EE and ME – Together Again: Forging a BSE from BSEE and BSME Programs

Dennis A. Silage; Keyanoush Sadeghipour

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Merging Disciplines: Practice and Benefits
Tagged Division: Multidisciplinary Engineering
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--28200
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/28200
Download Count: 557

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Paper Authors

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Dennis A. Silage Temple University

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Dennis Silage received the PhD in EE from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Temple University, teaches digital data communication, digital signal and image processing and embedded processing systems. He is also the Director of the Interdisciplinary Engineering program in the College of Engineering. Dr. Silage is past chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Division of ASEE, recipient of the 2007 ASEE National Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2011 ASEE ECE Division Meritorious Service Award.

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Keyanoush Sadeghipour Temple University

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Keya Sadeghipour is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering and serves as the Dean of the College of Engineering since 2003. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK which is now the University of Manchester. He has been involved in receiving over $7 M funding from various industrial and government sources and has been the principle author of numerous papers in national/international journals and publications. He is a fellow of the ASME and a PEV for the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) as well as member of several national and international organizations.

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Abstract

An unfortunate premise is that neither the undergraduate Electrical Engineering (EE) or Mechanical Engineering (ME) degree programs can accommodate within their curriculum substantive EE or ME courses. This is predicated on the current premise that both the EE and ME disciplines seem to be rigid within their threads and prerequisites. Yet there is a natural intersection between EE and ME for continued professional opportunities in the 21st century.

To break this seeming impasse an interdisciplinary program between EE and ME has been initiated as one aspect of an Engineering (BSE) degree. There are interdisciplinary plans of study for Electromechanical Engineering (EME) and Energy and Power Engineering (EPE). Although such Engineering programs are often offered in a separate academic department with their own faculty and courses, this interdisciplinary degree was established with a Program Director and administered in the College of Engineering, rather than within either the EE or ME Departments.

Only existing courses in EE and ME with their prerequisites are integrated into the plans of study for the BSE degree. This implies no additional courses or faculty and assures compliance with the general criteria for accredited baccalaureate programs and utilization of existing assessment activities for the program educational objectives and student outcomes. However, the interdisciplinary Engineering program also uniquely within the College includes requisite courses in economics, business and management.

The EME program emphasizes electromagnetics, transducers, electronics, digital processing, mechanics of solids and machine theory and design to integrate these components into electromechanical devices and systems for automated manufacturing processes and robotics. The EPE program emphasizes electromagnetics, electrical power and electronics, electromechanical energy systems, energy generation and delivery and alternative energy resources and spans the control of large utility systems to energy harvesting devices for microsensors. The Director has the responsibility to insure all aspects of the program including continuous improvement of the interdisciplinary curricula, co-operative work study assignments, capstone design projects and professional employment. Faculty advisors from both EE and ME provide support for appropriate course selection, seamless integration and continuing professional development. This was important for success because once the interdisciplinary program was promulgated there were a number of transfers from the EE and ME degree programs.

The response of the constituents of the interdisciplinary BSE program has been encouraging. Described here is the EME and EPE curricula and the academic and administrative path to be taken in the development, but more importantly the pitfalls to be avoided, to establish such an interdisciplinary Engineering program from the EE and ME discipline programs garnered from the experience to date

Citation
Format

Silage, D. A., & Sadeghipour, K. (2017, June), EE and ME – Together Again: Forging a BSE from BSEE and BSME Programs Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28200

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - An unfortunate premise is that neither the undergraduate Electrical Engineering (EE) or Mechanical Engineering (ME) degree programs can accommodate within their curriculum substantive EE or ME courses. This is predicated on the current premise that both the EE and ME disciplines seem to be rigid within their threads and prerequisites. Yet there is a natural intersection between EE and ME for continued professional opportunities in the 21st century.

To break this seeming impasse an interdisciplinary program between EE and ME has been initiated as one aspect of an Engineering (BSE) degree. There are interdisciplinary plans of study for Electromechanical Engineering (EME) and Energy and Power Engineering (EPE). Although such Engineering programs are often offered in a separate academic department with their own faculty and courses, this interdisciplinary degree was established with a Program Director and administered in the College of Engineering, rather than within either the EE or ME Departments.

Only existing courses in EE and ME with their prerequisites are integrated into the plans of study for the BSE degree. This implies no additional courses or faculty and assures compliance with the general criteria for accredited baccalaureate programs and utilization of existing assessment activities for the program educational objectives and student outcomes. However, the interdisciplinary Engineering program also uniquely within the College includes requisite courses in economics, business and management.

The EME program emphasizes electromagnetics, transducers, electronics, digital processing, mechanics of solids and machine theory and design to integrate these components into electromechanical devices and systems for automated manufacturing processes and robotics. The EPE program emphasizes electromagnetics, electrical power and electronics, electromechanical energy systems, energy generation and delivery and alternative energy resources and spans the control of large utility systems to energy harvesting devices for microsensors.
 
The Director has the responsibility to insure all aspects of the program including continuous improvement of the interdisciplinary curricula, co-operative work study assignments, capstone design projects and professional employment. Faculty advisors from both EE and ME provide support for appropriate course selection, seamless integration and continuing professional development. This was important for success because once the interdisciplinary program was promulgated there were a number of transfers from the EE and ME degree programs.

The response of the constituents of the interdisciplinary BSE program has been encouraging. Described here is the EME and EPE curricula and the academic and administrative path to be taken in the development, but more importantly the pitfalls to be avoided, to establish such an interdisciplinary Engineering program from the EE and ME discipline programs garnered from the experience to date

AU  - Dennis A. Silage
AU  - Keyanoush Sadeghipour
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - EE and ME – Together Again: Forging a BSE from BSEE and BSME Programs
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/28200
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28200
ER  -