Art for Engineers

Engineering reflects invention, which requires an ability to see beyond given circumstances. At the same time, engineering exists within a framework of physical and economical laws that temper and regulate human ingenuity. Visionary ideas and practical solutions must work in tandem to serve and advance the human enterprise. And while engineering must balance conditions that require different sets of skills, engineering education is almost exclusively aligned with methods of science-based disciplines (e.g., math, physics, chemistry) that promote systemic analysis and precedence as barometers of truth. In an effort to enhance problem solving skills, the Departments of Art and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston have developed an interdisciplinary teaching initiative designed to introduce visual processing into engineering curricula. Working within a context of design, the primary objective has been to develop a more comprehensive approach to thinking by synthesizing rational and intuitive processing. In this conceptual essay, we discuss the theoretical basis of this initiative giving insight into creative problem solving.

2013

If the United States is to remain a strong leader in the global engineering fields, graduates of engineering programs will not only have to be technological competent, but they will also have to possess skills in the area of creativity and innovation. In fact, as the US competes in the global market of ideas these skills and abilities will be the discriminating factor between the US engineer and those educated in other countries. This paper will provide a review of the literature concerning the use of pedagogy techniques used in the engineering curriculum to prepare entering graduate engineering students in creativity and innovation. The paper will outline how artist skills can serve as a basis for the teaching engineering students to integrate more creativity and problem-solving skills into the curriculum. Further, the paper will show the connection of visual art and engineering through sketching, visualization, model-making, and exploration of spatial relationships visually. It wi...

Journal of Engineering …, 2005

This paper is based on the premises that the purpose of engineering education is to graduate engineers who can design, and that design thinking is complex. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the history and role of design in the engineering curriculum. Several dimensions of design thinking are then detailed, explaining why design is hard to learn and harder still to teach, and outlining the research available on how well design thinking skills are learned. The currently most-favored pedagogical model for teaching design, project-based learning (PBL), is explored next, along with available assessment data on its success. Two contexts for PBL are emphasized: first-year cornerstone courses and globally dispersed PBL courses. Finally, the paper lists some of the open research questions that must be answered to identify the best pedagogical practices of improving design learning, after which it closes by making recommendations for research aimed at enhancing design learning. The capstone course is a U.S. term for design courses typically taken in the senior year. The term cornestone is a recent U.S. coinage for design or project courses taken early (e.g., first year) in the engineering curriculum. It was intended to draw a distinction from and preserve the mataphor of the capstone course. G handle uncertainty; G make decisions; G think as part of a team in a social process; and G think and communicate in the several languages of design.

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, 2011

McMaster University has initiated a new graduate program in engineering practice aimed at educating tomorrow’s engineering design leaders. Graduates of engineering schools are well versed in technology and its application but must acquire new skills and competencies in innovation and design in order to become global leaders in their industries. The leading thinkers in engineering design innovate continuously to succeed in the global marketplace. This paper discusses the value and importance of teaching and learning human-centred design thinking for engineering graduates. Achieving significant and continuous innovation through design requires looking beyond current systems design practices. Engineering educators must adapt new ways of thinking, teaching, and learning engineering design from other disciplines. This paper discusses the modes of engineering thinking and how they differ from those of contemporary innovators and examines how a human-centred approach to design can replace ...

International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP), 2017

Over the past twenty years, nearly all job growth in the United States has emerged from new companies and organizations with assumedly innovative products, services, and practices. Yet, the nurturing of student creative thinking and problem solving is infrequent in engineering education. Inherent to developing these creativity skills and attributes is the need to be exposed to difference — in people and environment. Engineering education rarely offers such opportunities. Additionally, engineering students are rarely presented opportunities to develop designs responding to real human problems. This paper puts forth a new instructional model to address these needs by utilizing arts processes and practices as catalysts for both creativity development in students and transdisciplinary collaboration on problems addressing deep human needs. This model is premised on the substantiated role of the arts in developing creativity and growing understanding of the human condition. This art-based...