Goals of ENES 100G

This course's purpose is to introduce you to engineering design through the experience of product development. ENES 100 is an unusual class. It is not ``traditional,'' in the sense of the professor lecturing and the students absorbing. You will be actively involved in ``hands-on'' learning, while the instructors take a ``hands-off'' approach. Your independence and creativity will be encouraged -- and you will also have the challenge of structuring your schedule and managing your time.

The ability to contribute to and work with a team is highly valued in industry and other sectors; therefore, this course is primarily focused on TEAMWORK AND GROUP DYNAMICS. Together with a team of fellow students, you will investigate, design, manufacture, assemble and evaluate a product: a human-powered pump. You'll be given suggestions on group organization and dynamics, and you'll provide regular reports on your group process as well as your technical progress.

The ability to communicate (in speech, in writing, and graphically) is vital to team functioning, and to transmitting your results beyond the group; therefore, another major focus of the course is: COMMUNICATION (report writing, technical presentations, engineering drawing) Your team will be required to complete group homework assignments, prepare technical reports, and give technical presentations as you design, build, test, and evaluate your product.

Additionally, each individual student is expected to develop skills in certain SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL BASICS, including power transmission, bearings, work and power for pumping water; and in COMPUTER APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE, including computer aided design (CAD), spreadsheets, and presentation technology. Individual homework assignments, quizzes and exams will give you opportunities to practice and demonstrate these skills.