Knowledge or Skills

The advancement of computing has created a great challenge in today's engineering education. J.K. Yates explores this divide in her article "Engineering Knowledge versus Skills" in ASCE's Leadership and Management in Engineering Journal. She discusses the debate between whether or not it is best to teach engineering fundamentals or "Knowledge", or if it is best to teach engineering "Skills" or software manipulation. She states that there is a debate between many engineering faculty and professionals regarding this issue. Some argue that the skills of computer software should be taught in the classroom as that is what will be relied upon in the industry. However, others contend that if knowledge is taught in the classroom, young engineers can easily learn the software skills and will be able to recognize inconsistencies in the software results.

I know where I stand on this issue, but you may believe different. I feel that it is absurd to replace engineering fundamentals with teaching software in the classroom. I will admit that a short course in AutoCAD and LandDesktop Software specific to Civil Engineering would have been beneficial for our Capstone Design Project. However, it is hard to believe how anyone feel safe leaving engineering judgment to someone who only understood how to input data into a computer with no "Knowledge" of how the results should appear.

It is difficult though to determine what level of computing should be incorporated into the classroom setting. If students are completely unskilled in computer it will be very difficult for them to make the transition to the industry. However, most students today seem to be well versed general computing and far less concerned for the details. You decide an experienced, knowledgeable, fundamental engineer, or a highly skilled AutoCAD monkey.

The Little Black Box

In his article "Civil Engineering: A Way of Life" Michael Garrett describes the loss of tradition and care of the profession within engineering due to a thing called progress. He uses a story of an old farmer who was a pillar of his community. This farmer was always taking care of his farm and helping his neighbors in their difficult times to ensure that the community around him thrived. The farmer happened to have a son. Upon the birth of the son, the farmer built a small black box that he would carry with him on his walk around the boundaries of his farm every morning. The son grew up, went to the university to study agriculture, began to resent the traditions of his father, and embrace the new ideals of progress.

The father soon died and with his final breaths asked the son to maintain the tradition of walking the boundaries with the black box each morning. The son put the box on the shelf and forgot the ways of his father. Progress allowed the fences to tater, the cattle to flee, and the weeds to grow. The son also alienated the town which dwindled as it was lost to this thing called progress. Therefore, the once thriving community ceased to exist.

In the engineering community the tradition has long been for the senior engineers to pass along the knowledge of the profession to the younger generation. For centuries this knowledge has been passed along and many problems are solved by the logic of "well this is how we have always done it." Sure new methods have been developed, but the standard remains. In the last few years though, technology has made tremendous strides in the design field. It has opened new doors that were never dreamed of 50 or 100 years ago. This technology has alienated some of the older generation, and caused younger engineers to distance themselves in lieu of progress.

Garrett warns that if we as engineers want to ensure our place in society as the respected individuals within the community system, we must not put the little black box aside, and we must continue the traditions that we have always maintained, particularly our responsibility as the voice to maintain the safety of the community. Though the older generation may have difficulty keeping up with the progress, they are experts in paying attention to the finer details. After all, these are the guys that put a man on the moon, built the Hoover Dam, and any number of other amazing feats long before the additions of AutoCAD and the incredible computing tools of today. As engineers we need to remember to always revert to the basics and never to allow progress to impede our better judgment.

Entry Level Leaders

Ken Maschke discusses the viability for young engineers to take on prominent leadership rules within the engineering workplace in his article "So Crazy It Might Just Work" in ASCE's journal Leadership and Management in Engineering. He discusses the engineering challenges associated with the gulf oil spill and how no experience in this world could have prepared BP's engineers to plug the leak. What better opportunity for a young engineer to make their mark on history than to suggest the idea to finally stop the leak. He suggests a new age in engineering where technology is expanding the field and new opportunities are becoming available for women and other minorities. Maschke is calling for a new generation of engineers to step out and take the lead in the ever changing profession of civil engineering.

This particular issue in the journal is dedicated to women in Civil Engineering, if you are interested you can read more about 2 famous women engineers read here Engineering Legends.

Capstone

The ultimate finale to 4 years of a Civil Engineering education is now here, the Capstone design project. It can be a lot of fun but it can be just plain torturous as well depending on the group you are in. Some students choose their closest CE friends thinking that will make for a good group while others show up the first day not knowing who their group members will be. The class is divided into four person teams with each person taking on a certain expertise, structures, hydrology, site/transportation, and construction scheduling/cost estimating.

The task you are charged with is to recommend and design a facility on a certain piece of property at Clemson University. We are given a survey of the site and the decision on what to build and how to build it is left up to the group. There are four required submittals and  presentations, the proposal, the conceptual design, calculations, and the final report.

Our conceptual report was due on Wednesday and several groups spent Tuesday night working in the computer labs most of the evening. One of my team members stayed all night until 7 AM. Wednesday in lab was spent assembling our documents and trying to hold our heads up off of the desk. All in all though we did well. We turned our report in with about 45 minutes to spare. Halfway home, but its definitely an uphill road.

Smart Mobs

Tuesday in class we spoke about this ideal of the smart mob and the implications that it has for our society. Technology has greatly transformed our society and the general flow of knowledge within different circles of life. The Internet and text messaging have allowed us to transfer large quantities of information to great numbers of different individuals within a matter of seconds. A friend of mine is living in Australia and it is amazing how we can Skype with each other with very little noticeable delay.

The advancement of knowledge were once a mostly individual effort. Sure there was some collaboration between scientist and student/apprentice but most of the great discoveries were made by individual who dedicated there lives to research a particular topic. Today devices such as the Internet have allowed collaboration and the transfer of information between many individuals working concurrently on a given project. Information can be shared around the world in just a few seconds where in days gone by it could have taken months or even years to receive correspondence.

The smart mob dynamic appears to improve the overall accuracy of the facts being presented. While medias such as Wikipedia do allow for the possibility of sabotage, most users I believe hope to aid in increasing the accuracy of the work. After all what we perceive as scientific fact are merely the observations of others before us that we have agreed to believe. Over time we have modified them to improve upon the accuracy of most of these concepts there by creating a more perfect fit model due to various observations and opinions. The smart mob, thanks to technology, has merely expedited this process.

Group Projects

Today in class we talked about working in groups and working on group projects. We talked about the different roles that are often present within groups such as the controller, passive aggressive, mute, etc. I thought that these stereotypes were quite typical and began to think about what role I usually played in group settings.

I would characterize myself as either the controller or the mute guy depending on the situation. I tend to stay in the background as long as someone has asserted themselves as the leader and don't offer much input as long as I believe that the project is progressing in the appropriate direction. I would rather not cause conflict or take charge unless it is absolutely necessary for the completion of the project.

I don't believe this approach is the best but I believe that it does keep the group more focused at times without one more person adding to the mindless chatter within the group. I typically try to avoid being the passive aggressive or pseudo productive types by not over-promising and under-delivering or by criticizing others work when I have made no other comments beforehand.

Group projects are always interesting especially if you get stuck with the slacker, but being able to identify the strengths and roles of each member makes for a much better experience.

Technically Humanistic

Carolyn Miller argues for the humanistic value of Technical Writing in her essay, "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing. She describes the necessary ability for professionals such as scientist and engineers to be able to effectively communicate through their writing. More importantly she speaks of the importance for the writings of these individuals to take on a more rhetorical or persuasive context. Though most scientific writing is meant strictly to be factual and unbiased, all scientist and engineers must obtain good persuasive writing skills if they hope to maintain a good living.

Most projects completed by either scientist, engineers, or the like in some shape or form require the writing of proposals and other presentations. Being an effective writer can make the difference between getting a job, grant, or other source of funding. The ability to persuade people who may have little or no technical background that your project is the best and to convince them that you have the necessary skill to complete the task are great assets.

I also agree with her intro and conclusion remarks that technical writing should be allowed to fill a humanities requirement for the technically minded students. A well rounded education is an asset, but if more time was dedicated to the more relevant areas of writing where the engineer or scientist could master the skills necessary for communal communication the educational experience would be more effective. I believe that this course would be more effective if taken at the freshman or sophomore level at the latest.