Coupling Of A Design Course To A Thermodynamics/Energy Conversion Course In The Sophomore Year Core Curriculum

The recent revision of the engineering curriculum at Stevens to create a Design Spine is intended to significantly enhance the design experience and to develop key competencies in our graduates in concert with the goals of ABET EC 2000. The Design Spine provides a design experience in each of the eight semesters for all of our engineering programs . A key feature is the extent to which the core design courses are coupled to the core engineering-science courses to enhance learning. Open-ended projects together with experiments in the design courses are chosen to provide context for and reinforce the engineering science taught concurrently. The Design Spine also provides the vehicle to develop key competencies in problem solving, effective communication, project management, ethics, economics of engineering, teaming and industrial ecology in an evolutionary manner throughout the sequence. The embodiment of this approach in the first semester of sophomore year is the coupling of a design course, Engineering Design III (2-credit lecture/lab.) to the introductory course in thermodynamics. The latter has been expanded from 3 to 4 credit-hours to include energy-conversion topics.