Showing papers on "Engineering education published in 1986"

The Revolt of the Engineers: Social Responsibility and the American Engineering Profession

Abstract: Awarded the Dexter Prize of the Society for the History of Technology."A thoroughgoing study of the engineering profession, emphasizing, and rightly so, its accommodation to business institutions. It is a book that is suggestive, challenging, and instructive."--Technology and Culture."First-rate."--American Historical Review.

Writing method and productivity of science and engineering faculty

Abstract: The present study aimed to describe the methods of writing used by university faculty and to explore relationships between method and productivity in writing. The survey reported here examined the cognitive strategies, tools, work scheduling, environment, and rituals used by 121 science and engineering faculty members in writing technical documents such as journal articles. The most commonly reported methods (e.g., the cognitive strategy of mentally planning large units of text structure and selecting a pen or pencil for a tool) were uncorrelated with reported productivity. Selecting a quiet work environment was the only typical habit that was associated with high productivity. Three other aspects of writing method were also related to high productivity, but they were not widely employed. These were using a dictation machine, preparing detailed written outlines before beginning a first draft, and the ritual of exercising vigorously before or during a writing session.

Development of an expert system shell for engineering design

Abstract: This report describes the development of an expert system shell for the preliminary phase (synthesis) o^engineering design. It is during this part of the design process that the creativity and experience of an engineer are mostly needed. The increasing complexity of engineering design problems has made synthesis a very difficult process, even to an experienced designer, if not approached in a structured and organized fashion. The proposed shell adopts principles of the morphological approach to design, incorporating heuristics in the form of design constraints. Assistant Professor Graduate Assistant Development Of An Expert System Shell For Engineering Design Mary Lou Maher and Panayiotis Longinos Design, a combination of art and science, is perhaps one of the most important and difficult tasks an engineer performs. During the last three decades, substantial activity has grown in studying design in an effort to produce a structured approach to this creative process. As a result, a number of design methodologies have been developed for a wide variety of applications and from the background of differing engineering disciplines. Although strong indications exist of the practical potential of these techniques for the engineering design process, the literature falls short in presenting detailed evidence of successful applications of design methodology. With the introduction of the computer as a powerful tool for the engineering design process, attention has shifted from pursuing study on design methodology to the development of software to aid engineers in the design process. Traditionally these aids have been limited to the well structured aspects of design such as analysis and graphics. Conventional programming techniques have been unable to automate the less formalized phases and thus adopt an overall design methodology. Today, the intuitive ability of the experienced engineer is still needed to make the decisions guided by the computational results. Advancements in Artificial Intelligence research and the subsequent emergence of expert systems provide a new powerful tool for the development of computer programs that can be used as aids for the solution of ill-structured phases of the engineering design process. Expert Systems are an ideal environment for studying design methodologies and learning more about the design process This report describes the development of an expert system shell for the preliminary -rase (synthesis) of engineering design. The proposed shell adopts principles of the morphoiog cat approach to design, incorporating heuristics in the form of design constraints. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Carnegie-Mellon University Pittsburgh. PA 15213 Graduate Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering Carnegie-Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 University Libraries Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 1. Motivation The preliminary phase of the engineering design process is learned only after years of experience in the field. The development of design methodologies has resulted in a number of promising but unproven techniques in approaching and organizing this unstructured phase of the design process. An expert system environment able to implement such a technique and thus formalize the preliminary design process can be a powerful tool in learning more about the engineering design process. Such a system can also introduce new engineers to the decisions made during the preliminary design process, something that is absent from todays formal engineering education. 2. Engineering Design Engineering design may be defined as a process in which scientific principles, technical information and creativity are all combined in order to produce an optimum end product which will serve its intended purpose. The engineering design process involves a number of distinctive phases beginning with the definition of a particular problem and ending with the selection of an optimum solution. Various approaches to engineering design have produced different decompositions of this process. Commonly, engineering design is broken into three main phases, as illustrated in Figure 2 1 PROBLEM DEFINITION SYNTHESIS

Design Education in Computer Science and Engineering

Abstract: Design must continue to be the major aspect of an engineering education in the computer area. There is a basic design methodology common to all areas of engineering, but for every branch of engineering there are some unique aspects to the design methodology. Design in the computer science and engineering field is dominated by the processing of information rather than of physical substances or energy. Design methods in computer science and engineering, or CSE, are detemined by the different kinds ofand means of conveying information. The algorithms that process information span the hardware-software spectrum and bridge several conceptual levels.

Educating Professional Construction Managers

Abstract: The management of construction has traditionally been the function of the civil engineer. The civil engineer is no longer educated to hit the ground running in an entry level position in the construction industry. To better serve the traditional needs of the industry, two year and four year construction technology programs were developed. The curriculum emphasis has generally been toward the general contractor as the employer. However, the construction industry is undergoing change. Innovative contracting systems such as design-build and construction management have become increasingly popular. There are new leadership requirements. The potential for future high level positions can be enhanced to meet these requirements by augmenting engineering capabilities with business and construction management theory. This can be done within civil engineering curriculums leading to an advanced degree.

A Position Paper on Guidelines for Electrcal and Computer Engineering Education

Abstract: A brief overview of the crisis in engineering education is presented to provide background for discussion of more severe problems in electrical and computer engineering departments. Guidelines for allocating resources to improve the situation are presented. Areas addressed include the following: faculty/student ratios, faculty pay, faculty support (travel and secretarial), graduate student stipends, laboratory equipment, and technical support. It is noted that the suggested levels are not optimum or ideal, but represent reasonable levels of resources for operating adequate programs. Institutions heavily involved in research or committed to nationally recognized excellence will need additional resources.

Student centered teaching in engineering design

Abstract: This paper reviews experience with teaching procedures introduced into an engineering design course to promote professionalism in undergraduates. One procedure used is a prize award for performance in project work and the other procedure is a Socratic style of teaching in the classroom. Both procedures intend to shift responsibility for learning away from the teacher towards the student. Student performance is measured by project results, examination results and by design studies. It is found that the use of design studies, a type of student centered examination procedure, has the most profound effect on performance in this complex subject.

Engineering Education Systems in Japanese Universities.

Abstract: One major reason for the striking economic success in Japan is the vast pool of highly qualified engineers graduated each year from over 800 public and private universities and colleges. Over half of the graduating senior high school students receive some sort of higher education or professional training and more than 35 percent are able to attend public or private universities. In 1982, Japan's university institutions were able to churn out 74,000 engineers, compared with 88,000 engineers trained in the United States, which has a population nearly twice that of Japan. On average, Japan spent 10 percent of its gross national product on education alone (i.e., about $120 billion per year),' making her one of the largest spenders for education in the world.2 In this paper I shall look into various aspects of engineering education in several Japanese universities and try to draw comparisons with those in Australian universities. The figures and curricula are drawn mainly from three Japanese universities: Tokyo University (TU), Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT), and Osaka University (OU). They may well be equally applicable to many other universities in Japan, as the engineering faculties in these three universities are usually trendsetters for others to follow. Similarly, the engineering faculty at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is the largest in Australia, and the data quoted may be applied to other Australian universities as well.

Practicality Ascendant: The Origins and Establishment of Technical Education in Nova Scotia

Abstract: I N APRIL 1907 THE NOVA SCOTIA GOVERNMENT passed a pioneering measure in the history of technical schools in Canada An Act Relating to Technical Education established a broad programme of university-level engineering education and evening technical classes It was an ambitious achievement, and the first of its kind in Canada When the Nova Scotia Technical College, founded by the legislation, opened in Halifax in 1909, advanced instruction in engineering became available in the full range of disciplines from civil to electrical engineering Evening technical schools for workmen were instituted in four major centres and conducted courses in such subjects as "Machine Design", "Technical Chemical Analysis", "Architectural Design and Estimating", and "Dynamo Electric Machinery" Improved mining school classes held in colliery towns taught miners the fundamentals of safe mining, and special courses instructed aspiring hoist and power plant operators in elementary stationary engineering No other province had hitherto established a similar government-run programme of university and evening course technical schooling covering a wide range of disciplines There was virtual unanimity in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1907 as to the value of technical education During debate on the bill, one member after another rose from each side of the House to praise technical schooling One declared that there was no subject of "greater importance today" than technical education, another predicted that technical schools would help make Nova Scotia "the workshop of Canada" Yet interest in technical education had roots deep in the 19th century, when campaigns for various species of work-related "practical" education had begun winning support among Nova Scotians

Learning to Think Like an Engineer: Why, What, and How?.

Abstract: (1986). Learning to Think like an Engineer. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning: Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 10-19.

Engineering Education and Its Rewards in the United States and Japan

Abstract: Interest in Japanese education on the part of American and British writers has increased dramatically in the last few years, especially with respect to engineering and scientific education.' Although this interest is gratifying, much of what has been written is at best distorted and at worst completely wrong. Naive writers with little or no knowledge of the Japanese language or the peculiarities of Japanese statistics have compared nominally similar but in fact compositionally different categories. On this basis they have made exaggerated claims for the number of engineers educated, their income and status, and their role in corporate management. They have assumed an undemonstrated relation between their false perception of Japan's engineers and Japanese economic success. If this misinformation had appeared in obscure journals, it could be ignored. Unfortunately, it has been propagated in publications from the National Science Foundation and repeated in mass circulation magazines.2 More important, this misinformation has been presented in reports to Congress and to the president and has been used as support for fiscal formulations.3

Developing Creative Problem Solving in Civil Engineering.

Abstract: The development of creative problem solving in a civil engineering degree course since the late 1960s is outlined. It is shown that prior to the Finniston Report, Middlesex Polytechnic had begun to educate civil engineers to meet an ever changing world. The results of a psychological testing programme confirm that it is possible to increase the creative ability of students during a civil engineering degree course. An attempt is made to predict the performance of students on examinations and current lines of research are indicated.

Assuring Quality Civil Engineering Education

Abstract: Two aspects of the support needed for a quality civil engineering education are examined: Services, including staff and operations; and facilities, particularly as related to equipment needs. At major research universities, facility needs for civil engineering are greater than those for electrical and mechanical engineering. Civil engineering's laboratories serve as this nation's applied technology laboratories, which is not the case for electrical and mechanical engineering. Only a dynamic “hands‐on” educational program produces graduates that are knowledgeable technically, responsive socially, and programmed for change in both areas. Such a program requires budgets per yer per faculty of at least $5,000 for operations and $10,000 for equipment. Typical university budgets are $3,000 for operations and $1,500 for equipment, and such budgets provide only an outdated “hands‐off” education.

Are We Neglecting Real Analytical Skills in Engineering Education

Abstract: SUMMARY The writer expresses concern with what he claims is the present overemphasis on computational work in engineering education. He argues that there is an over-emphasis on numerical questions in undergraduate examinations in engineering, and that mastery of concepts is not necessarily tested by this type of question. He attempts to demonstrate, and to confirm by means of research which he has carried out in his own department, that the introduction of problems which are not predominantly computational can lead to deeper overall comprehension by learners. He concludes that quantitative and qualitative understanding are not comparable components of engineering education, since the latter involves and often depends on analysis whereas the former seldom requires more than understanding and application.

A Study of a Computer-Assisted Instructional System Using Causal Modeling

Abstract: A causal model was developed to test the effects of scholastic ability, computing attitudes, and computing background on the use of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) system called PLATO-LDEC, on attitudes about PLATO-LDEC, on computing attitudes after student's PLATO-LDEC experience, and on course grade. In general, the greater a student's ability as measured by the SAT, the less time the student spent using the PLATO-LDEC courseware. Students' prior attitudes about computers had an effect on how they perceived PLATO-LDEC and how they perceived computers after their CAI experience. Neither prior computing attitudes nor computing background had any effect on PLATO-LDEC usage, and only computing background had a small effect on course grade.