Introduction to Engineering and Design

Course Description

Are you considering a career in engineering? Are you fascinated by what engineers do?

This course is modeled in part after the popular undergraduate course at Brown, “Introduction to Engineering.” In this course, high school students will be given the same opportunity to experience engineering and design first hand. Students will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of the engineering design process, a grasp of the various fields of engineering, and an appreciation of the far-reaching impacts of engineering.

A major focus of this class will be the engineering design process. Students will work in teams on design projects which cover a range of engineering disciplines. For example, past groups have designed a safe and functional walker, a low-cost water filtration system, a biocompatible replacement blood vessel, and a plan for moving a town from its current fossil energy sources to solely solar or wind (or both) energy.

Groups will discuss potential ethical issues in their design, brainstorm possible solutions, and formulate and present their own ‘final’ detailed design. They will have the unique opportunity to work in the Brown Design Workshop to bring their ideas to life through the development of a small-scale engineering prototype. In the process, they will experience the engineering design approach, as well as learn the importance of managing the design process and communicating design outcomes.

Finally, students will be able to make engineering choices for their own futures based on guest speakers, panel discussions, and lab tours in various engineering fields.

By the end of this class, students will:

-Understand how to apply the engineering design process;
-Have constructed a prototype to solve an engineering problem;
-Have explored multiple fields of engineering; and
-Have formulated a plan for starting a college career in engineering.

Prerequisites: There are no pre-requisites to this class, although math through algebra would be very helpful.

*For 1 week course sections scheduled for June 29 - July 2, 2020: Classes will not meet on Friday, July 3rd due to the observed Independence Day holiday. Due to the brevity of the course, meeting times have been adjusted accordingly Monday - Thursday to preserve in-class hours. We encourage students to remain on campus through Friday as our Campus Life team will be fully engaged with our students, offering a variety of activities.