Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laila Guessous, Oakland University; Qian Zou, Oakland University; Brian P. Sangeorzan, Oakland University; Xia Wang, Oakland University; Gary Barber, Oakland University; Lorenzo M. Smith, Oakland University; LianXiang Yang, Oakland University; David Schall, Oakland University, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Michael A. Latcha, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

recommend scheduling several coffee or lunchtime (pizza)meetings with professionals of varying backgrounds. These were always a great hit and don’trequire too much time on the part of all involved. Depending on the personalities of theindividual students and industrial visitors, faculty may need to take an active role in getting aconversation started. One may for example begin immediately with introductions all around andask each person to tell something personal about themselves (where they’re from, hobbies or sideinterests, etc.) Once the introductions are complete, the faculty member may encourage thestudents to ask questions or ask questions that s/he thinks would be of interest to them to get theconversation going. Depending upon the

Conference Session

Teams, Teaching, Leadership, and Technical Communications in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth W. Van Treuren, Baylor University; Cynthia C. Fry, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

business environment and students need exposure to these team types as partof their education. Students in our programs should have an awareness of the types of teams andhow they function in an organization. Common team types found in the literature are: Functional teams perform specific functions in an organization. Sometimes they are called department teams. These teams have members from the same department or work area who meet regularly. Individuals relate to a specialty or focus he or she has mastered, with everyone working toward achieving goals outlined in the company’s mission statement. A manager holds the primary responsibility, with subordinates reporting to this person. Often, these are permanent

Conference Session

Mechanical Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig J. Gunn, Michigan State University; Pavel M. Polunin, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

of which pinpoint writing deficiencies not technical deficiencies.Yes, these are one-on-one encounters with a graduate student and a faculty member and do notreflect the numbers of students in an undergraduate course, but they do reflect on particularcommunication issues that can be mentioned to undergraduates about their own writing. Studentslisten to their technical faculty and when one says that writing is important, it means a great dealmore than when an English teacher makes the same comment.This leads to the student response to an engineering faculty’s comments about a subjectseemingly outside the engineering focus. The student must be educated into understanding thatthere is no engineering without communication. The minute that they

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Abrams, Ohio State University; James William Altschuld, Ohio State University; Blaine W. Lilly, Ohio State University; Daniel A. Mendelsohn, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

decision was made to convert from quarters to semesters which required an reorganizationof the undergraduate and graduate curricula. The Department of Mechanical and AerospaceEngineering looked at the conversion as an opportunity to make significant changes that wouldstrengthen and better position the graduates in an increasingly competitive and globalengineering workforce. With this objective in mind, the Department corresponded with 300alumni from the last 20 years, sought feedback from them on the curricula, and invited them tojoin a selected faculty group on campus in July of 2009 for a full-day discussion of curricularchanges. 130 alumni responded to the invitation and electronic survey and 45 alumni joined over15 faculty members for a