Incorporation of Liberal Education into the Engineering Curriculum at a Polytechnic

<i>A preprint of an article accepted for presentation at the 2016 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition in New Orleans, LA, June 26-29, 2016.</i><div><i><br></i></div><div><b>Abstract</b></div><div>Traditional engineering education often falls short when it comes to the inclusion of issues related to social justice, ethics, and globalization. While engineering programs are required to include ethics content for accreditation, most seem to rely primarily on general education electives, providing only a high-level overview and including the bare minimum in the program core. This can lead to an inconsistent student experience and minimal exposure to topics which are critically important for achieving worldwide equity and operating responsibly in the engineering workplace. Given the role that engineers play in economic development, this is unacceptable. It is therefore the responsibility of engineering educators to find a better way to shape the future of the engineering profession. This paper outlines the early efforts at integrating the topics of ethics, social justice, and social responsibility more directly into the engineering curriculum. This is approached from the perspectives of pedagogy, curriculum development, and service learning opportunities.  It is within this context that the authors hope to influence students’ awareness of and connection to social and environmental issues as well as the ethical frameworks they develop and carry with them into their professional careers. This paper centers around the creation and delivery of a new introductory engineering course combining liberal education topics and introductory engineering topics. This course also includes a substantial design project which incorporates a cultural engagement component through collaboration with international partners. The first offering of this new course revealed that, while some reservations persist, students found value in exploring what it means to be an engineer in a broader global context.</div

Exploring, Documenting, and Improving Humanitarian Service Learning through Engineers Without Borders U.S.A.

Poster presented at the 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition in Columbus, OH on June 26, 2017

Exploring social science research methods for engineers

Presented at the EWB-USA National Conference in Milwaukee, WI.<br

Challenges and Opportunities in International Service Learning

<div>Service learning, and specifically the work of organizations such as Engineers Without Borders USA, have become popular with universities looking to provide their students with applied educational opportunities which blend technical skills with a broader social mission and help the institution demonstrate its global impact. However, questions remain regarding the truly realized outcomes for students, as well as the unintended consequences that may be experienced by the partnering communities. This paper describes early results results from a four-year, mixed-method study which collected data through a combination of interviews and focus groups with members of the Engineers Without Borders USA organization, analysis and coding of completed project documentation, and observations and notes collected during a field visit to a project site. We conclude from our early data that students who are able (given sufficient resources) to fully participate in these type of projects do see positive benefits. However, barriers may prevent all students from having this opportunity. Further, the nature of student service learning projects inherently creates challenges for the communities that partner on these projects. Ongoing revisions to the Engineers Without Borders USA operating procedures may remedy some of the deficiencies, while researchers, participants, and institutions should continue to critically evaluate the impacts and outcomes of their work.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Presented June 26, 2018 at the ASEE Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.</i><br></div

A Methodology for Exploring, Documenting, and Improving Humanitarian Service Learning in the University

<i>Published in the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering.</i><div><i><br></i></div><div><b>Abstract</b></div><div><div>Through the use of service learning in higher education, universities hope to both provide real benefit to the partnering community and allow students to develop a greater understanding of course curriculum, their discipline, and their personal positioning within society. Through these educational activities, service learning seeks to engage students in critical thinking processes while simultaneously achieving a greater sense of civic and social responsibility through targeted participation in meaningful community service activities. However, in practice, service learning can take a variety of forms predicated on technical, cultural, societal, and political constraints. Thus, while some work shows positive effects on students’ attitudes, social behaviour, and academic performance, less research has demonstrated long-term community impact. Nor has much research shown that participation in service learning has a long-term impact on students' ethical perspectives and frameworks, and whether those ethical frames carry on to their professional careers. Moreover, as institutions partner with such humanitarian service groups as Engineers Without Borders USA, we know considerably less about the institutional cultures and climates that are developed through such partnerships and how sustainable they are, given those inherent technical, political and cultural limitations. As a first step towards these goals, this paper proposes a methodology for investigating the impacts of service learning activities on both the students and communities involved.</div></div><div><br></div

Regioselective Reduction of 3-Substituted <i>N</i>-Acylpyrazinium Salts toward the Synthesis of 1,2-Dihydropyrazines

The regioselective reduction of 3-substituted <i>N</i>-acylpyrazinium salts with <i>n</i>-Bu₃SnH has been developed for the synthesis of 3-substituted 1,2-dihydropyrazines in yields of 56–94%. Substitution of the pyrazinium salts with electron-donating groups favors the formation of the 1,2-isomers as a result of their better stability over the 1,6-isomers. Under mild acidic conditions, 3-methoxy substituted 1,2-dihydropyrazine was easily hydrolyzed in excellent yield to Δ⁵-2-oxopiperazine

Publications.

Peer-reviewed research citing the use of resources from the iPlant Collaborative (2008–2017) and CyVerse (2017-Present). Also see https://cyverse.org/publications for the latest update. (PDF)</p

Version control.

Public and private version control organizations on GitHub and GitLab for CyVerse Software, Public Container Registry, and Education. (PDF)</p

University of Arizona hardware.

On-premises resources maintained by CyVerse at the University of Arizona. DE = Discovery Environment, VICE = Virtual Interactive Compute Environment. (PDF)</p

DE applications.

How they run, where they run, and popular applications. (PDF)</p