American Society for Engineering Education

Conference Overview

The ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition is the only conference dedicated to all disciplines of engineering education.  It is committed to fostering the exchange of ideas, enhancing teaching methods and curriculum, and providing prime networking opportunities for engineering and technology education stakeholders such as deans, faculty members and industry and government representatives.

Conference Highlights

1205 - ASEE Main Plenary: Featuring Karan Watson, Ph.D., P.E., Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, Texas A&M University - Sponsored by The MathWorks and National Instruments

Monday, June 21, 2010 - 8:30 am - 10:15 am

Presentation Title:"Can we accelerate the rate of change in engineering education?"

Presentation Title: "Can we accelerate the rate of change in engineering education?"

The desire to change engineering education has been championed for many reasons, including: global competition, goals in student recruitment and retention, complexity and scope of modern engineering problems, and knowledge of the learning process. Programs have been executed to pilot, evaluate, and promote many pedagogical reforms, and many of these reforms have been integrated into common practices across numerous universities and programs. However, individuals in engineering education remain frustrated and confused concerning the resistance to some reforms and the slow pace of other reforms. This frustration and confusion points to the need to study the process of change in large and complex organizations, and to apply lessons learned from both educational reform and from organization cultural change to the process of change in engineering education. The hope is that by reframing our mental models of change we may be able to accelerate the depth, breadth, and pace of changes desired.

Please note: In light of the current economic situation, the ASEE Board has decided that the Pre-Plenary Breakfast will not be offered for the 2010 Annual Conference. We invite all attendees to join us for the Exhibit Hall Grand Opening - Focus on Exhibits Brunch Sponsored by MSC Software & NSF Poster Session immediately following the Plenary address.

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Distinguished Lecture Series

The Distinguished Lecture series is also a featured highlight of each Annual Conference & Exposition. The concurrent Distinguished Lectures are complimentary for all conference attendees.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 10:30 am - Noon

2305 - Robert Warrington and the Vision 2030 Task Force

Presentation Title: "The Future for Engineering Education:  Change, Linking the Grand Challenges with the Need for Technical, Social, Political and Economic Leadership from the Engineering Workforce."

This plenary will briefly overview the work of the ASME Task Force - Vision 2030: Creating the Future of Mechanical Engineering Education and put it into perspective with respect to other recently completed or ongoing studies.  This talk will focus on the compelling need for pervasive change within the context of the Grand Challenges.  Data from mechanical engineering department heads and industry surveys and from focus meetings with these groups will be presented along with initial curricula recommendations from these constituencies.   The current growing energy crisis, global warming, unsustainable waste deposits, growing  Particular focus will be placed  on the role of engineering education and the engineering workforce in solving our grand challenges, not only technically but through much needed leadership by engineering educators and our graduates, and the engineering workforce as a whole.  The lecture will be based on the work of the ASME task force but should be of interest to all engineering and engineering technology disciplines.  Following the lecture several members of the Vision 2030 Task Force would be available as a panel to answer questions from the audience.

Dr. Robert Warrington is sponsored by the Mechanics Engineering Division.

2390 - Natalie W. Crawford, Senior Fellow, RAND Corporation; Senior Mentor, USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Member, National Academy of Engineering & Ramesh Agarwal, William Palm Professor of Engineering and the Director of Aerospace Research and Education Center, Washington University in St. Louis

Presentation Title: "National Security: Air Force STEM Workforce Challenges"

The US Air Force sponsored an NRC 2009 project to evaluate their STEM educated workforce requirement and related issues in this service. The initial report was briefed at the Air Force Academy STEM Summit in September 2009. There are strong national security implications for having a robust STEM educated workforce in all military services considering the high technology nature of the 21st Century global challenges. The NRC Report will be available in Q4 2009 to augment/document the presentation.

Natalie Crawford is sponsored by the Corporate Members Council.

Presentation Title: "Sustainable Aviation and Aerospace Education"

The titles “Sustainable Aviation” or “Green Aviation” are recently being used with increasing frequency to address the technological and socioeconomic issues facing the aviation industry to meet the environmental challenges of twenty-first century. Air travel continues to experience the fastest growth among all modes of transportation. Therefore the environmental issues such as noise, emissions and fuel consumption, for both airplane and airport operations, have become important for energy and environmental sustainability. This lecture will provide an overview of issues related to air transportation and its impact on environment followed by topics dealing with noise and emissions mitigation by technological solutions including new aircraft and engine designs/technologies, alternative fuels, and materials as well as examination of aircraft operations logistics including Air-Traffic Management (ATM), Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR), Close Formation Flying (CFF), and tailored arrivals to minimize fuel burn. The ground infrastructure for sustainable aviation, including the concept of ‘Sustainable Green Airport Design’ will also be covered. The lecture will also cover how these concepts can be included in the existing aerospace engineering courses. It is increasingly becoming important for the engineering students to become aware of these issues in an Introductory Course in Aeronautics. Some of the technology concepts currently being investigated by the industry for reducing noise, emissions and fuel consumption can be incorporated in appropriate existing courses in aerodynamics, aircraft structures, propulsion, guidance and control etc. at the undergraduate level. The lecture will provide examples of inclusion of the sustainability ideas in aerospace courses based on presenter’s personal efforts and experience and that of colleagues at other institutions. These ideas can be included in a capstone design project – environmentally responsible aircraft design.  

Ramesh K. Agarwal is sponsored by Aerospace Division.

2391 - Distinguished Lecture: Eleonore Lickl, Secretary General, International Scoiety for Engineering Education (IGIP) and Dr. Dirk Schaefer, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Presentation Title: "How Engineering Education Can Better Respond to the Needs of Industry and Enterprise - the Role of Engineering Education Societies in Europe"

Traditional Engineering Education focuses mainly on engineering as technical subject, the engineering curriculum - engineering and related subjects, and on the students and their learning. The engineering educator / the academic staff is often not in focus with regard to his/her teaching concerns, just his/her scientific results are crucial when hired. Aims, objectives and activities of engineering societies active in Europe are discussed, as are existing networks, programs and research activities as well as the EU 2020 Strategy with its emphasis on innovation. This can only succeed if Europe can rely on enough engineers with good engineering education. More engineers in Europe are essential to boost innovation.

Presentation Title: "Professional Qualification and Recognition for Engineering Educators in the U.S."

Engineering and engineering technology departments have a long history of adapting to changing societal needs so that their graduates will possess relevant skills and knowledge vital to potential employers. In parallel with the changing engineering and engineering technology curriculum, there has also been a long-standing call to strengthen engineering and technology educators’ capabilities and preparation to perform the task of educating students. This latter call, however, had remained virtually unanswered for more than a century. - Around the world, several programs to support professional qualification, development and/or recognition for those teaching in higher education are known. A brief overview of one such program from the UK higher education systems is presented and first-hand experience and lessons learned from participating in that program are shared. Based on this, opportunities and challenges for establishing professional faculty development programs and recognition schemes in the US are outlined and critical elements of such programs proposed. This is followed by an overview of an ongoing ASEE initiative: SPEED (Strengthening the Performance of Engineering and Engineering Technology Educators across the Disciplines).

Dipl. Ing. Dr. Eleonore Lickl and Dr. Dirk Schaefer are sponsored by ASEE.

2393 - Distinguished Panel: Fostering International Collaboration and Partnerships to Advance Engineering Education Globally

In this International Distinguished Panel, engineering education leaders from Brazil, China, India and the United States will present innovations in engineering education. Each country has its strengths and examples of collaborations. It is our hope that from this dialogue new models for partnerships will evolve. Distinguished members of the panel include:

• Professor Luiz Scavarda,  Chair of the Advisory Board of Engineering for the Americas, representative of ABENGE, and  Vice Rector of  PUC of Rio de Janeiro;
• Professor Annette Kolmos, president of SEFI, and
• Professor R. Natarajan, former Director of IIT Madras.

The session will be co-moderated by  Ms.  Lueny Morell, Hewlett Packard and President, IFEES, and Dr. Sarah Rajala, Professor and Dean, Mississippi State University and Immediate Past President of ASEE. Time will be provided for questions and answers. In addition, Part II of this session will be held on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 10:30 - Noon

3305 - Nelson Baker, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Vice Provost Distance Learning and Professional Education and Associate Professor School of Civil & Environmental Engineering; President, International Association of Continuing Engineering Education; Chair, State of Georgia Regents Administrative Committee for Public Service and Continuing Education; University Continuing Education Association, Council of Learning, Instruction and Technology

Presentation Title: "Re-engineering the Engineering Workforce: An Essential Global Priority"

With ever increasing fervor, society is asking for solutions to pressing problems for mankind. The engineering sector is well suited to address many of these challenges including quality drinking water, renewable energy supplies and quality public infrastructure. However, the need for quality engineering education and professional development is not always in alignment with the demands of society.  An engineer’s ability to proactively contribute to society’s demands requires greater emphasis on developing new skills, knowledge and experiences receiving guidance from many sources including government, private industry, academia and others.  An engineer needs to be constantly modernized to keep pace with the science and technology changes that do not just evolve, but in many cases have been created and revolutionized well within the span of an engineer’s career. Further, there are also vexing political and social implications that accompany both the problems and the solutions. How can we best shape the preparation and learning of our engineering workforce so that they continue to learn and grow as both technical and societal leaders? How can we ensure that the technical and socio-political solutions they will create are to be optimal in both scientific and societal terms? Are universities, professional societies and other providers of professional development listening and structuring programs needed by the workforce? Creating a national and international agenda for the ensuring a quality engineering profession is critically important, not just for engineering, but for society.

Dr. Nelson Baker is sponsored by ASEE.

3390 - Sarah K.A. Pfatteicher, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Presentation Title: "Lessons Amid the Rubble: Structuring Engineering Education for the 21st Century"

On the second Tuesday of September 2001 the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center returned to dust, taking with them some 2700 souls.  In the ensuing 8 years, hundreds of articles, videos, and lectures have attempted to construct from the wreckage an explanation for the devastation. Some have sought a spiritual explanation for the disaster. Some have explored the terrorists’ political motivations and the social conditions that helped them to grow. Still others have taken the eminently practical approach of focusing on physical explanations.  Whatever their approaches, many of these explorations have been inspired by four common questions: Why did it happen? Did it have to happen? Who was responsible? What can we learn from it? These questions are not unique to engineering, nor to this particular crisis, but the nature of the attacks gave them a particularly acute form. Dr. Pfatteicher will explore how the questions being asked and answered about the collapse of the World Trade Center might help us to develop a deeper understanding of engineering more broadly and thus inform discussions about educating the engineer of 2020.

Sarah K.A. Pfatteicher is co-sponsored by Liberal Education & Engineering Ethics Divisions.

3391 - David Jonassen, Distinguished Professor, School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, College of Education

Presentation Title: "Learning to Solve Engineering Problems"

Engineers are paid to solve problems, so engineering education programs should teach students to solve problems. This presentation will address a number of questions: What kinds of problems do engineers solve and what kinds of problem should engineering students solve? What are the building blocks of problem-based learning environments? What cognitive skills are required to solve problems? How can engineering students engage in problem solving?  Examples of funded research will be presented.

David Jonassen is sponsored by the Educational Research & Methods Division (ERM).

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Sponsorship

Visionary         Innovator   Pioneer   Mentor Educator For more information on exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Scott Williamson, Director of Sales & Marketing at 202-331-3549 or s.williamson@asee.org TOPˆ