1. Integration of the Engineering and Liberal Arts – from the AB to the PhD J. Helble, E. Hansen, and W. Lotko Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College Union College Engineering and Liberal Education Symposium May 10, 2008

2. “To prepare the most capable and faithful for the most responsible positions and the most difficult service” Sylvanus Thayer, Father of West Point and Founder, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, 1867

3. 1867:Founded (Thayer Endowment), Overseers Named 1871:Robert Fletcher, 1 st Dean and Professor, begins instruction Engineering Sciences model – no departments of engineering since early 1960s Full range of Degrees AB: Bachelor of Arts 7 th most popular undergraduate major at Dartmouth 2 nd most popular science major (2007) BE (ABET-accredited degree; 5 th year. AB and BE in series, not parallel) MEM MS and PhD – in engineering sciences Thayer School History and Programs

4. Distribution of courses 35 course credits for A.B. (3 per term for 12 terms) First-year Writing; Humanities & Social Science (8-12) Foreign Language (3) Mathematics & Science (6) Engineering Sciences (9-10) Free Electives (4-9) minor, second major, pre-B.E. math & science B.E. Program (9)

5. Interdisciplinary challenge: met with a Systems Core Engineering core consists of Design, Lumped Systems, Distributed Systems Followed by 2 nd layer of 2 courses (thermo, mat sci, control, prob sys) and then disciplinary gateway courses Provides opportunity to be broadly interdisciplinary. Systems approach – provides core of “what every engineer ought to know” w/in institutional constraints.

6. Modified Majors at the AB level Modified Major 6 ENGS courses combined w/ 4-5 of second approved major 20-40% of ENGS majors modified recent yrs Most popular? ENGS with Studio Art Options ENGS w/ Econ, Chem, Biology, Comp Sci, Env Studies Engineering Physics major under consideration: Biomedical engineering – an alternative path to medical school

7. Modified Majors Newest? (started this academic year; expect first students in 08-09)

8. ERTEL, Allen Edward, (1937 - ) Dartmouth’58 (AB), Thayer School of Engineering ’59 95 th -97 th Congresses (1977-1983)

9. Key Points Two Bachelor’s Degrees – AB and BE 75% of AB students pursue accredited BE as well 5 th year generally taken for BE non-accredited AB provides great flexibility series, not parallel paths: breadth plus depth Systems Core provides flexible interdisciplinary framework Modified Majors, up to 40% of ABs, permit direct combination of engineering and liberal arts interests without ABET constraints

11. MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE (7) Calculus (3) Physics (2) Chemistry (1) Computer science (1) COMMON CORE (3) Lumped systems Distributed systems and fields Design and problem solving VARIABLE CORE (choose 2) Thermodynamics Materials science Control theory Discrete systems GATEWAY COURSES (choose 1 from each of 2 categories) Digital electrSolid mechBiotechnologyEnviron engg Analog electrFluid mechChemical process engg ENGINEERING / SCIENCE ELECTIVES (3) B.E. PROGRAM (9) Applied math (1) Engineering/science (7), Capstone design project (2)

12. Areas of Focus: New Thayer Structure Thayer: AREAS, established 2/07 focus for faculty hiring, largely without disciplinary focus new upper level and graduate courses – w/o disciplinary emphasis Energy Engineering-in-Medicine Complex Systems*

13. “Innovation” – new PhD program track Fall 2008 12/15/04 publication 06 11/05 11/15/05 America COMPETES signed into law 8-09-07 Thayer: PhD “innovation track” focusing on innovation in Energy, Eng- in-Medicine. Teach entrepreneurial skills to advanced technologists Existing PhD coursework stresses breadth as well as depth, emphasis on writing. New program builds on this foundation.

14. Why a systems core? vProvide early foundation in interdisciplinary thinking. Engineering practice is interdisciplinary. vAllows students to make a more informed choice about eventual engineering specialty. vBridge basic science and more specialized engineering courses. vUnderstanding one kind of system enables understanding of other systems. vEffective use of faculty time and course credits. l Avoid teaching the same fundamentals in multiple introductory courses — good for a small faculty. l Efficiently package “old knowledge” so curriculum can include more “new knowledge”.