Engineering Education Centers (EEC) Roundtable Members
January, 2002
Organizer: Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Contact:
Dr. Angela Linse, linse@engr.washington.edu
Dr. Cindy Atman, atman@engr.washington.edu
Engineering Education Centers Email Listserv
eectr@u.washington.edu
List Manager: Dr. Angela Linse, linse@engr.washington.edu, CELT
A. Established Centers and Programs (U.S.A.)
1. Arizona State University
Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and
Technology (CRESMET)
2. Colorado School of Mines
Center for Engineering Education (CEE)
3. Georgia Institute of Technology
Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)
4. Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI
Engineering Education Excellence Center (E3C)
5. Kettering University
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
6. Pennsylvania State University
Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education
7. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3)
8. University of Washington
Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT)
9. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Engineering Learning Center (ELC)
Wisconsin Engineering Education Laboratory (WEEL)
B. Proposed Engineering Education Centers or Programs (U.S.A.)
1. South Dakota Schools of Mines and Technology
2. The University of Texas at Austin
Engineering Teaching Academy
3. University of Oklahoma, Norman
C. Discipline-Specific Engineering Education Centers and Programs (USA)
1. Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT (VaNTH) Engineering Research Center for
Bioengineering Educational Technologies
D. Other Related Engineering Centers and Programs (North America)
1. Queen's University, Faculty of Applied Science
The Integrated Learning Centre (ILC)
2. University of Colorado at Boulder
The Integrated Teaching and Learning (ITL) Program and Laboratory
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 1
Engineering Education Centers
A. Established Centers and Programs (U.S.A.)
1. Arizona State University
Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology
(CRESMET)
http://www.eas.asu.edu/~cresmet/
Don Evans, Director, devans@asu.edu
The Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology
(CRESMET), an alliance of ASU’s Colleges of Education, Engineering & Applied Sciences, and Liberal
Arts & Sciences, was initiated in 1999, growing out of what was previously the Center for Innovation in
Engineering Education (CIEE). The mission of the Center is to bring together individuals, programs and
organizations interested in improving K-20 science, mathematics, engineering and technology education
to research, develop, and assess educational theories, curricula, courses and administrative policies that
impact science, mathematics, engineering and technology education. The Center also encourages and
supports wide-scale sharing and implementation of effective approaches to producing a more
scientifically and technologically literate populace and more capable science, mathematics, engineering,
and technology majors.
Current efforts include:
1. Research: CRESMET pursues research and development that demonstrates coherent, consistent,
and conceptually powerful mathematics, science, engineering and technology education from
kindergarten through college (K-20). The Center has core competencies in assessment and
evaluation (A&E) and in educational technology, two areas vitally important to modern
educational research.
2. Partnering: CRESMET supports collaborations across the traditional boundaries of university,
community colleges, schools, community, business and local education agencies.
3. Sharing: CRESMET establishes communication avenues for intellectual and material products
proven effective in supporting powerful learning in science, mathematics, engineering and
technology fields.
2. Colorado School of Mines
Center for Engineering Education (CEE)
http://www.mines.edu/research/cee/
Ruth Streveler, Director, rstrevel@mines.edu
Barbara Moskal, Associate Director, bmoskal@mines.edu
The mission of the Center for Engineering Education (CEE) is to improve the learning of science and
engineering, thereby increasing the accessibility of these disciplines. CEE’s role is to act as a catalyst to
bring together faculty who are interested in educational research, to disseminate the results of that
research, and to provide professional development opportunities for CSM faculty, graduate students, and
K-12 teachers.
CEE’s goals are:
 To conduct world-class research on teaching and learning in science and engineering.
 To use the results of that research to continually improve instruction at the Colorado School of Mines,
thereby supporting the learning process of CSM students.
 To support the educational needs of science and engineering teachers and learners at the K-12,
university, and continuing professional development levels.
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 2
3. Georgia Institute of Technology
Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)
http://www.cetl.gatech.edu/
Donna Llewellyn, Director CETL, donna.llewellyn@oars.gatech.edu
The Georgia Tech Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning was founded in 1986 through a
grassroots effort of a faculty committee. CETL’s mission is to assist faculty members, administrators,
and graduate students in their efforts to offer high-quality education to Georgia Tech students. In
February 1999, Tech received the prestigious Hesburgh Award, conferred by the Teachers Insurance and
Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), for its alumni-funded faculty and
graduate teaching assistant development programs--the Junior Teaching Fellows Program; the Graduate
Teaching Assistants’ Development Programs; and the Teaching Assistants’ Resource Office.
CETL also directs other programs including a Senior Teaching Fellows Program, a Faculty Development
Seminar Series, New Faculty Orientations, Instructional Technology and Design Assistance, English Oral
Skills classes for international teaching assistants, and general teaching consultations. Further, each term,
CETL administers the online course/instructor opinion survey to all registered students. The Center
publishes a semi-annual newsletter entitled The Classroom, which is also available on its web site in pdf
format. In March 2001, the Director of CETL, Dr. Donna Llewellyn, received a National Science
Foundation grant through the GK-12 program that puts graduate students into local area high schools in
partnerships with science and mathematics teachers. The Center has a staff consisting of a Director, an
Assistant Director, a GTA Coordinator, an Instructional Technology Specialist, an Administrative
Assistant, and a Secretary.
4. Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI
Engineering Education Excellence Center (E3C)
http://www.engr.iupui.edu/edc/index.html
Nasser Paydar, Coordinator, paydar@iupui.edu
Charlie Yokomoto, yokomoto@iupui.edu
The Engineering Education Excellence Center (E3C) represents a virtual place where numerous projects
directed toward professional development and for improvements in academic quality interface. Its main
objectives are to facilitate the exchange of expertise and research on engineering and engineering
technology education and act as a clearinghouse for those with similar interests. The Center was
established to coordinate several existing functions within the Purdue School of Engineering and
Technology that emphasize instructional improvement, a continuous quest for further excellence and
quality, the identification of key issues that impact retention and student satisfaction with academic
programs, and the identification of new challenges. The Center also serves as a resource that enables
faculty and staff to quickly identify professional development opportunities and provides a centralized
location where forthcoming professional conferences, meetings and workshops may be identified well in
advance.
5. Kettering University
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
http://www.kettering.edu/acad/cetl/
Cynthia Finelli, Director, cfinelli@kettering.edu
CETL is Kettering University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. It was established in
2000 and is supported by grants from the Ford Motor Company Fund and Kettering University. The
center is the brainchild of a faculty-initiated effort for teaching improvement, the Teaching Fellows. This
group began discussing the concept of a center in September, 2000, and thereafter they established the
mission and name of the center, identified goals, proposed services and actions to satisfy the goals,
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 3
discussed staffing and funding issues, and discussed the role of the Teaching Fellows in the center. In
January 2001, Cynthia Finelli was named the first director of CETL, and her appointment began in July
2001. A CETL Advisory Board (comprised of faculty from each department, two administrators, and the
director of UM-Flint's teaching center) was also selected to assist the Director in her duties. The 2001
2002 academic year marks its first full year in operation.
CETL has as its mission "...to support teaching excellence at Kettering University." In pursuing this
mission, its six goals are to:
1. promote a learner-centered educational community
2. encourage and support the teaching-related professional development of all educators
3. archive and disseminate teaching and learning resources
4. coordinate activities for improvement of teaching and learning
5. support innovation and scholarship activities related to teaching and learning and
promote educational research
6. provide training for faculty in student outcomes assessment
6. Pennsylvania State University
Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education
http://www.engr.psu.edu/www2/centers/leonhardcenter/lc/index.htm
Thomas Litzinger, Director, tal2@psu.edu
The Leonhard Center for Enhancement of Engineering Education was established in 1990 at Penn State
by an endowment from William and Wyllis Leonhard. The External Advisory Board provided the vision
for the Center through their definition of a “World-class Engineer.” The Center’s mission is to enable the
key changes that are required to maintain a world-class engineering education at Penn State. The Center
provides financial support for innovative teams of faculty who are making major revisions to
departmental curricula and to teams of faculty working on cross-college initiatives such as leadership,
ethics, and entrepreneurship. In partnership with Engineering Instructional Services the Center also
provides assessment of projects and faculty development opportunities. Current curricular and research
thrusts of the Center include integration of ethics into engineering courses, entrepreneurship, the
development of expertise, intellectual development, and technology-enhanced teaching and learning.
More information on the Leonhard Center, including recent publications from projects, is available at
http://www.eec.psu.edu/lc/lcabout.htm .
7. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3)
http://ae3.cen.uiuc.edu/
J. Bruce Litchfield, Director AE3, b-litch@uiuc.edu
Leslie Crowley, Program Coordinator, National Teaching College, l-crowl@uiuc.edu
AE3 is a center for effective teaching and learning within the College of Engineering at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the midst of current concerns that large research universities often
ignore teaching, AE3 is a clear example of a commitment to creating strong teachers, well-trained
teaching assistants (TAs), and well-prepared, engaged students. AE3 advocates excellence in engineering
education specifically through instructor development, course redesign, and learning innovations. Current
Programs include:
1. FAST Start:
An award-winning faculty development program targeted at new faculty that enables its participants
to be successful academic leaders.
2. National Teaching College:
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 4
A nation-wide version of FAST Start assisting engineering educators in implementing faculty
development programs.
3. Architecture for Change (ARC):
An integration of faculty development and course redesign focusing primarily on large foundational
courses. ARC emphasizes best instructional practices and the development of a model for curriculum
change.
4. Engineering Emotional Intelligence (EEI):
A course focusing on emotional awareness, personal and interpersonal development, and application
of Emotional Intelligence to organizational life.
8. University of Washington
Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT)
http://www.engr.washington.edu/celt/
Cindy Atman, Director, atman@engr.washington.edu
Angela Linse, Instructional Consultant, linse@engr.washington.edu
Robin Adams, Research Scientist, radams@u.washington.edu
Jennifer Turns, Affiliate Research Faculty, jturns@engr.washington.edu
The Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching at the University of Washington (CELT) has two
related goals: 1) to conduct original research on how engineering students learn, and 2) to enhance
engineering student learning by working with engineering faculty to improve their teaching. The strength
of the CELT model is the presence of these complementary goals and their synergistic relationship. We
actively support bringing research-informed practices into engineering classrooms, and our research is
guided by the outcomes of instructional innovations implemented by UW engineering faculty. CELT
scholars conduct funded research that advances engineering education with colleagues from the
University of Washington and across the nation. Our research currently is focused on engineering design
learning, student understanding of engineering content, and students as emerging engineering
professionals.
In our efforts to facilitate learning for UW engineering students, we help faculty incorporate widely
recognized effective teaching strategies, as well as results from CELT’s research. CELT’s full-time
consultant provides resources and instructional services tailored for our faculty at both the individual and
group levels.
9. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Engineering Learning Center (ELC)
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/services/elc/
Sandra Courter, Director, courter@engr.wisc.edu
Mission: The Engineering Learning Center (ELC) intends to serve faculty, staff, graduate students,
undergraduate students, and administrators. Our motto, "sustaining educational excellence" suggests
our committment to fostering effective student-centered teaching and learning within the College of
Engineering (COE). The Center's objectives are to:
1) Provide professional development opportunities and resources for instructors and students;
2) Facilitate connections for other units that support teaching and learning; and
3) Help build a culture of continuous improvement in undergraduate and graduate education.
The center achieves these objectives through a variety of programs notably the Teaching
Improvement Program, New Educators' Orientation, Graduate Student Fellows, Science and
Engineering Education Scholars Program, and the K-12 Outreach Program.
Wisconsin Engineering Education Laboratory (WEEL)
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 5
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/weel/
Sarah K.A. Pfatteicher, Director, spfatt@engr.wisc.edu
Jennifer Kushner, Associate Director, kushner@facstaff.wisc.edu
The mission of the Wisconsin Engineering Education Laboratory is to contribute to the growth and
well-being of the college through programs that support research and practice in education. Our
motto, "developing research into practice" suggests our commitment to the role of assessment
research in informing and improving practice. Our motto can (intentionally) be read two ways. First,
the laboratory works to develop new research in the practice of engineering education, seeking to
answer questions such as: What parts of the educational system are effective? For whom? Why? and
At what cost? Second, the laboratory works to take existing research and share it with faculty and
others so that it can be "practiced". The key questions here are: How can we use existing research to
improve the practice of engineering education? and How must we adapt existing models to our
particular needs?
The lab is designed to aid in the creation and on-going development of an adaptive educational
community for faculty, students, and administrators alike. We believe that people need support,
training, and opportunities to try new things within a community of peers in order to remain excited
about what they do.
B. Proposed Engineering Education Centers or Programs (U.S.A.)
1. South Dakota Schools of Mines and Technology
Karen Whitehead, V.P. for Academic Affairs, karen.whitehead@sdsmt.edu
Plans for a proposed Engineering Education Center at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
are still very much in the embryonic stages. We are a small engineering university with approximately
2400 students and a permanent, full-time faculty of about 100 that is part of the South Dakota System of
Public Higher Education. We face the same challenges as universities all over the country – limited
resources coupled with increased demands on faculty time.
Until such time as we can muster the necessary human and financial resources, we are slowly but surely
building component pieces of a true Engineering Education Center. We have a faculty development
program funded through a grant from the Bush Foundation. This program provides funding to support
faculty projects to learn about integrating technology into the learning process, to help integrate research
and teaching in the undergraduate curriculum, and to develop meaningful assessment processes. A
portion of the funding is also used to bring experts to campus to provide workshops in these areas. We
have taken the first steps in developing an informal “new faculty cohort” program this past fall.
Assistance with Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is provided to interested faculty and some
departments have begun to use this process at the program level. An engineering assessment group has
been formed to assist departments in developing and coordinating assessment efforts. We would be most
interested in exploring the potential for collaboration with an established Engineering Education Center as
we develop our ideas and seek funding for expanded efforts.
2. The University of Texas at Austin
Engineering Teaching Academy
Sherry Woods, Director of Special Projects, sewoods@mail.utexas.edu
Neal Armstrong, Assoc. Dean for Academic Affairs, neal_armstrong@mail.utexas.edu
For over 30 years, the College of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has had a small,
formal teaching effectiveness program. That program is now being transformed into a substantial
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 6
program, the Engineering Teaching Academy, to be officially launched in August 2002, and the College
is exploring both private and corporate monies to fully support this effort.
The proposed Engineering Teaching Academy will work with new faculty, experienced faculty who wish
to or need to improve their teaching effectiveness, and future faculty (i.e., those Ph.D. students interested
in pursuing an academic career). Three principles will guide the Academy: (1) instruction should be
learner-centered, not simply content oriented; (2) faculty should be versed in a variety of instructional
styles to meet the needs of a diverse student body; (3) technology enhanced instruction promotes learner
outcomes and quality student/faculty interactions. The College has already developed and committed
substantial resources to support the Academy, and next summer we will introduce a new, weeklong New
Faculty Orientation (based on the FastStart program developed at the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign).
3. University of Oklahoma, Norman
Donna Shirley, Asst. Dean of Engineering for Advanced Program Development dlshirley@ou.edu
Teri Reed Rhoads, Industrial Engineering, teri.rhoads@ou.edu
The OU Center for Engineering Education focuses on Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE). The
Multidisciplinary Engineering emphasis will allow seamless, cross-disciplinary interactions between
various areas of engineering, which are imperative to the success of project-driven learning.
We intend to motivate students in the new curricula with commercially- and research-based projects,
while at the same time expanding beyond technical expertise to incorporate the critical interaction skills
(e.g., communications and teamwork) needed by today's engineers. A multidisciplinary core will more
efficiently cover the functional core of engineering and allow time to incorporate people and
communication skills. We will interface with the commercial world throughout the entire curriculum.
We will expand the number of industry-sponsored design- or research-based projects that integrate across
disciplines and throughout all four years of study: a concept that will provide synergism for knowledge
creation and integration. The projects should generate products of value to the client and also provide a
natural feedback mechanism for new knowledge to be disseminated throughout the curriculum. The
center also acts to foster communication between individual faculty efforts in engineering education,
particularly the use of technology such as laptop computing and multimedia instruction.
To accomplish the ambitious goals proposed for CEE, we are drawing together engineering and nonengineering faculty from each of our Schools, plus Mathematics, Physics, Education, and Instructional
Development. Many of these Schools already have faculty members with a history of collaboration and
innovative education.
C. Discipline-Specific Engineering Education Centers and Programs (USA)
1. Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT (VaNTH) Engineering Research Center for
Bioengineering Educational Technologies
http://www.vanth.org
Thomas R. Harris, M.D., Ph.D., Director, trh@vuse.vanderbilt.edu
Janiece Harrison, Contact person, janiece.harrison@vanderbilt.edu
The VaNTH Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Educational Technologies aims to integrate
learning science, learning technologies, and the domains of bioengineering in order to develop effective
educational resources that prepare for the future of bioengineering. The center teams the bioengineering,
learning technology and learning sciences faculties of Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University,
the University of Texas at Austin and the Health Sciences and Technology Division of Harvard and MIT
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 7
to develop a better understanding of bioengineering students as learners and the methods that help them
learn. This understanding will lead to development of teaching materials in bioengineering that will be
learner centered, knowledge centered, and assessment centered.
The developed materials will ultimately be disseminated to undergraduate and graduate programs in
bioengineering, to middle and high schools, and to the industrial and practitioner communities through
continuing education programs. Research areas include 1) the intersection of learning science, learning
technologies, and the domains of bioengineering, 2) determination of range of knowledge encompassed
by bioengineering, 3) structure of knowledge in major bioengineering domains, 4) principles of modular
design for teaching materials, and 5) development of assessment methods to determine the effectiveness
of new learning materials.
D. Other Related Engineering Centers and Programs (North America)
1. Queen's University, Faculty of Applied Science
The Integrated Learning Centre (ILC)
http://ilc.queensu.ca/News/index.shtml
Liz Green, Administrative Assistant, eag2@post .queensu.ca
Jim Mason, Associate Dean, masonjl@post.queensu.ca
George Sweetman, First Director, sweetmng@post.queensu.ca
Jim McCowan, Associate Dean, mccowanj@post.queensu.ca
Engineering practice is changing - and that means engineering education must change as well. Queen’s is
responding to this challenge with a strategically redesigned curriculum and the construction of a new
learning facility, the Integrated Learning Centre (ILC). Scheduled to open in January 2004, the Integrated
Learning Centre will feature several types of innovative teaching and learning space. Active Learning
Centres, project areas, group rooms and design studios will support activities such as open-ended project
work, student competitive design teams, and industry driven problem solving.
The building itself will be instrumented as a working laboratory, where students will be able to observe,
monitor and manipulate selected building systems, including renewable energy alternatives. This data will
be made available online as part of the teaching program. The building incorporates many sustainable
technologies and seeks to meet very high environmental standards.
2. University of Colorado at Boulder
The Integrated Teaching and Learning (ITL) Program and Laboratory
http://itll.colorado.edu/
Lawrence Carlson, Co-director, lawrence.carlson@colorado.edu
Jacquelyn Sullivan, Co-director, jacquelyn.sullivan@colorado.edu
The Integrated Teaching and Learning Program at CU-Boulder is a nationally recognized engineering
education leader. Using inter-disciplinary, hands-on approaches and incorporating leading-edge
technology, engineering students at CU-Boulder gain the under-standing and confidence to succeed. The
Program reflects the contemporary world of professional engineering by supporting students, working in
teams on real-world projects, to learn the open-ended problem-solving skills critical to their career paths.
Program components include first-year design and build courses, an invention and innovation sequence,
sophomore- and junior-level interdisciplinary focus courses, and multi-departmental senior design
projects.
Supporting the Program, the 34,000 square foot ITL Laboratory is unlike any other educational facility in
the world. Its curriculum-driven design supports a variety of learning styles and features first-year design
studios, an active-learning center, a computer network integrating all experimental equipment throughout
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 8
two large, open laboratory plazas, capstone design studios, group work areas, and student-centered,
technology-rich electronics and manufacturing centers. The ITL Laboratory itself is an integral part of the
undergraduate engineering curriculum, allowing students to monitor the building’s structural, electrical
and mechanical systems through a network of 312 embedded sensors. A collection of interactive exhibits
and kinetic sculptures capture the interest of budding engineers of all ages. More than 8,000 K-12
students and their teachers visit the ITL Laboratory annually, many to participate in hands-on, ears-on and
minds-on K-12 engineering workshops. Named a Program of Excellence by the Colorado Commission on
Higher Education, the ITL Program provides summer engineering outreach workshops and classes to
extend hands-on learning to K-12 teachers and students, as part of its integrated K-16 engineering
outreach program.
CELT Internal Report #02-01, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, University of Washington
Page 9