Academic Books 2021: Engineering & Engineering Technology

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ENGINEERING & ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY @LeTourneau University


CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS JOINING ENGINEERING

COMPUTER & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING


BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

The future is exceptionally bright for engineering students. There are grand challenges to be solved for societies around the globe. Making solar energy economical, enhancing virtual reality, engineering better medical solutions, restoring and improving infrastructure, providing clean water to billions of people, ensuring safety from hostile threats and providing energy from fusion— you can be a part of solving these complex challenges. LeTourneau University engineering graduates have provided countless innovative solutions for clients, the public and government agencies around the world. Our faculty members love Christ and are highly available to students, often becoming mentors, and LETU engineering curriculum gives students hands-on experience from the first semester to the last. Our graduates are in high demand and readily have numerous employment and career opportunities prior to graduation. I am consistently asked by employers about available graduates, and I usually let them know that their company will have to compete for them with all the others that desire to hire our graduates. – DR. STEVEN K. STARRETT, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, F.EWRI, DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND PROFESSOR OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

“I’ve always encouraged people to set themselves to do the unusual, something most people think is impossible. Don’t be satisfied with the ordinary—think big. Move up to success, but place commitment to God first.” – R.G. LETOURNEAU, INVENTOR, ENTREPRENEUR, ENGINEER AND FOUNDER OF LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY


MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Mechanical engineering is one of the most diverse engineering disciplines, dealing with the design, development and manufacturing of products that affect virtually every kind of vehicle, power system and machine—in every area of life. At LETU, our students are engaged in a variety of build-your-own projects from the get-go. Design and build your own 3D printer—as a freshman. Conceptualize, build and race your own off-road vehicle in the SAE Mini Baja collegiate team competition. Call our 7,300-square-foot machine tool & design lab your home away from home. CAREERS: LETU mechanical engineering graduates hold professional positions in research, development, design, production, applications engineering and management in many industries including aerospace, automotive, aviation, robotics and manufacturing, electronics, microelectronics and computers, telecommunications and information systems.

“IT’S SO COOL TO LOOK BACK ON AN ENTIRE PROJECT AS A WHOLE; you can see your creation come from nothing to something. It’s exciting to think about what I’ll get to build in the future.” – JACOB SCHWARTZ, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR “MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PREPARES STUDENTS TO WORK IN A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES INCLUDING aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, advanced manufacturing, heavy equipment design and more. Our nationally recognized program combines rigorous theory and hands-on experiences from the first semester until graduation. The faculty are called by God to teach here in a distinctively Christian context that prepares students to engage technical problems from a holistic viewpoint, combining engineering theory, practical skills and a Biblical perspective. We are small enough to know you and large enough to prepare you to excel.”– DR. SCOTT ANSON, P.E., DEPARTMENT CHAIR AND PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 4 | letu.edu


Mechanical engineering freshmen designed and built this prosthetic hand; the user touches his knuckles to a sensor that operates the movement of the hand.

AS A SENIOR DESIGN TEAM, Frontier Wheelchairs has provided engineering assistance to organizations in the developing world, such as Hope Haven International in Antigua, Guatemala, to improve wheelchair designs to serve the needs of wheelchair users.


COM P U T E R & E L E C T RICAL E N G IN E E R I N G Cell phones, TVs, medical imaging, smart appliances, vehicles and advanced satellite systems all have a common thread—the work of an electrical engineer. Our program emphasizes high-impact research and hands-on experience. Projects, grant-funded research, labs and senior design projects focus on everything from robotics and biosensors to electric motor diagnosis and digital signal processing. You’ll learn to design electronic components and systems for industrial, commercial or scientific applications. CAREERS: Electrical engineering graduates have gone on to work for the likes of NASA, Rockwell Collins and Texas Instruments as electrical, test, controls and project engineers, as well as electrical engineering managers and senior engineers.

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LeTourneau was the only university in the nation to place two teams among the top ten—and was the only Texas university in the top ten—at the 2015 global, 24-hour Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xtreme 9.0 computer programming competition.

LETU’s autonomous robotics team designs and builds their own robot each year to enter into the IEEE Region 5 Robotics Competition. Each year, the robot is designed to complete a designated task 100% autonomously—and LETU’s robot has a recent record of coming out on top.

”My experience in the electrical engineering department has been extremely hands-on with relevant projects and labs that reinforce the topics discussed in lecture. The small class sizes allow for a more personalized learning experience, and the professors are always willing to talk with you one-on-one outside of class. My experience here has been positive, and I feel prepared for my future job.” – ANDREW HARLAN, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR 6 | letu.edu


PUT THEORY TO PRACTICE IN MORE THAN 5,500 SQUARE FEET OF LAB SPACE dedicated to the electrical and computer engineering programs.


CIVIL ENGINEERING BUILD SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL PROBLEMS. Engineer cleaner air, purer water, stronger buildings, safer bridges—and don’t wait until you graduate to get started. Choose a concentration in structural engineering to focus on designing safe, sound structures. Or learn to design, build and manage systems for water supply and purification, flood prevention, wastewater treatment and irrigation with an emphasis on water resources engineering. Or, with environmental engineering, incorporate principles of science and engineering to help create sustainable solutions to a broad variety of environmental issues around the world. Project-based learning starts during freshman year here, so you won’t have to wait until you’re an upperclassman to start testing structural components, performing hydraulic system modeling, surveying and more. CAREERS: With concentration choices in structural, water resources and environmental engineering, civil engineering alumni have left LETU to build skyscrapers, bridges, stadiums and space platforms, as well as water supply, purification and irrigation systems. Graduates will be ready to address the emerging challenges of air quality, drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, hydrologic modeling and sustainable design of infrastructure.

“WE (CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS) HAVE OPPORTUNITIES to go into communities and make an impact. And we can do it for a different reason: not for our glory, but for God’s glory.” – DR. DARRYL LOW, DEPARTMENT CHAIR & ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

TAKING DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS, WIND

1ST AND SEISMIC RESISTANCE, LIVING COMFORT, DURABILITY, cost, weight, transportability, manufacturability and cultural practices into consideration, the SafeHome senior design team works to design and build the most efficient shelter possible to give respite to those displaced by natural disasters. They’ve won first place in national competitions with shelters that have withstood 130 mph wind. 8 | letu.edu


As the newest addition to the LETU School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, the environmental engineering degree shares parts of the civil engineering curriculum, while also introducing students to emerging environmental issues through laboratory research, computer simulations and multidisciplinary teamwork.

Civil engineers improve nearly all aspects of the world around them—buildings, roads, transportation, even water and air. Invest in a practical degree that gives the local and global communities safer, better lives.


LETU ALUMNUS DR. RICHARD BAUMER, Department Chair and Omer Blodgett Chair of Welding/Materials Joining Engineering, graduated with a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT, was a senior engineer at The Dow Chemical Company and now passes on his industry experience to LETU materials joining students.


M AT E R I A L S JOINING ENGINEERING Materials joining is a hybrid program that combines the fundamentals of materials, mechanical, structural and electrical engineering—and applies these principles to the development and application of joining technology. This is the “glue” that keeps skyscrapers and bridges standing, computers running, airplanes flying and pipelines supplying natural gas to homes and factories. Providing a rigorous foundation in engineering design, materials science, welding/joining processes, and non-destructive testing, students learn engineering principles in an exceptional laboratory environment. CAREERS: Individuals who understand the engineering aspects of joining materials are highly sought after by companies that produce aircraft carriers, skyscrapers, fighter jets, pressure vessels and more.

“I’M THANKFUL I GET TO LEARN ABOUT THE MULTITUDE OF METHODS most couldn’t even begin to imagine for cleaving metal. Going to LETU has given me some special opportunities.” – HUDSON CARDEN, B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, ‘18

LeTourneau University is one of only three universities in the nation that provides an ABETaccredited engineering program with a welding or materials joining concentration.

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LETU’s 8,600-square-foot Kielhorn Welding & Materials Joining Engineering Lab is the largest

MILLION stand-alone lab of its kind in the country, housing over $1 million worth of equipment.

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BIOMECHANICS, HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY, fluid mechanics and biosignal analysis are just a few of the interesting courses biomedical engineering students get to experience.


BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING When you take LeTourneau’s legacy of engineering expertise and emphasis on solving real-world challenges and apply this to the fields of biology and medicine—you enter one high-demand career field with a significant practical impact. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 23% growth in employment opportunities for biomedical engineers through 2024—17% higher than the national average for growth across all occupations. Pave the way for medical school. Or prepare to put your research and design skills to work innovating new devices or techniques to diagnose and treat diseases. Or even perform motion analysis to improve the performance of professional athletes or develop new materials used to make prosthetics and implants more durable. CAREERS: Having such a versatile, in-demand degree, LETU biomedical engineering graduates are often employed right out of school. Many also choose to pursue graduate-level studies or medical school. Their résumés are diverse, ranging from positions at the U.S. Army Biomechanics Lab, to product engineering at NIKE, to graduate school at MIT, to medical missions in Africa.

LETU biomedical engineering graduates are employed in universities, hospitals, medical research facilities and even government agencies. Getting there starts here—in biomed labs outfitted with the latest in R&D, including a motion analysis system, bioinstrumentation equipment, interactive musculoskeletal modeling software and a cleanroom facility. STANCE SENIOR DESIGN STUDENTS are addressing needs for improvements on prosthetics for above-knee amputees by creating a mechanical knee joint that allows for easier walking, especially on stairs and uneven terrain.

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“The reason the physical building of projects is so important, is that we find new students are fairly adept at virtual manipulation but require additional opportunities in tactile interfaces. Their ability to engineer is tangibly improved as they get better with the touches, smells and sounds of machines and the materials that make machines. Success in making even simple machines provides an immediate boost in confidence for tackling large, real-world problems.” – DR. JESSE FRENCH, PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING OUTREACH

OUR ENGINEERING FACILITIES ENCOMPASS OVER 40,000 SQUARE FEET of lab space. Walk by on any given day, and you’ll find undergraduate students engaging with top-tier faculty on cutting edge sponsored research and senior design teams refining their latest projects.

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3D PRINTING

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD IN THEIR FIRST SEMESTER, ALL FRESHMEN PARTICIPATE IN A SIGNIFICANT BUILD PROJECT, such as building a 3D printer. Recently, a group of these builders banded together and set the Guinness World Record for most 3D printers operating simultaneously in one room. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, a few months later, they broke their own record. To top it off, the products they printed were donated to help make twelve prosthetic hands for kids in need.

DON’T STOP WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE. DEVELOP YOUR CAPACITY FOR ADVANCED ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, experimentation and engineering leadership within an integrated Christian perspective with either a thesis-based Master of Science in Engineering or a course-based Master of Engineering degree. Advanced undergraduates are eligible to apply for early admission to graduate school, giving students the opportunity to graduate with engineering bachelor’s and master’s degrees in as few as five years.


“This awesome opportunity was made possible by two experiences I’ve had through LeTourneau: first, leading LeTourneau’s own satellite development program, LetSat, has given me extraordinary industry experience that is very unique among undergraduates. Second, I was able to work an internship with a premier surgical robotics research center in Germany because of LeTourneau’s international partnerships. I’m looking forward to the next big challenge at SpaceX!” -CLIFF WHITE, B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, ’18, SpaceX Manufacturing Engineer

A LABOR(ATORY) OF LOVE

PROGRAMMED FOR SUCCESS

“My LETU education has given me ample hands-on experience, which far surpassed that of my peers. The research opportunities available to undergraduates at LETU are invaluable. Many of my professors at LETU worked in the industry before moving to academia; the practical knowledge they brought to the classroom was worth its weight in gold.

“After earning my Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Master of Electrical Engineering degrees in five years, I can say that LeTourneau laid the foundation of knowledge that I learned to apply in hands-on projects. These projects, along with programming competitions in which I was able to participate, are what prepared me for my interview with Google.”

A high point in my career since graduating was our laboratory being awarded a $5 million research contract from Boeing. It was quite rewarding to present an industrial large-scale laboratory that impressed Boeing executives enough to grant us the contract.” -BURTON RHODES, B.S. ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, MATERIALS JOINING, ’13, Chief Engineer of McNair Aerospace Center

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-AIDEN WOLTER, ‘15 AND ‘16, Google Software Engineer


3-YEAR AVERAGE GRADUATE JOB PLACEMENT RATE

95% ENGINEERING GRADUATES

LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY IS THE ONLY member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) to offer a degree in materials joining / welding engineering.

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LETU’S SPOT ON THE 2021 U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S “BEST ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES” RANKING

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A R E A S O F S T U DY

LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING On Campus, Online, Graduate

ENGINEERING & ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE

Engineering • Biomedical (including Pre-Health) • Civil • Computer • Electrical • Environmental • Materials Joining • Mechanical Engineering Technology • Aeronautical-Electrical • Aeronautical-Mechanical • Electrical • Materials Joining • Mechanical Mechanical Engineering

GRADUATE

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(Some Recent and Current)

DALE HILL, WELDING ENGINEERING, ‘69, and LETU Academy of Engineering and Engineering Technology member, became a career entrepreneur and is a pioneer in clean transit solutions. He founded Proterra in 2004 to build the world’s best battery-powered electric bus and charging system. Proterra won the 2018 Clean Tech award for the United States, Top 100 in the world.

E M P LOY E R S

CAREERS

(Just to name a few)

Master of Engineering Master of Science in Engineering

CIVIL ENGINEER BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER

MATERIALS JOINING ENGINEER MECHANICAL ENGINEER

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

COMPUTER ENGINEER AERONAUTICAL ENGINEER DESIGN TECHNOLOGIST

John Deere US Steel HONDA

Ace Precision Machin USAA


Ulterra Drilling Technologies

Rockwell Collins

ning Corp. L3 Technologies

McDermott

Stemco

Garmin

Proterra

CHRYSLER GROUP LLC

Framatome

Eastman Chemical Co.

USP Structural Connectors

GENERAL MOTORS Lockheed Martin


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TOP THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

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WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN ASPECT OF OUR PROGRAM. Professors meet regularly with students one-on-one and in small groups, to disciple and mentor them. Our goal is to make you impact-ready, academically and spiritually, in the workplace and in life.

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SMALL, LEARNING-

FOCUSED CLASSES. With a 16:1 student/faculty ratio, we are able to provide you personal attention. And that attention comes from industry standouts.


4 REALISTIC LABORATORY

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FACILITIES. Put your hands to work from your first semester solving real-world problems. We have millions of dollars

OUTSTANDING FACULTY

of laboratory facilities that

WHO BRING THEIR

students actually get to use.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE TO

One student spent the summer

THE CLASSROOM. Our faculty

after his freshman year doing

have worked at national research labs and major engineering firms like Lockheed, Delphi and more.

paid research using our scanning electron microscope— equipment normally reserved for seniors and grad students at big research universities.

LONG-STANDING STEM LEGACY. LeTourneau has a decades-long heritage of faith & innovation, passed down from R.G. LeTourneau, and equips students, staff & faculty to be engineers of creativity & ingenuity.

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THE GUILD “GUILDS WERE A FEATURE OF THE EARLIEST UNIVERSITIES, and we would like to revive that spirit of craftsmanship when it comes to the liberal arts. Strong communities of accountability promote excellence and rigor. They also make the journey a lot more fun!” – DR. LESLEY-ANNE WILLIAMS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

In the Guild, scholars engage in specialized courses and immersive experiences, discovering how the core disciplines for the liberal arts build upon and relate to one another. These students encourage each other to ask life-changing questions about themselves, this world and their faith. Each semester-long, team-taught course experience constitutes an integrated history, literature and fine arts curriculum that emphasizes reading primary works. Guild members will have the chance to take part in unique events and learning

opportunities to enhance their overall experience. Those accepted into the program also have the opportunity to live in the same community as other Guild scholars, as well as receive an annual scholarship. The Guild is open to all majors and profoundly shapes those involved, equipping them to be Christ-centered leaders in their workplaces and their communities.

LEARN MORE AT:

WWW.LETU.EDU/THEGUILD

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HONORS COLLEGE “The Honors College at LeTourneau University is a place where students get a chance to dive deeper into what it means to be a Christian by better understanding their calling, growing in their character and loving their community.” – DR. BENJAMIN JOHNSON, DIRECTOR OF THE HONORS COLLEGE

Open to all majors, the Honors College at LeTourneau University seeks to provide enriched educational experiences. Through offering experiences that are intellectual, formational and practical, the Honors College seeks to form students in understanding their call or vocation, growing in character and wisdom and seeking the good of their community.

The Honors College program offers unique classroom experiences and curriculum, intentional communal living in the Honors Dorm and additional educational and social experiences. It is a place to be further formed into the image of God.

LEARN MORE AT:

WWW.LETU.EDU/HONORS

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2100 South Mobberly Avenue Longview, TX 75602 • letu.edu • 1-800-759-8811  facebook.com/myletu •  twitter.com/@LeTourneauUniv •  #LeTourneauBuilt In accordance with applicable provisions of federal law, applicants for employment who are in agreement with the educational mission of LeTourneau University and applicants for admission to educational programs or activities are considered without discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, handicapping condition, national origin or genetic information.


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