Joan Tisdale

Research: Sustainability May Be Under-Prioritized in Mechanical Engineering Courses

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 15:16:06 +0000

Research: Sustainability May Be Under-Prioritized in Mechanical Engineering Courses Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/07/2024 - 09:16

A review of undergraduate Mechanical Engineering programs at 100 universities worldwide found only 43 that included sustainability topics in at least one required course, and seven included sustainability in five or more courses.

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Study offers roadmap for integrating sustainability into mechanical engineering curricula

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 20:54:32 +0000

Study offers roadmap for integrating sustainability into mechanical engineering curricula Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/13/2023 - 14:54

Grace Wilson

"Sustainability in Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Courses at 100 Universities," published in The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Open Engineering Journal, offers inspiration for educators working to integrate sustainable engineering principles in their courses.

Study author Joany Tisdale, a teaching assistant professor in the Integrated Design Engineering program, said, "To me, this work is exciting and impactful because it can serve as a beginning roadmap for mechanical engineering programs and professors seeking to include sustainability."

The research, sourced from data involving 100 universities—90 in the United States and 10 international—aimed to characterize the current state of sustainability within undergraduate ME courses. It found that a commendable number of mechanical engineering programs have started incorporating sustainability into their curriculum.

A noteworthy finding was that only 43 out of the 100 benchmarked institutions included sustainability topics in at least one required undergraduate ME course. This number increased to 83 institutions when elective undergraduate ME courses were included, such as renewable energy and global engineering courses. Seven universities stood out by weaving sustainability themes into five or more required courses.

Sustainability was most commonly integrated into required courses in thermodynamics, engineering design, introduction to engineering and heat transfer. The authors identified an area of growth in including all three sustainability pillars—environmental, social and economic—as evidence of this inclusion was somewhat lacking.

While the findings draw attention to the move toward a sustainable future in the mechanical engineering sector, it also underscores the potential for wider integration. The hope, Tisdale said, is that this study will not only provide a clearer picture of the current landscape but also serve as a catalyst for a more pronounced sustainability focus in ME programs globally.

A comprehensive study highlights the promising integration of sustainability within mechanical engineering (ME) programs across universities, offering a roadmap for educators aspiring to emphasize its principles in their curricula.

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Integrated Design Engineering Faculty present at ASEE annual conference

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:14:47 +0000

Integrated Design Engineering Faculty present at ASEE annual conference Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/11/2022 - 13:14

IDE faculty contributed to national efforts to improve engineering education at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference in June 26-29, 2022.

Mindy Zarske presented 'Female student attitudes towards engineering: Are they influenced by the roles the take on project teams?' and 'WIP: ASEE Year of Impact on Racial Equity: P-12 Parents and Guardians Engagement'

Joan Tisdale presented 'Range of Practices of Sustainability Incorporation into First-Year General Engineering Design Course' (co-authored by Katherine Ramos and Angela Bielefeldt) and 'Sustainability Inclusion Efforts in Three Unique First-Year Engineering Courses' (co-authored by Bielefeldt).

Bielefeldt authored 10 papers presented in the Civil Engineering, Engineering Ethics, Military and Veterans, Technological and Engineering Literacy / Philosophy of Engineering, and the Educational Research and Methods divisions. A paper she co-authored with her former doctoral student Dr. Rebecca Komarek was selected as the Best Paper from the Engineering Leadership Development Division.

IDE faculty contributed to national efforts to improve engineering education at the 2022 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference.

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