Applying Engineering Economic Analysis To Contemporary Problems With Global And Societal Implications

This paper describes the use of contemporary issues to teach students to solve problems in a global and societal context in an introductory engineering economic analysis course at the University of Pittsburgh. The goals of the project are to increase student understanding and awareness of contemporary decision making in engineering and ensure that students are able to apply the economic concepts and techniques being taught in the classroom to these decisions. A form of the problem-based learning methodology is applied here. This project is also aimed at meeting the requirements of the ABET outcomes h. and j. The paper describes this effort and reviews student self-report surveys regarding whether completing the course project contributed to their understanding of and ability to make decisions and solve contemporary problems. The results show the benefits of this approach and the need to continue to refine such efforts in the classroom.