"Engineering Models I"

Engineering Models I is a first-year undergraduate course that has also been taught as a dual-enrollment engineering program to hundreds of high school students.

This is the first in a unique sequence of interdisciplinary courses designed to develop good problem solving techniques and to illustrate how engineers use mathematics to solve a variety of practical and often complex problems. The course will closely track and directly apply fundamental theory from algebra, trigonometry, and calculus to relevant engineering applications chosen from a variety of disciplines. MATLAB will be introduced and progressively developed as a programming tool to enable students to explore engineering concepts, to investigate solutions to problems too complex for hand solutions, and to develop an appreciation of the power and limitations of computer tools. Special attention will be given to graphical visualization of concepts and to numerical approximation techniques and the errors associated with approximations. The course includes a two-week team project.

Learning Outcomes

• Explore the application of algebra, trigonometry, and calculus to various engineering disciplines.
• Learn the fundamentals of programming and good programming practices and utilize these skills to solve numerical problems and create numerical algorithms with MATLAB.
• Develop good problem solving skills by applying problem solving strategies to a variety of engineering problems.
• Cultivate effective team-work and communication skills through lab work and a team project.