2015 AASHTO RAC Meeting Portland, Oregon Martin Pietrucha, Director Larson Institute, Penn State THE LARSON INSTITUTE A Conversation on Pairing Training and Career: A University-based Education Perspective

Summary University curricula are changing – Undergraduate – Graduate Are they changing the “right” way? Are they changing quickly enough (and can they continue to change as needed)? THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Changing University Curricula THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Changing University Curricula Undergraduate – ASCE’s Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21 st Century Foundational – Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences Technical – Materials Science, Mechanics, Experiments, Problem Recognition and Solving, Design, Sustainability, Contemporary Issues and Historical Perspectives, Risk and Uncertainty, Project Management, Breadth in Civil Engineering Areas, Technical Specialization Professional – Communication, Public Policy, Business and Public Administration, Globalization, Leadership, Teamwork, Attitudes, Lifelong Learning, Professional and Ethical Responsibility THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Changing University Curricula Undergraduate – The reality Fewer required math, physics, and chemistry courses Elimination of Surveying, Basic Circuits, Thermodynamics Some – Sustainability (coming slowly) – Leadership (strong presence; but not required) – Globalization (indirectly through study abroad, EWB, BTP) – Lifelong Learning (through osmosis) – Professional and Ethical Responsibility (inoculation only) None – Contemporary Issues and Historical Perspectives – Risk and Uncertainty – Public Policy – Business and Public Administration – Attitudes THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Changing University Curricula Undergraduate – Is the civil engineering degree the right entry level degree for a transportation professional? – Is there finally a need for an undergraduate transportation engineering degree separate from civil engineering (like industrial broke off from mechanical in the early 1900s or environmental differentiated itself from civil in the 1960s/70s)? – Can we do it “off the rack” by moving transportation from civil to industrial engineering? – Or do we need to “custom tailor” a new curriculum for transportation engineering? THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Traditional Civil Engineer Construction Environmental Geotechnical Hydrology/Hydraulics Materials Structures Surveying and Mapping Transportation

Typical Transportation Engineer Design (Highway) Operations (Highway) Planning (Car/Truck/Transit?) Other Modes? (Peds? Bikes? Transit?) Other Operating Schemes? (ITS? Supply Chain Management?)

Engineering Knowledge Gaps Users – Needs, Wants, and Desires – Capabilities and Limitations Vehicles – Capabilities and Limitations Operating Environment – Weather/Surface Conditions – Lighting

Beyond Tradition Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science Industrial Engineering Supply Chain Management

Business Requirements Speaking Writing Working on a team Resolving conflicts Handling the media Managing resources (e.g. budgets, personnel, facilities, equipment, etc.)

Transportation Engineer of the Future 1 Construction ---> Facilities Management Environmental Geotechnical Hydrology/Hydraulics Materials Structures Surveying and Mapping Transportation

Transportation Engineer of the Future 2 Planning, Design, and Operations Peds Bikes Cars Trucks Buses Rail Transit Streets/Highways Fixed Guideway Air Water Pipelines Telecommunications

Transportation Engineer of the Future 3 Machine design Tribology/meteorology Command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) Lighting Operations research Human factors/ergonomics Supply chain management

Transportation Engineer of the Future 4 Speech communications Technical writing Human resource management Media relations Mediation Marketing

Transportation Engineer of the Future 5 5th Semester – Transportation Systems Engineering – Contemporary Skills for Business Professionals – Supply Chain Management – Human Factors Engineering – Mechanical Systems Design

Transportation Engineer of the Future 6 6th Semester – Highway Engineering – Transportation Planning – Urban Transportation – Vehicle Road Dynamics – Automatic Control Systems

Transportation Engineer of the Future 7 7th Semester – Traffic Operations – Introduction to Operations Research – Introduction to Embedded Microcontrollers – Non-Motorized Transportation – Introduction to Air, Rail, and Water Transport

Transportation Engineer of the Future 8 8th Semester – Transportation Design – Fundamentals of Computer Vision – Fundamentals of Air Pollution – Computer Aided Lighting Design and Analysis – Management and Organization

Changing University Curricula Graduate – ABET accreditation for MS in applied science (engineering) programs – The reality Only 36 (of 544) universities have accredited MS programs – AFIT – 9 programs – Clemson – Environmental Engineering and Science – Colorado State – Environmental Health, Health Physics – Hunter College – Environmental and Occupational Health Science – Idaho State - Health Physics – USF – Industrial Hygiene – Purdue – Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences – Michigan – Environmental Health Sciences/Industrial Hygiene THE LARSON INSTITUTE

Changing University Curricula Graduate – The reality Faculty drive what constitutes the degree program – Credits (primarily for PHD) – Required Courses 3 Types of Transportation Graduate Programs – Basic/Analytical – Applied/Empirical – Hybrid How does this curricular structure (and associated graduate product) match up with industry needs? THE LARSON INSTITUTE

If you really want to blow your mind April 30, 2012 New Yorker – Get Rich U. -rich-u -rich-u July 23, 2015 New York Times – The Fundamental Way That Universities Are an Illusion fundamental-way-that-universities-are-an- illusion.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore- iphone-share fundamental-way-that-universities-are-an- illusion.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore- iphone-share THE LARSON INSTITUTE