Transforming Engineering Education

MathcountsPunahou School

February 19, 2011Prof. Anthony Kuh, University of Hawaii

Outline

University of Hawai’i Mānoa, College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering Overview

Trends in Engineering Education

Founded: 1907 Location: Mānoa Valley, Island of O`ahu

Academics Average class size: 24 Colleges: 11 Schools: 9 Degrees:

Bachelor’s degrees in 87 fields Master’s degrees in 87 fields Doctoral degrees in 51 fields Professional degrees in 3 fields

Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Faculty Full-time faculty: 1,272 Student-faculty ratio: 16:1

UH Mānoa at a Glance

Students

Total student population: 20,005 Undergraduate: 13,781 Graduate: 6,224

Hawaii (in-state) students: 69 percent Ethnic Diversity

Out of state students: 21 percent African American: 1.2 percent

International students: 10 percent Asian: 47.8 percent

States represented: 50 Caucasian: 22.9 percent

Countries represented: 103 Hawaiian: 9.7 percent

Male/female ratio: 44:56 Hispanic: 2.5 percent

Mixed: 10.3 percent

Pacific Islander: 4.0 percent

Other: 1.6 percent

UH Mānoa at a Glance

Research

Only one of 13 institutions with distinction of being a land, sea and space-grant research institution.

Classified by Carnegie Foundation as having “very high research activity.”

Ranked by NSF in the top 30 public universities in federal research funding for engineering and science.

In ’09-’10 UH was awarded over $460M in external grants and contracts, mostly from UH Mānoa.

UH Mānoa at a Glance

Holmes HallCollege of Engineering

Celebrated 100 years of Engineering Education at UH Mānoa in 2008

Programs ABET accredited

Vision

Re-Engineering our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future

The College of Engineering will be recognized as an indispensible facet of sustainable living and high-tech growth in Hawaii and Asia Pacific, leading the development of physical and cyber infrastructures to meet the increasingly complex needs of society, while contributing to nationally prominent engineering challenges.

Departments & Programs

Department of Electrical Engineering – BS, MS, PhD & Computer Engineering – BS

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering – BS, MS, PhD

Department of Mechanical Engineering – BS, MS, PhD

Some Statistics

~60 faculty

~750 undergrad students

~220 pre-engineering students

~180 grad students

~$8M/yr. external research expenditures

~$1.5M/yr. gifts

Student Enrollment

College Student Enrollment

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate Average Time to Degree = 5.42 years Average graduates per year = 138

Principal Employers Naval Shipyards Construction companies State agencies – e.g. Department of

Transportation Large military suppliers - Lockheed Martin,

Northrop Grumman, Boeing, SAIC, Raytheon,…….usually on the US Mainland

Other State entities – e.g. Hawaiian Electric Co. (local utility)

Growing number of high-tech and renewable energy companies in Hawaii

Outreach and Interfacing to Community

The College has played an increasing role in K-12 STEM outreach with assistance from the State, the Department of Education and contributing companies. The College has also been one of the principal supporters of the many K-12 robotics contests that take place all over the islands.

The College’s Career Fairs, twice a year, provide many companies in Hawaii and the US west coast access to its students and reciprocally help its students hone their skills and presentations as they move into the work force.

Research Foci Autonomous, Unmanned Systems Biomedical Engineering Coastal Infrastructure Water, Waste and Environmental Engineering Communications, Radar and Cyber Physical

Systems Computer Engineering and Computer Modeling

& Simulation Recycling, Re-manufacturing and Corrosion Renewable energy

Selected Programs Hawai‘i Space Flight Lab. (HSFL) - joint with School of Ocean & Earth Science &

Technology (SOEST)

Hawai‘i Center for Advanced Communications (HCAC)

Member of UHM Water Resources Research Center

Local Technology Assistance Program (LTAP) – Transportation

National Center for Island, Maritime and Extreme Environment Security (CIMES) – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center, joint with SOEST and partnered with University of Alaska and University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Renewable Energy and Island Security (REIS)

Retention Program for Native Hawaiian Engineering and Science Students

K-12 Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Outreach

EE History EE dept. started about 50 years ago with first graduating

class in 1961 Established strength in communications, coding, and

networks in 60s and 70s ALOHA project: In 1970 ARPA funded project in EE

that had critical impact on development of Internet In 80s built Physical Electronics Lab, started computer

area, and expanded department In 90s several EE faculty were successful in

communication and IT startups (lost many faculty to both industry and other academic institutions)

Electrical Engineering Highlights (2009-2011) Currently 220 UG students, 70 Graduate

students, 20 faculty Computer Engineering approved by BOR last

year. Successfully went through ABET accreditation Established multidisciplinary Renewable

Energy and Island Sustainability (REIS) group Received internal and external funding

HKN won three outstanding chapter awards

Undergraduate Experience

Curriculum Classes

Science and Math Engineering General

Laboratories Projects

Student activities (clubs, programs) Other activities (outreach, industry)

Undergraduate Curriculum

TracksElectives

Chemistry Physics Calculus

Fundamental EE Courses

Computer Electrophysics Systems

Gen

eral

E

duca

tion

Pro

ject

Cou

rsesArchitecture

VLSI circuitsSoftwareNetworking

Analog & Mixed Signal CircuitsPhysical ElectronicsMicrowave ElectronicsBioelectronics

CommunicationsControl SystemsSignal ProcessingNetworking

Hands on projects and laboratories

Computer EngineeringUndergraduate Curriculum

Chemistry Physics Calculus

Fundamental EE Courses

Computer Electrophysics Systems

Gen

eral

E

duca

tionICS 141

DiscreteMath

Pro

ject

Cou

rses

Facilities Undergrad Instructional Facilities

3 Instructional Circuits Labs

EE Shared Computing Lab

Physical Electronics Lab (PEL)

Comm., ControlsSignal Proc. Networking Lab

EM and Optics Instructional Lab

Power Systems,Electronics Lab

Design Projects Webpage listing projects: 196/296/396/496 Individual and team projects EE496: Senior capstone design project

Major design content Writing intensive Topics incorporate (2 of following)

Data collection & analysis, design methodology, design tools, instruments

Program Outcomes

Undergraduate Research

Research gives undergraduate students a chance to• Work on design projects (x96)• Recruitment tool for graduate schoolMultidisciplinary Research Projects in EE

• Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability Group Green Holmes Hall Initiative

• COCONETS (Coding Communications Networks Security) Lab

• Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering• Small satellite program• Physical Electronics Lab (MEMs, Nano)

Student Clubs and Programs

IEEE (Institute of Electrical And Electronics Engineers) Student Chapter

HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) EE honor society SWE (The Society of Women Engineers)

Student Chapter NHSEMP (Native Hawaiian Science &

Engineering Mentorship Program)

IEEE Recent Events

IEEE Halloween BBQ

Volunteering At Head StartHCATT Tour

Volunteering Engineering Alumni Golf Tournament

Other Activities

Interface with industry Career fairs Summer student intern programs Coop programs

Outreach Assist in recruitment of K-12 student into STEM

careers Mentors for K-12 students Presentations (COE Banquet, Open House) Community Projects

COE and EE Activities

Engineering Education Thoughts

Careers in engineering Engineering education perspectives

Trends in education Developing expertise Engineering education concerns Transforming engineering education

Many ideas taken from talk by Dr. Don Lewis Millard, NSF

Careers in Engineering

Well paying stable jobs Diversity of jobs

Areas: healthcare, information technology, transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment

Type of company: Aerospace/Defense, Information Technology, Energy/Utility, Consulting, Startup

Making an impact on society

Engineering Education

Solid training in fundamentals (math, science, engineering)

Understanding of design Using computers and internet technology Good communication skills, working in teams High ethical standards Understanding global, societal, environmental

issues Life long learning

BUT, there are major concerns

Education costs National trends Engineering curriculum

Too tough Not exciting Underrepresented groups discouraged

Educational Costs

Family costs: ~1.5XMedical costs: ~2.5XCollege: ~4.4X

“Measuring up 2008”

Wrong direction

“Measuring up 2008”

…and it is getting worse

“Measuring up 2008”

Present Challenge

Erosion of our national “educational capital” is occurring just when we need more college educational workers

Baby boomers retiring Increasing skill requirements are necessary

for new engineering related jobs

“Dr. Don Millard”

White House Perspective

“Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future –if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas – then we also have to win the race to educate our kids”

“Dr. Don Millard”

Perceptions about Science/Engineering

Consistent across scientists/engineers in discipline

“C. Wieman adapted from D. Hammer”

What does it take to be an expert?

Expert has Factual knowledge Mental organizational framework -> retrieval and

application Ability to monitor own thinking and learning (Do I

understand this? How can I check ?) New way of thinking: requires many hours of intense

practice to develop (10000 hours) (Anders Ericcson) Also applicable to athletes, musicians, scientists, doctors

“Dr. Don Millard”

Historic transformations in engineering education

Science-based engineering Computer in the classroom Active, team-based learning Widespread internet access Jam-packed curriculum ….

“Dr. Don Millard”

Dr. Millard comments that

Active classrooms trumps passive classrooms Reflection fosters re-organization of thinking for

deep learning Students will learn more if provided less at any

given time (average capacity of memory is 7 chunks)

8089567527 vs. (808)-956-7527

Engineering workforce issues

Industry needs a combination of left/right brain thinking Engineering jobs require good research, synthesis,

systems integration abilities China is trying to become more innovative, while the US

is trying to become more rigorous (it is better to be the US)

Need to stimulate, enable, and foster creativity (Why did Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,& Mark Zuckerberg drop out of college?)

“Dr. Don Millard”

Why engineering students leave

Poor performance in intro math/science courses Coursework too restrictive for students’ varied interests Perception that other classes are more fun – view

engineering as a competitive and uncaring field A feeling of isolation from the rest of the university – due

to the workload, lack of cross disciplinary opportunities

“Dr. Don Millard”

Why engineering students leave

Lack of role models – especially for women and underrepresented minority students

Poor advising & teaching – combined with a lack of exposure to engineering early on … leads to discouragement and departure

Fear of outsourcing Lack of connection between what is studied and

perceived as exciting practice

“Dr. Don Millard”

Promising strategies

Guided inquiry Concept inventories Peer-led team learning Problem-based learning Active recall of information Effective use of technology

“Dr. Don Millard”

Engineering education

is constantly changing and depends to a great extent on feedback from our constituents:

Students Parents Administration Industry Alumni Accreditation (WASC, ABET)

Mahalo!!!

Anthony Kuh

808-956-7527

kuh@hawaii.edu