2008 Pre-class Reading and Essay Assignment (choose one) Assignment Option One Read Eugene Ferguson’s Engineering and the Mind’s Eye:
Companies are becoming increasingly critical of new graduate engineers. The complaint is not that the new graduates aren’t smart or that their scientific training isn’t adequate; but rather that these graduates don’t know how to use this training. They don’t know how to apply it to real engineering problems. Eugene Ferguson in Engineering and the Mind’s Eye is in agreement. He thinks that university curricula miss the real essence of engineering. Programs emphasize the theoretical aspects of the discipline—science, analysis, mathematical description, and computer simulation, but ignore a myriad of other aspects that are essential for successful engineering projects.
Write a 3-5 page essay addressing the following two questions: What does Ferguson emphasize in relation to the four areas mentioned above? Given Ferguson’s perspective, what do you think an introductory course in engineering should contain in terms of content and philosophy?
Assignment Option Two Read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat:
Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat paints a rather sobering picture of America’s declining ability to compete in a global economy. In part, he attributes this decline to three factors: our waning emphasis on science/engineering, our complacent attitudes toward work and academic excellence, and our “Britney Spears” values. (Chinese youth idolize Bill Gates.) Write a 3-5 page essay elaborating further on Friedman’s view of America’s preparedness and future in engineering; then suggest how we might refocus our educational efforts to address the problem. How do we change our culture? What must we do in K-12 and university curricula to help alleviate the problem? Who must lead the way? How and where must it begin? To complete this assignment, read the first and last two chapters of the Friedman book plus two additonal chapters of your choice. When writing your essay, please indicate the two chapters you chose to read.
Essays are due the first day of class.
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