Conference Session

Engineering and Public Policy Pioneering Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Green, Mississippi State University; Jerry Emison, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

2006-121: MINDING THE GAP: AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE ONENGINEERING AND PUBLIC POLICYRobert Green, Mississippi State University Robert A. Green is the Undergraduate Coordinator for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. He has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering, and an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College. He is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration at Mississippi State. He is a registered professional engineer and was a research engineer for 14 years prior to assuming his current position.Jerry Emison, Mississippi State University Jerry Emison is an

Conference Session

Topical Public Policy Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carole Womeldorf, Ohio University-Athens

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

2006-1722: HOLD PARAMOUNT: DESIGNING AN ENGINEERING EDUCATIONTO OPEN MINDS AND SERVE THE PUBLIC GOODCarole Womeldorf, Ohio University-Athens Carole Womeldorf is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio University. Her areas of technical expertise and interests include distributed energy generation, combustion, heat transfer and fluid dynamics. She worked in the Fire Sciences Division of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 1993 to 2000. Dr. Womeldorf earned her Sc.B. et A.B. in Mechanical Engineering and English and American Literature from Brown University, her Masters of Science in Oceanographic Engineering from

Conference Session

Topical Public Policy Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Devin Stewart, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

importance to determining where funding is needed is determining how it willget there. As mentioned before, engineering education research is a narrow issue that is not onthe mind of most legislators. Any attempt at gaining support for a single-issue bill would bemost likely be unsuccessful. Education research must be cast as part of the solution to a largerproblem, so a place can be found for it on an appropriate bill. The most typical vehicles for an engineering education funding would be as part of anNSF Authorization Act, such as the STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP), or as anamendment to the Higher Education Act. However, success on either of these fronts is only halfthe battle; an appropriation must also be secured. It is

Conference Session

Building Blocks for Public Policy in Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alison Tramba, University of Virginia; Edmund Russell, University of Virginia; P. Paxton Marshall, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

, Mind,Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. The National Academies Press.26 National Academy of Engineering. (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century.Washington D.C.: National Academies Press. Retrieved Jan 7, 2006 from the World Wide Web:http://www.nap.edu/books/0309091624/html/27 Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education. New York: McMillian. Page 11.1054.10

Conference Session

Engineering and Public Policy Pioneering Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline Isaacs, Northeastern University; Christopher Bosso, Northeastern University; Carol Barry, University of Massachusetts-Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

the most part,the lectures were inserted where the schedules permitted, leaving two of three society and policylectures to the very end. Such timing may have left the impression in some students’ minds thatsocietal and policy issues were separate and thus less important. On the other hand, coming lastoffered the opportunity to conclude the course with the big picture issues that students will facebeyond the laboratory. In the main, a more proactive consideration of the integration of societaland policy issues into the course may be warranted.The second lesson is that engineering education should make more use of essay assignments.Given a clear focus--in this case a reading--and a structured set of instructions, students showed asolid capacity

Conference Session

Topical Public Policy Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Devon, Pennsylvania State University; Elizabeth Kisenwether, Pennsylvania State University; Richard Schuhmann, Pennsylvania State University; Robert Pangborn, Pennsylvania State University; Kim Barron, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

inadequate. Their approach todesign is still very modest and they have yet to endorse the need for preparation forentrepreneurship and leadership in engineering. The oft-quoted eleven (a-k) ABET Criterion 3objectives (9/2005) are laudable but do not define the specific skills they have in mind when theycall for “an ability to…,” do this or that.18 Criterion 3 lists objectives that may be addressed inmany different ways in engineering colleges, and this is a good thing, as we note later, thatallows for diversity among universities and colleges, but it may dissipate ABET’s influence.Further, only one of the eleven objectives is about design (design for everything), and leadershipand entrepreneurship skills are not mentioned at all. This has become

Conference Session

Building Blocks for Public Policy in Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel Haight, Pennsylvania State University; Richard Devon, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

foreseeable future and can develop a history of the reconstructionas it is used.These are the very broad public policy issues that ran through the instructors’ minds as we ranour classes, despite our lack of a form approach to policy 1. How hard is it to design a socio-technical system for New Orleans that would be safe? What could first year engineers do to understand the problems and redesign New Orleans. Insofar as they succeed, the implications are that the considerable levels of complexity and technological difficulty are not the issue. 2. Is the image of a devastated New Orleans coupled with poor design, poor planning and a hapless response a public policy issue for engineering in the United States. How inept and