A Freshman Engineering Design Course

This paper presents the structure of a new freshman engineering design course offered at the University of Maryland at College Park. Teaching engineering design through a project approach is the primary focus of this course. The design project involves the development of a product which is simple yet sufficiently challenging to motivate the students to learn basic engineering concepts. The design process consists of three phases, i.e., design manufacturing, and assembly. By actually building the product, the students are exposed to the product development cycle and gain important hands on experience. Teaching modern graphics is a second objective. In the course students acquire entry level skills in the application of computer software through practice and self-instruction with on-site assistance. Our experience in using this new structure to provide freshman a design experience early in the engineering curriculum has been extremely favorable. Evidence indicates that the students were highly motivated. They learned engineering fundamentals, developed critical thinking skills, and gained an educational experience that is relevant to the practice of engineering

Teaching Design to High School Women

This paper describes experiences obtained by teaching high school women design during the Summer Study in Engineering Program for Women High School Students. The program is designed to encourage talented women to pursue engineering careers. An introductory engineering science course was offered to the women participating in this summer program. A project approach was employed in teaching the course to motivate the students and to introduce the concepts involved in teamwork. The students were organized into groups to carry out the design, building, and assembly of a seesaw. Engineering concepts were taught in the classroom on an as needed basis during the design process. While the students were acquiring entry level skills in computer application programs, they used these programs to prepare documents and drawings to describe their seesaw designs. The aspects of teamwork and cooperative learning were stressed as the design project progressed. The women were motivated, actively participated in the project, and appreciated the opportunity to learn engineering design through a project approach

Experiences of Engineering Design for High School Women

This paper presents the experiences of teaching high school women during the 1991 Summer Study in Engineering Program. A project driven approach was employed in teaching the course to encourage talented women to pursue engineering careers. The course provided an introductory experience to the product development cycle by actually designing, building, and assembling a playground seesaw. Engineering concepts were taught in the classroom on an as needed basis during the design process. The students acquired computer skills through the preparation of technical reports and engineering drawings. The participating students were organized into groups and the aspects of teamwork and cooperative learning were highly stressed as the design project progressed. The women were motivated and satisfied with their academic achievements and personal development. Its impact on increasing enrollment of women students in engineering is far reaching

Bridging the Gap and Preparing for Engineering

This paper presents the experience obtained from the 1992 summer program. Twenty-three female high school students participated. A laboratory demonstration course provided them with a comprehensive understanding of engineering disciplines. A design course introduced the product development cycle in engineering through a project approach. Applying the knowledge gained from the classroom, they designed a porch glider, then manufactured or procured the glider's components, and finally assembled them. During the six-week program, they were highly motivated and enthusiastic in learning engineering fundamentals and developing critical thinking skills. They experienced college life and gained confidence in choosing careers in science and engineering

Teaching Engineering Design to High School Women

There has been a pressing need to develop a program to gain an understanding of major engineering principles and an insight into various engineering careers to the students who will soon graduate from high school. this paper presents the experiences of teaching high school women during the 1991 & 1992 Summer Study in Engineering Program. The program, initiated in 1975, is designed to foster the young and intelligent high school women to find out if engineering is the right career for them in this challenging world. Teaching engineering design through a project approach is the primary focus of this program. By actually building the product, the students are exposed to the product development cycle and gain important hands on experience. The participating students are organized into groups to learn the concepts of team work and co-operative learning. They acquire entry level computer skills through the preparation of technical reports and engineering drawings. Our experiences have shown that the women students are motivated and enthusiastic in learning engineering fundamentals and developing their critical thinking skills. They experience college life through participation and gain confidence in making future decisions in their coming years of academic career

Comparison of giant multipole resonances of multipolarity E1 to E4 in (58)Ni (T(0) = 1) and (60)Ni (T(0) = 2) with inelastic electron scattering

The cross section for electron scattering from the isotopes (58)Ni and (60)Ni has been measured with electrons of 103 MeV at scattering angles of 45, 60,75, and 105° between 3 and 50 MeV excitation energy. Resonances or resonancelike structures at approximate excitation energies of (7-8) MeV, 13 MeV, (16-17) MeV, (18-19) MeV, 27 MeV, 32 MeV, and 40 MeV were classified on the basis of their momentum transfer dependence and discussed in the framework of the shell model. Difficulties in the extraction of the cross section and model dependencies of the interpretation are discussed.Research supported in part by the National Science Foundation and the Naval Postgraduate School Research FoundationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited