Building Your Future in
ENGINEERING 2011
Building Your Future in Engineering
October 2011
TABLE of CONTENTS Teaching Engineering & Technology Education in Georgia Schools Georgia Engineers & Land Surveyors Licensing Board
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Merrick & Company Intern Program Your Future & Wazi-Wazi
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Where are all the Engineers?
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What Lies Beneath the Surface? Savannah State University
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Designing the Future: 2012
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Auburn Engineering: Where Opportunity Awaits Building a Bright Future in Engineering
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North Georgia Students Can Engineer Their Future
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Moultrie Tech RAMPs Up Job Training for High Schoolers UNC Charlotte
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Georgia Institute of Technology Engineering Ethics & You Mercer University
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Southern Polytechnic State University University of Florida
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2011 Salary Survey of NE and South Atlantic Engineering Firms Vanderbilt University
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The University of Georgia
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Georgia Southern University
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Building Your Future in Engineering
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On T he Co v e r
The Georgia Engineer magazine
Publisher : A4 Inc. 1154 Lower Birmingham Road Canton, Georgia 30115 (770) 521.8877 e-mail: thegeorgiaengineer@a4inc.com
Judge Denny Ramsey, Microsoft, discusses the scale model of Jakarta with team members Adrew Jackson, Jasmine Shelton, and Owen Banatis from Brooks County Middle School in the final round of the 2011 Future City Competition. e team won first place in the Georgia Region and went on to represent Georgia in the 2011 National Competition.
Managing Editor: Roland Petersen-Frey e-mail: rfrey@a4inc.com Associate Editor Daniel J. Simmons e-mail: d.simmons@a4inc.com Art Direction/Design Pamela S. Petersen-Frey e-mail: pfrey@a4inc.cm Buidling Your Future in Engineering is a publication of the Georgia Engineering Alliance 233 Peachtree Street Harris Tower, Suite 700 Atlanta, Ga 30303 Gwen Brandon President E-mail: gwen.brandon@gaengineers.org This is an annual publication of The Georgia Engineer magazine of which GEA is a part. The Georgia Engineering Alliance is an engineering association management company of which the following are members: ACEC/G GSPE ASCE ASHE GMCEA ITE ITS SEAOG GEF WTS
American Council of Engineering Companies Georgia Society of Professional Engineers American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Highway Engineers Georgia Minority Civil Engineers Association Institute of Transportation Engineers Intelligent Transportation Society Structural Engineers Associaton of Georgia Georgia Enginering Foundation Women Transportation Seminar
ENGINEERS’ CREED As a Professional Engineer, I dedicate my professional knowledge and skill to the advancement and betterment of human welfare. I pledge: • To give the utmost of performance; • To participate in none but honest enterprise; • To live and work according to the laws of man and the highest standards of professional conduct; • To place service before profit, the honor and standing of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations. In humility and with need for Divine Guidance, I make this pledge. Adopted by National Society of Professional Engineers | June,1954
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October 2011
ACEC/G American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia www.ACECGA.org ASCE/GA American Society of Civil Engineers www.ascega.org GEF Georgia Engineering Foundation www.gefinc.org GMCEA Georgia Minority Consulting Engineers Association www.gmcea.org ITS/GA Intelligent Transportation Society www.itsga.org SEAOG Structural Engineers Association of Georgia www.seaog.org ITE/GA Institute of Transportation Engineers www.gaite.org WTS Women Transportation Seminar www.wtsinternational.org GSPE Georgia Society of Professional Engineers www.gspe.org ASHE/GA American Society of Highway Engineers www.ashega.org
Building Your Future in Engineering
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Teaching Engineering & Technology Education in Georgia’s Middle & High Schools By Ronald Barker Program Specialist for Engineering & Technology Georgia Department of Education
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October 2011
W
hile the readers of this journal are biased regarding the engineering profession and its importance to our existence, this brief article is meant to stress the importance of engineering education to Georgia’s middle school and high school program and the opportunities provided to our most important resource, students. In this article we will address the following three issues: 1) Why is engineering education important? 2) Why is engineering education important for middle and high school students? and 3) How does engineering compliment laboratory sciences? Why is Engineering Education Important to Today’s Student? Just a few of the primary reasons that teachers, administrators, and students (past and present) feel that teaching about engineering and technology education is important are as follows: • Engineering & technological savvy drive our economy. •
The study of engineering and technological innovation helps students understand the world around them.
•
The study of engineering and technology education makes science and math come alive.
•
The study of engineering and technology opens doors to career opportunities.
•
The study of engineering and technology helps develop an important life skill through the design and visualization process.
Why is Engineering Education Important to Our Middle School and High School Students? At the middle school level, engineering is especially interesting to nontraditional students (girls) and students from underrepresented groups because middle school students, in general, are inquisitive, social, and concerned about their future. The very nature of hands on, project based curriculum addresses many of their needs at this age. The opportunity to study technical systems, participate in reverse engineering activities, build robots, and study engineering and design processes, as well as participate in problem solving activities is crucial in connecting both the head and the hands of these active learners. The early exposure to technical courses also sets the tone for students to continue this type of study at the high school level.
Building Your Future in Engineering
High School programs typically set the goal and tone for postsecondary opportunities. As students work in stateof-the-art classroom/laboratories studying engineering processes, concepts, and careers they become more comfortable with the real working world. They not only study robots, CAD, CAM, CNC, CIM, lasers, prototyping, electrical, and fluid systems through engaging hands on activities, they also invent, create, innovate, optimize, work in teams, value diversity, integrate disciplinary learning, record data in engineering notebooks and portfolios, and develop higher order thinking skills thru the analysis of the data they collect. They consider what engineering technicians, engineering technologists, engineers, and scientists do in their respective careers. Therefore, if students continue to enroll in these engineering and technical courses when they start high school they are more inclined to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Careers in these fields are typically high skill and high wage. Again, high school programs set the goal and tone for postsecondary opportunities. How Does Engineering Compliment Laboratory Sciences? While the technological/engineering design process differs from the scientific inquiry process in subtle ways, they are also complimentary. One demands exact duplication from a research and analysis approach while the other looks at a practical acceptance of tolerances in the design and operation of functional products that make human endeavors safe and efficient in operation. The old adage ‘design follows function’ comes to mind when I look at and appreciate the differences in the two different but complimentary approaches to these closely related fields of study. Scientific Inquiry
Engineering Design
Formulate a question
Define a problem
Research how others have answered it.
Research how others have solved it.
Brainstorm hypotheses and choose one.
Brainstorm solutions and select one.
Conduct an experiment.
Create and test a prototype.
Modify hypothesis based on results.
Redesign solution based on tests.
Draw conclusion, write paper.
Finalize design, make drawings.
Submit paper for peer review.
Present optimal solution to client.
Ask new question.
Define new problem.
The Engineering and Technology Education programs in Georgia are complimentary to the academic programs in our schools and as a result fill a need that the business and industry side of our future depends on as we continue to deal with an increasingly complicated global economy. Our students move confidently toward the future with hope in their hearts regarding the high skill and high wage future they desire just as the generations that have gone on before them.v 7
Educating for Our Future By Gwen D. Brandon, CAE | President | Georgia Engineering Alliance
When asked to write an article for Building Your Future in GEA: Is there a drop in the percentage of students enterEngineering, I was honored to be invited and puzzled on ing fields in science, technology, engineering, and math what subject to write about. A kaleidoscope of current issues (STEM)? came to mind—global warming, healthcare, the stock market, federal aid—all interesting and important issues that are Georgia Tech: According to Sandi Bramblett, Executive Diindirectly related to the future of engineering, but absolutely not my center of expertise. Upon reflection, I decided that rector, Institutional Research and Planning, Georgia Tech, the topic would be one that I am most passionate about— “There has been no drop in engineering students at Georgia Tech. Demand is high and continues to climb. If we use applieducating Georgia’s future engineering cations as a measure of demand for STEM leaders. disciplines, we see our overall numbers inSixteen years ago when I joined the creasing. As a percentage of the total, the staff of the Consulting Engineers Council, STEM disciplines have ranged between 76 now the American Council of Engineering percent and 84 percent of our applications.” Companies, the leadership and staff deterThe following charts provided by Ms. mined that we should drill down into the Bramblett outline the number of freshman membership and identify those young proand undergraduate transfer applications, fessionals who would one day become fuadmits, and enrollments Georgia Tech has ture leaders and principals within had over the last decade for the STEM and engineering firms. This fall, ACEC/G is Non-STEM disciplines. Richard A. Clark, beginning its 14th Future Leaders ProJr., Director of Admissions at GA Tech valgram. For thirteen years these future leadidates that in the past four years of incomers, both male and female, black and white, ing freshman data, the number of students ranging in ages from 22 to 35 increased entering the college of engineering at GA their business and leadership skills and proGwen D. Brandon Tech, has been stable and is beginning to invided added value to their companies. Sevcrease: 2008 – 64 percent of students intended to pursue engieral ‘graduates’ of the program serve ACEC/G as committee neering; 2009 – 66%; 2010 – 66%; and 2011 – 68%. and forum chairs, past and previous board members, and two have served as ACEC/G presidents. In addition to ACEC/G, other Georgia Engineering Al- SPSU: Dr. Zvi Szafran, Vice President for Academic Affairs liance member organizations have developed and promoted at Southern Polytechnic State University reports, “SPSU is successful young leader, scholarship, and mentoring pro- seeing a significant increase of engineering and engineer grams that have become highly successful in helping to ed- technology students and attributes the increase this year to ucate young engineers and future leaders in our industry. agencies pushing STEM.” GEA member organizations have found that we must educate young engineers in our profession, and we must edu- GEA: Our President supports policies that advocate imcate future engineers as early as elementary and middle proving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics schools. These associations and programs are recognized in of education at all levels. this article. We are also very fortunate to have an excellent Univer“Today, more than ever before, science holds the key sity System of Georgia that includes highly-skilled educators to our survival as a planet and our security and prosof engineering, engineering technology, science, and mathperity as a nation. It’s time we once again put sciematics that encourage the best and brightest students to ence at the top of our agenda and work to restore study and pursue these fields. Administrators from both America’s place as the world leader in science and Georgia Institute of Technology and Southern Polytechnic technology.” ~ President Barack Obama State University were interviewed and share their research studies and insights as follows.
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October 2011
Georgia Institute of Technology Office of Institutional Research and Planning Summary of Freshman & Transfer Applications for STEM vs. Non-STEM Disciplines Fall 2001 - Fall 2011 Field
Entering Term
Applied
% of Total Applicants
Accepted
Enrolled
STEM
Fall 2001
8,687
84%
4,840
2,217
STEM
Fall 2002
8,162
83%
4,800
2,192
STEM
Fall 2003
7,827
82%
5,001
2,219
STEM
Fall 2004
7,952
81%
5,563
2,534
STEM
Fall 2005
8,369
79%
5,598
2,334
STEM
Fall 2006
8,577
77%
5,846
2,738
STEM
Fall 2007
8,398
77%
5,507
2,489
STEM
Fall 2008
9,199
76%
5,664
2,556
STEM
Fall 2009
10,697
77%
6,295
2,698
STEM
Fall 2010
13,146
80%
6,766
2,815
STEM
Fall 2011
13,576
81%
7,162
2,935
NONSTEM
Fall 2001
1,662
16%
795
439
NONSTEM
Fall 2002
1,728
17%
881
457
NONSTEM
Fall 2003
1,690
18%
883
437
NONSTEM
Fall 2004
1,818
19%
1,100
563
NONSTEM
Fall 2005
2,227
21%
1,248
606
NONSTEM
Fall 2006
2,491
23%
1,372
734
NONSTEM
Fall 2007
2,490
23%
1,279
761
NONSTEM
Fall 2008
2,946
24%
1,465
858
NONSTEM
Fall 2009
3,262
23%
1,557
946
NONSTEM
Fall 2010
3,344
20%
1,461
910
NONSTEM
Fall 2011
3,105
19%
1,513
983
STEM=Colleges of Engineering, Computing, and Sciences Non-STEM=Colleges of Architecture, Ivan Allen, Management & Registrar
GEA:
Are engineering students pursuing other jobs rather than engineering after graduation?
SPSU:
According to Dr. Szafran, traditionally, 25 to 30 percent of engineering students get jobs in other positions. “Engineering prepares students for solving problems in a wide range of different areas.”
GA Tech:
Mr. Clark states, “Students who study math and science and earn an engineering degree are in a very stable field that is exciting, innovative, and collaborative, offering opportunities and good pay. According to payscale.com, the
Building Your Future in Engineering
top ten paying jobs are in engineering.” Clark continues, “Women in engineering are in great demand and are being highly recruited.” Clark reports, “For the last several years, bio medical engineering has held the number one spot of engineering degrees at GA Tech. I find this to be extremely important as it relates to the healthcare industry.” Comparing the results from GA Tech’s Career and Salary Survey for 2007 to 2011, Ms. Bramblett finds, “About 95 percent of the bachelor recipients in engineering have accepted positions that were either closely or somewhat related to their major. The 2011 engineering degree recipients accepted positions in consulting, engineering, research and development, and manufacturing.” To what extent is this position related to your major? (Bachelor’s Engineering Degree Recipients only) 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
1. Not Related
2. Somewhat Related 2007 2011
3. Closely Related
Positions Accepted by Undergraduate Engineering Degree Recipient FY 2007 vs. FY 2011 To what extent is this position related to your major?
1. Not Related 2. Somewhat Related 3. Closely Related
2007 5% 24% 71%
2011 6% 31% 62%
Source: Office of Assessment, Career, and Salary Survey (Fall/Spring 2007 and Fall/Spring 2011)
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GEA:
How is the economy affecting the engineering in-
dustry?
SPSU:
“The job market is tough, especially in the construction industry. In a tough economy, college degrees within the STEM programs do far better than the general population,” states Dr. Szafran. Dr. Szafran indicated that a recent article in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution indicated that there is approximately nine percent overall longterm unemployment in Georgia; four percent of the unemployed are college graduates; and less than four percent are those whose skills are in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
GA Tech: “Unfortunately, everybody is affected by the current economy,” says Ms. Bramblett. She encourages a Masters in Business Administration for diversification. GEA: How will the change in the HOPE scholarship program affect engineering students?
watching how we navigate through these waters!” We need to show them that with a little work and a quality education in science and math, they can also be engineers! Special thanks to Dr. Zvi Szafran, Southern Polytechnic State University and Sandi Bramblett and Richard Clark, Georgia Institute of Technology.
GEA Member Organizations’ Young Leaders, Mentoring, and/or Scholarship Programs American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia (ACEC/G) President ~ James H. Hamilton, PE
Future Leaders Program ACEC/G’s fourteenth consecutive Future Leaders Program, provided exclusively for the benefit of the young professionals within our member companies, aims to provide young
GA Tech:
Mr. Clark states, “Engineering students are very qualified and motivated, and the change in the Hope and Zell Miller Scholarship programs should have very little impact. The Hope program requires that a student enter college with a 3.0 high school GPA and maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout college to receive 90 percent tuition assistance. The Zell Miller program requires a 3.7 entering GPA and a 3.3 throughout college for 100 percent tuition assistance.” And Ms. Bramblett agrees, “The change will affect students across the board, not unique to engineering; however, engineering students will worker harder to keep the tuition assistance.”
SPSU:
According to Dr. Szafran, “The decrease in the HOPE Scholarship Program is challenging for all students across the board, but a little more for engineering students because the engineering curriculum is at the top end and is tough. In the past, full HOPE covered all fees, books, etc., now students are facing expenses per semester they didn’t have previously. Most engineering students are motivated and even with the added cost will continue to qualify for HOPE. Students shouldn’t lose site that with HOPE and lower tuition in the schools in the University System of Georgia, it is still an excellent deal.” Many kids say when they grow up they want to be doctors or lawyers. According to The Georgia Engineer magazine Editorial Chair and ACEC/G Past President, Jeff Dingle, “Those young engineers coming up behind us are
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professionals with the opportunity to share ideas about the issues facing them daily and to provide them with industry knowledge they will need to meet the challenges ahead.
ACECG / R. Berl Elder Scholarship ACEC/G has awarded scholarships for many years to worthy students enrolled in engineering schools in Georgia. The scholarship recipient must be in his/her freshmen, sophomore, or junior year and be enrolled in an engineering or engineering technology curriculum at a college or university in Georgia. The student must currently be employed by, or have been employed by a member firm of ACEC/G during the 12month period preceding the deadline for receipt of the scholarship application. It is desired that preference be given to a student who is interested in a career in consulting engineering.
October 2011
Georgia Society of Professional Engineers (GSPE) President ~ William G. Wingate III (Trey), PE
Mathcounts / Student Chapters / Young Engineers / PE Recognition One of our objectives is to provide opportunities for young engineers in all avenues. Through our public outreach with Mathcounts, we reach out to middle school age kids with mathematics to let them know that engineering is an option for them. Our student chapters at the college level are given free dues to participate in groups at universities that have engineering programs. The third avenue is through our young engineers program that we are trying to implement more at the state and local levels right now by bringing them into the leadership meetings and getting their input on decisions. The fourth way is through our new PE recognition dinner each year where we recognize the new engineer for receiving a license to participate and offer them incentives to become active in the GSPE chapter that is closest to them.
Chapter. We also provide information to the YMG regarding any National Younger Member events and awards that are available from ASCE National. Attendance at events varies from eight to ten people at a typical trivia event to over 50 people attending the sporting events. For the upcoming year, the YMG is working on expanding the events offered to the group.
American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE-GA) President ~ Tim Matthews Scholarships ~ (ASHE-GA) gives out two memorial scholarships each year. Both scholarships are named after individuals that were highly respected in the transportation industry and active members of ASHE. Jim McGee was a graduate of Georgia Tech and served in the United States Navy as a naval aviator. He spent many years in the public sector with GDOT before switching to the private sector and eventually co-founding McGee Partners. The Jim McGee Memorial Scholarship is awarded for the spring semester to a student from Georgia Institute of Technology, Southern Polytechnic State University or Georgia Southern University seeking a career in civil engineering, civil engineering technology, or other transportation or construction related fields. Mohammed ‘Babs’ Abubakari was born in Ghana, West Africa and was also a graduate of Georgia Tech. Babs worked the majority of his career with GDOT and was eventually named Head of the Office of Consultant Design. The Babs Abubarkari Memorial Scholarship is awarded for the fall semester to a student enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology with a declared major in civil engineering.
Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) President ~ Michael R. Holt
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) President ~ James Wallace, PE Young Member Group ~ The Georgia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) offers membership into its Younger Member Group (YMG) for any dues-paying member, age 35 or younger. The YMG provides mostly social and networking activities for the members. Popular events include monthly trivia at a local restaurant, Thrashers hockey games, Braves baseball games, and tailgating at a Georgia Tech football game with the GT Student ASCE
Building Your Future in Engineering
Leadership Development ~ This program provides training sessions to equip members with skills to help them provide leadership in their organizations. Content includes Conducting Effective Meetings, Developing Relationships with Peers and Elected Officials, Effective Leader Communications, Developing Vision and Action Plans, Educating, Informing and Engaging Stakeholders, Mentoring and Coaching Employees, and Evaluating Leadership Effectiveness. This program is tailored for members with at least eight to ten years experience and supervisory responsibilities. Mentoring ~ The purpose of this program is for older members to mentor young members through a six month program, which includes presentations and discussion about career-building topics such as: 11
• • • • • • • • •
Politics and relationships Dealing with the media Charting a career path Basic financial management Business etiquette Presentation skills Leadership development Networking Gender, cultural, and age issues and opportunities
Scholarship ~ Awards annual scholarship to deserving transportation engineering students through the Summer Section scholarship auction and other fundraising opportunities throughout the year. GAITE also contributes to the Transportation Engineers of the Future Scholarship awarded by Georgia DOT to Georgia Tech Masters students.
Intelligent Transportation Society of Georgia (ITS) President ~ Marion G. Waters, III Scholarship ~ ITS has a strong history of support for Georgia’s future engineering leaders, even though, strictly speaking, our society is not a professional engineering group. Keeping in mind that ITS Georgia is an organization of firms dedicated to the effective and maximum use of transportation infrastructure, we nevertheless stress the importance of assistance and support to our young members and students. Each year, our scholarship program provides the maximum amount that we have available in our budget. I think our total for scholarships this year is about $5000. A portion of that goes to the GDOT Young Engineers program through GA Tech, and $4000 goes directly to fund three scholarship awards that are decided by competitive application and paper submission. While we do not have a formal mentoring program, students are encouraged to attend our monthly luncheon meetings by allowing them to attend free of charge. This is a popular program (many students enjoy coming and eating free), and there are few if any of our seven monthly meetings that do not have student representation.
Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) President ~ Jennifer King, PE Mentor-Protégé Program ~ This year, WTS Atlanta sponsored its fifth bi-annual Mentor-Protégé Program. Through this program, a small group of women (usually five to ten) new to the transportation industry are paired with members with more than ten years of experience. Lunch events are held monthly with speakers who present on a variety of topics in-
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cluding career advancement, work-life balance, the importance of giving back, technical topics, networking, politics, business development, and much more. Mentor-protégé pairs are encouraged to interact outside of the programs and continue their relationships well beyond the official program. We have had great success in this program, with many successful connections and many protégé’s returning in later years to become mentors. Transportation YOU ~ WTS Atlanta is also working with the national organization to promote Transportation YOU, a joint initiative of the USDOT and WTS to promote education and careers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and for the advancement of women in the field of transportation. United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary LaHood was a special guest at the WTS 2011 Annual Conference where he helped launch this exciting initiative which will introduce younger girls, ages 13 to 18, to the broad array of transportation careers through hands‐on interactive activities, mentoring programs, field experiences, and a national ‘virtual’ community. This initiative also provides specific attention to STEM and career exploration in a variety of transportation related fields. Scholarship Program ~ WTS Atlanta also hosts an Annual Scholarship Luncheon at which scholarships are given to one undergraduate and one graduate student in a transportation related field. Last year, one of our Georgia Tech affiliate members, Josie Kressner, went on to win a scholarship on the national level, called the WTS President’s Legacy Scholarship. This $3,000 scholarship recognizes women who demonstrate leadership in the transportation industry and a commitment to community service. Ms. Kressner was recognized for her work in co-founding Revive Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that seeks to convert underutilized properties into community parks and gardens.
Georgia Engineering Foundation (GEF) President ~ Jeff Amason, PE Scholarships ~ For almost 40 years, the Georgia Engineering Foundation has sponsored a program that awards college scholarships to worthy Georgia students who are preparing for a career in engineering or engineering technology. Since 1985, over 650 students have been awarded scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. In 2010, 30 awards were made available. All scholarships are competitively awarded based on the student’s demonstrated competence in academics, interest in developing a career in engineering, financial need, and school and community involvement.
October 2011
Introduce A Girl to Engineering (IAG) Chair ~ Georgene Geary Introduce a Girl to Engineering in Georgia was founded by the Georgia Engineering Alliance and IBM in 2003. Georgia Tech’s Women-in-Engineering (WIE) program, IBM, and professional women in the engineering field in Georgia will collaboratively sponsor Georgia’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IAG) on Saturday, February 18, 2012, from 10am to 2pm at the Georgia Tech campus Student Center. The IAG event offers middle school girls (Grades six, seven, and eight) an opportunity to participate in hands-on engineering activities and booths with the assistance of GT female college students and professionals in the Georgia engineering community. Previous activities have included building solar windmills, designing and building marshmallow catapults, filtering drinking water, and, the returning favorite, computer controlled robot dinosaurs. Manned display booths give the girls a glimpse of what different types of engineers do for a living and share the exciting world of engineering in action. Hands on activities and booths are designed to ignite an early interest in engineering. The students are also treated to a luncheon program with an engineering theme. Scholarships to STEM-themed summer camps are awarded as part of the luncheon festivities. The parents are also included in the IAG day program through a separate parents presentation that helps get them ready to prepare their daughters for a future in engineering.
February 18, 2012
The Georgia Engineering Alliance represents the engineering profession in Georgia by facilitating collaboration among various engineering societies on issues of mutual interest. Included among these interests, GEA is highly supportive in helping to educate young engineers and students in the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. GEA also provides administrative and program management services to GEA member organizations. For information on how your organization may participate, please contact Gwen Brandon, President, at the GEA office (404) 521-2324.
For 11 years, the Georgia Engineering Alliance has represented the engineering profession in Georgia by facilitating collaboration among various engineering societies on issues of mutual interest. GEA also provides administrative and program management services to GEA member organizations. For information on how your organization may participate, please contact Gwen Brandon, president, at the GEA office (404) 521-2324.
Building Your Future in Engineering
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Georgia Engineers and Land Surveyors Licensing Board By Elmo A. Richardson, Jr., P.E., RLS | Chairman, State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
T
he mission or goal of the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors is to safeguard the life, health, and welfare of the citizens they serve by administering the respective laws efficiently, fairly, and judiciously. Regulation of these professions consists of two important functions. Licensure to ensure that profesElmo sional engineer and surveyor applicants Richardson are qualified to practice their profession in their respective states. Enforcement to ensure that licensees are performing their professional services in conformity with the intent and purpose of the law and related rules of professional conduct and to protect the public from the unlicensed practitioner. I can assure you that this board is serious about the enforcement of unlicensed practice, whether it’s by unlicensed individuals trying to capitalize on the good name of engineering or surveying, or out of state individuals or firms competing for projects without being licensed in Georgia. With the reductions and tightening of budgets by the state, the board has made a number of adjustments in the way in which we administer our work. Over the past two years we have transitioned to more of our work being performed ‘on line’ rather than so much being performed at the board meetings. It has allowed the Bboard members and staff to become more efficient on how we review applications, complaints, and other issues. We have seen a significant drop in professional engineer and land surveyor applications over the past year, nearly 20 percent. This past year we received approximately 1,425 PE applications, 1,410 FE applications, 119 LS applications, and 68 FS applications. We had 484 take the PE exam, with 383 passing. For the FE (EIT), we had 932 take the exam, with 726 passing. The LS had 34 take the exam, with 22 passing. For the FS (LSIT), we had 56 take the exam and 45 passed. The passing rates in Georgia pretty well track the national averages. In April, we had the first offering for the new 16 hour
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structural exam. The exam is divided into two eight-hour exams, the first being one of lateral forces and the second of vertical forces. We had 19 take both exams with six passing (28 percent). We had 47 take only one day of the exam and the passing rates are approximately the same. The national passing rate for the 16 hour exam was approximately 27 percent with several states having zero percent. Over the past two years we have seen an increase in complaints filed against engineers. These range from ‘plan stamping’ to ‘unethical practice’ to ‘unlicensed practice.’ In the past, a large percentage of complaints were in land surveying but those have dropped. In FY 2007, we had in excess of 120 open complaint cases. As of June 2011, we had a total of 47, five from FY 08, four from FY 09, nine from FY 10 and 20 from FY 11. We have made significant progress in processing these complaints. Investigations and legal processes have been a bottleneck in the past but have improved significantly. In FY 2010, 48 complaints were opened and we closed 39 of those complaints, assessing $22,500 in fines. In FY 2011, 64 complaints were opened, and we have closed 35, assessing $73,000 in fines. Many of these consist of “consent
October 2011
orders,” “cease and desist orders,” and “letters of concerns.” The fines listed do not include late renewals which are assessed at $300, reinstatements which are assessed at $1,000 and certificates of authorization which are assessed at $500. This board is serious about administering our laws efficiently, fairly, and judiciously, and violations will not be tolerated. Over the next two or three years we will see several changes that will take place by NCEES. Computer-based exams will be implemented by 2013 or 2014. A new exam for ‘software engineering’ will be rolled out in 2013 and the concept for an exam in ‘bioengineering’ is being developed. Approximately 1,121 students are enrolled in bioengineering in Georgia. Other issues that continue to develop and discuss are the bachelor’s degree plus 30 semester hours or Master’s degree and the four year degree for land surveyors. As changes to the NCEES ‘model law’ take place, we should examine our state law for changes that should be made. As our practice of engineering and land surveying changes, we should update our laws and rules. There are a number of issues that should be addressed to meet the rapidly changing environment in our professional practice. I will appoint a ‘task force’ to examine our laws, rules and policies and recommend changes that should take place. Rules and policies can be changed or modified by the board but
Building Your Future in Engineering
any changes to the statutes will be a two year process. Communication and/or a newsletter to our registrants has been a long outstanding issue. Posting to our webpage has not always been timely and does not always display the actions, news, and issues of the board. We are currently working with the Georgia Engineering Alliance to develop a mechanism to improve the communication issue. v
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Merrick & Company Intern Program By Cindi Cordova | Senior Recruiter & Katie Strickland | Intern
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ince 1996, Merrick & Company has been offering paid internships to students exploring engineering, architecture, and geographic information systems as career options. Through the program, interns are exposed to the practical application of their chosen disciplines and provided an understanding of the working environment. It also gives the interns an opportunity to see Merrick as a possible excellent employer upon graduation. By supporting an intern program, Merrick is creating or continuing a relationship with schools and universities so that students will know the firm is a preferred employer of choice for the students that best fit the firm’s vision. The program provides an opportunity for students to start a career with Merrick and learn from seasoned professionals. During the 2011 summer intern program, Merrick had 20 interns throughout most of our US offices, with their areas of focus including civil and mechanical engineering, human resources, and law. In Merrick’s program, each intern is assigned a mentor who provides direction and technical guidance throughout the summer. No matter which area a person chooses to concentrate in, the experiences they have at Merrick prepare them for a realistic and encouraging transition into the professional world. Merrick works to provide the best overall experience possible for the current and future success of its interns. The firm has learned that treating interns as full-time employees gives them the sense of belonging and creates a desire to excel. Field assignments create a reality beyond the classroom, while learning the
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stages of career development provides a deeper view of Merrick’s corporate culture. The interns meet weekly with senior managers to discuss various aspects of employment including interviewing skills, resumes and cover letters, presentation, salary negotiations, continuing education, public speaking, teamwork, and listening and communication skills. Interns are given insight into the corporate structure, career planning and development, organizational structures, and business dynamics. The discussions include a focus on the more technical aspects of engineering such as the cycle of a project and the hard truths of entering the field. The Merrick interns return to school and share the experience with faculty and classmates, where they provide feedback that indicates the Merrick intern program compared to others is a world apart. Their involvement in teams and the company, participating in field trips, and meeting upper management are some of the things that truly separate Merrick’s program from others. In addition, allowing exposure to a variety of projects helps bring out interests the intern may not have known about had it not been for the valuable hands-on work done during the summer. Merrick’s two offices in Georgia located in Atlanta and Duluth offer internships in electrical and mechanical equipment engineering. These interns communicate through video conferencing with corporate headquarters to take advantage of the weekly training and informational sessions provided by the intern program. If you are interested in an internship program that prepares you for a successful career in the engineering field, look no further than Merrick & Company. For more information please visit www.merrick.com and select “Career Center.” v
October 2011
Your Future & Wazi-Wazi By Dr. Ruth Middleton House | President | Middleton-House & Company
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he Mbuti people of Zaire believe we travel through life surrounded by a protective sphere. When we stay at its center, the sphere separates us from the turbulence and chaos outside. But if we move too abruptly or too quickly, we are driven away from our center, toward the shell of the sphere. As we move closer and closer to the shell, we experience more and more turbulence from the outside. At some point, we become more and more like the chaos ourselves: hyperactive, unpredictable, out-of-sorts, noncompliant. The Mbuti say someone in that space is in Wazi-Wazi. (House, 2005, p. 35) Nanotechnology, bio-medical engineering, agricultural engineering, mechatronics engineering are just a few of the emerging applications of engineering. Whichever specialty you set as a goal, it will have changed by the time you get to it. And it will keep on changing. The world in which your specialty is applied will keep changing, too. So will the organization that employs you to apply it. In the meantime, the economy, social trends, and relationships in your own life may be spinning, too. In order to remain standing at your center in the midst of all this change, it is important that—whatever else is going on—you know where you stand with yourself. If you use up your capacity (your time and energy) in Wazi-Wazi, it won’t necessarily be the least important thing that goes undone. Instead, it will be whatever was going to happen next, if only you hadn’t exhausted yourself first. All too often the thing that you didn’t get to was something that really mattered— time for yourself, time for your family, time for your health, time for your faith. The same risk holds true in organizations. The organization is under pressure to add one more thing to the list of to-do’s (when jobs are combined, when organizations are merged or acquired, when there is a change in direction). This one more thing could look like a great thing to do on paper, but will the organization have the capacity (the people, the time, the money, the focus) to make this change and keep doing the everyday work well at the same time? Often it does not. And the thing that doesn’t get done or doesn’t get done right is often important: a follow-up with a customer, a special customer request, a plan. The key to steering clear of Wazi-Wazi is to know what is important and to stick with it. That principle holds true for individuals, for organizations, and for societies. As you
Building Your Future in Engineering
move forward into your exciting future, the place to start is with yourself. What is important? To answer that question for yourself start with a deck of 15 index cards. Then follow these instructions to develop a Personal Constitution. (House, 2005, pp. 39-42) 1. What are the things you value most in life? Identify between five and 15 items. Write each one on a separate index card as an affirmation. Examples: I am a loving family member.; I am confident.; I am financially prosperous.; I have a worthwhile and satisfying career. 2. Which values are the most important? Select the index card you would give up if you had to sacrifice one value. Assign it the highest number in your deck of cards (number 15 of 15 values, for example). Throw it on the floor (or just set it aside on the table.) Repeat the process until you have only one left. Now go back and review at least the top six index cards. If things were perfect in the movie of your life, what scene would you write for each value? Get as many senses involved as you can. In this scene, what would you see, taste, smell, touch, hear? Write the scene out on each index card. Or you can use a separate sheet of paper. If you use a separate piece of paper for your scenes, be sure to put them in priority order with the most important one first. Example: I have a worthwhile and satisfying career. My career provides the income I need to prosper financially. At the same time, it allows time for a full personal life. I continue to work hard but I also work smarter so other higher values are not sacrificed to my career. It challenges my talents. It taps those skills through which I make a unique contribution. It fosters my development intellectually, socially, emotionally, and ethically. My own career success requires that I foster the success and the development of other people. The composite of these scenes from your perfect life serve as your personal constitution. You can read it over morning and night to get centered. You can use it as a measure to size up school and career opportunities. You can use it as a platform for decision making. Knowing what is important to you and sticking with it and living it can help you flourish during times of uncertainty and rapid change and stay out of Wazi-Wazi! v
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Where are all the Engineers? The U.S. is losing the STEM race… badly By Gary S. May | Dean | Georgia Tech College of Engineering
ecently President Obama announced an initiative to train more than 10,000 engineers a year as a way to stimulate the economy. The President understands that a strong economy depends on innovation and manufacturing. Breakthroughs in both areas have the greatest potential to create the kinds of jobs this country so badly needs. Although we were once the global Gary S. May leader, the production of engineering talent in the United States is diminishing. Currently, more than half of all engineering degrees worldwide are earned at Asian universities, while here, only 14 percent of all undergraduate college students enroll in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) courses. While the U.S. continues to cling to a global innovation advantage, it is a position that can’t be sustained with our current approaches. Our engineering pump is in dire need of priming. It’s time to face the reality that we are losing this race—and losing badly. We are increasingly falling behind in educating our children in STEM, especially when it comes to our nation’s minority children. The consequences are costly and put our nation at risk.
As depressing as these numbers may be, they are far worse for American minority students. This segment of our society in particular is in danger of becoming economically irrelevant and unable to share in the rewards of an innovation economy. As a nation, we need to engage students of all backgrounds to increase our technological IQ and to create a more robust economy. As a society, we can ill afford the social consequences of economic disenfranchisement. Georgia Tech has been addressing this issue through its own innovative contributions. No university awarded more engineering doctorates to minority students last year than Georgia Tech. A major reason is the FACES program, a partnership with other Atlanta-area universities that encourages students to pursue STEM-related graduate education. Georgia Tech has also hosted an annual LEAD Summer Engineering Institute, which has launched dozens of minority students into STEM careers. Georgia Tech’s Women in Engineering program con-
Consider a few pertinent data points and observations: In a September 2010 report to the President, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) found that elementary and secondary students in the U.S. lack both proficiency and interest in science and mathematics, as many gravitate to other careers. (Less than one-third of our eighth graders are proficient in mathematics and science.) The Broad Foundation reports that American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science compared to students in 30 industrialized countries. By the end of eighth grade, U.S. students are two years behind the math being studied by peers in other countries.
engineering pump is in dire need of priming. It’s
R
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“While the U.S. continues to cling to a global innovation advantage, it is a position that can’t be sustained
with
our
current
approaches.
Our
time to face the reality that we are losing this race— and losing badly.” tinues to recruit top female students into engineering majors and, once enrolled, to ensure the highest level of retention. For more than 30 years, Tech’s minority educational development office has been charged to work with underrepresented student learners to help them transition from college into the leaders of tomorrow. While these efforts are paying off here at Tech, there is much work to be done nationwide. Fortunately, there is no shortage of people, organizations, and companies willing to contribute time, funding
October 2011
and expertise to help close our STEM gap. With public support for even basic education eroding rapidly, we must increasingly look to the private sector for innovative thinking and significant investment. Intelligent and effective private investment is critical to reversing current STEM trends. Consider one example of an innovative investment. Intel Corporation has launched a ten-year, $200 million commitment to advance education in math and science. The initiative includes: • An academic enrichment curriculum that engages students in hands-on engineering and design activities that enhance knowledge and problem-solving skills in the areas of science and engineering. •
and we face troubling minority academic and economic underachievement. Like the space race of the 1950s and 1960s, this challenge requires sustained investment today to yield future returns. Now is the time for the U.S. to reassert its global leadership in STEM to reinvigorate our economy and re-energize a generation. We owe this financial and intellectual investment to ourselves and to all who follow. v
A collection of 35 interactive, online lessons for students to learn about technology, computers, and society.
A host of technology-rich curriculum units that use projectbased approaches to support the STEM curriculum and cover such diverse topics as the science of the seasons and the mathematics of baseball. What the U.S. now needs are sweeping changes in how we market, teach, and assess STEM education. The time is now to forge a cohesive public-private partnership that boldly challenges today’s status quo and ignites our children’s interests and our nation’s policies to create a more vibrant, challenging, and populous STEM presence. If we want to train 10,000 new engineers a year and stimulate the American economy, we need bold moves, strong leadership, and innovative ideas. This fall, we will be joined by corporate leaders, academic experts, and policy analysts from around the country to develop a road map for graduating those new engineers. Our efforts are in support of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and we will be debating a host of ideas, including: Improving student engagement. • Enhancing the prestige and ‘coolness’ of the engineering profession. •
Increasing the quality of engineering programs though competitive awards or designations.
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Creating a consortium of companies to sponsor a significant fund for university programs targeted at enhancing engineering retention.
The economy continues along its uncertain path. But this nation can’t afford to wait until things improve. We must act now. We are seeing the erosion of our innovation advantage,
Building Your Future in Engineering
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What Lies Beneath the Surface? Randy W. Sanborn, PE | TBE Group Inc.
Information provided by advance geophysical tools, such as ground penetrating radar, allow engineers to ‘see’ what lies beneath the earth’s surface. magine you are on page nine of your ten-page paper which is due tomorrow and suddenly the power goes out; or you’re in a particularly intense session of Call of Duty with 50 of your closest friends from across the United States and the screen goes blank. Unbeknownst to you, a mile down the road, the construction of a roadway project is well underway and a back hoe has hit a buried utility line. Thankfully, scenarios described above are becoming less frequent due to more engineers utilizing subsurface utility engineering during the design phase of transportation projects and throughout many different industries. While most known in the transportation industry, other industries such as healthcare, education, etc. are quickly realizing the benefits of this process for any number of excavation projects. From projects as small as putting up a fence or planting a
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tree to as large as building a bridge or expanding a campus, there is always the possibility of encountering utilities. Often referred to as SUE, subsurface utility engineering is a highly-efficient, non-destructive engineering practice combining geophysics, surveying, civil engineering, and asset management technologies. Used appropriately and completed correctly, subsurface utility engineering identifies and classifies quality levels of existing subsurface utility data and maps the locations of underground utilities. This data allows for developing strategies and informed design decisions to manage risks and avoid utility conflicts and delays. If a utility conflict does exist, viable alternatives can be found to resolve the conflicts before any damage is done. This is why it is so important to provide this service during the design phase of a project. Resolving the problem during design, as opposed to during construction, will save the project both
October 2011
time and money. In 2003, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published the Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data. This standard formally defined subsurface utility engineering and set standard guidance for collecting and depicting underground utility information, which elevated subsurface utility engineering to a new level. While the practice of subsurface utility engineering is tailored to each project, the process is typically as follows: The first step in the investigation is to gather utility records from all available sources. This may include as-built drawings, field notes, distribution maps, and even recollections from people who were involved in the planning, building or maintenance of the utilities in question. The data is then compiled into a composite drawing and labeled ASCE Quality Level D. A site visit is also made to survey visible surface features of the existing underground utilities (e.g., manholes, pedestals, valves). This site visit may be conducted at the same time the topographic survey is completed for the project. This information is combined with the composite drawing completed during the ASCE Quality Level D record research and upgraded to ASCE Quality Level C. This is when a decision is made as to which utilities may have an impact on the proposed design and warrant further investigation. Using a variety of geophysical techniques (e.g., pipe and cable locators, ground penetrating radar), the horizontal position of these critical utilities is determined. This information is compiled into the utility drawing as ASCE Quality Level B data (the most common quality level used). By taking utility information from the Quality Level B data at this point and referencing it with the proposed design, utility conflict areas are identified and organized in a database known as a conflict matrix. The conflict matrix identifies conflicts (existing utilities crossing the path of the proposed design) and allows the designers to make educated decisions regarding relocation or redesign. When using the plans, be sure to not only use the plan views but the crosssections, drainage profiles, and staging plans as well. Many times, significant conflicts will appear on these sheets and not on the plan sheet by itself. Once conflicts are identified using the conflict matrix, the final step in the data collection process is to excavate test holes at key locations where the exact size, material type, depth, and orientation of the utilities being investigated are identified. The test hole information is surveyed and included in the utility drawings, which are now ASCE Quality Level A. The additional data gathered from the completed test
Building Your Future in Engineering
holes is added into the conflict matrix. At this point, designers are able to review all options the conflict matrix presents and decide the most economical course of action. The lack of reliable utility data during construction activities can result in costly conflicts, delays, service disruptions, redesigns, and personal injuries. There is a far better approach to locating and mapping existing utilities then by relying on old records that are often inaccurate and even non-existent. Utilities are ‘risky business’ and if not handled correctly can be very costly and, more importantly, may result in loss of life. Subsurface utility engineering is about ‘risk management.’ v
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October 2011
Savannah State University For 121 years, Savannah State University has been an important part of higher education. As the oldest public HBCU in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the historic city of Savannah, SSU has served this community with distinction while meeting the educational needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The mission of the College of Science and Technology is to deliver high quality education, scholarship, and research in science, engineering, and technology. The college is committed to equipping you with the knowledge and the applications of science and technology that will enable you to be competitive on a regional and national level. It is also committed to values associated with human well-being, environmental quality, and responsible citizenship. We encourage you to aim high and to have ambitious goals and aspirations. Class sizes are small and the faculty members are ready and eager to assist you in developing your full potential. We offer Bachelor of Science degrees in: • Civil Engineering Technology • Computer Science Technology • Electronics Engineering Technology • Mathematics • GTREP (collaborative with Georgia Tech)
We look forward to seeing you on campus.
Savannah State University’s College of Science and Technology Facts Number of Full-time Faculty: 60 Dean: Derrek B. Dunn, Ph.D. Number: (912) 358-3269 Undergraduates: 1300 We currently offer ABET accredited degree programs in Electronics Engineering Technology, and Civil Engineering Technology. In addition, we have a second to none four year Computer Science Technology degree program. Each one of our programs has dedicated faculty members to teach and support students along with the appropriate classroom facilities and learning laboratories. 2011-2012 ESTIMATED Undergraduate Costs Tuition & Fees: $3016.00 Room/Board: $1544.00 Personal Expenses & Transportation $1836.00 Books & Supplies $1000.00 Science Lab Fee $30.00 ________________________________________ Total per semester $7426.00
Building Your Future in Engineering
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Designing the Future: 2012 Georgia Regional Future City Competition uture City is the only engineering competition for middle school students in the world! The Georgia Regional Future City competition, sponsored by Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU), involves sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in the challenge to create a city of the future. In 2012 more than 3,000 Georgia students will: • Exercise their creative muscles by designing a city from recycled materials. •
Apply their mathematical knowledge by scaling each component of the city.
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Expand their understanding of geography by selecting and learning about their city location.
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Showcase their environmental expertise by developing an energy source for the future that maintains a healthy planet.
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Demonstrate their writing skills by transforming research data into a problem solving essay.
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Apply and expand their computer knowledge using SIMCITY IV Deluxe to create a city design.
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Sharpen their communication skills by preparing, practicing, and presenting their city to a panel of judges.
The 2012 competition is scheduled on Saturday, January 21, 2012 in Marietta, Georgia. This will be Georgia’s seventh regional competition. In preparation, registered schools are forming teams consisting of one teacher sponsor, one engineer mentor, and three students. The teams will work throughout the fall to complete the four components of the competition: • a Virtual City design in SimCity 4 Deluxe software, • a research essay and a city narrative, • a scale model of a portion of their city, and • a presentation of their design concepts. The winner of the Georgia Regional receives an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. during 2012 National Engineer Week to compete for national raking.
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Engineer Volunteers For the Georgia Regional to be a success requires the help of engineers across the state who volunteer their time as mentors and judges. Each team needs an engineer to guide the students as they learn about team work, project management, infrastructure, city planning, etc. The mentor helps the students design their city by asking leading questions, evaluating their progress, and encouraging their creative ideas. The competition also requires engineers to judge all four parts of the competition. This means some judges volunteer December through January by virtually judging essays, narratives, and virtual city designs. Others volunteer on the day of competition to judge scale models and presentations. More than 300 individuals are needed to assure the competition’s success. Team Challenges Each Future City team is responsible for designing a virtual city of the future in SimCity 4 Deluxe software. The city must be at least 150 years into the future and have at least 50,000 Sims (citizens). This component of the competition helps students understand how a city functions and the kind
October 2011
of infrastructure and support needed for a city to prosper. The 2012 Research Essay challenges each team to Fuel Your Future: Imagine New Ways to Meet Our Energy Needs and Maintain a Healthy Planet. In the 1,000-word essay students conduct research and then create an energy solution for the future. The 500-word City Narrative describes their fu-
Building Your Future in Engineering
ture city including information on location, creative infrastructure solutions, housing, city services, economic base, etc. Most adults in the world have never built a scale model! In the Future City competition, each team builds a scale model of a portion of their city. Most, if not all, of the building materials are taken from recycling bins, and each model must have at least one moving part. The team chooses the scale for their model and designs their buildings, roads, etc. based on that scale. Each student on the team contributes to a seven-minute presentation ‘selling’ the judges on their city and its features. This is the team’s opportunity to concentrate their comments on the most innovative and creative elements of their city. Teams compete in the preliminary round for the top five finalist slots. The maximum score is 400 points, and many times tenths of points separate the most competitive teams. In addition to the finalist slots, the teams compete with each other for the 20 Special Awards available. Future City is a unique and challenging competition showcasing our future engineers around the state. Get involved—contact Dawn Ramsey at dramsey@spsu.edu! v
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Auburn University
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October 2011
Auburn Engineering: Where Opportunity Awaits By Dean Larry Benefield
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University
As many alums and friends of our college will tell you, Auburn University’s engineering programs have grown and prospered throughout the past century, from the institution’s official recognition of its engineering program as a college in 1908 to today’s push to be one of the top engineering programs in the nation. Auburn Engineering maintains a strong commitment to quality education, research, and outreach. That’s one of the reasons why we have continued to flourish. We are the largest college at Auburn University with 4,700 total students. The 2010 fall semester entering class of 1,013 students earned an average ACT score of 28 and received more than $2 million in scholarships awarded by the college. The same class included 53 national merit finalists, more than half of the university’s total. Last year, chemical engineering junior David Harris of Hoover, Alabama, was selected as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, considered the nation’s most prestigious award for undergraduates in the science, tech-
nology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering continues to attract many top students from across the region because of outstanding instruction and research efforts by our talented faculty. Our partnerships with industry and government, collaborative cross-campus projects, and commercialization opportunities lead to technologies that touch our daily lives. Indeed, our gifted faculty is responsible for nearly 50 percent of research conducted at Auburn University, with the value of research expenditures at $55.5 million in 2010. In the same year, college alumni and friends provided for 26 new endowed professorships, bringing the total to 59 named professorships for the college. Research conducted at the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering continues to make an impact nationwide. In Auburn’s Department of Chemical Engineering, faculty member Virginia Davis was one of 85 researchers recognized by President Barack Obama last year with a Presidential Early Career for Scientists and Engineers Award, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on early-career researchers. Davis was honored for her research in nanomaterials dispersion, microstructure, processing, and properties on a macro scale, as well as for engaging in outreach activi-
SAMU E L GIN N COLLE GE OF E N GIN E E RIN G FACT S Undergraduate students: 3,383 Graduate students: 720 Faculty: 162 Continuing Education Units: yes Tuition: http/www.auburn.edu Starting salary range for graduates with bachelor’s of engineering degree: $50,000-$70,00
Building Your Future in Engineering
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ties involving K-12 students from underrepresented groups. Many of our talented faculty members are taking their work outside of the classroom to make our world a safer place. Eric Imsand and Drew Hamilton, faculty members in Auburn University’s Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, have been commuting to military bases across the country to instruct week-long digital forensics classes for wounded warriors. The workforce training initiative is a collaborative project with Mississippi State University and Tuskegee University that is meant to give soldiers occupational training in the field of computer forensics for employment in law enforcement. Auburn Engineering has partnered with the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama-Huntsville to form the Aerospace Consortium of Alabama to better serve the state and its growing aerospace industry. Alabama’s premier higher education institutions are working together to create opportunities for state-of-the-art research, share resources and specialized equipment, enhance graduate outreach programs and support K-12 partnerships to help keep Alabama at the forefront of the aerospace industry. Our college and current students are growing on a legacy that was created by our alumni. Tim Cook, a 1982 industrial and systems engineering alum, has been named CEO of Apple Inc., following Steve Jobs’ resignation. Cook has spent 13 years at Apple and has been the company's chief operating officer since 2005. During that time, Cook twice filled in as CEO for Jobs. In 2010, Cook addressed graduating students at Auburn's spring commencement ceremonies. On Auburn’s campus, the cornerstone of achieving our vision of becoming a top engineering program is the state-ofthe-art Shelby Center for Engineering Technology, a complex designed to advance technology development in a variety of disciplines. The Shelby Center provides the perfect venue to recruit world-class faculty and attract bright students who will power the economy of the state and region into the future. Phase I of the complex is already complete, and Phase II is nearing completion. In January 2012, faculty, staff, and students will begin classes in the new buildings, an advanced research laboratory and Dwight L. Wiggins Mechanical Engineering Hall, the new home for the college’s largest department. This year, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering added a 17-hour nuclear power generation systems minor to its curriculum to prepare the next generation of plant engineers for the nuclear power generation industry. The program will offer students a hands-on opportunity to understand the industry’s licensing, engineering, and basic construction re-
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quirements, processes, and techniques. Power plant models, nuclear power integration into the national electrical grid, and common reactor plant operations are taught. Course topics include basic nuclear theory and operations in mechanical, electrical, and chemistry control, as well as plant safety regulations and reliability and radiological health. Auburn University’s engineering program is the largest in Alabama, and its reputation for offering a hands-on engineering curriculum has stood the test of time. The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering continues to provide students with opportunities to participate in ground-breaking research and contribute to projects that allow them to gain invaluable problem-solving experience. Ultimately, we pride ourselves in offering our students a quality engineering education. We invite you to visit us on campus and see for yourself. About Benefield: Larry Benefield was named dean of Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in 2000. In his more than three decades at Auburn, Benefield has served the college as associate dean for academics, Feagin professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, interim associate dean for research, and Alumni Professor of Civil Engineering. Benefield earned his doctoral degree in civil engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1975, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn in 1966 and 1972, respectively. He taught at the University of Colorado and Mississippi State University early in his career, and served as an officer in the Air Force from 1966-71. Benefield’s research interests include wastewater treatment and mathematical modeling of environmental systems. He is a registered professional engineer in Alabama and Virginia. v
October 2011
Building a Bright Future in Engineering It’s never crowded along the extra mile. By Christine Brack | Principal | Zweigwhite It’s a tough world out there. It’s a tough time to be in this industry that is having a very tough climb out of a tough situation. It’s tough to know what to do, what to think, or maybe even where to go next. Every day we digest tough news and sometimes question if we are tough enough to rise above it all. But there are tough firms and tough leaders out there—and not just tough—but smart, passionate, and thoughtful. I work with dozens of firms each year and within these firms I speak to and get acquainted with hundreds of engineers of all ages and years of experience. As you embark on your future in engineering, allow me to share the commonalities I see in the most fulfilled and successful professionals. If you build these into your own habits and perspectives, I promise you’ll also be thriving in your future. Don’t make excuses. It’s very easy to come up with excuses. As a consultant, I’ve heard many. With work, home, play, community, family—everyone rightfully has excuses for why they can’t do something. The difference is some don’t play that card—they don’t have to because they make a commitment every day and live by it. You were committed to school, to a project, maybe even to a job while you studied. You have never felt so burned out but you kept going. Oddly enough, it was so rewarding. Keep that commitment to banish excuses from your professional life. Of course it’s not easy. It requires planning, communication, cooperation, a helping hand, and some investment. But if you want that goal—to be a project manager, principal, or industry expert—you fling excuses out of the picture. Keep learning. You just finished a long education— congratulations! You’ll be learning a great deal from handson experience (finally) and have continuing education credits to satisfy. Some firms go above and beyond with training programs, and some are simply unable to afford it these days. Build your future by being invested in your ongoing educa-
Building Your Future in Engineering
tion and training—and be well rounded in adding marketing, accounting, and leadership classes to that mix. Seek out the mentors. Firm leaders and managers are under a lot of pressure themselves, and even when they have good intentions to mentor and share their knowledge, they get caught up in daily routine and forget. If you wait for a senior person in the firm to tap you on the shoulder, you’ll be waiting a long time. Seek them out and don’t be apologetic for wanting to grow. You are not too young. Industry data we collect shows the median age of project managers to be 43 and principals to be 47. This industry needs the vibrant and enthused perspectives and spirit of this new engineering generation. The firms in the lower quartile of that data believe as I do, these numbers are too old. Don’t accept that you are too ‘young.’ You may not be exactly ready to lead a firm, an office, or a division, but given the opportunity and mentoring and coaching, you can certainly be on your way. Be passionate. Having passion for what you do is the difference between getting out of bed every morning and hiding under the covers. It’s the difference between going that extra mile for the firm or the client and going home apathetic. Being aware of what your passion is today, knowing how to channel it, and accepting that it may change over time to other passions are the foundation of building your future. Your passion will be evident, it may be contagious, it will drive your goals, and easily wipe away any tempting excuses that always lurk. This industry welcomes and needs your passion for doing and thinking and dreaming. At this moment, you are embarking into a tough place and wondering how far your excitement and degree will carry you. From what I see, this industry favors those who refuse to give in to excuses, are constantly hungry to learn, and are driven by passion. These traits and practices got you this far. Remember that—and build them as habits you rely on throughout your professional development. I guarantee your future will be as promising and enriching as you want it to be. Christine Brack is a principal with ZweigWhite who specializes in strategic business planning and project management best practices. Contact her at cbrack@zweigwhite.com. v
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North Georgia Students Can Engineer Their Future ince 2009, Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) and North Georgia Technical College (NGTC) have been working hand-inhand, with the support of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), to aggressively pursue a program that matches the SPSU Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) program to NGTC’s Associate of Applied Science degrees. Now, graduates of North Georgia Tech may pursue a bachelor’s degree with Southern Poly without ever leaving their hometown. “The goal is to work out a partnership in which the last two years of a bachelor’s degree are taken through distance learning in affiliation with and essentially at the technical college,” explains NGTC President Steve Dougherty. “That is really exciting when you consider the potential for our stu-
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dents and residents here in Northeast Georgia.” These articulation agreements implement a program allowing students completing associate degrees at NGTC and several other Georgia technical colleges to move directly into BAS and BS programs in Engineering Technology at SPSU, a member of the University System of Georgia (USG). The most significant innovation is that this support will allow students to complete their four year degrees by attending classes, via limited residency, by the use of online courseware, videoconferencing, and regional laboratories located strategically around the state so as to minimize relocation and commuting. Low-residency higher education is valuable for any student population. “What I find to be the most attractive aspect of this program with Southern Poly is that it fits
October 2011
extremely well with our current workforce development mission,” Dougherty says. “It affords our community a huge boost in prospects for advanced training.” In the Spring of 2011, the program was further advanced to encompass an entry into the engineering programs. The NGTC academic affairs staff immediately jumped on this new engineering technology opportunity, and the college now has 18 students enrolled in this brand new and exciting program. Georgia’s critical need for additional applied engineers played a major role in developing these innovative articulation agreements. Although students migrate out of engineering programs at about the same rates as they leave other disciplines, far fewer students migrate into engineering. A recent study indicates that 93 percent of graduates in engineering disciplines begin college in engineering disciplines. It is therefore vitally important to have a broad range of entry points into engineering technology programs, and to have a smooth path to complete these educational programs at a variety of levels (AAS, BS, MS). The low-residency format will allow AAS graduates to continue their education while still attending local TCSG units, without disruption to families and jobs and without having to relocate to attend classes or laboratories. It is also well known that once students from rural areas move to the Atlanta area to attend college, they seldom return. “We are very pleased with the possibilities this offers our students,” said NGTC President Steve Dougherty. “Not only is it affordable, but it allows an avenue for some of our best and brightest sons and daughters to stay local and still pursue great professional careers. And, since this involves engineering technology, it will be a boost to attracting industry to our community.” The agreement allows TCSG students to select a preengineering technology associates degree program, specializing in electrical engineering technology, industrial engineering technology or mechanical engineering technology. They can take the associates’ degree courses at an accredited TCSG college like North Georgia Technical College, and then either enter the workforce directly or transfer those credits and complete a bachelors degree in engineering technology at SPSU. The North Georgia Technical College graduate will enter SPSU with up to 61 semester hours that count toward the 130 semester hours required for the Bachelor of Science degrees. A key difference from other past agreements is that technical college students receive “one-for-one” credit for courses taken at a college like NGTC—meaning that there
Building Your Future in Engineering
is a corresponding course at SPSU for each of the 18 articulated technical college courses. In an interesting turn of events, a new technology infrastructure project, The North Georgia Network, kicked off in 2010 which will further support the technology-based economy in North Georgia by deploying a 260-mile regional fiber-optic ring to deliver gigabit broadband speeds, reliability, affordability, and abundant interconnection points for last mile service. The purpose of the project is to improve broadband service in underserved areas and will be a welcome boost for the off-site lab connections between NGTC and SPSU. North Georgia Technical College is a public, residential, multi-campus, two-year technical college whose mission is to provide quality technical education, adult education, continuing education, and business and industry training to individuals who can benefit from these programs and services. The college offers both traditional and distance learning courses that lead to the certificate, the diploma, and the associate degree. On campus housing provides affordable and convenient living options. v
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MOuLTrIE TECH RAMPs Up Job Training for High Schoolers By Jana Wiggins | Director of Marketing & Public Relations | Moultrie Technical College MOULTRIE, GEORGIA. Fourteen high schools and 326 February of 2009. Introduced by President George W. Bush in his 2004 high school students in Georgia are getting hands-on training in the art of mechatronics without leaving their local State of the Union address, the Community-Based Job Trainhigh school campuses. is modern miracle is made possible ing Grant Initiative improves the ability of community and through Moultrie Technical College’s (MTC) Remote Au- technical colleges to provide their regional workers with the skills needed to enter growing industries. tomation Management Project (RAMP) in Tifton. e South Georgia Community-Based Job Training Students come ‘face to face’ with RAMP Administrator/Instructor George Griffin each day in front of a com- Consortium proposes to use Moultrie Tech’s existing RAMP puter screen, using an automated trainer mechanism in their to provide training to current workers, dislocated workers, high school students, own classroom. ese and disadvantaged high school students African-American also receive dual enrollyouth in the fourment credit, which is county service area of high school and techniColquitt, Tift, Turner, cal college credit earned and Worth. e simultaneously. RAMP will focus on Moultrie Tech providing training rebegan using the RAMP quired to succeed and to introduce high advance in two highschool students to the growth and high-deever-changing world of mand industries, industrial automation advanced manufacturin September 2008. e ing and health care, first of its kind in the where demand for southeastern section of qualified workers outthe United States, the strips the supply. pilot project was headed RAMP students get hands-on with trainer modules designed to teach the rough the U.S. by then MTC Tifton discipline of mechatronics. DOL grant, the proCampus Industrial Sysgram will expand to include seven RAMP sites established to tems Technology instructor Chris Estes. Moultrie Tech is the only technical college in Georgia train 750 participants in preparation for degree, diploma, with this technology and only the second technical college in and certificate programs in Advanced Manufacturing and Health Care. e college is developing four new Industrial the nation to use it as a teaching module. e program is now up and running at 14 sites in the Systems Technology certificate programs. Two high schools will become certified CTAE (Career, state for the 2011-12 school year in Coweta, Dekalb, Floyd, Forsyth, Glynn, Habersham, Houston, Lincoln, Mitchell, Technology, and Agricultural Education) sites. In addition Newton, Rockdale, Tift, and Troup counties, in addition to to the 750 participants, training will be provided to CTAE Tiftarea Academy in Tifton. Tift County High School was Directors in Moultrie Tech’s four-county service area; seven additional high school CTAE Directors for dissemination the first of the 14 to adopt the training module. Two years ago Moultrie Tech expanded its RAMP pro- of the model; ten Technical College System of Georgia gram, thanks to a three-year, $1,756,677 grant from the U.S. (TCSG) instructors; and 25 Georgia high school technolDepartment of Labor (DOL) which the College received in ogy instructors.
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October 2011
According to Dr. Shawn Utley, MTC vice president of economic development, the increase in skilled workers will enable trainees to receive higher wages, and, in turn, advance the region’s economic competitiveness and ability to retain current industry and attract new industry. The RAMP was created at Alexandria Technical College in Minnesota in 2005 and began with a curiosity about regional manufacturing economics. The machines built by these manufacturers incorporate advanced mechatronics technology, are highly automated, and are shipped to endusers located throughout the country and the world. Due to the technologically-advanced nature of these machines, their management requires the availability of highly skilled technicians. More notable for how it teaches than for what it teaches, the RAMP platform can be used to deliver interactive, realtime instruction in any discipline from 3D design to GPS mapping software. Participants are taught how to design, integrate, and manage automated production systems. RAMP combines common, off-the-shelf information technologies such as streaming video, Voice-over IP, and virtual machine for controls and automation instruction. For more information about the RAMP initiative, contact Dr. Shawn Utley or George Griffin at (229) 391-2600. v
Building Your Future in Engineering
Moultrie Technical College RAMP Administrator George Griffin instructs multiple Georgia high school students at once via live computer feed on a daily basis.
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UNC Charlotte Hands-On Engineering At North Carolina’s urban research university, The William States Lee College of Engineering stakes its claim to experiential, hands-on learning based in a tradition of academic excellence. The focus areas of the Lee College of Engineering lead to rewarding, exciting careers in energy, motorsports, environment, fire protection, sustainability, robotics, computers, bioengineering, manufacturing, and the traditional engineering disciplines. As one of seven academic colleges of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Lee College of Engineering is an integral part of the large, dynamic, urban campus. Eight miles from uptown Charlotte, the most-populous metropolitan area in the Carolinas, UNC Charlotte’s 1,000 acre wooded campus is the largest institution of higher education in the region and the fourth largest of 16 constituent members of the University of North Carolina. Founded in 1946, UNC Charlotte is a doctoral and research-intensive institution. It boasts the largest research library in the Southern Piedmont region with more than one million volumes. With accreditation from the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, UNC Charlotte has 86 programs leading to bachelor's degrees, 62 programs leading to master's degrees and 19 programs leading to doctoral degrees Experiential Learning “We believe in learning by doing, so all of our programs include a practical hands-on component,” said Dr. Robert 34
Johnson, Dean of the Lee College of Engineering. “This starts in the freshman year in Introduction to Engineering and culminates in our capstone Senior Design program.” Freshman-year projects include the design and building of spring-powered cars, computer chip circuits, balsa wood bridges, and other items that teach the fundamentals of engineering, teamwork, and project management. Freshman project teams must present their work in written and oral presentations. Hands-on learning continues through the sophomore and junior years with more discipline-specific projects. Examples include mechanical engineers building robots, electrical engineers designing power systems, and civil engineers developing environmental impact plans. Students have the opportunity for real-world engineering experience through the college’s internship and cooperative education programs. The Charlotte engineering community offers a broad range of practical, professional engineering experience in areas such as energy, construction, motorsports, transportation, and manufacturing. In their senior year, Lee College of Engineering students partner with local and regional companies through the college’s Industrial Senior Design Program. The industry sponsors present the students with actual engineering design challenges. The student teams then have a year to develop a solution, do all of the engineering design, build the project prototype, and present it at the Senior Design Expo. Examples of past years’ Senior Design projects include bomb-detecting robots, high-pressure piping systems for nuclear plants, solar power designs, race car safety systems, tidal gen-
October 2011
erators, porous paving techniques, water filtration systems for third-world countries, and hundreds of other devices. Energy As one of the nation’s leading centers for energy related engineering, Charlotte is home to such industry leaders as Shaw Group, AREVA, Duke Energy, Siemens, Westinghouse, and EPRI. These companies and others have partnered with UNC Charlotte to form the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC). EPIC brings together students, faculty, and industry research experts to meet the future demands of the energy production industry. EPIC research thrusts include grid management, intelligent management of power distribution, advanced sensing, manufacturing issues associated with large power generation equipment, renewable energy generation including photovoltaics and biofuels, and environmental issues such as CO2 emissions and fly ash. Scheduled to open in early 2012, the new 200,000square-foot, three-story EPIC building will house laboratories, offices, and classrooms. The state-of-the-art facility will include a 4,000-square-foot clean room, a 3,500-square-foot material growth lab, and a high-bay with a three-story strong wall and associated research area. Precision Metrology The Center for Precision Metrology is an interdisciplinary association of UNC Charlotte faculty and student researchers, allied with industrial partners in the research, development and integration of precision metrology as applied to manufacturing. Working with dimensional tolerances on the order of ten parts per million or better, precision metrology encompasses the methods of production and inspection in manufacturing, measurement algorithms and tolerance representation, and the integration of metrology into factory quality systems. Initially supported as a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (NSF I/UCRC), the Center for Precision Metrology is charged with breaking new ground in precision metrology through addressing real-world industrial concerns. Through the associated Affiliates Program, industrial and center researchers collaborate on projects that involve generic and specific manufacturing metrology concerns. Recent successes of the center include SAMM, the world’s best positioning Sub-Atomic Measuring Machine, with a resolution of ten picometers. Nanotechnology projects include a manipulating machine accurate enough to stack particles on the edge of a razor blade, a nanometer machine for analyzing the probes on coordinate measuring machines, and a nano-indenting machine for measuring surfaces.
Building Your Future in Engineering
Motorsports Engineering UNC Charlotte is in the heart of NASCAR country, with 90 percent of the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams within 50 miles of our campus. The experiential opportunities for our students are tremendous, and lead to top jobs on the best teams. Roughly ten percent of all NASCAR engineers are UNC Charlotte graduates. Our motorsports students learn the engineering principles and theory that will help them succeed on the race track or in an automotive manufacturing facility. We go far beyond theory, though, with all of our students working on projects and teams. These include our Formula SAE, MiniBaja, drag car, and Pro-Challenge car teams. A new 15,000-square-foot, $4.5-million motorsports engineering building will open its door on the UNC Charlotte campus in fall 2011. The new building will be home to NCMARC’s water tunnel, a new small-scale wind tunnel, computational facilities, a state-of-the-art engine dynamometer, faculty and graduate student offices, and other research facilities. Biomedical Engineering As an interdisciplinary research center bringing together faculty, researchers, clinicians, and practitioners, the Center for Biomedical Engineering Systems (CBES) at UNC Charlotte is building a collaborative environment for solving biomedical issues. CBES conducts research in multidisciplinary areas such as medical therapies and technologies, molecular engineering and design, and biomechanics and mobility research. Fire Safety The profession of fire safety is becoming increasingly complex, and the value of a bachelor’s degree is now vital to a successful career. The Fire Safety Engineering Technology program has emphasis on both technical and non-technical aspects in the fields of fire protection and safety. At the undergraduate level, the Fire Safety Engineering Technology program is divided into tracts in Fire Protection and in Fire Administration. Fire Protection emphasizes areas such as safe design of buildings, emergency evacuations, recreation of fire scenarios, and computational simulations. Fire Administration is geared towards traditional careers in firefighting. At the graduate level, the Master of Science program in Fire Protection and Administration began in fall 2011. A number of research projects are associated with the program, including the testing and evaluation of wetting agents used to protect structures from wildfire. v
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October 2011
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering is the largest of the Institute’s six colleges, enrolling more than 60 percent of the students at Georgia Tech and about half of all tenured and tenure track faculty at the Institute. CoE offers more than 50 different degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels through its main Atlanta campus and satellite campuses around the world. e College has a strong national and international reputation, and as the nation’s largest engineering program, consistently ranks high among the major producers of engineering degrees awarded to women and underrepresented minority students. CoE is an exemplary leader in engineering education, research, and service that anticipates, and meets, the needs of tomorrow’s world. CoE provides an educational experience that prepares graduates for a career not only in engineering, but other professions such as medicine, law, business, and public policy. Graduates of Tech’s engineering program are ready to contribute to the global workforce immediately upon graduation and are prepared to ‘hit the ground running.’ e average SAT score of freshmen entering the College of Engineering in the fall of 2011 was 1378. More than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students are majoring in engineering. Last year, the College conferred 1,543 bachelor’s degrees,
1,035 master's degrees, and 332 doctoral degrees. Degrees are offered in Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. CoE has 437 faculty members and boasts 23 Regents’ Professors and 100 named Chairs and Professorships, 15 Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars, and 27 National Academy of Engineering members on the Georgia Tech faculty. We prepare our students not only to succeed, but to set the standard for tomorrow’s world. From developing renewable energy sources and models for predictive health to designing robots that replace service dogs and new ma-
Building Your Future in Engineering
terials that are capable of bonding tendons to bone, Georgia Tech engineers are leaders in shaping the way people live. v
GEORGIA TECH FACTS Sample Engineering Salaries for the 2011 grads: Chemical engineering - $66,886 Mechanical engineering $60,739 Electrical/electronics engineering - $60,646 Computer engineering - $60,112 Industrial/manufacturing engineering - $58,549 Systems engineering - $57,497
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Edwin Bay贸 is a former Counsel to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers. He is Board Certified in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice by the Florida Bar.
Engineering Ethics & You By Edwin A. Bayo Esq. | Grossman, Furlow & Bayo LLC
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October 2011
T
he topic of ethics in engineering has been covered in almost every conceivable manner. Most engineers have taken ethics courses to satisfy a curriculum course requirement or as continuing education for licensure renewal. These courses often cover such items as ethical codes for engineers or ethical case studies. Rather than focusing on the traditional topics, this article is intended to provide guidance on how ethical engineering, or the lack thereof, can have serious implications on your ability to practice. As former counsel to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, I have seen countless cases involving ethical issues. Most regulatory boards, however, do not use the term ‘ethics’ in the list of violations which may subject an engineer to disciplinary action. Nevertheless, many such violations have an ‘ethical’ underpinning. In Florida, for example, the term, ‘misconduct’ is defined to include conduct that can be categorized as ethically improper or deficient. An engineer’s license can be disciplined under the rubric of ‘misconduct’ for acts such as performing an engineering assignment when not qualified by training or experience in the practice area involved; revealing facts, data or information obtained in a professional capacity without the consent of the client or employer; expressing an opinion publicly on an engineering subject without being informed as to the facts and being competent to form a sound opinion; soliciting or accepting gratuities without a client’s knowledge; failing to preserve a client’s confidence; failing to disclose a conflict of interest, and the list goes on. Another commonly used term to describe improper conduct with ethical implications is ‘negligence.’ That may surprise some of you who think of the term in its traditional sense. Negligence can be defined as a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. In regards to the practice of engineering, Florida (as do many other states) defines negligence as the failure by a professional engineer to utilize due care in performing in an engineering capacity or failing to have due regard for acceptable standards of engineering principles. If an engineer is charged with either negligence or misconduct, he or she can be arguably said to have violated one or more of the fundamental principles of several well known engineering ethical codes. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) fundamental principles, engineers must uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by: (a) using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment; (b) being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients;
Building Your Future in Engineering
(c) striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession, and (d) supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines. Thus, you can see how the concepts begin to merge. Take, for example, a scenario where you, as a professional engineer, agree to take on a project at a rock bottom price. Given the state of the economy, many engineers find themselves agreeing to projects at half what they would normally charge. Nevertheless, signing on for a project at a reduced rate does not reduce your obligation to your client (or to the public). Your standard of practice must remain the same whether you charge one dollar or one million dollars for your services. If you were to cut corners on a project simply because you weren’t paid much, an ‘ethical’ complaint wouldn’t be filed against your license. However, your license could be disciplined for negligence or incompetence. What began, in theory, as ethically deficient conduct, has now become conduct worthy of disciplinary action against your professional license. Another violation with ethical implications is signing and sealing plans or specifications that were not prepared by the engineer or by someone under his or her responsible charge (‘plan stamping’). In addition to the professional implications of signing and sealing plans that you have not prepared or sufficiently reviewed, this violation carries with it other ethical concerns. The law allows you to authenticate documents through your engineering seal, much like a notary. By sealing a set of plans or specifications, you are effectively stating that they are true and correct. When one considers that the lives, safety, health, and welfare of the general public are dependent upon engineering judgments, decisions and practices incorporated into structures, machines, products, processes and devices, ‘plan stamping’ takes on a far more sinister tone. As with the first example, this ethical issue becomes a licensure issue. The bottom line is that engineers have a fiduciary duty not only to their clients but also to the public at large. An engineer’s work may have an effect on the health, safety, and welfare of the general public. On occasion, balancing the interests of the client and the public can be tricky. An engineer’s testimony or report can be untruthful, deceptive, or misleading intentionally, or by omitting relevant and pertinent information. If that happens in the context of a permitting decision, public repercussions are possible. The golden rule is to conduct all your affairs with integrity and honor, and to approve and seal only those documents that conform to acceptable engineering standards and safeguard the life, health, property, and welfare of the public. v
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Mercer University
Mercer School of Engineering graduates are changing the world, especially in the state of Georgia. ey enter the work force equipped with solution-focused, real-world experience, and a commitment to serving their communities. “Having spent my entire career in engineering education, Mercer is by far the most unique and student-centered institution with which I’ve been associated,” said Wade Shaw, Kaolin Chair and Dean of Engineering at Mercer. “e faculty is committed to undergraduate teaching and our students are attracted to our small, family atmosphere.” With a full-time faculty of 32 professors/instructors and just over 500 students, the school prides itself on a family environment where everyone matters and student success is priority one. Mercer School of Engineering is one of the few engineering schools offering 129-credit programs in a university setting that also offers degrees in medicine, law, business, music, education, nursing, pharmacy, liberal arts, theology, and the sciences. In addition, high achieving engineering students at Mercer are allowed to be admitted to a graduate program in the junior year and extend scholarship funds through the fifth year of study History In the early 1980s, engineering leaders from central Georgia and the U.S. Air Force approached Mercer University with an unusual request: create a school to help fill their need for engineers with a solid, multidisciplinary foundation. Dr. R. Kirby Godsey, Mercer’s current chancellor who was president at the time, garnered the support of the Mercer Board of Trustees to take a bold step in the history of engineering education in Georgia. Bolstered by public and private support—financial generosity that continues to this day—the Mercer University School of Engineering opened its doors in 1985. e first students were introduced to a broad range of practices during their first year of study—another ongoing tradition. In1987 the University founded the Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC), exposing students to sponsored research and problem solving. Academic Distinctives The Mercer School of Engineering prepares students to serve the rapidly changing demands of a new century. The academic programs provide breadth and depth. Mercer graduates are equipped to deal with technical topics and with the challenges of practice in the future. Engineering professors bring insight and wisdom from many different perspectives, practical experience, research, and the roles of teachers and parents. At Mercer, the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree takes an interdisciplinary path that’s praised by employers for its comprehensive balance of technical concepts. e core curriculum includes courses in electrical, mechanical, and 40
October 2011
industrial engineering. In fact, compared with those in typical engineering programs, Mercer students actually take more engineering courses, all with a communication-enhancing focus on the written and spoken word. Specialties can be completed in one of six engineering discipline areas: biomedical, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, and mechanical. Mercer’s BSE program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc. A major distinctive between the Mercer engineering experience and that of a student at a large, research university is the emphasis on engineering design in the freshman year. First-year engineering students are required to work in teams to create a device which ‘competes’ against other devices in an end-of-year competition. is activity gives Mercer engineering students an experience unmatched at larger universities. Mercer is also one of the few engineering schools offering a major and minor in technical communication. is program also provides a solid communication foundation for students enrolled in a highly-technical degree program. A strong liberal arts component is a hallmark of Mercer’s undergraduate curriculum. Bachelor of Science in Engineering candidates have the flexibility to craft unique undergraduate minors, pursuing interests that vary from premed to music to business administration, math and more. Mercer engineering students take advantage of the popular ‘5th Year Program’ where juniors can apply to the graduate school to complete their undergraduate and master’s degree in engineering in total of five years. Research is a vital component of Mercer’s engineering program and its partner is the Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC), an operating unit of Mercer University devoted to the performance of sponsored scientific and engineering research for governmental, industrial, and commercial markets. MERC employs engineers and scientists, faculty, and students to enhance the discovery and utilization of knowledge to solve real problems. e Mercer Engineering Research Center provides Mercer students with an outstanding opportunity to learn professional practice skills and experience hands-on engineering. For practicing engineers and full-time professionals, evening and online master’s degree classes are offered. Students can complete a research thesis, a design project or a course intensive program of study. Internships are popular options. Mercer offers Master of Science degrees in 11areas: biomedical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, engineering management, environmental engineering, environmental systems, mechanical engineering, software engineering, software systems, technical communication management and technical management.
Building Your Future in Engineering
e School of Engineering is also one of only 18 engineering programs in the United States which has received funding from the Wisconsin-based Kern Family Foundation to create an engineering entrepreneurship program. Its goal is to promote an entrepreneurial mindset in students through lectures, faculty advising, and networking. Mercer has added a Certificate of Achievement in Engineering Entrepreneurship option into the curriculum, as well as new senior design projects with local businesses and entrepreneurs. Significant ties to Industry By design, the Mercer School of Engineering is distinct from other engineering schools/colleges in the region. As a private institution, the university has more flexibility to adapt to changing industry needs. In addition, the curriculum delivers exceptional value, both in the breadth and depth of its scope. Mercer School of Engineering graduates are recruited and appreciated by top companies. ese employers know that Mercer students are experienced in solving real problems and communicating with others, qualities not often stressed by many schools. Graduates have joined fellow alumni at companies such as Lockheed Martin, Georgia Power, Siemens, and Gulfstream Aerospace. e school continues to supply more entry-level engineers than any other school to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Georgia’s largest employer. Each student is required to complete a senior design project with an external client, many of which are corporate/government entities. A distinctive for Mercer students is that the School of Engineering provides its undergraduates with a private work space for design projects. rough the Industrial Experience Program, students earn academic credit by working under a practicing engineer. ese short-term experiences are encouraged because they provide hands-on learning opportunities with some of the most prestigious companies in the country. v
MERCER UNIVERSITY FACTS Faculty: 33 Dean: Wade H Shaw, Ph.D, PE (478) 301-2459 Undergraduate students: 400-450 Distance Learning: Yes. DL offers hybrid and online only graduate courses and degrees Estimated undergraduate costs: Tuition & Fees: $30,500 Room & Board: $9,300 Personal Expenses & Transportation: $2,000 Books & Supplies: $1,200 Total: $43,000
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Southern Polytechnic State University
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October 2011
Established in 1948, Southern Polytechnic State University in suburban Atlanta distinguishes itself by teaching the sciences and technologies in a unique, practical manner, providing a hands-on, career-based approach to education. SPSU was founded in 1948 as a two-year division of the Georgia Institute of Technology, but became a four-year college in 1970, declared its independence from Georgia Tech in 1980 and attained university status in 1996. SPSU focuses heavily on engineering/engineering technology, and those programs are growing rapidly. With a total fall 2011 enrollment of approximately 5,700, the university now has more than 2,400 students majoring in an engineering/engineering technology program. Responding to industry and public demand to accommodate students with full-time jobs, SPSU has, since 2009, been the only university in Georgia to offer evening programs in three popular engineering disciplines, and these are the programs experiencing the largest surges in enrollment. e university’s Software Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering programs are also experiencing rapid growth, but not nearly as dramatically as the evening programs: Mechanical Engineering (as-yet-unofficial counts show a 116 percent increase in enrollment since fall 2010), Electrical Engineering (an 86 percent increase), and Civil Engineering (a 58 percent increase). SPSU is the state’s second largest engineering school. In 2011, SPSU produced its first graduates of the only
Mechatronics Engineering program in Georgia, and, in August 2011, SPSU achieved another milestone. e bachelor of science in Construction Engineering became the first engineering program at the university, and one of only 12 Construction Engineering programs nationwide, to be accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc. is program produced its first graduates in 2009. SPSU also offers Georgia’s only undergraduate degree program in Systems Engineering and expects to award its first Bachelor of Science degrees in this area in 2013. Systems Engineering students can now choose a concentration of elective courses that will prepare them for careers in the aerospace and nuclear power generation industries, and an automotive option is on the horizon. e Systems Engineering program also offers a Master of Science and a Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering. All graduate courses are offered online via several technologies that allow a high degree of interaction with the faculty and fit into today’s professional’s busy schedule. v
SOUTHERN POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY FACTS Fall 2011 enrolled students: Civil Engineering Construction Engineering Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering Systems Engineering (undergraduate and graduate programs) Software Engineering (undergraduate and graduate programs)
182 46 219 317 243 68
Fall 2011 in-state tuition for undergraduates: 12 hours $2,749 15 or more hours $3,262 Fees $698
170
Telecommunications Engineering Technology 32 Civil Engineering Technology 196 Computer Engineering Technology 142
Building Your Future in Engineering
Electrical Engineering Technology (undergraduate and graduate programs) 281 Industrial Engineering Technology 171 Mechanical Engineering Technology 409
Fall 2011 out-of-state tuition for undergraduates: 12 hours $7,997 15 or more hours $9,822 Fees $698 Professional development hours Yes
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UNIVERSITY of
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Florida
October 2011
Engineering took a long time to make it to Jacksonville and the First Coast of Florida. Jacksonville was the last of the major metropolitan areas in the state to have a significant engineering college or school. Engineering education first appeared at the University of North Florida (UNF) in 1987 as a branch of University of Florida’s (UF) Electrical Engineering program. In 1992, UNF took responsibility for the program which is a part of the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction (CCEC). In 1999, the Division of Engineering was formed and as of 2006 has since been named the School of Engineering. The engineering program now has an enrollment of 350 junior and senior students and comprise of over 19 full-time and part-time faculty members. Classes are small and our students receive individual attention. Offices, labs, and most classrooms are housed in the new $22.6 million Science and Engineering Building which opened in 2004. The program offers BS and MS degrees in civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. The School of Engineering also offers Distance Learning (DL) where courses are recorded live in a classroom environment, and web cast over the Internet for streaming and downloading. Our engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Engineers enjoy the personal satisfaction of knowing their work contributes to the development of new technologies and has a direct and positive impact on society. Civil engineers design the built environment—the structures, roads, water supply systems, and much more that surrounds us. The profession encompasses several technical areas including structures, transportation, geotechnics, water resources and environment protection. Electrical engineers harness electrical energy for the benefit of humankind. The profession encompasses projects valued by society in many technical areas from communications to electric power and energy use to those for our current “Information Age.” Mechanical engineers are responsible for conceiving, designing, manu-
Building Your Future in Engineering
facturing, testing, and marketing devices and systems that alter, transfer, transform and utilize the energy form that ultimately causes motion. The School of Engineering offers engineering education and research programs which serve a diverse body of talented, accomplished, and motivated students and produce graduates that are desired by employers above all others. Employers for our engineers include consulting firms, industrial companies and government agencies and non-governmental organizations. The UNF Office of Career Services assists engineering students with part-time, paid internships while in school, and job placement upon graduation. Additionally, the School of Engineering sponsors several student organizations that allow students to explore technical interests, build professional skills, and participate in many social activities. Most importantly, all faculty members are available to guide and mentor our students throughout their academic career. Our mission is to provide our students the maximum opportunity for leadership, innovation, and success in their careers and lives by providing a solid engineering education rooted in the fundamentals of the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences; developing critical thinking abilities through real, hands-on challenges in industry and/or research; conducting research programs that enhance the education of our students, the professional development of our faculty and staff, the technical needs of our industrial partners, and the well being of society. We aspire to ensure that all of our programs contribute significantly and measurably to the quality of life in Northeast Florida and beyond. All members of our learning community—students, faculty, staff, administrators, and our industry partners—foster individual and group success through continuous improvement, mutual respect and support, and the highest expectations. At the University of North Florida School of Engineering, we believe that only through exemplary service and leadership in the profession and society does the engineer become a true professional. v
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2011 Salary Survey of Northeast & South Atlantic Engineering Firms e following is the sixth edition of ZweigWhite’s Salary Survey of South Atlantic Engineering Firms. is report shows base salaries for employees in engineering firms throughout Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. e Salary Survey of South Atlantic Engineering Firms has been prepared in partnership with three state chapters of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC/FL, ACEC/GA, and ACEC/MD). e following is a summary of the design/technical staff annual base salary. mean
median
lower quartile
upper quartile
Civil Engineer Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$52,146 $66,894 $87,548 $114,246 $140,910
$51,945 $66,312 $85,964 $105,768 $136,744
$47,667 $60,560 $76,828 $95,555 $114,400
$56,496 $75,064 $97,201 $130,176 $154,440
Structural Engineer Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$52,502 $70,205 $85,722 $109,864 $134,631
$53,322 $69,687 $86,788 $108,940 $127,185
$48,360 $61,700 $76,232 $99,757 $109,824
$57,658 $76,409 $94,000 $132,000 $149,580
Electrical Engineer Entry-level. Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$55,652 $74,581 $86,596 $108,290 $127,889
$54,600 $72,381 $82,392 $107,400 $125,000
$50,000 $66,560 $75,000 $99,000 $116,002
$60,000 $85,093 $96,500 $115,000 $160,000
Mechanical Engineer Entry-level. Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$53,381 $70,956 $91,171 $107,234 $137,899
$54,000 $68,553 $90,750 $105,040 $130,208
$50,000 $63,232 $80,340 $94,000 $110,240
$55,931 $75,800 $100,000 $113,500 $160,000
Geotechnical Engineer/Scientist Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$50,314 $63,333 $79,775 $108,110 $140,455
$51,002 $63,232 $80,000 $100,672 $130,505
$43,888 $52,200 $69,000 $92,200 $110,000
$55,397 $75,000 $91,960 $130,000 $155,168
Environmental Engineer/Scientist Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$49,475 $66,585 $86,266 $110,037 $140,987
$50,000 $66,000 $85,000 $104,499 $134,000
$43,826 $56,979 $78,130 $95,056 $123,504
$56,178 $75,111 $91,000 $122,366 $155,012
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October 2011
mean
median
lower quartile
upper quartile
Traffic/Transportation Engineer Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$54,723 $66,385 $89,222 $120,820 $157,054
$53,000 $65,030 $85,488 $112,512 $139,516
$49,816 $58,135 $81,000 $104,832 $125,000
$57,231 $75,000 $95,680 $130,000 $165,600
Planner Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$51,588 $$61,307 $85,940 $108,874 $127,768
$48,719 $61,000 $82,214 $106,454 $133,120
$43,000 $55,224 $72,936 $95,100 $104,832
$53,456 $67,532 $94,000 $125,338 $160,000
GIS Professional Entry-level Project engineer Project manager Department manager Principal
$44,959 $58,507 $73,150 $101,670 $118,911
$44,300 $54,080 $72,902 $100,880 $130,512
$39,000 $52,250 $64,000 $76,773 $90,000
$48,835 $67,777 $84,032 $123,500 $131,317
Land Surveyors Instrument Person Survey Technician Field Survey Party Chief Project Surveyor Survey Department Manager
$36,668 $44,875 $51,357 $69,746 $90,863
$36,352 $47,822 $52,260 $68,016 $87,107
$32,240 $38,480 $46,000 $64,012 $78,500
$40,997 $53,140 $56,493 $79,276 $102,086
Civil Engineering Technician Entry-level. Mid-level Senior-level
$38,541 $48,723 $62,263
$39,000 $47,965 $58,843
$31,702 $40,800 $49,920
$44,928 $55,668 $68,000
Mechanical Engineering Technician Entry-level Mid-level Senior-level
$68,239 $40,078 $48,097
$68,000 $40,000 $45,625
$58,000 $27,000 $36,000
$73,563 $50,128 $51,861
CADD Operator Entry-level Mid-level Senior-level
$35,193 $47,285 $58,732
$35,000 $46,120 $57,681
$31,200 $39,520 $52,000
$38,740 $55,536 $65,000
Field Technician Entry-level Mid-level. Senior-level
$35,181 $49,649 $61,712
$36,000 $51,168 $59,866
$31,000 $39,300 $49,550
$40,000 $56,256 $71,600
* Based on a sample too small to yield meaningful values.
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Building Your Future in Engineering
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Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt appeals to engineering students who want to put their careers and lives into a rich context. Zac Diggins, a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar who uses the engineering school’s summer research program to work in the Radiation Effects Research lab, likes the advantages a liberal arts university offers. The Hoover, Alabama, native says, “Vanderbilt engineering appealed to me because I like how the school fits into the university as a whole. I really like being with a variety of students instead of going to a tech school.” Vanderbilt is an internationally recognized, privately supported research university, and its hometown of Nashville, Tennessee is ‘Music City U.S.A.’ The university’s students frequently cite Nashville as one of the perks of Van-
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derbilt, with its 330-acre campus located a little more than a mile from downtown. The School of Engineering offers bachelor of engineering degrees in biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. A bachelor of science degree is offered in computer science and engineering science. Many engineering students choose double majors, minors, or concentrations in complementary disciplines. Minors in engineering management, computer science, scientific computing, materials science and engineering, environmental engineering, and energy and environmental systems may be combined with majors, as can minors offered through the College of Arts and Science. In addition to training in engineering science, mathematics, physics, and chemistry, students will take liberal arts courses as well as explore the opportunity to round out their undergraduate academic experience with an honors program or an accelerated degree program through which both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering are earned in five years. Many Vanderbilt students find study abroad to be an integral part of their undergraduate experience. This year, 15 percent of engineering seniors will have had at least one study abroad experience. The school offers the master of engineering (M.Eng.) degree, with emphasis on engineering design and practice, in most areas of study. The Vanderbilt Graduate School, through the School’s departments, offers the research-oriented Ph.D. degree in eight major fields: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer science, electrical, environmental, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering. The school’s unique first-year program allows students to examine various engineering majors from multiple perspectives before declaring a specific major. Senior Design, a two-semester ‘capstone course’ taken in an undergraduate’s final year, requires multidisciplinary engineering work on real-world, team-based projects. On Senior Design Day, an event held each April at the end of the semester, students
October 2011
share their results with their clients and the Vanderbilt community. All engineering students study in state-of-the-art classrooms and labs in Vanderbilt’s multimillion dollar engineering complex in a student-centered environment. Featheringill Hall, the centerpiece of the complex, features a three-story atrium that serves as a gathering place for all in the school. Featheringill Hall also contains more than 50 teaching and research labs, a design studio, model shop, and a project room to showcase student ideas from concept to prototype to final product. All full-time faculty members hold doctorates and teach undergraduate students. And, all programs leading to the bachelor of engineering degree at Vanderbilt are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc. Faculty and students collaborate across disciplines to address four critical research initiatives that characterize the school’s commitment to help solve real-world challenges with worldwide impact. They are health care, energy and the environment, information systems, and defense and national security. Critical health care research initiatives are ongoing in cellular dynamics in immunology, cardiology, cancer, as well as MRI and imaging systems to guide surgery. Other research efforts include laser-tissue interaction, biomedical optics, bionanotechnology, and robotics. The School of Engineering is recognized as an interna-
Building Your Future in Engineering
tional research leader in the areas of nuclear waste management, structural reliability and risk, and teaching assessment approaches to environmental decision making. Information technology research focus includes computer networking and network security, human-machine teaming, machine learning, and software engineering. A large number of faculty and students engage in leading-edge research of significant importance to critical commercial and government systems, including model-based design of trustworthy information systems, diagnostics of complex systems, and tools for the design of embedded systems. A particular strength of the school is the depth and breadth of its multidisciplinary capability. Through programs funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and others, the School participates in collaborations with many top-25 universities and national laboratories. Vanderbilt engineering graduates are valued for their expertise, intellectual independence, communication skills, and leadership ability. Graduates are actively recruited not only for engineering careers but also for careers as diverse as consulting, medicine, law, and finance. At Vanderbilt, engineering students learn to be creative thinkers and problem solvers, skills that are valuable throughout life, and not only when they are solving engineering problems. v
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The University of Georgia
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October 2011
Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia prides admitting students to the B.S. Civil Engineering in 2012 itself as being the nation’s first state-chartered uni- and the B.S. Electrical and Electronics Engineering and B.S. versity and the birthplace for public education. Mechanical Engineering in 2013. Today, the University of Georgia still impresses, hosting some of the most remarkable and enthusiastic students in the nation. UGA students annually receive some of the most prestigious scholarships awarded to American undergraduates. In 2007, UGA was the only public university to have two recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship, giving UGA a total of 21 Rhodes Scholars in its history. ree students received a 2011 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, giving UGA a total of 39 Goldwater recipients, and two students received a 2010 Harry Truman Scholarship, bringing the total number of UGA Truman winners to 17. A student also received a Morris Udall Scholarship in 2008, the third in recent years. In the 2007-2008 academic year, UGA was the only public university in the country with winners of Rhodes, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall scholarships. UGA also consistently ranks high on the list of top 50 public universities in the nation, tying for 18th on U.S News and World Report’s list in 2011 and being named as sixth for overall value by Kiplinger magazine last year. With expansive learning centers, including the newly built 100,000-square-foot Tate Center Two, award-winning food services, and exceptional recreation and health centers, UGA students receive an unparalleled college experience. In between classes, students can study on the beautiful, historic North Campus or walk the quaint streets of downtown Athens, where stars like John Mayer and R.E.M. caught their first big breaks. As a classical liberal arts university and a land grant institution, the University of Georgia has been a leader in agricultural engineering since the 1930s with degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and PhD level. In the early 1990s, UGA’s engineering program added biological engineering to its list and in 2006 added degrees in environmental, biochemical, and computer systems engineering to respond to the growing needs for energy, human health, and technology education in today’s society. Currently, engineering undergrads at UGA can pursue bachelor’s degrees in the following disciplines: Agricultural Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, and Environmental Engineering. Responding to the growing demand for an engineering education by Georgia residents and the need for engineers by Georgia industries, UGA will begin
Building Your Future in Engineering
To enhance its impressive array of educational offerings, UGA’s engineering program continues to add new courses and introduce innovative teaching methods such as synthesis and design courses and virtual reality educational techniques. UGA’s engineering faculty specialize in a range of leading research areas such as biophotonics, waste management, sustainable systems, bioenergy, microfluidics, nanomaterials, electrochemical systems, engineering ecology, and engineering education. Many engineering students engage in undergraduate research experiences with faculty mentors. UGA provides an engineering education in a liberal arts environment. is environment prepares graduates to be technically excellent in science, mathematics, analysis and synthesis, to have an innovative curiosity for creative adaptation from learning, unlearning and relearning, and to have a humanistic consciousness grounded in humanities, arts, and social sciences. Engineering academic programs encourage students to think both critically and creatively. And because the program is small, engineering students at UGA develop mentoring relationships with faculty as a part of a well rounded educational experience. Engineering undergrads at UGA benefit from a learning environment that imitates the diversity of the society in which they will live and work. Students build a network of friends and faculty that excel in every field from business to law and other science majors like infectious diseases and biology that will help them advance throughout their careers. Overall, UGA’s engineering program develops each of its students into active and engaged engineers who will be unafraid of a challenge and ready to enter practice after graduation. v
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FACTS Georgia Resident
Out-of-State Resident
Tuition and Fees $9,472 Typical Residence Halls $4,916 Typical 7-Day Meal Plan $3,792 Tuition, Room & Board $18,180 Estimated Books & Supplies $1,078 Estimated Living Expenses $1,562 Total Cost $20,820
$27,682 $4,916 $3,792 $36,390 $1,078 $1,562 $39,030
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Engineering Eagles
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University has received approval by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents to offer baccalaureate degrees in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering with classes set to begin in fall 2011. “There are defining moments in the life of every major university. The approval to offer engineering degrees at Georgia Southern is definitely one of the most notable in our institution’s more than 100-year history,” said Brooks Keel, Ph.D., president of Georgia Southern University. “An adequate supply of engineers is critical not only to the goal of fostering a statewide environment that nurtures high-tech industry, but to the future prosperity of Georgia.” Building on a Tradition of Engineering Education Georgia Southern is not a stranger to engineering circles and has been offering nationally accredited baccalaureate degrees in civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering technology for more than 30 years. The new degree programs are being initially housed within the College of Science and Technology, but it is envisioned that Georgia Southern University will soon create a new College of Engineering to accommodate an already increasing level of interest from students throughout the state and around the globe.
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“Georgia Southern’s new engineering degrees retain the applied nature of their engineering technology roots, but allow the University to fulfill its evolving mission of teaching and research,” said Bret Danilowicz, Ph.D., dean of the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology (COST). “Our programs enable Georgia Southern to not only train engineering graduates that will be in high-demand by employers, but they also allow us to significantly increase our ability to promote and develop the economy of Georgia.” In addition, Georgia Southern has offered the Regents Engineering Transfer Program (RETP) and Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program (GTREP) for over ten years. The unique programs have offered students who successfully completed freshman and sophomore level university core and engineering science courses the opportunity to transfer to Georgia Tech to complete their engineering studies. Supply vs. Demand During the past 20 years, the U.S. has not produced enough engineering graduates to meet employment demands. Similarly, the historic shortfall of engineers within the state of Georgia is projected to continue, as the overall number of engineering graduates has decreased, and the aging engineering workforce continues to retire at a faster rate than can be replaced. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the 2008-18 decade, overall engineering employment is expected to grow by 11 percent. “There is definitely a demand for well-trained engineers with hands-on experience and Georgia Southern University is the perfect place to offer engineering programs,” said Georgia State Senator Jack Hill. “Georgia companies and those considering Georgia for their manufacturing operations or high-tech businesses continue to need well-trained engineers, and supply continues to be an issue. Georgia Southern is now one of only a select few universities to offer engineering in the state and will help support not only one of the fastest growing areas in Georgia, but in the country.”
October 2011
Building Your Future in Engineering
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research: Engineering a solid future In recent years, Georgia Southern has found its niche in research that yields advanced, yet practical results. Faculty and students, including those at the undergraduate level, engage in projects that offer hands-on learning and produce real world applications that positively impact the economy at state and regional levels and beyond. The pursuit for external funding is highly competitive, but close partnerships with nearby industries, such as small engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton and heavy equipment manufacturer JCB, have provided Georgia Southern unique opportunities that are essential to building a renowned applied engineering program. Georgia Southern is quick to point out that engineering is an applied discipline and it is focused on not only providing opportunities for student learning, but faculty research. "The benefit is two-fold: we are not only providing companies with practical solutions to problems they may not have the manpower to solve, but also supplying the workforce with more skilled engineers,” says Danilowicz. Existing labs offer students a unique opportunity to be involved in the entire research process. They are testing biofuels, building wind turbines, working with industry repre-
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sentatives, and publishing peer-reviewed articles. “Our students are involved in intense research with cutting-edge equipment. When they graduate, they are not only able to recognize instrumentation, they have probably worked with more advanced technology than most manufacturers possess,” said Valentin Soloiu, head of Georgia Southern’s Renewable Energy and Engines Lab. Many students spend more than four hours per day on research alone, in addition to class, tests and studying-but they say being immersed in the process is what they appreciate most about Georgia Southern’s programs. Spencer Harp (’08) was one of the first teaching assistants in Soloiu’s lab, where students test the effectiveness of biofuels in various types of engines generously provided by Briggs & Stratton and JCB. The lab, a perfect example of collaborative research, utilizes cutting-edge technology and yields solutions that positively impact both students and industry. “The best engineer can talk to the user, examine the equipment, and produce a solution. My experience here at Georgia Southern will make me more prepared for my career,” says Harp. “What we do in the labs here at Georgia Southern bridges the gap between blackboard engineering and real-world engineering.” v
October 2011
Building Your Future in Engineering
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