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An introduction to engineering and engineering design

01 Jan 1969-
About: The article was published on 1969-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 99 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Civil engineering software & Biosystems engineering.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work explores the link between typology and the design process and asks how typological thinking may benefit novice designers in the context of the architectural design studio, and conceptually synthesises theories of typology with design methods to provide a practical framework for the application of Typology in design studio teaching.
Abstract: In the architectural design process, built precedent can be a valuable resource to shape design situations. Typology, the systematic categorisation of precedent, may act as a means to interpret this information and identify relationships between existing buildings and new design. This work explores the link between typology and the design process and asks how typological thinking may benefit novice designers in the context of the architectural design studio. The research conceptually synthesises theories of typology with design methods to provide a practical framework for the application of typology in design studio teaching. Adopting a stage-based model of design, underpinned by the critical method as a description of individual design cycles, the framework offers a means of guiding project decisions, encouraging ideation and accessing information embedded in design precedents. The research is exploratory in nature and adopts a participant observation approach to develop and test the proposed framework. This is supported by data gathered from case studies, structured interviews and questionnaires. The typological learning framework is supported by the results of the research and considers various interpretations of typology at each stage in the design process, analytical processes required and practical guidance for designers and educators.

9 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
21 Sep 1992
TL;DR: The authors describe the problem of bias and then present a model of the specification and design processes describing individual subprocesses in terms of precision/detail programs, and a models of bias in multi-attribute software specifications.
Abstract: Implementation bias in a specification is an arbitrary constraint in the solution space. The authors describe the problem of bias and then present a model of the specification and design processes describing individual subprocesses in terms of precision/detail programs, and a model of bias in multi-attribute software specifications. While studying how bias is introduced into a specification it was realized that software defects and bias are dual problems of a single phenomenon. This has been used to explain the large proportion of faults found during the coding phase at the Software Engineering Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. >

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Matthew Wisnioski1
TL;DR: The authors investigates the origins, goals, and outcomes of modern design-based engineering education in the USA by analyzing an interdisciplinary project that asked students to collaboratively prepare for nuclear holocaust.
Abstract: This article investigates the origins, goals, and outcomes of modern design-based engineering education in the USA by analyzing an interdisciplinary project that asked students to collaboratively prepare for nuclear holocaust. Project NOAH, conducted at Harvey Mudd College, a pioneering institution in student-centered engineering education, generated national publicity and established an approach to design pedagogy that was observed, appropriated, and developed in parallel elsewhere. In addition to an exploration of the Cold War transformations of the meaning of design in US engineering education, Project NOAH offers three insights for today's efforts to cultivate students’ design imagination. First, it reveals how the project's creators conceived of interdisciplinary problem-based design education as “good” engineering amid competing institutional, pedagogical, and societal contestations about the future of the profession. Second, it highlights the persistence of individual and collective tensions encoun...

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors investigated the relationship between students' patterns of reflective thinking and their performance in solving design problems and found that reflective thinking is a critical element in the process of solving ill-defined design problems.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between students’ patterns of reflective thinking and their performance in solving design problems. Reflective thinking is a critical element in the process of solving ill-defined design problems. Many educators are dedicated to finding ways to promote students’ reflection. Yet few empirical studies attempt to explore the relationship between reflective thinking and design performance. 44 students enrolled in a Biomedical Microelectromechanical Systems and Medical Devices course participated in this study. Through a self-assessed questionnaire, students’ reflection patterns were collected in three areas: timing of reflection, objects of reflection, and levels of reflection. Also, students’ performance scores on their team project in biomedical device design were collected. The results revealed a general pattern of student designers’ reflection behaviors and a number of significant different reflection patterns between high-performing and low-performing students as they approached a design problem-solving task. Implications for supporting students’ reflective thinking and enhancing their problem-solving abilities in design tasks were discussed.

9 citations

01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: A systematic approach to the design of a flexible measurement and control system, that can be adjusted to suit most control research in horticulture, is described.
Abstract: In the literature many papers describe various applications of advanced controllers in greenhouses. As the control literature focusses on control algorithms, the layout of the measurement and control system is usually underexposed. Unfortunately, commercially available greenhouse climate control systems do not have the necessary flexibility to accommodate these types of controllers. This paper describes a systematic approach to the design of a flexible measurement and control system, that can be adjusted to suit most control research in horticulture. Individual functions within a measurement and control system are identified and alternative solutions are given. The design methodology is applied to the design of the measurement and control system for the Watergy greenhouse. The controllers (in software) are versatile and setpoints can be generated by an easy-to-use user interface as well as by external software (like Matlab). Data is centrally stored and the system is easy to expand. It has been shown that the system has functioned robustly for the past three years. The flexible control system has the capability to serve as a basis for research and testing of various advanced control strategies in the Watergy system with with adaptive model based control as a final goal.

9 citations