Introduction to Engineering (EA1 - 1st Semester) The first half of the Introduction to Engineering curriculum introduces students to the

Engineering Design Process and to working as part of a team. At the outset, the students work in small design teams to complete short-term design projects. Approximately one month into the course, the focus shifts to an intensive six-week design project. Students design and construct a robot to compete in a sumo-bot competition. Students are given the basic materials from which they are to design and build a functioning autonomous robot to compete per a given set of rules. The students must then go from design-to-market in 6 weeks, with deliverables that include: A functioning autonomous robot. A poster presentation describing their design process and the theory behind the operation of their robot. A project notebook documenting the engineering design process for the robot. A research paper connecting their robot to current trends in engineering and technology. An oral presentation describing their robot and their design process. An original t-shirt design promoting their robot. The second half of the Introduction to Engineering curriculum provides students with a functional knowledge of Microsoft Office . Within this framework, two key engineering topics are introduced. Technical communication topics provide the context for studying Word (written communication skills) and PowerPoint (oral communication skills). Basic data analysis topics provide the context for studying Excel and Access.

Engineering Drawing and Solid Modeling (EA1 - 2nd Semester) Engineering Drawing and Solid Modeling begins by providing students with a foundation in visualization and traditional hand-drawing concepts and skills. The focus of this portion of the course is on orthographic projections, isometric views, and standard dimensioning practices. The students then move into learning three-dimensional solid modeling using the SolidWorks software package. The computerbased portion of the course includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: Standard protrusion and cut-out techniques Two-dimensional projections of solid parts, including section and auxiliary views Assembly drawings Exploded views Cutaway views Basic animations

Engineering Instrumentation and Analysis (EA2) Engineering Instrumentation and Analysis introduces students to standard data acquisition tools and data analysis techniques in the context of the major engineering disciplines. Within each discipline-specific unit (Electrical and Computer, Civil, Mechanical, Materials, etc.), students use standard instrumentation to acquire data for research or design projects related to that field of engineering. The students are required to know how each instrument works, in order to identify its inherent capabilities and limitations. Digital signal processing theory is embedded in the Electrical and Computer Engineering unit to enable students to understand how analog signals are captured digitally. The projects are subject to change from year to year, but the topics may include Basic circuit analysis Material property testing Structural design Simple machines Heat transfer

Examples of instrumentation used in the course include: Multimeters Photogates Motion sensors Force and pressure sensors Various temperature sensors Accelerometers Strain gages Microphones Photovoltaic cells Rotary motion transducers

Automated data acquisition is obtained via the following interfaces: National Instruments ELVIS National Instruments/Vernier SensorDAQ Vernier LabPRO Speedy-33 DSP Board

Once the data has been acquired, students apply fundamental principles of data analysis in order to correctly interpret the information. Students learn the underlying theory behind fundamental analysis techniques and then use software tools including Microsoft Excel, MATLAB, and LabVIEW to analyze larger data sets. Every student is required to submit a formal written report or give a formal oral presentation as part of each unit in the course. In this course, students learn to use LaTeX for typesetting technical documents.

Engineering Computations (EA3) Engineering Computations focuses primarily on computer programming, but not in the traditional sense. Rather than learning a conventional programming language, like C or Java, students learn programming principles and then apply those principles using less-rigid programming languages and environments. Students use MATLAB to apply fundamental principles in a text-based, control flow environment and LabVIEW to apply those principles in a bock-diagram, data flow environment. In each software package, topics include for and while loops if/then and case structures basic debugging techniques using input/output files screen-directed input/output working with arrays user-defined functions

The second semester includes advanced applications in each software package. Students use MATLAB to model basic physical systems, which requires introducing them to state-space modeling and numerical integration. They use LabVIEW to write their own data acquisition programs and to begin learning how simple control systems work. As time allows in the final nine weeks of the course, students are introduced to Finite Element Analysis. The introduction includes defining elements, loads, and boundary conditions.

Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship (EA4) The four-year curriculum culminates in a Senior Design Project. Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship provides students with the opportunity to apply what they' learned through a longve term project of their choosing. Students have the option of working independently or as part of a design team. Design teams are generally paired with mentors from industry or universities. Prior to starting the design project, basic project management and engineering economics principles are introduced. Students must do background research and write a formal project proposal. The students are responsible for defining the initial scope of the project, the deliverables that will result, and the timeline for the proposed work. Each student must maintain a detailed engineering notebook. Design teams meet weekly with the teacher, providing regular progress reports. Every project culminates in a formal written report and a formal presentation. Each design team is provided with opportunities to present to multiple audiences.