Astronaut Charles Camarda visited Penn State in the Fall of '08.
Photos from the Iron Lion Design Challenge '08
Photos from the Iron Lion Design Challenge '08
Students play Wii Fencing at ASME DETC '09.
Courses
Artistry, Craft, and Craftsmanship
Course listing: STS 497A
Course offered: Spring 2010
A seminar on the history and theory of craftwork and other skilled, artistic pursuits since the Industrial Revolution. The seminar will meet once per week, during which time assigned readings will be discussed. Later in the semester students will present findings from their assigned research. Readings will be taken from two primary sources: The Craftsman, by Richard Sennett and Shop Class as Soul Craft, by Matthew Crawford, with supplemental readings from Hannah Arendt, Gaston Bachelard, Frederick Taylor, Ivan Illich, Octavio Paz and others.
Course website: sts497a.pdf
Instructor: Dan Willis
Course listing: ME / IE 546
Course offered: Each spring
In this class we explore the implications and difficulties of designing families of products along with state-of-the-art tools and methods to facilitate the design and development of mass customized goods. Lecture topics include: (1) the transition from craft production, to mass production, to mass customization; (2) engineering design methods for robust, modular, and scalable products and platforms; (3) design for variety and design for mass customization strategies; and (4) industry case studies from Black & Decker, Sony, Hewlett Packard, Boeing, and Lutron among others.
Course website: http://www.mne.psu.edu/simpson/courses/me546
Instructor: Dr. Tim Simpson
Designing for Human Variability
Course listing: EDSGN / IE / ME 547
Course offered: Every fall
Most of what we interact with every day has been designed by engineers--here's a chance to learn how to improve that interaction. Students will learn the principles of how to incorporate an understanding of variability in human size, capability, and preference into the design of products and environments. It is a unique opportunity to explore material from engineering, statistics, biomechanics, disability and aging research, and business in the context of design problems.
Instructor: Dr. Matt Parkinson
Course listing: ARCH 497C
Course offered: Fall, Spring
Students in this class will be introduced to digital fabrication technologies and processes through a variety of design exercises that result in built constructs. The course is "hands-on", wherein the student will gain knowledge of both hardware and software involved in digital fabrication, such as: rapid prototyping, CNC milling, laser cutting, laser scanning, and others.
Course website: https://digifab.psu.edu/
Instructor: Dr. Dave Celento
Systems Optimization using Evolutionary Algorithms
Course listing: CE 563
Course offered: Spring 2010
his course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of genetic and evolutionary computation (GEC). The course will emphasize state-of-the-art methods for designing and implementing evolutionary algorithms for computationally intensive engineering and science problems. Course concepts are demonstrated using case studies drawn from the disciplines of the students enrolled.
Course website: http://water.engr.psu.edu/reed/CE563.htm
Instructor: Pat Reed
X-Disc Creativity: Smart Products for Tomorrow
Course listing: ARCH 497B / EDSGN 497A
Course offered: Spring 2010
A truly multi-disciplinary course. Taught in a studio learning environment, students from engineering, design, computation, and business backgrounds will work together to design and develop Innovative Smart Products. Teams will be cross disciplinary in nature and consider all aspects of the design, creation, fabrication, and marketing of products with embedded intelligence.
Instructor: Dr. Matt Parkinson (Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering) and Dr. Dave Celento (Architecture)
