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Session 1433

Development of a Building Electrical Power Systems Design Specialty Glenn T. Wrate Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department Milwaukee School of Engineering

Abstract

Enrollment in Electrical Power Engineering courses has been in a steady decline, and many institutions have dropped power and energy conversion courses. At the same time, the demand for engineers in the field has remained constant, and in some cases has increased significantly. To meet the demand for engineers in the electrical construction sector, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and local industry have worked together to develop a sequence of courses for a Building Electrical Power Systems Design Specialty in the Architectural Engineering program. This sequence includes four courses from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department: Electrical Systems, and three courses on Electrical Power Distribution Systems (system basics, small systems, and large systems). The Architectural Engineering and Building Construction Department offers five courses: Illumination for Buildings, Communication Systems, National Electrical Code, Electrical System Cost Estimating and Specifications, and Electrical Power Quality for Buildings. This paper describes the development of these courses, along with feedback from the first graduating class, current students, and industry.

Introduction

The decline in enrolments in power engineering courses is well documented. Even among universities with well-established electrical power engineering programs, the percentage of curricula requiring a course in energy conversion has declined1. At the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), elective courses in power systems did not run last year due to a lack of student interest.

The demand for students with an interest in power systems has been strong as of late. In the building electrical arena, this need was apparent when a group of 25 local design firms and contractors approached MSOE and requested a design sequence to address a chronic shortage of engineers. Additionally, other programs have been developed recently to address this shortage2.

Proceedings of The 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition © 2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Wrate, G. (2001, June), Development Of A Building Electrical Power Systems Design Specialty Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9115