Course Description:

In this non-discipline-specific version of Engineering 100, students learn how engineers across many fields view and change the world around them. Engineering is an exciting profession for those with a passion to improve people’s well-being. Engineers solve large and small problems, for various populations, while working in a range of settings. Math and science are important tools in this, but the design process is central. This course provides a detailed overview of the engineering design process – the “heart” of engineering – in a broadly accessible manner that assumes no specialized knowledge and is largely applicable to most engineering disciplines. Students also learn various practical skills commonly employed in the design process such as basic CAD and CAE, TRIZ techniques, patent searching, and project management software. Throughout the course, relevant communication principles are also taught and incorporated into several assignments.

The major project for this course involves a team-based experience in developing and testing a first- generation prototype of something that could improve quality of life in some way. Through this experience, students begin to get acquainted with the nuances of several open-ended engineering tasks such as establishing a design problem and requirements, conceiving of and evaluating potential solutions, etc. – while also accounting for various practical and human considerations.

Term Project: 

Design, build, and test a first-generation prototype of a new product or process for solving a problem to improve quality of life