TY - JOUR
T1 - Integrating humanities with engineering fundamentals
AU - Jahan, Kauser
AU - Forin, Tiago R.
AU - Breen, Roisin
AU - Hurley, Patricia Lynn
AU - Pepe, Erin Elizabeth
AU - Shen, Jiayun
AU - Noshadi, Iman
N1 - Funding Information:
Kauser Jahan, is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University. She received her B.S.C.E. from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, an MSCE from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Her passion as an educator and mentor has been recognized by many professional organizations over the years. She is the recipient of the Gloucester County Women of Achievement Award, Lindback Foundation Teaching Award, the NJ ASCE Educator of the Year award, the Gary J. Hunter Excellence in Mentoring Award, the ASEE Environmental Engineering Division Meritorious Service Award, the ASEE Women in Engineering Division Sharon A. Keillor Award and the WEPAN Women in Engineering Initiative Award. She has been instrumental in establishing the Attracting Women into Engineering, the Engineers on Wheels and Engineering Clinics for Teachers programs at Rowan University. She has served as the Institutional Representative and Advisory Board Chair for the Women’s Professional Network at Rowan University for six years and currently is an advisory board member of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Council on Education (ACE) Office of Women in Higher Education (OWHE). She received a Fulbright award in 2015.
Funding Information:
At the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, a set of sustainable development goals was formed and adopted by world leaders. These goals, which were set to be achieved in a fifteen-year period, address pressing universal issues, including climate change, social inequalities, poverty, and clean water access. The field of engineering is regarded as an essential part of addressing world issues. The humanities, however, are often considered to be dichotomous with the field of engineering. A bridge between engineering and humanities must be built, for they are incontestably intertwined. Engineering, by its very nature, is based around creativity and moving the world forward. Too often, engineering courses teach only equations and figures, overlooking how these fundamentals relate to the world and its people. In an effort to empower and prepare the next generation of engineers to create sustainable solutions to global issues, the Algae Grows the Future team at Rowan University, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), has developed a curriculum based around algae. This curriculum utilizes algae-based experiments and lessons to teach foundational engineering principles, emphasize the link between engineering and humanities, and encourage students to pursue creative, conscientious solutions. The curriculum has been designed with adjustable complexity, suiting K-12 and college freshman students, and has been implemented in both middle school and freshman engineering classrooms. Calorimetry experiments allow students to investigate the nutritional benefits of algae-based products and challenge students to consider the application of algae in the fight against world hunger. Gas transfer experiments are used to research the sustainability of algae in the water treatment process. Algae can also be used to generate energy sustainably, as the oils found in some algae species can be used as biofuels. Students will learn about biofuels and will extract algae oils to generate energy within the classroom. While students will be learning principles of math and science, they will also be encouraged to explore the political, cultural, and economic barriers that prevent algae-based solutions from being implemented in many places around the world. The objective of this curriculum is to give students the knowledge to solve sustainable development issues in the future, while also teaching crucial engineering skills and awareness of global issues. The curriculum has been successfully implemented in first-year engineering classes and a middle school classroom and ultimately hopes to teach a generation of future thinkers the impact that engineering can have on solving humanitarian issues around the world.
Funding Information:
Algae Grows the Future is the name of a team comprised of junior and senior college students that is focused on creating an algae-based curriculum for K-12 and college students. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was created in partnership with the Center for Aquatic Sciences (CAS) at the Adventure Aquarium. The CAS promotes the understanding and appreciation of aquatic sciences and provides outreach programs for a large population of students in Camden, NJ and surrounding communities [1]. The partnership will allow the Algae Grows the Future project to expand its reach and will provide material for CAS to implement. The theme of algae was selected because of the wide range of applications of algae, ease of growth and maintenance, and accessibility to any classroom. The Algae Grows the Future team aims to promote a high quality engineering education, along with the integration of humanities to improve students’ understanding of the connections between the two fields.
Publisher Copyright:
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2018.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/6/23
Y1 - 2018/6/23
N2 - At the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, a set of sustainable development goals was formed and adopted by world leaders. These goals, which were set to be achieved in a fifteen-year period, address pressing universal issues, including climate change, social inequalities, poverty, and clean water access. The field of engineering is regarded as an essential part of addressing world issues. The humanities, however, are often considered to be dichotomous with the field of engineering. A bridge between engineering and humanities must be built, for they are incontestably intertwined. Engineering, by its very nature, is based around creativity and moving the world forward. Too often, engineering courses teach only equations and figures, overlooking how these fundamentals relate to the world and its people. In an effort to empower and prepare the next generation of engineers to create sustainable solutions to global issues, the Algae Grows the Future team at Rowan University, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), has developed a curriculum based around algae. This curriculum utilizes algae-based experiments and lessons to teach foundational engineering principles, emphasize the link between engineering and humanities, and encourage students to pursue creative, conscientious solutions. The curriculum has been designed with adjustable complexity, suiting K-12 and college freshman students, and has been implemented in both middle school and freshman engineering classrooms. Calorimetry experiments allow students to investigate the nutritional benefits of algae-based products and challenge students to consider the application of algae in the fight against world hunger. Gas transfer experiments are used to research the sustainability of algae in the water treatment process. Algae can also be used to generate energy sustainably, as the oils found in some algae species can be used as biofuels. Students will learn about biofuels and will extract algae oils to generate energy within the classroom. While students will be learning principles of math and science, they will also be encouraged to explore the political, cultural, and economic barriers that prevent algae-based solutions from being implemented in many places around the world. The objective of this curriculum is to give students the knowledge to solve sustainable development issues in the future, while also teaching crucial engineering skills and awareness of global issues. The curriculum has been successfully implemented in first-year engineering classes and a middle school classroom and ultimately hopes to teach a generation of future thinkers the impact that engineering can have on solving humanitarian issues around the world.
AB - At the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, a set of sustainable development goals was formed and adopted by world leaders. These goals, which were set to be achieved in a fifteen-year period, address pressing universal issues, including climate change, social inequalities, poverty, and clean water access. The field of engineering is regarded as an essential part of addressing world issues. The humanities, however, are often considered to be dichotomous with the field of engineering. A bridge between engineering and humanities must be built, for they are incontestably intertwined. Engineering, by its very nature, is based around creativity and moving the world forward. Too often, engineering courses teach only equations and figures, overlooking how these fundamentals relate to the world and its people. In an effort to empower and prepare the next generation of engineers to create sustainable solutions to global issues, the Algae Grows the Future team at Rowan University, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), has developed a curriculum based around algae. This curriculum utilizes algae-based experiments and lessons to teach foundational engineering principles, emphasize the link between engineering and humanities, and encourage students to pursue creative, conscientious solutions. The curriculum has been designed with adjustable complexity, suiting K-12 and college freshman students, and has been implemented in both middle school and freshman engineering classrooms. Calorimetry experiments allow students to investigate the nutritional benefits of algae-based products and challenge students to consider the application of algae in the fight against world hunger. Gas transfer experiments are used to research the sustainability of algae in the water treatment process. Algae can also be used to generate energy sustainably, as the oils found in some algae species can be used as biofuels. Students will learn about biofuels and will extract algae oils to generate energy within the classroom. While students will be learning principles of math and science, they will also be encouraged to explore the political, cultural, and economic barriers that prevent algae-based solutions from being implemented in many places around the world. The objective of this curriculum is to give students the knowledge to solve sustainable development issues in the future, while also teaching crucial engineering skills and awareness of global issues. The curriculum has been successfully implemented in first-year engineering classes and a middle school classroom and ultimately hopes to teach a generation of future thinkers the impact that engineering can have on solving humanitarian issues around the world.
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M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85051239149
VL - 2018-June
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
SN - 2153-5965
T2 - 125th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
Y2 - 23 June 2018 through 27 December 2018
ER -