In the spring of 2018, 44 first-year mechanical engineering students from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering and 34 first-year art students from the Maryland Institute College of Art joined together into 18 teams to complete a semester-long design project. The students were given an open-ended design problem, a relatively small set of design requirements and constraints, and a budget of $100 per team. An exhibition was hosted at the end of the semester at which the students' projects were presented to the public. This work describes the logistical, pedagogical, and social challenges encountered by the instructors and facilitators in creating and implementing this interdisciplinary and multi-institutional design assignment.
Steven P. Marra received his B.S. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, in 1998 and 2001, respectively, all in mechanical engineering. He is currently an Associate Teaching Professor in Mechanical Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include soft and hard tissue biomechanics, nonlinear mechanics of solids, mechanics of tissue damage, and undergraduate engineering education.
Jenna Frye has been a leader in art and design education for nearly 20 years. Her creative work and ideas about education have been showcased nationally and at several annual conferences including the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, and the College Art Association. She joins the multidisciplinary design faculty eager to explore the problem-solving potential of mixing art and design with engineering. You’ll likely find her designing learning toys and games for her students, fiddling with the latest techno-crafts, or maybe just playing with blocks.
Frye holds a BS in psychology from Mary Washington University, as well as an MA in digital art and an MFA in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Edon is a multidisciplinary artist with a particular interest in digital arts and moving sculptures. His teaching portfolio includes digital fabrication prototyping, and courses on the design and making of mechanical sculptures.
For 19 years, he has contributed in the visual and conceptual identity of private businesses, public enterprises, non-governmental organizations, and public figures.
Laure Drogoul is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and cobbler of situations who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Laure works with a wide range of media including projects in which she creates sculpture, performance, and theatrical events that invite the viewer to be an active participant. She has exhibited widely, including The International House of Japan in Tokyo, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington Project for the Arts, The Walters Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, and The Center for Architecture in New York as well as many street corners, alleys, and underutilized urban spaces. She has received Maryland State Artist Awards and a Franklin Furnace Award for performance art and has been a recipient of a US/Japan Creative Artist Fellowship. Laure holds a BFA from Temple University and MFA in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 2006 Ms.Drogoul was honored with The Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize.
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