ESC-100 Fall 2009
Exploring Engineering
An Introduction to Engineering and to the Design Process
Course Objectives, Syllabus and Guidelines

Course WEB site: engineering.union.edu/esc100/

Course Objectives
This course explores the topic of engineering and is appropriate for both those intending to major in engineering and those with an interest in learning about the design process and other aspects of what engineers do. You will learn how to formulate, articulate, and solve problems, how to work on a team to design things, and how to present the results of engineering work in oral and written form. You will also learn about about the different disciplines of engineering and the multidisciplinary nature of modern engineering design.

Upon completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

1. Design a simple system:

   1. Identify and define the basic steps in the design process.

   2. Incorporate basic manufacturing and project scheduling techniques in design projects.

   3. Develop a portfolio of successful design projects carried out during the course.

2. Use basic elements of teamwork:

   1. Identify the skills required for good teamwork.

   2. Identify the characteristics of good teams,

   3. Complete exercises requiring a team effort.

3. Understand the basic theories of ethics and how they relate to engineering:

   1. Participate in debates concerning ethics.

   2. Complete an individual essay concerning an ethical issue.

4. Demonstrate good technical communication skills:

   1. Identify and define professional standards for technical writing.

   2. Prepare written reports on their design work that are clear, well organized, and complete.

   3. Complete a clear sketch and detailed drawing of a simple system.

   4. Organize and deliver oral presentations of their design work to a group of peers during the course.

5. Understand some basic fundamental engineering and computer science topics related to the course theme:

   1. energy, energy transformation, energy conservation

   2. combustion, engines, drive trains

   3. logic, binary numbers, control, feedback, algorithms

Section Lectures

You will have two lectures each week with the instructor for your section. Assignments from these lectures will be given approximately weekly and collected for a grade. There will be occasional quizzes given during the lecture period. The reading and homework assignments for each Section will be posted on the ESC100 WEB site.

Tuesday Morning Common Hour

The Tuesday Common Hour is from 9:55AM to 10:45 AM in Olin 115. It will feature lectures from outside speakers on state-of-the-art engineering topics and the midterm exam. The primary purpose of the Common Hour is to stimulate your curiosity about engineering.

Design Studio

Students will attend a 3-hour engineering design studio session each week. The purpose of the design studio is to learn about various aspect of engineering design and teamwork through hands-on activities and a final design project. In-class and homework assignments will be collected and graded in the design studio. Design milestones will be presented as the design project progresses and your performance on these milestones will be evaluated as part of the course grade.

Exams
A midterm and final exam will be given in this course. These exams will test your understanding of concepts presented in the common hour, section lectures and design studio portions of the course.

Attendance
Attendance at all lectures and design studio sessions is mandatory. Attendance will be taken at the Common Hour lectures with a session feedback card filled out by each student. You are allowed one unexcused absence at the Common Hour lecture. Each additional unexcused absence will reduce your course grade by one grading step (e.g., from a B to a B-, etc.)

The midterm and final exam will test your knowledge of topics covered in the section lectures. If there is some reason that you must miss a section lecture or design studio class, you must notify your instructor as soon as possible for handouts that you may have missed and arrange to get notes from a classmate.

Students with Learning Disabilities
If you have a documented learning disability and require extra time for exams, you must notify Kate Schurick in the Dean of Students office. Once you do this, your instructor will be notified by the Dean of Students office and you can then make arrangements with your instructor to meet your needs.

Course Grading
It is important that you meet deadlines given for assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted and will receive a grade of 0. A grade of 0 will be given for a missed exam unless the absence is approved by the instructor. You are allowed one unexcused absence at the Common Hour lecture. Each additional unexcused absence will reduce your course grade by one grading step (e.g., from a B to a B-, etc.)

The component grades for this course will be weighted as follows:

Weekly homework assignments	10%
Quizzes	10%
Midterm exam	20%
Design studio	35%
Final exam	25%
Course Total	100%

The design Studio grade accounts for 35% of the total grade using the following breakdown

3 design Studio Assignments	10%
Milestone # 1 – Design Defense	5%
Milestone # 2 – 50% complete	2.5%
Milestone # 3 – Performance test	7.5%
Milestone # 4 – design report	10%
Total	35%

Numeric grades will be converted to a letter grade using the following:

Numeric Grade	Letter Grade
93-100	A
90-92	A-
87-89	B+
83-86	B
80-82	B-
77-79	C+
73-76	C
70-72	C-
60-69	D
59 and below	F

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