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The Role of Undergraduate Honors Theses in a Computer Engineering Program
Author(s) -
Ghosh Sumit
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.1999.tb00456.x
Subject(s) - gratitude , creativity , quality (philosophy) , psychology , value (mathematics) , work (physics) , mathematics education , realization (probability) , pedagogy , engineering ethics , engineering , computer science , mathematics , mechanical engineering , social psychology , epistemology , philosophy , machine learning , statistics
This paper is the result of a 7‐year long experiment that I had initiated in 1989 as an attempt to integrate the tradition of undergraduate honors research at Brown University with the emerging ABET requirement of engineering design in the computer engineering program. The paper presents the philosophical principles, the underlying assumptions and goals of the experiment, and the character of the experiences learned at the conclusion of the experiment. The experiment involves a total of 17 students between 1989 and 1995, all of whom successfully complete their honors thesis. Most of the theses have been published in refereed conferences and journals, reflecting the quality of the work and the fundamental nature of the concepts learned by the graduating seniors. The experiment demonstrates a feasible approach to achieving ABET's goal of developing student creativity within the framework of the current faculty reward structure. The students emerge as self‐confident and highly creative individuals, capable of critical, analytical thinking, and appreciative of the depth of knowledge. Key experiences that I had gained include the realization that every student, regardless of their prior grades in conventional courses, holds unlimited potential. This experiment witnesses the development of an amazingly sincere motivation and superior commitment when the advisor demonstrates genuine belief in students' capabilities and expresses gratitude to them for the value of their work and for the opportunity to collaborate. The significance of the experiment is reinforced by an independent 1993 survey of the Brown engineering alumni, who had graduated between 1983 and 1991.