Integrating Concepts of Decision Making and Uncertainty into Engineering Design Education
Esche, S. K. & Chassapis, C.
Proceedings of the 33rd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Boulder, Colorado, USA, November 5 - 8, 2003.
Abstract
Engineering design represents a process of decision making under conditions of uncertainty and risk, but today’s undergraduate engineering curricula rarely include any principles of decision theory. Even though value or utility theory are crucial components of the decision making process, these subjects are typically heavily underrepresented in engineering curricula and often treated incorrectly by the engineering community at large. Probability theory, which establishes the basic mathematical tools needed for the proper assessment of uncertainty and risk, is often not put into learning-enhancing context such as engineering design. This unsatisfactory situation calls for a revolutionary shift in design education where practical examples of real design cases are used to illustrate the application of sound scientific principles.
This paper will describe a program that was designed to prompt a strategic initiative for the development, implementation and assessment of novel approaches in engineering design education at Stevens Institute of Technology. Starting with a thorough feasibility study in two courses taken in the junior year by mechanical engineers, it will be demonstrated that the concepts of uncertainty in data, decision theory and optimization can be integrated effectively into undergraduate engineering design education. Upon successful completion of this pilot project, this approach will be implemented into the capstone design sequence in the mechanical engineering department. Furthermore, the propagation of the approach to the entire engineering curriculum at Stevens Institute of Technology through a major revision of the entire curriculum will be considered.