Description: This article discusses evaluation results of an Engineering (E) and Engineering Technology (ET) education forum. Abstract: Under a two-year Department of Education FIPSE grant, the College of Technology at the University of Houston hosted a two-day forum in spring 2010 to explore a variety of issues related to E and ET education. A central focus to these discussions revolved around whether E and ET exist as separate fields or whether there was value in thinking about them as part of a continuum. The CDIO (conceive-design-implement-operate) model was used as a framework for thinking about these two knowledge areas as facets of an overarching engineering profession, where the majority of E and ET graduates flow to the middle of CDIO and engage in "design-implement" tasks within three to five years after graduation. Several implications of a continuum-based framework for engineering education were debated within the context of two alternative curricular approaches. The first approach envisions a two-year curriculum in which E and ET students enroll in a set of common technical core courses. At the end of the second year, students would make a well-educated decision to become either engineering or engineering technology majors, subsequently completing a BS degree. The second ...

Description: This paper discusses research on acoustic cancellation in architecture. Abstract: Because of the propagation and interference of sound waves in a fluidic medium, acoustic cancellation due to architecture will often occur where it is least desired, such as in classrooms, churches, or presentation rooms. This dampening of sound may occur when evenly spaced structures are positioned at an interval roughly equivalent to half the wavelength of the sound being cancelled. Through the modeled and structural observance of this phenomenon, a theoretical model has been developed that can provide a means by which to determine the frequencies of sound that will be filtered out by a structure's inherent arrangement.

Description: This paper discusses a transformational paradigm for engineering and engineering technology education. The knowledge explosion in science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) over the past decades is unquestionably overwhelming. It is important that those involved in STEM quickly adapt. Life-long learning has taken a do-or-die slant, as technological breakthroughs turn obsolete within only a few years of their inception. Medical and law degree curricula became more "professional" and require a "pre-degree" status to be considered for admission. However, the traditional engineering degree plan is essentially the same as that of the mid 20th Century. Legislation in some states places additional pressure on baccalaureate degrees by questioning the need for anything above 120 credit hours. The result is (i) fewer engineering-specific courses; (ii) courses that heavily emphasize theory; and (iii) a subsequent reduction in hands-on, laboratory oriented, experimental learning. Engineering Technology curricula are designed to have experiential learning as the educational backbone. This forces a reduction in mathematical and scientific depth that is compensated by a richness of laboratory courses in almost one-to-one proportion to lecture courses, and which emphasize the application of engineering. The main challenges to establish and maintain experiential learning include (i) availability of slots in the curricula ...