The Development Of A Mechanical Engineering Freshman Program
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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9
- Page Numbers
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11.1272.1 - 11.1272.9
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--930
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/930
- Download Count
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510
Paper Authors
Timothy Hinds Michigan State University
Timothy Hinds is an Academic Specialist in the Michigan State University Department of Mechanical Engineering. He teaches undergraduate courses in machine design, manufacturing processes, mechanics and computational tools. He also teaches a senior-level undergraduate international design project course and has taught graduate-level courses in engineering innovation and technology management. He received his BSME and MSME degrees from Michigan Technological University.
Craig Somerton Michigan State University
Craig Somerton is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Undergraduate Program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. He teaches in the area of thermal engineering including thermodynamics, heat transfer, and thermal design. Dr. Somerton has research interests in computer design of thermal systems, transport phenomena in porous media, and application of continuous quality improvement principles to engineering education. He received his B.S. in 1976, his M.S. in 1979, and his Ph.D. in 1982, all in engineering from UCLA.
Robert Chalou Michigan State University
Robert Chalou is an Academic Specialist in the Michigan State University Department of Mechanical Engineering. He teaches undergraduate courses in engineering graphic communications, computer aided design and computer aided presentations. He received his BS in Engineering Arts/Industrial Design from Michigan State University and his Master of Industrial Design, MID, from North Carolina State University.
Clark Radcliffe Michigan State University
Clark Radcliffe is a Professor and Associate Chair of the Graduate Program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. He joined MSU in 1980 after serving as an Engineering Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and an engineering analyst with Aerojet General Corporation. During his tenure at MSU, he has conducted research in acoustics, dynamic system modeling, control and mechatronics. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, past co-editor of two ASME journals and past Chair of the Dynamic Systems and Control Division. He has over 75 publications and two patents.
Gaile Griffore Michigan State University
Gaile Griffore is an Academic Specialist and Undergraduate Student Advisor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. She earned a BS degree in education from Central Michigan University and an MBA from MSU.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
The Development of a Mechanical Engineering Freshman Program Introduction
Many of the top engineering schools in the country conduct a freshman engineering program. These programs provide the opportunity to integrate students very early into the culture of their respective engineering disciplines. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU) has not conducted a freshman program, mainly due to the university- wide junior admission-to-major criteria. However, in the past year, the department has identified the need for such a program and has made a commitment to its development. This paper addresses the development of the MSU Mechanical Engineering Freshman Program.
Program Goals
In developing the MSU Mechanical Engineering (ME) Freshman Program, a task force was assembled that included the two principal instructors and the associate chair for undergraduate programs of the department. The instructors selected for the task force were those deemed most well suited to the development, implementation and delivery of freshman-level courses due to their experience at that level and their expertise with the computer tools identified for the new courses. One of the first tasks of this group was to develop a set of goals and objectives for the program. A draft set of goals and objectives were developed and distributed to the faculty for comment. Following feedback from the faculty, the goals below were formalized:
1. Introduce students to the mechanical engineering discipline and profession.
2. Demonstrate how basic mathematics and science fits into engineering practice.
3. Introduce students to the engineering design problem solving method in a rigorous fashion.
4. Teach students to use computer applications such as NX®, MATLAB®, and Excel®.
5. Help students develop their communication, study, organizational, and teaming skills.
6. Prepare students for and begin their integration into the culture of the mechanical engineering program.
Developing the Program Structure
With the preliminary set of goals developed, the task force then turned its attention to the structure of the program. One constraint was to preserve the number of courses and credits currently in the MSU ME program. It was decided to investigate possible major modification and ultimate replacement of the two current introductory computer tool courses, Engineering Graphic Communications (ME 180) and Technical Computing and Problem Solving (CSE 131), for the new freshman program. ME 180 is a 3 credit course taught in a one hour lecture and two 2-hour lab periods per week format. It focuses on the teaching of NX® as a mechanical design
Hinds, T., & Somerton, C., & Chalou, R., & Radcliffe, C., & Griffore, G. (2006, June), The Development Of A Mechanical Engineering Freshman Program Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--930
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