![]() It was the first time I came to understand that there is an extensive body of research literature on topics related to teaching and learning. Eventually, I became the Penn State PI for the coalition and held that role for seven years, which allowed me to understand more and more about engineering education. When the Penn State principal investigator for the ECSEL Coalition went on sabbatical, my associate dean asked me to serve as the interim PI. My participation in ECSEL put my feet on the path that allowed me to have the job that I have now, as director of the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education in the Penn State College of Engineering. The NSF ECSEL Coalition was really a transforming experience for me and other faculty members who were involved at that early stage of our careers. The experience in the ECSEL Coalition helped me understand the full scope of engineering education and the many things that could be done as a scholar of engineering education. Five years later, I had the opportunity to become involved in the National Science Foundation’s ECSEL (Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence in Education and Leadership) Coalition, which was a coalition of seven schools that were working on integration of design across the curriculum. These high ratings brought me to the attention of our Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, who offered to send me to an ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) meeting. M.Eng., Mechanical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981ī.S., Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1977Īs an assistant professor in my first year of teaching, I received very high student evaluations, even though I was teaching thermodynamics, which is a course that students have been known not to enjoy. Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, 1986 Litzinger in 2014.ĭirector, Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering EducationĪssistant Dean for Educational Innovation and Accreditation, College of Engineering The profile below was authored by Gina Adam, University of California Santa Barbara, based on an interview with Dr. He is currently the Assistant Dean for Educational Innovation and Accreditation in the College of Engineering, and Director of the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education, which collaborates with the engineering departments to bring continuing improvements to Penn State’s undergraduate engineering programs and to provide instructional support to faculty. He began his career there as assistant professor of mechanical engineering and held a leadership role in the NSF-funded ECSEL Coalition. In some courses the students must develop material to justify their design decisions to regulatory agencies and the public.Įthical questions concerning relationships with clients, regulatory agencies, and other professionals also are considered as well as global and contemporary issues.Tom Litzinger has worked at Penn State University since 1985. Therefore, designs must consider performance objectives, costs, environmental impacts, and legal ramifications. The courses are intended to simulate a real-world design experience. ![]() No strict rules are imposed on each course since flexibility is needed for different types of design projects. Often practicing professionals will review a project or act as part of a juror panel. Several capstones involve practitioners in the project formulation, or for the supply of input data. These courses involve teamwork, report writing and/or oral presentation of the project, open-ended problem solving, and multi-disciplinary coverage. Each capstone design course provides sufficient experience and opportunity to apply material learned in previous courses. This focus does not mean that the design is related only to one narrowly focused topic. At least one course is provided in each major civil engineering focus. The Department has six capstone design course options. Participating companies reap benefits as well building relationships with students and getting new ideas for real design problems. Senior-Year Capstone Design Projects offer students the opportunity to get involved in sophisticated engineering design challenges.
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