ME 370 provides an overview of the professional practice of mechanical engineering. Beginning with a discussion of engineering as a profession, we discuss active management of your career and the common expectations for the practice of engineering. A major component of the class is exposure to topics related to effective and responsible practice of mechanical engineering, including engineering ethics, intellectual property, business norms and practices, life-long learning, the relationship of engineering to society, and an awareness of contemporary local and global issues.
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Topic |
Reading |
Assignment/Assessment |
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1. |
Course orientation, introduction to the engineering profession |
Citizen Engineer Ch. 1, Ch. 2 Peter Drucker, Managing Oneself |
Reading Quiz, Course survey and online discussion |
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2. 10/6 |
Career orientation and business practices |
ASME Career web site
PSU Career center web site
On-line articles on SMART goals |
Five year career plan |
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3. 10/13 |
Career orientation and business practices
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Selection of articles on contemporary issues.
Citizen Engineer, Ch. 3 |
Proposal for term group project |
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4. 10/20 |
Business practices and communication
Guest Lecture: Scott South, Stevens Water |
On-line articles on annotated bibliographies, On-line articles on effective email practices |
Annotated bibliography for term project. |
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5. 10/27 |
Engineering ethics
Guest Lecture: Tim Leavitt, Mayor of Vancouver, WA |
Handout: What is a professional? ASME and NSPE Codes of Ethics Seth Godin blog, The Corporate Conscience |
Term project development phase 1 (due next week) |
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6. 11/3
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Engineering ethics
Guest Lecture: Mary Vance, Career Services |
Freakonomics post, Launching into unethical behavior: Lessons from the Challenger disaster, MCECS policy on Academic Honesty |
Quiz on academic honesty, On-line discussion of ethics case study, Phase 1 project report due |
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7. 11/10 |
Engineering ethics
Guest Lecture: Joe Janda, Innovation and Industry Alliances, TBC |
ASME Career web site PSU Career center web site On-line articles on SMART goals |
Term project development phase 2 (due next week) |
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8. 11/17 |
Intellectual property |
Citizen Engineer, Ch. 12 Web site: How to read a patent in 60 seconds Watch: TED presentation by Lawrence Lessig |
Phase 2 project report due Reading Quiz on Ch.12
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9. 11/24 |
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10. 12/1 |
Contemporary issues and course wrap-up |
Fresh Air Interview with Lester Brown: Food: the Hidden Driver of Global Politics Excerpt for Lester Brown’s Plan B: 4.0, Citizen Engineer, Ch 16, 17 |
Quiz on ethics and contemporary issues. Course evaluation, Final project due next week |