Transforming Engineering Education

1. Transforming Engineering Education Mathcounts Punahou School February 19, 2011 Prof. Anthony Kuh, University of Hawaii

2. Outline • University of Hawai’i Mānoa, College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering Overview • Trends in Engineering Education

3. UH Mānoa at a Glance • Founded: 1907 • Location: Mānoa Valley, Island of O`ahu Academics • Average class size: 24 • Colleges: 11 • Schools: 9 • Degrees: • Bachelor’s degrees in 87 fields • Master’s degrees in 87 fields • Doctoral degrees in 51 fields • Professional degrees in 3 fields • Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Faculty • Full-time faculty: 1,272 • Student-faculty ratio: 16:1

4. UH Mānoa at a Glance Students Total student population: 20,005 • Undergraduate: 13,781 • Graduate: 6,224 Hawaii (in-state) students: 69 percent Ethnic Diversity Out of state students: 21 percent African American: 1.2 percent International students: 10 percent Asian: 47.8 percent States represented: 50 Caucasian: 22.9 percent Countries represented: 103 Hawaiian: 9.7 percent Male/female ratio: 44:56 Hispanic: 2.5 percent Mixed: 10.3 percent Pacific Islander: 4.0 percent Other: 1.6 percent

5. UH Mānoa at a Glance Research • Only one of 13 institutions with distinction of being a land, sea and space-grant research institution. • Classified by Carnegie Foundation as having “very high research activity.” • Ranked by NSF in the top 30 public universities in federal research funding for engineering and science. • In ’09-’10 UH was awarded over $460M in external grants and contracts, mostly from UH Mānoa.

6. Celebrated 100 years of Engineering Education at UH Mānoa in 2008 Holmes Hall College of Engineering Programs ABET accredited

7. Vision Re-Engineering our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future The College of Engineering will be recognized as an indispensible facet of sustainable living and high-tech growth in Hawaii and Asia Pacific, leading the development of physical and cyber infrastructures to meet the increasingly complex needs of society, while contributing to nationally prominent engineering challenges.

8. Departments & Programs • Department of Electrical Engineering – BS, MS, PhD & Computer Engineering – BS • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering – BS, MS, PhD • Department of Mechanical Engineering – BS, MS, PhD

9. Some Statistics ~60 faculty ~750 undergrad students ~220 pre-engineering students ~180 grad students ~$8M/yr. external research expenditures ~$1.5M/yr. gifts

10. Student Enrollment Undergraduate Average Time to Degree = 5.42 years Average graduates per year = 138

11. Principal Employers • Naval Shipyards • Construction companies • State agencies – e.g. Department of Transportation • Large military suppliers - Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, SAIC, Raytheon,…….usually on the US Mainland • Other State entities – e.g. Hawaiian Electric Co. (local utility) • Growing number of high-tech and renewable energy companies in Hawaii

12. Outreach and Interfacing to Community The College has played an increasing role in K-12 STEM outreach with assistance from the State, the Department of Education and contributing companies. The College has also been one of the principal supporters of the many K-12 robotics contests that take place all over the islands. The College’s Career Fairs, twice a year, provide many companies in Hawaii and the US west coast access to its students and reciprocally help its students hone their skills and presentations as they move into the work force.

13. Research Foci • Autonomous, Unmanned Systems • Biomedical Engineering • Coastal Infrastructure • Water, Waste and Environmental Engineering • Communications, Radar and Cyber Physical Systems • Computer Engineering and Computer Modeling & Simulation • Recycling, Re-manufacturing and Corrosion • Renewable energy

14. Selected Programs • Hawai‘i Space Flight Lab. (HSFL) - joint with School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology (SOEST) • Hawai‘i Center for Advanced Communications (HCAC) • Member of UHM Water Resources Research Center • Local Technology Assistance Program (LTAP) – Transportation • National Center for Island, Maritime and Extreme Environment Security(CIMES) – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center, joint with SOEST and partnered with University of Alaska and University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez • Renewable Energy and Island Security (REIS) • Retention Program for Native Hawaiian Engineering and Science Students • K-12 Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Outreach

15. EE History • EE dept. started about 50 years ago with first graduating class in 1961 • Established strength in communications, coding, and networks in 60s and 70s • ALOHA project: In 1970 ARPA funded project in EE that had critical impact on development of Internet • In 80s built Physical Electronics Lab, started computer area, and expanded department • In 90s several EE faculty were successful in communication and IT startups (lost many faculty to both industry and other academic institutions)

16. Electrical Engineering Highlights (2009-2011) • Currently 220 UG students, 70 Graduate students, 20 faculty • Computer Engineering approved by BOR last year. • Successfully went through ABET accreditation • Established multidisciplinary Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability (REIS) group • Received internal and external funding • HKN won three outstanding chapter awards

17. Undergraduate Experience • Curriculum • Classes • Science and Math • Engineering • General • Laboratories • Projects • Student activities (clubs, programs) • Other activities (outreach, industry)

18. Computer Electrophysics Systems Analog & Mixed Signal Circuits Physical Electronics Microwave Electronics Bioelectronics Architecture VLSI circuits Software Networking Communications Control Systems Signal Processing Networking Project Courses General Education Fundamental EE Courses Chemistry Physics Calculus Undergraduate Curriculum Tracks Electives Hands on projects and laboratories

19. Computer Electrophysics Systems ICS 141 Discrete Math Project Courses General Education Fundamental EE Courses Chemistry Physics Calculus Computer EngineeringUndergraduate Curriculum

20. Facilities • Undergrad Instructional Facilities Comm., Controls Signal Proc. Networking Lab Physical Electronics Lab (PEL) 3 Instructional Circuits Labs Power Systems, Electronics Lab EE Shared Computing Lab EM and Optics Instructional Lab

21. Design Projects • Webpage listing projects: 196/296/396/496 • Individual and team projects • EE496: Senior capstone design project • Major design content • Writing intensive • Topics incorporate (2 of following) • Data collection & analysis, design methodology, design tools, instruments • Program Outcomes

22. Undergraduate Research Research gives undergraduate students a chance to • Work on design projects (x96) • Recruitment tool for graduate school Multidisciplinary Research Projects in EE • Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability Group • Green Holmes Hall Initiative • COCONETS (Coding Communications Networks Security) Lab • Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering • Small satellite program • Physical Electronics Lab (MEMs, Nano)

23. Student Clubs and Programs • IEEE (Institute of Electrical And Electronics Engineers) Student Chapter • HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) EE honor society • SWE (The Society of Women Engineers) Student Chapter • NHSEMP (Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program)

24. IEEE Recent Events HCATT Tour Volunteering At Head Start Volunteering Engineering Alumni Golf Tournament IEEE Halloween BBQ

25. Other Activities • Interface with industry • Career fairs • Summer student intern programs • Coop programs • Outreach • Assist in recruitment of K-12 student into STEM careers • Mentors for K-12 students • Presentations (COE Banquet, Open House) • Community Projects

26. COE and EE Activities

27. Engineering Education Thoughts • Careers in engineering • Engineering education perspectives • Trends in education • Developing expertise • Engineering education concerns • Transforming engineering education Many ideas taken from talk by Dr. Don Lewis Millard, NSF

28. Careers in Engineering • Well paying stable jobs • Diversity of jobs • Areas: healthcare, information technology, transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment • Type of company: Aerospace/Defense, Information Technology, Energy/Utility, Consulting, Startup • Making an impact on society

29. Engineering Education • Solid training in fundamentals (math, science, engineering) • Understanding of design • Using computers and internet technology • Good communication skills, working in teams • High ethical standards • Understanding global, societal, environmental issues • Life long learning

30. BUT, there are major concerns • Education costs • National trends • Engineering curriculum • Too tough • Not exciting • Underrepresented groups discouraged

31. Educational Costs Family costs: ~1.5X Medical costs: ~2.5X College: ~4.4X “Measuring up 2008”

32. Wrong direction “Measuring up 2008”

33. …and it is getting worse “Measuring up 2008”

34. Present Challenge • Erosion of our national “educational capital” is occurring just when we need more college educational workers • Baby boomers retiring • Increasing skill requirements are necessary for new engineering related jobs “Dr. Don Millard”

35. White House Perspective “Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future –if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas – then we also have to win the race to educate our kids” “Dr. Don Millard”

36. Perceptions about Science/Engineering Consistent across scientists/engineers in discipline “C. Wieman adapted from D. Hammer”

37. What does it take to be an expert? • Expert has • Factual knowledge • Mental organizational framework -> retrieval and application • Ability to monitor own thinking and learning (Do I understand this? How can I check ?) • New way of thinking: requires many hours of intense practice to develop (10000 hours) (Anders Ericcson) • Also applicable to athletes, musicians, scientists, doctors “Dr. Don Millard”

38. Historic transformations in engineering education • Science-based engineering • Computer in the classroom • Active, team-based learning • Widespread internet access • Jam-packed curriculum …. “Dr. Don Millard”

39. Dr. Millard comments that • Active classrooms trumps passive classrooms • Reflection fosters re-organization of thinking for deep learning • Students will learn more if provided less at any given time (average capacity of memory is 7 chunks) 8089567527 vs. (808)-956-7527

40. Engineering workforce issues • Industry needs a combination of left/right brain thinking • Engineering jobs require good research, synthesis, systems integration abilities • China is trying to become more innovative, while the US is trying to become more rigorous (it is better to be the US) • Need to stimulate, enable, and foster creativity (Why did Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,& Mark Zuckerberg drop out of college?) “Dr. Don Millard”

41. Why engineering students leave • Poor performance in intro math/science courses • Coursework too restrictive for students’ varied interests • Perception that other classes are more fun – view engineering as a competitive and uncaring field • A feeling of isolation from the rest of the university – due to the workload, lack of cross disciplinary opportunities “Dr. Don Millard”

42. Why engineering students leave • Lack of role models – especially for women and underrepresented minority students • Poor advising & teaching – combined with a lack of exposure to engineering early on … leads to discouragement and departure • Fear of outsourcing • Lack of connection between what is studied and perceived as exciting practice “Dr. Don Millard”

43. Promising strategies • Guided inquiry • Concept inventories • Peer-led team learning • Problem-based learning • Active recall of information • Effective use of technology “Dr. Don Millard”

44. Engineering education is constantly changing and depends to a great extent on feedback from our constituents: • Students • Parents • Administration • Industry • Alumni • Accreditation (WASC, ABET)

45. Mahalo!!! Anthony Kuh 808-956-7527 kuh@hawaii.edu