Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert J. Beichner; Hugh Fuller; Richard M. Felder; Philip R. Dail; Leonhard E. Bernold; Ernest E. Burniston

orientation course, and the spring engineering course is an add-on to the standard curriculum.• The courses are team-taught by mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering professors, who present fundamental scientific and mathematical material in the context of real-world problems to the greatest extent possible. As a rule only one professor at a time is in the classroom, but several times during each semester the entire IMPEC faculty is present to conduct a “workshop” on a topic that involves all of the disciplines being taught. The faculty meets periodically, in person and electronically, to coordinate assignments, schedule activities, and discuss any problems that the students seem to be having

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Sr., Buck F. Brown; Jr., Buck F. Brown

acquisition. This suggests that it is actually an educationalapproach rather than merely a teaching technique. Curricula and institution-wide restructuring through problem-based education generallyoccurs from the inside-out. Instead of having restructuring imposed upon them, faculty andinstructional staff first work to revise and restructure courses to incorporate a problem-basedapproach. As students progress, the types, scope, and complexity of the problems used may beexpanded to encompass interdisciplinary topics. These can be utilized to extend studentproblem-solving skills, increase their interdisciplinary thinking and emphasize the importance ofcommunication and cooperation. Dewey [1], Piaget [2], Brunner [3] and others have

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John T. Bell

. The best part was to be able to see the big picture, which helped me make my career decisions. I gained a lot of hands-on experience in computer graphics that even EECS people don't get. How many people get to work with VR on the undergraduate level? Even [ another major VR lab ] is made up of mostly graduate students. As an impact on my career choice, after being exposed to computer graphics from VRiChEL, I soon realized that computers and computer graphics were a lot more interesting to me than chemical engineering or medicine. After that I tried to learn as much as I could in school, by taking a computer graphics class and working for different computing labs on campus. [ Including a

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert George; Allen Soyster; John Lamancusa

industry projects class. This was run in an almost militaryfashion by a faculty member (since retired) with considerable industry experience who did notcare about student teaching evaluations, but who knew what students really needed to learn. Hisfavorite saying was: “an early stumble saves a later fall”. The personal qualities and charisma ofthe instructor, including sheer determination, industry connections, extensive time commitmentand constant supervision of the students all but guaranteed a successful outcome. For a numberof reasons, including the retirement of this faculty member, the course can no longer be taught inthis style.In the Mechanical Engineering class, each instructor would concoct a common “open-endeddesign” project to meet ABET

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ravi Jain

foradmission could be:• Eagerness to learn the language and culture of the chosen country and openness to new ideas and different perspectives. For example, students must be tolerant, flexible, and willing to take unfamiliar paths.• An understanding of and commitment to the goals of the program. Students must be aware that they may well be professionally called upon to work collaboratively with persons from other societies representing other cultural perspectives. They should use their time overseas to both mature as engineers and grow in sensitivity and understanding of the foreign culture they are in.• The ability to represent effectively the University and the United States through tact and

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Samuel P. Clemence; Daniel J. McGinley

science students and graduates in making the transition from academiato a career in professional practice. Institute programs address those issues which make adefinitive difference between true success and failure in an engineered project.Issues in Professional Engineering Practice ProgramIn 1992 in response to the concerns voiced by the practicing engineering community, the GeneralElectric Fund and the Institute for Professional Practice sponsored the development of a coursecalled Issues in Professional Engineering Practice. The intent of the course is to draw uponpracticing engineers and allied professionals to assist engineering schools in raising the level ofstudent awareness regarding potentially disruptive non-technical issues in

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Neda Fabris

, the female students who excel in mathematics, like those who take calculusin high school, rarely consider engineering as a valuable career. This is obvious from number offemale honor students and the number of women entering engineering. As an example, I noticedthis in the 1995 graduating high school class of Glendale (California): from about 50 female honorstudents only two showed interest in studying engineering. According to National ScienceFoundation (NSF) statistics only 11% of engineering students are female [3].However, I have found from my own experience that many mothers are very enthusiastic whenproperly introduced to experimental aspects of science and engineering. In the past at our school,we have organized special experimental