Title: “Educating Engineers: A Report on the Quest to Educate Well-rounded Engineers”
Speaker: Cynthia Atman
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Time: 5:00 – 5:50 PM
Location: Mary Gates Hall 241, UW Seattle campus

This talk is part of the HCDE 521 Seminar series, occurring weekly on Wednesdays at 5:00 PM, and is open to the public. Sponsored by the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. For more information, visit http://hcde.uw.edu/521.

Abstract: The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a study of the undergraduate engineering experience that included data from over 4,000 students from 25 Colleges of Engineering across the U.S. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from multiple cohorts of undergraduate engineering students using a multi-method approach including surveys, structured and semi-structured interviews, and written design tasks.

Research findings about engineering student pathways will be presented with a focus on educating well-rounded engineers. Specifically, findings related to Pathways In (student motivation to study engineering), Pathways Through (educational experiences, student engagement and design learning) and Pathways Out (career choices and early career experiences) will be presented. Audience members will be asked to reflect on these findings with respect to their own educational experiences and discuss how engineering education can be improved.

About the Speaker: Cynthia Atman is a professor in Human Centered Design & Engineering, founding director of the Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching (CELT), director of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) and the inaugural holder of the Mitchell T. & Lella Blanche Bowie Endowed Chair at the University of Washington. She earned her doctorate in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and joined the UW in 1998 after seven years on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on engineering design learning and students as emerging engineering professionals. She is a fellow of AAAS and ASEE, was the 2002 recipient of the ASEE Chester F. Carlson Award for Innovation in Engineering Education, and received the 2009 David B. Thorud Leadership Award, which is given to a UW faculty or staff for demonstrating leadership, innovation, and teamwork.