An Innovative Approach to the Fundamentals of Engineering Course

Arthur F. Garcia, Jr., has been teaching on college campuses since 2000. He taught intermediate algebra and trigonometry at Montgomery College in Maryland prior to moving to Florida in 2002. Since the fall of 2002, he has been an Adjunct Instructor at Palm Beach State College, where he began as an instructor of pre-college algebra classes. In addition, he has taught algebra, statistics and a course on entrepreneurship at Northwood University in Palm Beach county (from 2002 to 2005). Since the Fall term of 2005, he has been teaching Introduction to Engineering (EGN 1002) at Palm Beach State College exclusively. After his college graduation in 1966, Garcia had a rewarding career in engineering and in business prior to retiring in early 2000. He used computers extensively throughout his career as a tool for solving engineering problems and for solving business problems as well. In 1986, he founded GCI Information Services, Inc. (originally Garcia Consulting, Inc.), with a staff of only four employees and with the objective of offering specialty engineering services to the Naval Sea Systems Command (U.S. Navy) in Arlington, Va. Over the following 13 years, Garcia expanded his Virginia-based company to offer information services as well as engineering services, which led to a dramatic growth of his company as it met an emerging new demand for information services. As a consequence of this dramatic growth, GCI Information Services received a number of outstanding small business awards including the FastTrack Award in 1996 and 1997 and a Fast 50 Award in 1997. Garcia was a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1997 and 1998. Garcia was interviewed as a featured entrepreneur on the Building America television show which aired on CBS in Nov. 1997, and again in June 1998. This program featured fast growing and high technology companies as examples of successful entrepreneurial small businesses. By the end of 1999, GCI Information Services had more than 300 employees in 20 states and an office in London, England. During that year, Garcia had been approached by other companies interested in acquiring GCI Information Services, which led to his selling the company by the end of the year. The acquisition of his company was completed in Jan. 2000, and Garcia retired shortly afterwards. Prior to starting his own business, Garcia had 20 years of engineering experience. He initially worked for the U.S. Department of the Navy upon graduating from college in 1966 and into the 1970s. He wrote extensively on many technical topics and developed a number of computer programs (in Fortran and Basic languages) for designing various mechanical systems for ship propulsion systems and other special mechanical systems, as well. During the energy crisis years of the mid-1970s and early 1980s, he worked on energy research projects for several companies. Garcia was awarded his P.E. license in the state of Maryland in 1984. He received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) in 1979. He graduated from the University of Texas (Austin) in 1966 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He received his A.A. from San Antonio (Junior) College in 1963 and graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio in 1961.