The Mechanical Engineering Department at a private, mid-sized university was awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments (RED) program in July 2017. This award supports the development of a mechanical engineering program where students and faculty are immersed in a culture of doing engineering with industry engineers that in turn fosters an identity of being an engineer. Cultivating a culture of doing engineering can result in graduates who not only are prepared technically and professionally with a practical, realistic understanding of what it is to be an engineer, but also who identify with and are committed to the engineering profession. This culture of doing engineering is created through changes in four essential areas indicated by research: a shared department vision, faculty, curriculum, and supportive policies. Unifying these changes is a significant connection to industry. This paper reviews the initial process of developing this culture of “Engineering with Engineers” and shares progress in the four essential areas needed to develop a culture of doing engineering. It also provides insights on lessons learned.
This project was funded by the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) IUSE/PFE: RED grant through NSF.
Yen-Lin Han is an Assistant Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Seattle University. Her research interests include micro-scale molecular gas dynamics, micro fluidics, and heat transfer applications in MEMS and medical devices as well as autonomous vehicles and robotics. She is passionate about Engineering Education and experienced in developing inverted classroom lectures and facilitating students' learning through authentic engineering problems. She is currently the Co- PI for the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments grant awarded to the Mechanical Engineering department at Seattle University to study how the department culture changes can foster students' engineering identity. Dr. Han received her BS degree in Material Science and Engineering from National Tsing-Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, her PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering and MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. She is a member of American Society of Engineering Education and American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
Kathleen Cook, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in and Chair of the Psychology Department at Seattle University. Dr. Cook received her doctorate in Social and Personality Psychology from the University of Washington, with a minor in quantitative methods and emphases in cognitive and educational psychology. Her research has included classroom learning, person perception, identity, and health perceptions.
Gregory S. Mason received the B.S.M.E. degree from Gonzaga University in 1983, the M.S.M.E. degree in manufacturing automation from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1984 and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering, specializing in multi-rate digital controls, from the University of Washington in 1992.
He worked in a robotics lab for the Department of Defense for five years after receiving his M.S.M.E. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seattle University, Seattle, WA. His research interests are controls system and the use of technology to enhance engineering education.
Dr. Mason is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He is a licensed professional engineer.
Professor Teodora Rutar Shuman is the Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Seattle University and an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington. She is the PI on a NSF-RED grant "Revolutionizing a Mechanical Engineering Department through Industry Immersion and a Focus on Identity". Her research also includes NOx formation in lean-premixed combustion and electro-mechanical systems for sustainable processing of microalgae. Her work is published in venues including the Journal of Engineering Education, IEEE Transactions on Education, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Bioresource Technology, Chemical Engineering Journal, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, and Combustion and Flame. She is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Algae Biomass Organization. Dr. Shuman recently served as Chair for the ASEE Energy Conversion and Conservation Division.
She received a Dipl.Ing. degree in mechanical engineering from Belgrade University in 1992, an M.S.M.E. from the University of Washington in 1994 and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2000.
Jennifer Turns is a Professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. She is interested in all aspects of engineering education, including how to support engineering students in reflecting on experience, how to help engineering educators make effective teaching decisions, and the application of ideas from complexity science to the challenges of engineering education.
Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.