My prior series of posts (part 1, part 2, and part 3) proposed that a common characteristic of all engineering activity was the use of abstract models to search a solution space before implementing a new method, device, or system. Engineers fill the gap between science, which seeks to generate accurate models, and manufacturing, which [...]
In the study of linear systems, a familiar relationship is the homogeneous state-space equation , where is an -vector, and is an matrix. The time-invariant solution, (i.e., when is a constant matrix), is . When this subject is first introduced, the solution is often assumed, rather than derived. The thinking is that since the solution [...]
Well, now that the fall semester has started at Purdue, I’m going to make an effort to post more regularly. Of course, just one post a month would be more regular than my recent performance. Anyhow, today’s e-mail brought a brochure for a course (IE 590 & ChE 597) titled, “Career, Teaming & Entrepreneurial Methods [...]
As I enjoyed lunch with a friend today, he described a teenager that he has been counseling. The young man that my friend has been advising wants to be engineer. When asked why, the teen replied that he wants “to build things.” That’s certainly why I wanted to be an engineer. It’s also why I [...]
While trying to get more informed on how engineering education can be improved, I thought I’d post my “newbie” perspective on what subject material needs to be added to the core engineering curriculum. As illustrated above, there are at least six areas that I think deserve greater attention. These are, in no particular order: Software [...]
