A Restructured Engineering Science Core with a Design Component

该项目通过以下方式改变了工程课程的结构：1)将基础工程科学中教授的材料重新打包成五门课程，每门课程都基于相似的科学和数学背景；2)在这些修订的工程科学课程中纳入重要的工程设计经验。这些措施将解决关于工程课程的几个问题，包括：1)由于将这些课程与不同的工程学科联系起来，导致“基础”工程科学课程的数量增加；2)在学生的头脑中将工程设计与工程科学分开，从而缺乏对工程科学与工程设计相互作用的认识；3)由于工程学中大量的分析，学生们显然对创造性的工程工作失去了兴趣。为该项目提供的机构资金约占国家科学基金会资金的三分之一。

This project changes the way the engineering curriculum is structured by: 1) repackaging the material taught in the basic engineering sciences into five courses, each of which is based on similar scientific and mathematical background; 2) including in these revised engineering science courses significant engineering design experience. These steps will address several concerns about engineering curricula including: 1) the increasing number of "basic" engineering science courses that result from identifying these courses with the various engineering disciplines; 2) the separation of engineering design from engineering science in the minds of students with the consequent lack of appreciation for the interaction of engineering science with engineering design; 3) an apparent loss of interest by students in creative engineering efforts as a result of the heavy doses of analysis in the engineering sciences. Institutional funds commited to this project are approximately one-third of NSF funds.