An Effective Engineer Design And Teambuilding Experience For Non Engineers

Part of the balanced core curriculum of the United States Military Academy (USMA) requires engineering education for all graduates to promote their ability to be creative problem solvers. This core curriculum provides a fundamental understanding of physical systems for all graduates. Although all graduates receive a B.S. degree in various disciplines, many will major in a non-engineering area or field of study. However, all graduates are expected to be technically competent in their future employment as military officers and are required to demonstrate proficiency in a five course engineering sequence. The Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering prepares students with a broad background in mathematics, science, and the humanities, but limited engineering problem solving skills through a sequence of engineering courses. Students undertake the mechanical engineering five course sequence during their final four or five semesters. The experience has many benefits to include: increasing the students’ technological literacy, communication skills, ability to operate as a multidisciplinary team, and hands-on experience through engineering science instruction. The logical progression of courses enhances student learning and ability to function as a member of a design group and gives the non-engineering students an awareness and appreciation for many engineering topics. This paper demonstrates how a five course sequence in mechanical engineering is designed to meet institutional educational objectives, reinforces fundamental engineering principles, exercises the engineering problem solving process, and exposes students from various disciplines to material they will encounter for years after graduation. As part of a continuing assessment of the five course mechanical engineering sequence from last year, this paper focuses on the design experience and incorporates additional data and new conclusions. The outcomes of this program are substantiated with student surveys and feedback from the various courses. I. Academic Program Goals The United States Military Academy (USMA) is the only college in the nation whose charter is to prepare every one of its students for professional service as a regular Army officer. Like the other facets of the West Point environment, the academic experience encourages study in a wide variety of traditional subjects to include the humanities and sciences essential to such service. To this end, USMA requires its graduates to take a set of engineering courses to develop their problem solving skills and expose them to technology in society. P ge 767.1 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education Approximately one-third of USMA graduates major in engineering, and the other two-thirds study humanities, mathematics, or sciences. However, all graduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are expected to have some engineering problem solving skills. They must be effective leaders with technical knowledge and the ability to communicate in a technical world. The engineering student who undertakes a significant number of engineering courses and receives an ABET accredited degree has no problem meeting these outcomes. However, the non-engineering student must gain some of these same experiences and skills, and we accomplish this requirement with the Five Course Engineering Sequence (5CES). In order to accommodate different interests, the non-engineering students select one of seven engineering sequences offered through different departments. This paper examines the mechanical engineering experience offered at USMA and discusses the various outcomes from the courses and program. The task of developing an engineering experience for non-engineers originates from the Academic Program Goals of the United States Military Academy (USMA). We expect graduates to “anticipate and respond effectively to the uncertainties of a changing technological, social, political, and economic world.” Graduates must have experience and competence in the following areas: 1) Moral Awareness 6) Mathematics, Science and Technology 2) Communications 7) Engineering Thought Process 3) Culture 8) Creativity 4) History 9) Continued Educational Development 5) Human Behavior Each Academic Program Goal has components or objectives from which the academic departments develop their goals. The Mechanical Engineering program has its own goals and objectives to meet and support the Academic Program Goals stated above. 1) Learn the philosophical basis for the practice of engineering that applies an engineering thought process and uses design to solve problems of the Army and the nation. 2) Develop an understanding of, and appreciation for, the natural physical laws and technology, particularly as they apply to mechanical engineering. 3) Internalize the design process and develop creativity in problem solving. 4) Demonstrate the necessary leadership and teamwork skills to work in multidisciplinary team environments. 5) Demonstrate those elements of engineering practice that prepare graduates for advanced study in mechanical engineering or other technical areas to include admission into and success at top mechanical engineering graduate programs. 6) Communicate, orally and in writing, correctly and in precise terms with each communication evincing clear, critical thinking. 7) Are committed to continuous improvement and life-long learning with the flexibility to adapt to changing Army needs. P ge 767.2 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education II. Design and Structure of the Five Course Engineering Sequence The Mechanical Engineering Five Course Sequence was developed to meet the goals of the Academic Program. In addition to meeting the engineering thought process goal, it reinforces the mathematics, science and technology goal as well as the creativity goal. The courses chosen to comprise the mechanical engineering sequence are the same ones taught to mechanical engineering majors with no degradation of course content for the non-engineering majors. All graduates are familiar with the concepts of an engineering discipline and its application, and therefore, have some basic set of experiences that support the higher goals of the institution. To help foster their participation in an engineering design experience, the students must understand some basic laws and fundamentals of engineering. This knowledge comes from three engineering science courses taught during their junior year: Statics and Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, and Thermodynamics. The integrative engineering experience and design work occurs during their senior year in two courses: ME401, Introduction to Design and ME402, Mechanical Design. For some non-engineering majors, this design experience may be their first opportunity to work as a team member of a group expected to produce a tangible, real world product. Any prerequisites for the engineering science courses are part of the core curriculum or 5CES. All students can enroll in the mechanical engineering five course sequence. Each course is three credit hours, and a description of each of the five courses follows: a. EM302, Statics and Dynamics, is a three part course. The first part of the course, Statics, addresses the topics of equilibrium in two and three dimensions. The second part, Dynamics, is a study of kinematics in both two and three dimensions. The final block of the course deals with two dimensional kinetics methods of force-acceleration, work-energy, and impulse-momentum. b. EM364, Mechanics of Materials, studies the behavior of deformable bodies under axial, torsional, flexural, and combined loadings. The concepts of stress, strain, and material properties are introduced and are used to relate external forces applied to a body to the resulting internal forces and deformations so that performance can be evaluated. c. EM301, Thermodynamics, provides the groundwork for subsequent studies in engineering sciences and an appreciation of numerous problems associated with energy. Emphasis is placed on practical application to power generation, thermal and air pollution, refrigeration, air conditioning, automotive and aircraft engines, and combustion. Laboratory exercises are integrated into classroom work. d. ME401, Introduction to Design, shows an iterative decision making process to include needs analysis, creativity in alternatives, feasibility and merit analysis, optimization in design presentation. A wide variety of mathematics, science, and engineering fundamentals is applied to the synthesis, analysis, and evaluation of mechanical components. Special emphasis is placed P ge 767.3 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education on designing for fatigue. Case studies provide insight into the ethical responsibilities of engineers. Projects provide opportunities to experience design and to consider reliability, economics, and judicious use of resources. A semester long design and build project reinforces the design process instruction and culminates in a student competition. e. ME402, Mechanical Design, focuses on simulation-based design with special focus on application of design methodologies to mechanical elements and assemblies of weapons. It integrates principles of multiple disciplines into design efforts involving target effects, projectile flight, gun tubes, recoil devices, mechanisms, optimization, and system reliability. The course applies computer techniques to achieve design. Design projects continue to emphasize optimum use of resources to satisfy specifications typically seen in mechanical elements of weapons. There are three design projects. III. Course Surveys a