Exploring Engineering: An Introduction for Freshmen to Engineering and to the Design Process. - Hardcover

Balmer Ph.D., Robert; Keat, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0123694051 ISBN 13: 9780123694058

Publisher: Academic Press, 2006

Synopsis

Winner of the Best New Undergraduate Textbook Award from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the American Association of Publishers! Exploring Engineering was developed to meet the need for a better way to introduce incoming engineering students to the fundamental concepts at the heart of all engineering disciplines. It was also created to show students in a vivid way the great array of opportunities and possibilities of today's engineering fields-from classical mechanical engineering to bioengineering and mechatronics. This is the first text to introduce nearly all of the major engineering areas, and to do so with a strong interdisciplinary case study approach. This approach better prepares and enables students to draw upon knowledge not only from their own particular field of expertise, but also from related or even distantly related engineering and technical and scientific fields, allowing them to become more versatile within their future employment.

Exploring Engineering is flexible enough to offer a variety of approaches to the introduction of modern engineering for new students, while still providing the most important essentials that hold all engineering disciplines together, particularly the mathematical, quantitative basis of engineering as well as the modern computer tools that make today's engineering design so efficient and accurate.

• Introduces the fundamental physical, chemical, and material foundations for all engineering work, including motion, force, conservation of energy and matter
• Explains the workings of simple electrical circuits, computer logic, control and mechatronics, stress/strain diagrams, bioengineering, stoichiometry
• Offers applications of engineering ethics―using an extended case study metaphor: the modern automobile
• Provides simple data spreadsheets and other analytical "tools of the trade" to introduce students to the concepts of theoretical and of empirical engineering
• Presents the engineering design process using examples and assignments specifically aimed at helping to guide students and instructor through a hands-on design project

About this title

About the Authors

Dr. Robert Balmer has worked as an engineer at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and at various DuPont facilities. He has over 40 years of engineering teaching experience and has authored 70 technical publications and the Elsevier undergraduate engineering textbook Modern Engineering Thermodynamics.

Dr. William Keat has been teaching design for 20 years, in courses ranging from freshman engineering to a graduate course in design methodology. Has been awarded two Pi Tau Sigma Outstanding Teacher Awards and two first place finishes at the Mini-Baja East Competition while serving as an advisor.

From the Back Cover

Exploring Engineering: An Introduction to Engineering and to the Design Process

Philip Kosky
G.E. Distinguished Research Professor of Engineering
Union College
George Wise
Adjunct Professor of Engineering,
Union College
Robert Balmer
Dean Emeritus of Engineering
Union College
William Keat
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Union College

KEY FEATURES
Introduces the most fundamental physical, chemical and material bases for all engineering work, including motion, force, conservation of energy and matter, simple electrical circuits, computer logic, and so on, transformation of energy, simple electrical circuits, computer logic, control and mechatronics, stress/strain diagrams, bioengineering, stoichiometry and applications of engineering ethics using an extended case study metaphor: the modern automobile.
Provides simple data spreadsheets and other analytical tools of the trade? to introduce students to the concepts of theoretical and of empirical engineering.
Presents the engineering design process using examples and assignments specifically aimed at helping to guide students and instructor through a hands-on design project.
A companion web site will offer a complete solutions manual and a number of suggested head-to-head competitions for a final design project.

Exploring Engineering was developed to meet the need for a better way to introduce incoming engineering students to the fundamental concepts at the heart of all engineering disciplines. It was also created to show students in a vivid way the great array of opportunities and possibilities of today s engineering fields from classical mechanical engineering to bioengineering and mechatronics. This is the first text to introduce nearly all of the major engineering areas, and to do so with a strong interdisciplinary case study approach. This approach better prepares and enables students to draw upon knowledge not only from their own particular field of expertise, but also from related or even distantly related engineering and technical and scientific fields, allowing them to become more versatile within their future employment.

Exploring Engineering is flexible enough to offer a variety of approaches to the introduction of modern engineering for new students, while still providing the most important essentials that hold all engineering disciplines together, particularly the mathematical, quantitative basis of engineering as well as the modern computer tools that make today s engineering design so efficient and accurate.

Contents: PART 1 MINDS-ON: What Engineers Do; Key Elements of Engineering Analysis with an Introduction to the Concept of Force; How to Solve Problems with Spreadsheet analyses; Energy Kinds, Conversion, and Conservation; Chemical Energy of Fuels; The Automotive Drive Train; Electrical Circuits; Logic and Computers; Control Systems Design and Mechatronics; Kinematics and Traffic Flow; Introduction to Materials Engineering; Bioengineering; Introduction to Chemical Engineering; Cars of the Future What will they be like?; PART 2: HANDS-ON: Introduction to Engineering Design; Two Ground Rules for Design; Clarification of the Task; Generation of Alternative Concepts; Evaluation of Alternatives and Selection of a Concept; Detailed Design; Oral Design Defense; Manufacturing and Testing; Performance Evaluation; Design Report; An Example of a Design Competition A Bridge Too Far?; Closing Remarks

Related titles:
Srinagesh/Principles of Experimental Research; 0-7506-7926-3
Baura/Engineering Ethics; 0-12-088531-X
Nelson/Introductory Statistics for Engineering Experimentation; 0-12-515423-2

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0123694051
• ISBN 13: 9780123694058
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400