Teaching engineering in a social context

The broader implications of technological innovation are not addressed directly in the engineering classroom. Even in courses that consolidate and integrate knowledge, such as engineering design, the social issues are dealt with narrowly. The student is encouraged to be a team player and to behave ethically, but the reason is to optimize the design activity, not to explore its implications. In this article, the author introduced a course entitled "Components and Systems: Engineering in a Social Context" specifically to provide a link between the engineer as a calculator and designer and the engineer as a professional who must recognize that his or her inventions have profound societal impact and who must therefore act in a socially responsible manner.     

Motivating Engineering Freshmen through an Authentic Design Experience

As an integral part of the required course "Introduction to Engineering," every freshman engineer at Arizona State University is involved in a realistic design project. The object is to give the student a clear idea of the role of the engineer, the challenges he faces, and the skills he must acquire. In this project, each student works as a member of an "engineering firm" which develops a new design that is based on one of a number of ideas originally generated by the students themselves. This paper describes how this design competition is organized. This design experience, running through the entire semester, is paralleled by weekly lectures by prominent engineers from industry, as well as by formal conventional instruction in the elements of engineering analysis and computation.     

Computer versus Slide Rule

A report is presented on progress and problems encountered in introducing a computer program as an aid in undergraduate teaching rather than as a topic of study per se. A computer-trained engineer differs in outlook from his predecessor reared on the slide rule. These conflicting orientations pose new problems and occasionally supply new fuel to old controversies. Reactions of the administration, of the faculty, and of the engineering student facing the changes are examined. Instructors planning to introduce similar programs, may find it helpful to anticipate these responses and to recognize their motivation. Like other so-called unorthodox teaching methods, the computer program depends for its success as a teaching aid largely on the instructor's ability to develop sound "public relations," solicit constructive criticism, and meet unjustified attacks effectively.     

A microprocessor course: designing and implementing personal microcomputers

This paper describes a microprocessor course for electrical and computer engineering students in which every student designs and implements his/her own microcomputer system step by step according to the course schedule. Although this microprocessor course requires considerable time and effort, it provides students with invaluable experience and helps them to understand microprocessors much more thoroughly. The schedule of this course and its assignments, aimed at designing and implementing personal microcomputers, is described in detail. The results of student evaluations of this course are also described.     

General Semantics as an Educative Tool in the Electrical Curriculum

Because science and technology are changing more and more rapidly with time, the tempo of university curriculum modernization is increasing and the problem of engineering obsolescence is becoming more acute. This paper, written from the viewpoint of an engineer in the research and development segment of industry, introduces three central concepts from general semantics: 1) levels of abstraction, 2) multiordinality, and 3) semantic reactions. I feel that the student electrical engineer can benefit from considering explicitly the number of times he must remove himself mentally from the physical world in creating a model of reality, from discussing the gray area between Aristotelian yes-no abstractions, and from realizing the emotional content of verbal phrases in the lay as well as technical vocabulary. The body of the paper discusses, in a preliminary way, several areas in the electrical engineering curriculum where these concepts might be used to advantage in preparing the student to enter, with an increased awareness, upon his professional "career of change."     

Impact of Computers on the Orientation of Electrical Engineering Curricula

The relationship between computers and electrical engineering is far different from what it is in other fields because the electrical engineer is not just a user of computers-more importantly, he is their builder and designer. Thus, electrical engineering has a special responsibility to train its students in both the basic and applied aspects of computer science and engineering. To meet this responsibility, electrical engineering curricula must undergo substantive changes. In particular, the emphasis in basic courses should shift from the continuous to the discrete, from analysis to algebra, from circuit theory to digital systems and from signal analysis to formal languages. On the applied side, the student should be provided with courses in data structures, computation structures, computer organization, and information organization and retrieval. An argument is made in favor of a "free curriculum" in which a student is gi" ven a very large measure of freedom in shaping his program of study.     

Situation Problems in Electrical Engineering

During the past few years, I have developed a couple dozen problems in Electrical Engineering which are somewhat unusual. The problems are written around a situation similar to case studies as employed in Business Schools. I try with some introductory comments to project the student into a "real life" situation and then lead him through a series of step-at-a-time solutions. One of the purposes of the situation problems is to heighten the student's interest and thereby increase his motivation. Additionally, the student learns to follow through a lengthy line of reasoning and related engineering design. Since the problems frequently require the full use of broad prior knowledge, the student learns to integrate together a number of subjects. In this respect, the problems help to augment his laboratory experience. The situation problems typically require a considerable amount of time both by the student in solving and by the instructor in grading. Occasionally, the problems are done in groups or as class exercises. The problem answers follow sequentially and initial errors are propagated. This is justified as being a "real life" experience and therefore valuable to the student in teaching him to work accurately The over-all student reaction has, I feel, been quite favorable. In discussing the solutions, the instructor has an opportunity to interpolate numerous comments, as appropriate, concerning analysis, approximations, and engineering design philosophy. The following situation problem on "Transistorized Low-Frequency Class C Amplifier" was recently prepared.     

In Defense of Canned Programs

To an engineer, a "solution" usually means a set of curves or charts, while the computational technique used to obtain them is probably not important. Hence, the pedagogic objective of inculcating in a student of engineering design the "physical appreciation" of a problem can be effectively achieved through the use of "canned" design software packages.     

William Edward Ayrton at the Imperial College of Engineering inTokyo-the first professor of electrical engineering in the world

A biographical sketch of the teaching career of W.E. Ayrton is presented. William Edward Ayrton (1847-1908) studied at University College in London, England, and then was admitted to the recruit course of the Indian Telegraph Department, where he studied with William Thomsom at Glasgow. Working in India, Ayrton attained some fame as a telegraph engineer by his research. In 1873, he was appointed Professor of Physics and Telegraphy at the Imperial College of Engineering, an institution newly founded by the Japanese Government Public Works Department. The course eventually evolved into the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Tokyo. In the well-equipped physical laboratory of his own design, Ayrton carried out original research in collaboration with John Perry. Ayrton's experience as the first electrical engineering professor in Japan became the stepping-stone to his later career in England     

A Semiconductor Technology Course

A one-year semiconductor technology course for undergraduate senior electrical engineering students is described. The course consists of one semester of lecture followed by one semester of laboratory. The material covered in the lecture is demonstrated to the students by field trips to local industry and in their laboratory. Highly sophisticated technology such as ion-implantation is demonstrated in field trips and technology such as thermal diffusion is encountered by the student in his laboratory course. "Thus, whenever possible, the student can relate his lecture material to observation. The laboratory consists of a complete processing operation where the student starts with a crystal boule and fabricates a packaged device whose terminal characteristics are measured. He or she thus obtains some feeling for the effects of processing on terminal characteristics. Projects are used in conjunction with the laboratory to improve some of the process steps and to give the student some experience in tackling nonstructured problems which are more closely related to professional activities after graduation.     

Learning to learn-concepts in a first power engineering course

Three well-known and widely accepted concepts in educational psychology are revisited. These are "inventory of learning styles," "taxonomy of educational objectives," and "metacognition." Relationships among these concepts are highlighted. Often, a student can develop his (or her) own learning style by the process of metacognition. Ideas are borrowed from these concepts for use in a first-level power systems course. It is beyond a doubt that both cognitive and metacognitive skills are necessary for students to succeed in any course. While a semester-long power systems course leaves little time for critical thinking and passive reflection for students, certain activities may very well serve for some of these learning processes.     

An idea man (the life of Otto Herbert Schmitt)

This work recounts the life of Otto Herbert Schmitt who is most widely known as the inventor of the Schmitt trigger, which he developed as a graduate student in the mid-1930s. Schmitt remained an active scientist, engineer, and intellectual until the mid-1990s - six decades that brimmed with energy, effort, and insights. Viewing his life in full context suggests that the Schmitt trigger was a mere prelude to his greatest innovation, which Schmitt fully articulated near the end of his career: the concept of a biomimetic approach to science and engineering - an idea rather than a gadget. Schmitt played instrumental roles in establishing a number of the professional associations that continue to provide vital means of interchange among biophysicists and biomedical engineers.     

A student-enacted simulation approach to software engineering education

In some cases, real-world application of software engineering concepts does not effectively map with current undergraduate curriculums. Typically, a student's first "hands-on" experience working on large-scale software development projects is via an intern position or his/her first full-time position. However, prior exposure to the corporate project environment would greatly improve a student's performance in industry. In order to develop students for successful careers in software engineering, specifically for software development, they must be immersed not only in the software development lifecycle and paradigms, but also in the workings of large project teams. Currently, most undergraduate software engineering courses are taught by presenting the concepts and methodologies and assigning fragmented three-to-four person group projects. In the Department of Computer Science, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, a two-course approach to undergraduate software engineering education has been developed that incorporates the practical application of coursework in a large team setting. The first course presents a firm software design basis, while the second course demonstrates corporate-level software engineering concepts with a semester-long software development simulation where the entire class is the development team. This paper presents the experiences from offering this software engineering simulation approach.     

Flexibility and adaptability in engineering education: an academicinstitution perspective

To survive in the highly competitive environment, an engineering education institution must offer its students an attractive system of study. Essential features of such a system are flexibility and adaptability. Flexibility means that the system provides a large number of diverse opportunities and allows the students to take advantage of the existing diversity. A flexible system of study should provide for multiple entry and exit points, and for several areas of concentration within one or more fields of study. Student's freedom in design of his/her individual program of study should not be restricted by an excessive number of compulsory courses. The student should also be allowed to adjust the course load in each term to his/her background and speed of learning. Adaptability of a system of study means that adjustments in curricula, reflecting advances in science and technology, trends on the labor market, and evolution of international standards of engineering education, can easily be performed. In this paper, the authors discuss how to restructure a system of study to make it more flexible and adaptable. The general ideas are illustrated with an example of a recently restructured system of engineering education at their institution-the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. They demonstrate that flexibility and adaptability of the system of study contribute to the overall quality of education     

Senior design project: undergraduate thesis

Engineering design has become a critical element of the undergraduate engineering curriculum. To become accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) requires that at least 24 credits of design content be included in the four-year undergraduate engineering curriculum. Senior design is the principal course in which students apply their knowledge in several disciplines to one project assignment and is a significant step towards meeting ABET requirements. Engineering experience acquired in the senior design course is a valuable aid to students as they learn how to apply theory to an actual design project. The senior design course develops project management and oral and written communication skills and enables students to learn scheduling, team coordination and cooperation, parts ordering, and cost/performance tradeoffs. Ten senior design projects that have won IEEE and SME student paper contests are presented herein as a guide in the difficult selection of suitable design topics. The unique nature of the senior design course requires certain departures from usual engineering course organization if students are to derive the maximum benefit. Senior design is nearly equivalent to an industrial internship and may be more valuable as the first step a student takes in making the transition to working engineer     

A Proposal for Broadening the Education of Power System Engineers

Engineering education has placed its major emphasis on developing graduates with a high degree of technical competence in the traditional engineering disciplines. However, society's expectations for the role of an engineer now reflect the increased concern for inclusion of social policy considerations in engineering decision making. Engineering education must respond to these changes so that engineers will be better prepared to meet today's changes. The authors have focused their discussion on suggested modifications to the power system engineering curriculum as an example of the changing needs of a typical engineering program. The paper discusses some of the limitations the authors perceive in the present education of most power system engineers including a lack of study of nontraditional alternatives to central station power generation. Many of the suggested topics can be added to existing courses; for example, power system planning which could be expanded to cover topics such as load management systems and innovative rate designs which influence load patterns. The addition to the curriculum of a course which provides engineers with a broad overview of the laws affecting engineering decisions and the social policy these laws seek to implement is recommended. Such a course should broaden an engineer's perspective of his/her role in society. The authors feel that this overall proposal is responsive to the needs to be faced by many of the future power engineering graduates. The suggested curriculum changes and additions should aid power system engineers in understanding their role in solving society's energy-related problems.     

Teh Philosophy, Design, and Development of Miartes

"Miartes" is a code name for a Missile Autopilot Research and Teaching Simulator designed initially to satisfy the requirement for a special-purpose analog computer on which the principles of missile control and automatic control engineering could be taught simultaneously. The simulator is based on the roll autopilot suitable for the hypothetical missile "Flying Shrew." A sophisticated flight envelope, extending in altitude from sea-level to 70 000 feet and in speed from Mach 1.0 to Mach 2.0, necessitates a novel approach to the computer design if rescaling is to be avoided. The sophisticated ffight envelope chosen vividly illustrates the need for some form of adaptive autopilot loop. The simulator is intended to supplement more complex specialized computers, and general-purpose analog computers in an integrated course involving several specializations. It has been found that the use of the "Flying Shrew" mathematical model has enabled a thorough integration between lecture room and laboratory to be achieved. Calibration of the simulator is directly in terms of missile autopilot parameters, and, since rescaling is avoided, the effective student absorption rate is at least four times greater than with older methods of teaching. The simulator is also an excellent basis for student design and research projects.     

An automated feedback system for computer organization projects

This paper describes a system, built and refined over the past five years, that automatically analyzes student programs assigned in a computer organization course. The system tests a student's program, then e-mails immediate feedback to the student to assist and encourage the student to continue testing, debugging, and optimizing his or her program. The automated feedback system improves the students' learning experience by allowing and encouraging them to improve their program iteratively until it is correct. The system has also made it possible to add challenging parts to each project, such as optimization and testing, and it has enabled students to meet these challenges. Finally, the system has reduced the grading load of University of Michigan's large classes significantly and helped the instructors handle the rapidly increasing enrollments of the 1990s. Initial experience with the feedback system showed that students depended too heavily on the feedback system as a substitute for their own testing. This problem was addressed by requiring students to submit a comprehensive test suite along with their program and by applying automated feedback techniques to help students learn how to write good test suites. Quantitative iterative feedback has proven to be extremely helpful in teaching students specific concepts about computer organization and general concepts on computer programming and testing.