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The Eclectic Reader for Introduction to Engineering

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Conference

2024 South East Section Meeting

Location

Marietta, Georgia

Publication Date

March 10, 2024

Start Date

March 10, 2024

End Date

March 12, 2024

Page Count

18

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45570

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45570

Download Count

16

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Paper Authors

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Timothy A Wood The Citadel Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-3926-7314

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Timothy A Wood is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Citadel. He acquired a Bachelor's in Engineering Physics Summa Cum Laude with Honors followed by Civil Engineering Master's and Doctoral degrees from Texas Tech University. His technical research focuses on structural evaluation of buried bridges and culverts. He encourages students through an infectious enthusiasm for engineering mechanics and self-directed, lifelong learning. He aims to recover the benefits of the classical model for civil engineering education through an emphasis on reading and other autodidactic practices.

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Gregory J. Mazzaro The Citadel Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-5814-7425

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Dr. Mazzaro earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University in 2004, a Master of Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2006, and a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in 2009. From 2009 to 2013, he worked as an Electronics Engineer for the United States Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Maryland. For his technical research, Dr. Mazzaro studies the unintended behaviors of radio-frequency electronics illuminated by electromagnetic waves and he develops radars for the remote detection and characterization of those electronics. In the Fall of 2013, Dr. Mazzaro joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at The Citadel. There, he is currently an Associate Professor and the primary instructor for Electromagnetic Fields, Signals & Systems, Interference Control in Electronics, and Antennas & Propagation.

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Kevin Skenes The Citadel

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Kevin Skenes is an assistant professor at The Citadel. His research interests include non-destructive evaluation, photoelasticity, manufacturing processes, and engineering education.

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Abstract

A recently piloted multi-disciplinary introduction to engineering course features not only a sam-pling of engineering majors, disciplines, and sub disciplines, but also aims to develop the mindsets and skills of well-rounded engineering students through thoughtful liberal arts reading. To this end, a wide range of reading assignments including sci-fi, philosophy, technical articles, and standard introductory texts aims to help freshmen engineering students establish connections between engi-neering and a larger intellectual world. Each reading is coupled with a note taking exercise, online discussion board, and classroom discussion and activities in support of specific learning objectives. The faculty have enjoyed the breadth of conversations inspired by the readings, and the students have risen to the challenge through gently scaffolded assignments and clearly defined expectations. The use of good literature should meaningfully contribute to student development as engineers and as individuals capable of critical thinking. Appendices provide twenty reading assignments as as-signed to the students on the learning management system.

Wood, T. A., & Mazzaro, G. J., & Skenes, K. (2024, March), The Eclectic Reader for Introduction to Engineering Paper presented at 2024 South East Section Meeting, Marietta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--45570

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