the cell viability analysis. Data exploration via BN models further enables identification of possible association rules for QDs cellular toxicity. The BN models as web‐based applications can be used for rapid intelligent query of the available body of evidence for a given nanomaterial and can be readily updated as the body of knowledge expands.     

Integrating Ethics & Engineering: A Graduate Option in Systems Engineering,Ethics, and Technology Studies

This paper describes an engineering graduate option in Systems Engineering designed to overcome some of the effects of specialization and compartmentalization by building a link between technical and ethical training. Students in this option produce case studies that emphasize ethical issues in the design process. The goal of the program is to turn out ethical professionals who are able to reflect on the moral implications of technology. The proposed approach uses realistic or real‐hypothetical hybrid case studies as a type of vicarious mentoring, and, when supplemented with readings in ethical theory and codes, may serve as a starting point for a deeper understanding of behavioral dilemmas. The developers of this approach are a multi‐disciplinary team from the Engineering School and the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. The paper describes how the graduate option is structured and provides data on student outcomes.     

Improving First‐Year Engineering Education*

In September of 1998, the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) piloted an innovative, integrated, first‐year curriculum. It dramatically changed 31 credits across two semesters. The program was modeled after several previous successful undergraduate experiments at other universities such as those in the NSF Foundation Coalition and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The new program at UMD included This paper describes the new curriculum, some of the practical considerations in its design, and the way it has functioned. Significant improvements demonstrated after one year of operation include

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Optimizing Worked‐Example Instruction in Electrical Engineering: The Role of Fading and Feedback during Problem‐Solving Practice

How can we help college students develop problem‐solving skills in engineering? To answer this question, we asked a group of engineering freshmen to learn about electrical circuit analysis with an instructional program that presented different problem‐solving practice and feedback methods. Three findings are of interest. First, students who practiced by solving all problem steps and those who practiced by solving a gradually increasing number of steps starting with the first step first (forward‐fading practice) produced higher near‐transfer scores than those who were asked to solve a gradually increasing number of steps but starting with the last step first (backward‐fading practice). Second, students who received feedback immediately after attempting each problem‐solving step outperformed those who received total feedback on near transfer. Finally, students who learned with backward‐fading practice produced higher near‐ and far‐transfer scores when feedback included the solution of a similar worked‐out problem. The theoretical and practical implications for engineering education are discussed.     

Transition‐Metal‐Based Electrocatalysts as Cocatalysts for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: A Mini Review

Converting solar energy into hydrogen via photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most promising approaches for a sustainable energy supply. Highly active, cost‐effective, and robust photoelectrodes are undoubtedly crucial for the PEC technology. To achieve this goal, transition‐metal‐based electrocatalysts have been widely used as cocatalysts to improve the performance of PEC cells for water splitting. Herein, this Review summarizes the recent progresses of the design, synthesis, and application of transition‐metal‐based electrocatalysts as cocatalysts for PEC water splitting. Mo, Ni, Co‐based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and Co, Ni, Fe‐based electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are emphasized as cocatalysts for efficient PEC HER and OER, respectively. Particularly, some most efficient and robust photoelectrode systems with record photocurrent density or durability for the half reactions of HER and OER are highlighted and discussed. In addition, the self‐biased PEC devices with high solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency based on earth‐abundant materials are also addressed. Finally, this Review is concluded with a summary and remarks on some challenges and opportunities for the further development of transition‐metal‐based electrocatalysts as cocatalysts for PEC water splitting.     

Engineering Cooperative Education: A Statistical Analysis of Employer Benefits

This article describes the methods and results of research conducted using a survey of cooperative education directors to statistically test conclusions drawn from previously conducted studies. The perspective of employers of engineering cooperative education students is examined. Benefits to employers and problems experienced by employers that support engineering cooperative education are identified and analyzed for their statistical significance. The problems experienced by employers is a new perspective that has not previously been discussed by other cooperative education studies.     

Professional Practice: A Topic for Engineering Research and Instruction

Professional practice is considered as a much broader topic for inclusion in engineering curricula than traditionally associated with engineering design. Practicing engineers require a working knowledge of several non-engineering disciplines and must interact with people of a variety of backgrounds within a variety of organizational contexts. Engineers must develop the skills of problem solving and decision making for circumstances much broader than generally used in the engineering class room. Professional engineering practice in this broad context can be the subject of legitimate research and instruction. Case research methods are applicable to the exploratory study of engineering practice and the development of a knowledge base important to designing engineering curricula. Case instruction provides one method of dealing with topics at the boundaries of the engineering disciplines and in developing decision making skills that are fundamental to engineering practice. It is concluded that the engineering education community should explore new frameworks for research, instruction and the associated scholarship that address professional practice issues.