Suggests a method of integrating teaching microcomputer graphics in engineering curricula without encroaching on the fundamental engineering courses. Includes examples of engineering graphics produced by commercial programs and others produced by high-level language programing in a limited credit hour segment of an educational program. (CW)

Discusses the similarities, differences, advanced features, applications and number of users of five microcomputer computer-aided design (CAD) packages. Included are: "AutoCAD (V.2.17)"; "CADKEY (V.2.0)"; "CADVANCE (V.1.0)"; "Super MicroCAD"; and "VersaCAD Advanced (V.4.00)." Describes the…

Presents a framework for model development that, when used, will help the student (or professor) avoid the major pitfalls associated with modeling. Includes not properly identifying the controlling factors, lack of model validation and developing a model that is incompatible with its end use. (CW)

Presents a new method to teach the subject of evaporators which is both simple enough to use in the classroom and accurate and flexible enough to be used as a design tool in practice. Gives an example using a triple evaporator series. Analyzes the effect of this method. (CW)

Describes Clemson University's Advanced Engineered Fibers Laboratory, which was established to provide national leadership and expertise in developing the processing equipment and advance fibers necessary for the chemical, fiber, and textile industries to enter the composite materials market. Discusses some of the laboratory's activities in…

Describes a senior level chemical engineering course at Purdue University that parallels an industrial process development department. Stresses the course organization, manager-engineer contract, evaluation of students, course evaluation, and gives examples of course improvements made during the course. (CW)

Describes an undergraduate chemical engineering course at Brigham Young University to provide training and experience in oral presentation, familiarity with the chemical engineering literature and exposure to a wide range of engineering topics. Summarizes the course description. Discusses the course evaluation. (CW)

Describes the development of the Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center (ACERC), which is a cooperative project of Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, and 25 governmental and industrial research laboratories. Discusses the research objectives, the academic program, the industrial relations and technology transfer program,…

Reports on a survey of the undergraduate programs of 50 engineering schools which was designed to investigate the engineering curriculum with regard to core courses in statics and dynamics. Indicates that only about one-third of the schools require these courses. Argues for their return to the programs. (TW)

The Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Development Program of the National Science Foundation supports the development of courses in all disciplines to improve the quality of undergraduate courses and curricula in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. The purpose of the program in Curriculum Development in Mathematics: Calculus and…

Conducted an ethnography to evaluate the usefulness of the notion of community of practice in classroom settings. Documents how collectively available knowledge of a classroom community was transformed as resources and practices were adopted by more and more members. Discusses implications for the organization of classroom environments that…

This final report summarizes work done to formulate and test some cognitively-based principles useful for designing instruction in scientific or engineering fields. These principles stress the coherence and interpretability of the knowledge acquired by students. The principles were specifically applied to: (1) analyze the underlying knowledge and…

The field of ethics and values studies in science and technology has experienced an expansion since the 1970s including increased numbers of organizations, publications, research studies, workshops, and conferences. As a consequence, scholarly and public attention focus more frequently on ethics and values issues. In an effort to pause and reflect…

Reports on the findings of a national survey done by the University of the Pacific's School of Engineering pertaining to cooperative education programs. Presents the results in terms of co-op student composition, educational backgrounds of coordinators, coordinators' caseloads, and time spent on career counseling. (TW)

Reports on a study in which two spatial tests were given to science and engineering majors and to students in nursing and agriculture at Purdue University (Indiana). Scores from the tests consistently contributed a small but significant amount of success on measures of performance in chemistry. (TW)