Engineering Design, Invention, And Entrepreneurship For Baccalaureate And Associate Degree Engineering Students At Penn State Altoona College

Abstract

This paper describes some of the methods used in teaching engineering design and the inventing process to freshman baccalaureate engineering students in their introductory engineering design course ED&G 100. In this course students were asked to invent a new product, material, or process that would be marketable. The students could also choose to develop a modification of an existing product, material or process. Students were asked to describe their idea in a business letter and forward it to industry for evaluation. In some instances a response from industry was actually received by the students concerning the feasibility of their ideas. We feel this contact with industry so early in their educational career was very exciting for the students and may aide in student retention in the major. The paper also briefly describes an instructional module entitled Design for Manufacture that was also used in ED&G 100. This module was used in teaching students fundamentals of engineering design and design for manufacture. The module was developed by The New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technology Education (NYSCATE). In this project based learning module the students were given a chance to work in project teams and design a desktop CD Holder and build a working prototype of their design. The module employed a series of 11 Knowledge and Skill Builder (KSBs) activities and gave students experience in the design process and evaluation along with manufacturing techniques and materials and how they impact product design. The paper also describes a design project that was completed by freshman two-year engineering technology students in their introductory engineering graphics/CAD course. This project required the students to design and generate a set of working drawings for an accelerator pedal of the ASME Student Baja Vehicle. The ASME Baja Vehicle was built by the Altoona College Student Chapter of ASME and competes every year against over 100 other engineering schools in durability and performance testing. Through this design project students learn many of the factors involved in designing machine components. Lastly, the paper briefly describes the 18-credit entrepreneurship minor and the courses that make up this minor as offered through The Pennsylvania State University. Many baccalaureate-engineering students are pursuing this minor to complement their engineering degree.