Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2009-2416: INTRODUCING A TWO-SEMESTER RESEARCH COURSE INTHE FRESHMAN YEARWael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Page 14.798.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Introducing a Two-Semester Research Course in the Freshman YearAbstractEngineering schools have been using capstone projects to introduce the students to ‘real world’applications and break the barrier between theory and practice. It is usually in the form of a two-semester course where the students use the first semester to develop the soft skills needed for theproject in terms of project management and

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University; Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Alfred Gates, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

contribution index is based on the assumption that all outcomes are equallyweighted; this might be improved by assigning weights to each outcome as appropriate, and byusing the non-technical courses (General Education) to assess soft skills 3-6. Currently ourevaluation is based on technical courses and will close the loop by adding non-technical coursesif deemed necessary. ME3 43% ME2 33% PEO5 21% Program Educational Objectives Program Learning Outcomes ME1

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Enrique Barbieri, University of Houston; Raresh Pascali, University of Houston; Miguel Ramos, University of Houston; William Fitzgibbon, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

has unveiled the 14 Grand Challenges that are awaitingengineering solutions www.engineeringchallenges.org/ in energy, infrastructure & theenvironment, health & medicine, security, and in technology and tools for research and forinstruction & learning. A common thread in the 14 Grand Challenges lies in ensuring that theeducational system equips engineers with the skills needed to tackle these grand technicalproblems. At the recent March 2-3, 2009 NAE Summit in Durham, North Carolina, several ofthese challenges were discussed, and the imperative of having strong math and scientificfoundations, a knowledge of business and entrepreneurship, an awareness of the globalenvironment, and soft-skills development in engineering education was