Engineering: Flavors, Models and Systems
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Transcript of Engineering: Flavors, Models and Systems
Engineering: Flavors, Models and SystemsBite of Science Presentation, 26 September 2012
Barrett S. Caldwell, PhDProfessor, School of Industrial Engineering / Aeronautics & Astronautics Director, Indiana Space Grant Consortium
I’m a Systems Engineer!Studying How People Get, Share, and
Use Information Well, in Teams◦I was on the faculty of Industrial
Engineering at Univ. Wisconsin, 1990-2000◦I’ve been at Purdue since 2000
My undergraduate degrees are in Aeronautics / Astronautics, and Humanities (Psychology), from MIT
My graduate degrees are in Psychology, from Univ. California—Davis
Why I’m an EngineerI stayed up on Christmas Eve to
listen to (Indiana native) Astronaut Frank Borman on Apollo 8
Building Rockets, Reading Science & Fiction, Psychology, Writing (Things I Loved)
Supportive Teachers and High School Introduction to Engineering (MITE) Program
ModelsA model is a simplified
description of the world. Models help us ask and answer the right questions, and test how to solve problems.
There is no one “right” or “best” model. Different models answer different questions.
Models Are Interactive Engineering Tools
Courtesy Carol Stwalley, Minority Engineering Program
SystemsSystems are groups of items and
their connections that are organized and function together.
Studying engineering systems is one of “grain size”. The definition of system that works best is the one that helps focus on the questions most important to you.
Models Help Us Study How Real Systems Work
Courtesy Carol Stwalley, Minority Engineering Program
Passion and ProductivityBeing an engineer (for me) is
about passion: internal motivations, not just external expectations
Doing things I loved, and doing well
Positive outcomes, external and internal
Don’t You Have to Love Math and Science?
Ask a medical doctor if she or he liked Organic Chemistry (probably not)◦Being good at it is important; loving it for
recreation is not.◦There are lots of areas of math, and many different
kinds of science I don’t like biology or bugsFluid dynamics has equations I find really hardI don’t do Engineering instead of people; I do
Engineering to study people better ◦Math and Science are good ways to talk about a
subject—you can be consistent and specific
Flavors of Systems EngineeringNot Everyone Agrees on What
Systems Engineering (or Systems, or Engineering) Means
Some Ideas and Examples to Think about, and Use with Students◦I’m not good at K-12 lesson plans or
exercises◦I will talk about some examples I’ve
seen or tried to use
Systems Engineering 1, 2How Things Connect
◦Factors that relate to each other: relationships, time, flows
◦Ecology webs, How many students in a school, Ordering toys for Christmas sales
◦Note that we don’t have to talk about math yetMathematical Descriptions
◦Some of the people I work with love to spend their time here
◦Fox-rabbit populations, Dangers of unvaccinated kids, Forces on rockets as they burn fuel
Systems Engineering 3, 4Parts, Wholes, and How to Put Things
Together◦ Instructions and rules for creating and
using things◦How to build models and things that
work, over and overRules for Managing Projects
◦Timelines, milestones, who does what in which order
◦Some people call this management◦This isn’t really complex math either
Who Can Do Engineering? (More than you think)
Courtesy Carol Stwalley, Minority Engineering Program
Teach Your Kids to Be Engineers!Lego™ are fantastic ways to
teach and learn about building a complex thing out of simple pieces◦The instructions are engineering
process rules ◦Exercises at: http://ceeo.tufts.edu
Airplane and Rocket Models◦These are tools for asking and
answering questions, too◦HS and College students can keep
doing this
Issues in Doing “Real” EngineeringReal Engineering isn’t about
memorizing lots of math equations; it’s about solving problems◦Read
Chris Rogers’ thoughts on STEM education
My frustration about single-purpose Lego™ and over-constrained tasks◦Learning to explore, find out what
might (not) work… being okay with failing and learning
Great Examples of Engaging Young Engineers (with Project Activities)Purdue Space Day
◦~150 undergrads and grads, Purdue alum astronaut, >500 kids (grades 3-8)
◦Each fall, Purdue football not home (logistics)◦Examples of Activities
Grades 3-4 Grades 5-6 Grades 7-8
◦Past Activity Books? Interesting for you?NASA Rockets to Race Cars
◦Celebrate Science, Oct 6
Questions and Thank YouBarrett Caldwell
Indiana Space Grant Consortium◦http://www.insgc.org◦[email protected]◦765.494.5873