Grant Programs

Program Areas / Fields of Interest

Enhancing Communication in Engineering

Problem Statement:
Current ABET accreditation standards require undergraduate degree programs in engineering to show that students have mastered “an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.” Studies of working engineers show that they spend 50-60 percent of their days communicating critical information individually and in groups with supervisors, colleagues, and clients through a variety of means that include listening, speaking, writing, and the use of visual and graphic tools. Yet undergraduate engineering programs and curricula struggle to ensure that students master this complex set of skills. New curricular models need to be developed, especially to keep step with evolving communications technologies. Working models also need to be refined and promulgated. And all approaches need to be evaluated to establish benchmarks for effective ways to improve the communication skills of students in engineering programs.

How can we develop, test, identify, and promote the best approaches?

Our Goal:
We want to assist engineering faculty in transmitting the necessary listening, written, verbal, visual, and graphic communication skills that their students need to be successful engineers. Your project might focus on one or more of these skills, create a method for students to develop the selected skills, implement the method in your curriculum, and then test your approach.  Or you might identify an existing model and propose ways to enhance or refine and further test it. We welcome collaborative projects between engineering faculty and communications and/or information science specialists. Also, the earlier the intervention happens in the educational cycle, the better!

Do you have ideas for new approaches or for refining and testing existing models?

EiF Director Contact: Dr. Donald Waters

 
 

Women in Engineering - Projects Directed by Engineering Educators

Problem Statement:
Although the majority of new entrants to the workforce in the coming years will be women, women remain under-represented in the areas of engineering and technology. In order for our nation to remain competitive, we must ensure that more women gain the competencies to equip them for leadership in these areas. Studies have shown that women stay away from engineering because of negative perceptions deeply ingrained throughout their social development. Women fail to pursue careers in engineering, and of those who do, the retention rate is unacceptably low.

How can we change this?

Our Goal:
We want to encourage middle school-aged girls to pursue engineering degrees. Your project might focus on orientation and recruitment of women, or on staying the course after the first year in engineering school. We think that the negative effects of gender-related behavior in the classroom ought to be eliminated. Click here for more detailed guidelines for this program area.

Do you have a project that addresses this problem?

EiF Director Contact: Dr. Julie A. Shimer