Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Jim Jones; Ed Berger; Linda Blevins; William Oakes

. General references of national and regional resources are also included. A list of thedepartment contact-people at Purdue is also provided. -At the conclusion of the lecture portion, a panel of about five graduate students field questions. Thisinformal portion of the presentation has been very well received. The key to effectively reaching a diverseaudience is to have the panel include people the audience can relate to. This means the panel should be diverseby gender, ethnic background, discipline and future career plans. Having a faculty member available is alsovery helpful during the questioning. The panel members stay after the presentation to answer questionsindividually and offer a personal touch which makes the audience more comfortable

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Melissa Mattmuller

decision about what course ofstudy they will pursue. As part of an effort to introduce high school aged students to the field, the EETDepartment at Purdue University has initiated a summer mini-camp for women called the Explore Program.This three-day exploration was designed to inform, entertain and challenge. It provides a unique opportunity forexposure to the campus, faculty, and course work. What follows is a summary of the preparations, activities,responsibilities, costs, and results of the first year’s experiences. An appendix provides guidelines and asuggested timeline for any other university department wishing to start a similar camp.Introduction - One of the most striking features one may notice when visiting the Electrical

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Sandra L. Bishop; Mary E. Besterfield-Sacre

andrecruitment statistics, and through formal assessment of freshman students and mentor attitudes.Introduction Regardless of how strong an institution’s retention and recruitment statistics are, efforts are always directed tofbrther improve enrollment. The University of Pittsburgh is no exception. In the School of Engineering, the freshmanseminar was an obvious area providing opportunity for improvement. In previous years, the Freshman SuccessSeminar was presented in a large auditorium where all 250-300 freshman engineers met for presentations fromengineering alumni, departmental faculty, and for discussions with engineering student panels. This style of presentingitiormation was not only chaotic, but also not conducive to students learning

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Mark Gordon; Joel Greenstein; Jack Hebrank; Douglas E. Hirt; Daniel P. Schrage; Bill Mason; Tom Miller; Jim Nau

. An approach being explored in the Civil Engineering Department at NCSU is to introduce a structuralsystem (e.g. building), to the students as a first step toward seeing how their studies lead to an actual product.This type of introduction captures their interest, and then the structural system is used to develop a casehistory. This approach is similar to the way medical students are exposed to a human body and its anatomy,which is followed by introduction of diagnostic procedures and the know how for preventive and correctivemeasures for remedial solutions. The potential impact of this approach would be that the students would have abetter understanding of the design decisions, process and the methodology. This approach also helps

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael L. Smith; Mary R. Marlino; Jeff V. Kouri; D. Neal Barlow; A. George Havener

enjoyed the Mars scenario,developed an understanding and appreciation for engineering as an interdisciplinary process, and developedconfidence in their ability to make decisions and assumptions needed to obtain results. The course, theassessment plan, and preliminary findings are presented in this paper. I. INTRODUCTIONBackground Engineering 110Z (Engr-110Z), a new freshman engineering course, is a 3-year experiment underway atthe United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). The need for and goals of Engr-110Z stem from theAcademy’s mission statement: To Develop and Inspire Air and Space Leaders with Vision for Tomorrow.Consistent with the mission statement, members of the faculty recently defined