Showing papers on "Engineering education published in 1972"

Physical Metallurgy Principles

Abstract: Physical Metallurgy Principles is intended for use in an introductory course in physical metallurgy and is designed for all engineering students at the junior or senior level. The approach is largely theoretical, but covers all aspects of physical metallurgy and behavior of metals and alloys. The treatment used in this textbook is in harmony with a more fundamental approach to engineering education.

Theory of PSI Evaluated for Engineering Education

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to evaluate from experimental data and observation five theoretical features of F. S. Keller's Personalized-Proctorial System of Instruction (PSI) for engineering education. This system was tested in courses in nuclear, mechanical, electrical, and operations research engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. We have found that students easily take advantage of the unique features of PSI and adapt them to their own needs, that they enjoy learning by this method, and that they learn more than in conventional courses. Our results indicate that the selfpacing and unit perfection features of PSI are extremely appropriate for engineering education; that the emphasis on written-word learning and the use of proctors are definite assets; and that the motivational lecture feature is of lesser value.

Formal Education in Construction Management

Abstract: The building industry is one of the most important sectors of the national economy in any country. Due to the distinctive features of the engineering processes involved, it differs from its conventional manufacturing counterparts in many economic and legal aspects, and is particularly problematic from the viewpoint of effective management. A special university level program of study in construction management should be adaptable both to needs of engineers without managerial background and of managers employed in construction without formal engineering education. A general outline of such a program is presented.

Technological Innovation and Hydraulic Engineering

Abstract: Technology is faced with an expanding universe of demands, in a situation in which capital, facilities, and manpower are limited, and can be expected to be increasingly so in the future Under these conditions, it becomes imperative for the field of hydraulic engineering—as for any field of engineering in general—to acquire a clear view of the factors affecting technological innovation in that field Some of the principal sociotechnological factors affecting innovation are reviewed, with particular emphasis on paradigms for assessing the nature of the innovative process, indices of innovation, the need for input-output matrices, the implications of such matrices for the research, educational and professional processes in hydraulic engineering, the sociology of the field, and the need for a science policy and for enhanced individual creativity Since hydraulic engineering is a mature technology, achievement of a given rate of growth of technological capabilities is likely to require a much higher rate of technical knowledge This may represent a major bottleneck to future innovations in the field

Engineering Education in Mexico

Abstract: One consequence of the remarkable growth rate in the Mexican economy over the past two decades has been an equally remarkable engineering student population explosion, particularly during the decade of the 1960's The present situation is, however, paradoxical in that the considerable improvement in educational opportunity and participation may well be out-pacing the growth rate which the economy can healthily maintain This paper discusses the implications of this paradox on future trends and needed controls in educational development Undergraduate and graduate engineering education, faculty, administration, and the status of engineering research in Mexico are described and discussed

Exploring New Directions in Engineering Education.

Abstract: Introduction The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for thinking about new directions in engineering education. It is proposed that, in view of the long time constants of the educational process and its complex interaction with society, the exploration should be conducted with an awareness of alternative societal trends and future university structures. Such an approach can stimulate new ideas on specific programs and can illuminate the potentially profound significance in the redirection of engineering education. 2 Statistics indicate that the enrollment in engineering, as a percentage of the total collegiate enrollments, had been declining since 1957. Furthermore, the retention rate of engineering undergraduates is considerably lower than that of students in arts and sciences. Although the student input to the engineering schools has declined, the demand for engineering graduates is believed to remain 25 to 50 per cent more than are being produced[I]. 3 The coexistence of unfilled demand and unemployment of engineers in certain industries and locations is largely due to the fact that the demand composition, in both the private sector and the public sector, is shifting toward engineers who can attack socially-oriented problems. This shift reflects the change of our national priorities toward social programs and the shift is likely to continue[2]. I f we are serious about educating socially-oriented engineers for the next fifty years, we must begin by examining the alternative plausible societal trends.

Teaching as a Meaningful Pursuit in Engineering Education

Abstract: Engineering educators are developing an increasing concern for the quality of instruction in their schools. Imaginative solutions to educational problems, together with innovative hardware techniques are reported with increasing frequency in the literature. However, in order to be truly effective, engineering education for the future must adopt a more radical departure from traditional methods. Real support for teaching excellence begins in graduate schools, where training for the professorial is initiated. Until educators begin assigning priority to the development of training procedures in engineering education, the quality of instruction can not be expected to improve significantly.

Differential Equations in Engineering Courses

Abstract: Summary This paper formed part of a research project carried out by the author into the mathematical education of engineers.1 In this part of the work an attempt was made to assess the relative importance of various aspects of ordinary differential equations in the teaching of engineering students and to find out which types of equations were used in the various engineering disciplines. A questionnaire was circulated and the replies were collated to give the results.

The Nature of Continuing Education

Abstract: Today as never before, education in general—and professional education in particular—is being held accountable for expenditures of public and private treasure as well as for the heavy investments of manpower made in its behalf. Parents, benefactors, and legislators ask what they are getting for their money. Employers question the value of a higher degree, and Ph.D. graduate engineers are scratching for jobs. What does this situation mean for continuing education in engineering and science? Once these educational deficiencies—real or imagined—are identified, curriculum planners can go ahead and reform the educational program for future generations; workers in continuing education must commence immediately to reform the people who are the innocent victims or products of the recent past system.

Inevitable compromise: highways vs. the environment

Abstract: THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPROMISE IN HIGHWAY LOCATION DECISIONS AND SHOWS HOW HIGHWAY ROUTE PLANNING MAY TEND TO BE DOMINATED MUCH LESS BY PURELY ECONOMIC FACTORS. THERE IS A NEED FOR HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ENGINEERS WHO CAN ASSEMBLE THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTS, INTERPRET THE FINDINGS OF THE ECOLOGICAL AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS, AND USE THESE FACTS AS PART OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OF FACTORS TO ACHIEVE AS THEIR FINAL DECISION A NECESSARY AND INEVITABLE COMPROMISE. ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES MUST BECOME MUCH MORE ORIENTED TOWARD THE ENVIRONMENT SO THAT FUTURE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ENGINEERS WILL BE ADEQUATELY QUALIFIED. HIGHWAYS ARE ONLY ONE PART OF THE NONURBAN STATEWIDE LAND-USE CONTROL AND GUIDANCE PROBLEM. /AUTHOR/

Physics in Undergraduate Engineering Education - Report of a Survey.

Abstract: A questionnaire addressed to physics department chairmen and engineering deans in the 213 accredited engineering colleges in the United States and Canada brought replies from 132 institutions. These provided factual information about course requirements and content, and statements of opinion regarding such subjects as the effectiveness of the physics courses and laboratories, the existence of unnecessary duplication in the engineering curriculum, and problems of communication between physics and engineering departments. Replies from selected junior colleges provided information on course content and relations with senior colleges.

Professional Education: The Need for Creativity

Abstract: Engineering by its very nature must reflect the needs of the society in which it is based. Therefore, engineers must become aware of the needs, character, and objectives of our society before they pass judgement on any engineering education scheme. By the same token, this judgement must continually be updated—made more current—so that the requirements of society are continually served. It is in this way, and in this way only, that engineering can take its rightful place alongside law and medicine as viable, respected professions in our modern technological world.

The Continuing Challenge of Engineering Education

Abstract: A review is given of existing academic programs for today's engineering students. There is a recent decline in engineering enrollments, in particular a decline in the percentage of freshman enrolling in engineering. There is a vanishing distinction between the various departments of engineering. For example, aeronautical engineering is increasing its emphasis to problems concerning transportation and large-scale systems design. The flexibility of most engineering curricula must be increased. A public relations effort is required on behalf of both engineering education and the engineering profession. Central to the solution of most of the problems in engineering education is faculty selection.

Socially oriented engineering education

Abstract: The increasing emphasis on the application of engineering principles to a wide range of social problems results from a number of social forces. To meet the challenge, "engineering" must be redefined broadly. This article discusses a set of possible goals and specific strategies for educating a new breed of socio-technological systems engineers and to facilitate the permeation of social orientation in engineering education. One of the most signigicant trends in the engineering profession today is the increasing emphasis on the application of engineering principles to help solve a wide range of important social problems in education, health, communications, transportation, public safety, environment, urban development, etc. The purpose of this article is to discuss the implications of this trend and a possible strategy for the corresponding reorientation in engineering education.

Inaugural address. Computers and the professional engineer

Abstract: The rapidly increasing population in most parts of the world is making most countries more and more dependent on technological development. There is, therefore, a most urgent need to find means of making engineering systems more economical in the use of raw materials and natural resources, easier to control and operate, simpler and more reliable. This calls for ingenuity based on a better understanding of the principles involved in these complex systems, and for just as much creativity and probably better engineering judgment than does the development of bigger and better systems. The challenge to the IEE at the start of its second 100 years is therefore to ensure that its members have the education and training to make them resourceful in emergencies, experience wide enough to have critical judgment and the determination to combat inefficiency wherever it may be. The development of computers is described in the paper to illustrate this need. Powerful and inexpensive computers with large data banks and a supporting data-transmission network should open up wonderful new opportunities for professional engineers. Computer-aided-design techniques should allow professional engineers to spend more time on creative work. The young engineer will be able to call on the designs of his predecessors, held in data banks, and to use his ingenuity to modify these in the light of new techniques and materials. Simulation methods enable a designer to test the performance of his designs quickly, and so he can try out many different designs in a few days instead of years. Provided that he is a good learner, therefore, he can gain experience very quickly indeed. It should therefore be possible to modify our engineering education to avoid the tedium of having to learn formulas and facts by rote, and, instead, to concentrate on an education which prepares engineers for a creative role in society.

Physics and engineering

Abstract: The author describes the purpose of several new GCE A level engineering syllabuses which have attempted to unite physics and technical studies.