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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
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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
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Changing University Curricula THE LARSON INSTITUTE
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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
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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
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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
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Traditional Civil Engineer Construction Environmental Geotechnical Hydrology/Hydraulics Materials Structures Surveying and Mapping Transportation
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Typical Transportation Engineer Design (Highway) Operations (Highway) Planning (Car/Truck/Transit?) Other Modes? (Peds? Bikes? Transit?) Other Operating Schemes? (ITS? Supply Chain Management?)
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Engineering Knowledge Gaps Users – Needs, Wants, and Desires – Capabilities and Limitations Vehicles – Capabilities and Limitations Operating Environment – Weather/Surface Conditions – Lighting
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Beyond Tradition Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science Industrial Engineering Supply Chain Management
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Business Requirements Speaking Writing Working on a team Resolving conflicts Handling the media Managing resources (e.g. budgets, personnel, facilities, equipment, etc.)
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Transportation Engineer of the Future 1 Construction ---> Facilities Management Environmental Geotechnical Hydrology/Hydraulics Materials Structures Surveying and Mapping Transportation
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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
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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
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Transportation Engineer of the Future 4 Speech communications Technical writing Human resource management Media relations Mediation Marketing
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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
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Transportation Engineer of the Future 6 6th Semester – Highway Engineering – Transportation Planning – Urban Transportation – Vehicle Road Dynamics – Automatic Control Systems
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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
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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
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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
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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
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If you really want to blow your mind April 30, 2012 New Yorker – Get Rich U. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get -rich-u http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get -rich-u July 23, 2015 New York Times – The Fundamental Way That Universities Are an Illusion http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/upshot/the- fundamental-way-that-universities-are-an- illusion.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore- iphone-share http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/upshot/the- fundamental-way-that-universities-are-an- illusion.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore- iphone-share THE LARSON INSTITUTE
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