ENGR 125CS: Technology, Innovation, and Society

Dec. 7 (Fri)

Last day of class!  Congratulations!

All groups meet in the REGULAR CLASSROOM (Wilson 1-132).

Presentations by Groups M, N, O.

Self/Peer review sheets are due by the end of class today.

The final group papers are due by the end of the day on MONDAY, December 10.

Dec. 5 (Wed)

Groups A, B, C,  G, H, I,   M, N, and O need to go to the REGULAR CLASSROOM (Wilson 1-132).

Presentations by Groups G, H, I.

Groups D, E, F,  J, K, and L  need to go DIRECTLY to the EPS building, Room 108.

Presentations by Groups J, K, L.

Dec. 3 (Mon)

Groups A, B, C,  G, H, I,   M, N, and O need to go to the REGULAR CLASSROOM (Wilson 1-132).

Presentations by Groups A, B, C.

Groups D, E, F,  J, K, and L  need to go DIRECTLY to the EPS building, Room 108.

Presentations by Groups D, E, F.

Nov. 30 (Fri)

Groups B, C, and D must bring FOUR COPIES of your group's draft report.  All the other groups must bring THREE COPIES of your group's draft report.

Also:  score information summaries for individual class work up to the group report will be distributed during class.

NOTE:  The presentation schedule for next week is as follows:

Groups A, B, C,  G, H, I,   M, N, and O need to go to the REGULAR CLASSROOM (Wilson 1-132) on each day next week (12/3, 12/5, and 12/7).  Groups {A, B, and C} will present on Monday; Groups {G, H, I} will present on Wednesday, and Groups {M, N, and O} will present on Friday.

Groups D, E, F,  J, K, and L  need to go DIRECTLY to the EPS building, Room 108, on Monday and Wednesday next week (12/3 and 12/5).   Groups {D, E, and F} will present on Monday, and groups {J, K, and L} will present on Wednesday.  These groups will all go to the regular classroom (Wil 1-132) on Friday.

Nov. 28 (Wed)

Activity:  team meetings in class

Course wrap-up and arrangements for peer reviews and oral reports.

Nov. 26 (Mon)

Activity:  team meetings in class

NOTE:  we will do the official course/instructor evaluation (Knapp form) during class on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Nov. 21 (Wed) and 23 (Fri)

NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Holiday).

Here is some information about the history of Thanksgiving in the U.S.

Nov. 19 (Mon)

Activity:  team meetings in class

DUE: preliminary reference list (a hardcopy list of at least six references, three from print media, three from web; one list per group)
 

Nov. 16 (Fri)

Activity:  team meetings in class
 

Here is the list of teams and assigned project topics.

(attendance required)

(attendance required)

Lecture:  Engineering now and in the future--the engineer of 2020.

Assignment: For Monday 11/5/07, read Chapter 6 (Rachel Carson) in Cullen, and Chapter 8 (Water and Society) in Petroski.

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 6, Rachel Carson, pp. 85-100 (Environmental awareness; pesticide overuse).

Reading: Petroski, Chapter 8, Water and Society, pp. 141-159 (Water supply and removal, sewers, design problems, reference to Louis Pasteur and Rachel Carson).

In-class activity 1:  Engineering disciplines and their characteristics (review hw sheets).

In-class activity 2:  Engineering problem solving.

A lifeguard needs to reach a struggling swimmer as quickly as possible. No boat is available.

The struggling swimmer is 80 yards down the beach and 50 yards off shore, relative to the lifeguard.

The lifeguard can run along the beach at a speed of 4 yards per second, and she can swim through the water at a speed of 1 yard per second.

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In order to reach the swimmer in as short a time as possible, how far along the shore should she run (point "X") before jumping in the water and swimming?  What is the minimum time required?

Here's an example analytical solution.

Lecture/activity:  The engineering design process as a creative enterprise.  Example:  mission planning for sending a probe to Mars. In-class activity.

Lecture:  History of engineering as an academic and professional discipline

Assignment: In-class handout sheet.  Look up information regarding one of the major engineering disciplines (electrical, mechanical, civil, or chemical).  Due at the start of class next Wednesday (10/31).

Presentation: photographs and discussion of Worldwide Plaza impact, 18 years later.

Discussion:  course/instructor eval results and implications

Lecture:  History of engineering as an academic and professional discipline

Lecture:  video presentation of "Skyscraper" part 4 (with in-class worksheet).
 

Reminder:  there will be a quiz on the reading assignment in class on Wednesday, October 24.

Midterm course/instructor evaluation (in class):  if you were not in class and would like contribute to the survey, please print and fill out this form and bring to class on Monday.

Activity:  experience with engineering expression via writing task instructions.  Note:  here is a web site with lots of shoelace knots.  Note that diagrams are used to make things clear:  text-only instructions would be difficult!

Assignment: Read Chapters 4 and 5 of the Cullen book.  Quiz in class next Wednesday.

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 4, Sir Fredrick G. Banting,, pp. 49-66 (Discoverer of insulin).

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 5, J. Robert Oppenheimer, pp. 67-84 (Construction of the first nuclear weapon).  Was Oppenheimer using the methods of a scientist, an engineer, or both?  What motivated the Manhattan Project staff?

Midterm essay DUE at the start of class

Lecture:  current space shuttle launch decision, and obligation of society to the survivors of the Minneapolis bridge collapse. 

How does the current launch decision--in spite of the contrary recommendation by the NASA safety panel--reflect the issues we discussed regarding the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report?

What should our society do to compensate those who are harmed by civil structure failures, such as the Minneapolis collapse?  What about the compensation of World Trade Center victims and their families?  What about the aftermath of Katrina?

Looking into the future, what provisions have been made--or should be made--to compensate losses in anticipation of the inevitable earthquakes that will strike in California (or in Bozeman...)?

Midterm essay MANDATORY peer review session.

This is a reminder of what I announced in class today regarding the midterm essay mandatory peer review process to be held during class time on Monday, October 15. Your essay grade will depend upon your active participation in the peer review.

Bring TWO COPIES of your draft midterm essay.

Students with last names A-Kwill report to the regular classroom (Wilson 1-132).

Students with last names L-Z will report directly to EPS 108. Do NOT go to the regular classroom first.

EPS is the Engineering and Physical Sciences building, located on Grant Street just east of the SUB. Enter the main lobby and turn left (north) and look for room 108 up the hall on the left.   http://www.montana.edu/campusmap/buildings/eps.html

Please pass the word to any of your classmates who missed class on Friday.

Peer review form example.

Reminder:  the final copy of the midterm essay is due at the START of class on Wednesday, October 17.

Guest Lecture:  Prof. Tim LeCain (MSU History Dept.), on the role of the Cold War in spurring aerospace technological developments.

Lecture:  video presentation of "Skyscraper" part 3 (with in-class worksheet).
(sky3 .wmv file {131MB})

Here are some photos of the Worldwide Plaza area today.  Note that the lower level along the street is currently covered with scaffolding and workers are re-caulking all the stonework seams.

NO ENGR 125 CLASS this day (instructor out of town).  Please use this time to work on your mid term essay assignment.

Cost-benefit ("utilitarianism") activity: Three Gorges Dam (in-class group assignment)

Lecture:  Engineering as a profession and as an academic discipline: history since the 19th century.

Assignment:  The Midterm Essay Assignment was handed out and discussed in class.  A required peer review session will be on on 10/15/2007--bring two copies of your draft essay.  Final due date 10/17/2007.

Discussion of Skyscraper presentation, parts 1&2.

Lecture/in-class activity: interpreting data in engineering terms, with example on climate change.

Lecture: video presentation of "Skyscraper" part 2.

In-class worksheet assignment.

Considering of the  Columbia Accident Investigation Board report (cont.)

Classifying CAIB recommendations according to organizational "breakdown modes." (in-class assignment)

Discussion of Petroski reading assignment (didn't get to this--will cover next week).

Considering of the  Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report. What does the Columbia accident and its subsequent investigation teach us about technology and society?

Categories of organizational breakdowns:

• Relentless pressure to achieve a schedule causes a series of subtle losses and weaknesses that pile up until a failure occurs.

• The increasing acceptance of past success as an indication of lower risk and confidence in continued success, rather than remaining vigilant and anticipating new and unexpected failure modes.

• Focus on tackling a series of seemingly small problems without a mechanism to observe more ominous changes or larger trends.

• Reliance on initial assessment data and assumptions even when new and possibly conflicting data comes in.

• The "silo" effect:  failure in communications and responsibility when crossing arbitrary organizational structures and boundaries.

Wrap-up on section 1 of the course:  what is engineering, why do engineers do what they do.

Discuss video presentation from Wednesday.

In class activity:  constraints exercise.

Reading Assignment for Monday:  Excerpts from the Columbia Accident Investigation:

- Synopsis
- History as a Cause
- Implications for future space flight
- Recommendations
 

Assignment for Wednesday: Read Chapter 6 of the Petroski book. Be ready to discuss next week on Wednesday.

Reading: Petroski, Chapter 6, Facsimile and Networks, pp. 104-119 (Facsimile (fax) machine, telephone networks, socio-cultural factors).

Lecture:  video presentation of "Skyscraper" part 1.

Here is a copy of the worksheet handout .

DUE:Essay #1 is due at the start of class.

Patents and intellectual property.  Link to the US Patent and Trademark Office and to the Google patent search site.

U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8.

Patent worksheet (for patents distributed in class).

(In case you are interested, your instructor is listed as inventor on three U.S. Patents: 6078669,  6111958, and 6301603 , and one pending application ).

Quiz on reading assignments: Chapter 2 of Petroski (paper clips) and Chapter 7 of Cullen (William Shockley).

Working within constraints: finding the optimum solution to a need while balancing cost, safety, efficiency, availability, etc.

Assignment:Homework Essay #1 (assigned in class).  The due date will be next Wednesday (Sept. 19) at the start of class.

World Trade Center:  investigation of the collapse circumstances, and the implications for technology and society.

Disasters and safety responses:  the role of engineering.

Here is a link to the World Trade Center investigation web site produced by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Discussion and in-class writing assignment on "Zippers".

Paper clip experiment and considerations for engineering uncertainty.

(continue reading assignment from Friday)

For the few students who still do not have a copy of the Cullen book, here is copy of Chapter 7 (William Shockley).

Visit by Berk Knighton, Montana Space Grant Consortium Borealis Balloon Project.

Discuss WTC video:  what did the World Trade Center represent as an artifact of technology?  What did it represent as a social/political artifact?

Assignment: Read Chapter 2 of the Petroski book and Chapter 7 of Cullen. Be ready to discuss next week on Wednesday and Friday.

Reading: Petroski, Chapter 2, Paper Clips and Design, pp. 8-42 (Material properties, forming wire into clips, function and competition, patents).

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 7, William Shockley, pp. 33-48 (Transistor Co-Inventor).

Sept. 5 (Wed)

View in-class video presentation:  "World Trade Center Requiem"

Video worksheet (filled out and handed in during class)

For those of you who have not yet received the course textbooks, here is a copy of Chapter 4 of the Petroski book (this week's reading assignment).

Sept. 3 (Mon)

Labor Day Holiday (no MSU classes; offices closed)

Aug. 31 (Fri)

Discussion, notebook essay, and quiz on reading assignment.

Assignment: Read Chapter 4 of the Petroski book.  Consider how the development of zipping fasteners follows an engineering process.

Reading: Petroski, Chapter 4, Zippers and Development, pp. 66-88 (Incremental improvement of hookless fasteners, plastic zippers, Velcro, and zip-closed plastic bags).

Aug. 29 (Wed)

What is the difference between science and engineering? Is this distinction important to society?

The "scientific method" and the "engineering method"

Portrayal of engineers in popular media

Aug. 27 (Mon)

First class meeting at 2:10PM in Wilson Hall 1-132.

Course introduction and overview.

Consideration of how the engineering field (and engineers) are viewed in popular culture.

First day questionnaire (.pdf)

Assignment: Between now and the start of class on Friday (8/31), Read Chapters 1-3 of the Cullen book.  Think about whether you would consider Pasteur, Curie, and Marconi to be scientists or engineers.  Why do you think so?

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 1, Louis Pasteur,, pp. 1-18 (Co-credited for the germ theory of disease and developed first vaccines).

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 2, Marie Curie,, pp. 19-32 (Discovery of the elements Radium and Polonium).

Reading:  Cullen, Chapter 3, Guglielmo Marconi, pp. 33-48 (First transatlantic radio transmission).

Assignment:  Look for headlines in the newspaper or on the web that have a connection to the engineering field, and bring to class on Wednesday and Friday.  Examples: Engineers Worry About New Orleans Levees, Comair Flight Took Off From Wrong Runway, NASA moving Atlantis back to Vehicle Assembly Building.

NOTE:  If you were not able to find the Cullen book in the bookstore, please email me and I will bring photocopies of the first few chapters to class on Wednesday.