Engineering educators, professional organizations and practitioner have long recognized the benefits of integrating engineering case studies, especially failures into the civil engineering curriculum. One key benefit is that it provides a pedagogical tool that encourages students to address the complex challenges faced by engineers in the real world. The Civil Engineering Faculty at the United States Coast Guard Academy has successfully integrated case studies in several undergraduate courses to reinforce technical concepts. Case studies provided opportunities for discussion of engineering principles and concepts as well as fostering professional development in ethics and life-long learning. This paper discusses the implementation of case studies and the benefits to student learning especially in identifying problems and developing alternative solutions. Assessment data indicate that the use of case studies enhanced students' learning of engineering principles and improved their understanding of the problem-solving process.
As the National Science Foundation and engineers throughout the world seek to strengthen the future of the engineering profession, the Civil Engineering (CE) program at the United States Coast Guard Academy embodies this initiative with a student focused approach. One course in particular, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers (CE Materials), was restructured focusing on multiple pedagogies (e.g. traditional chalkboard writing, presentations, field trips, labs, etc.) to appeal to different student learning preferences and create a more inclusive learning environment. Utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, instructors focused on the first two dichotomies, Extroversion vs. Introversion and Sensing vs. Intuition. With an innovative approach towards CE Materials, the goal of stimulating independent thinkers and assisting students with the retention of core course material is being achieved across a range of student learning preferences. By teaching the course in a way that encompasses all learning preferences, a greater breadth of students can succeed in and enjoy a civil engineering curriculum.
Military training centers may be high risk environments for the spread of disease such as COVID-19. Individuals arrive after traveling from many parts of the country, live in communal settings, and undergo high-interaction training. A pilot study of wastewater testing was initiated in February, 2021 to determine its feasibility as a sentinel surveillance tool in the U.S. Coast Guard for SARS-CoV-2. Wastewater was analyzed for the presence of two viral genes, N and E, and quantified relative to levels of a fecal indicator virus, Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV). A stability control, Bovine Syncytial Respiratory Virus vaccine, was added to samples to assess sample stability and degradation. Wastewater data was validated by comparison with concomitant screening and surveillance programs that identified asymptomatic individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 by diagnostic testing at on site medical clinics using PCR. Elevated levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater were frequently associated with diagnosed cases, and in several instances, led to screenings of asymptomatic individuals that identified infected personnel, mitigating the risk of spread of disease. Wastewater screening also successfully indicated the presence of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals. A method for assessing blackwater from Coast Guard vessels was also developed, allowing detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in shipboard populations. In one instance, virus was detected in the blackwater four weeks following the diagnosis of a single person on a Coast Guard cutter. These data show that wastewater testing is an effective tool for measuring the presence and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in military populations so that mitigation can occur and suggest other diseases may be assessed similarly. As a result, the Coast Guard has established three laboratories with wastewater testing capability at strategic locations and is actively continuing its wastewater testing program.
Most engineering faculty will agree that student engineers need a strong foundation in engineering ethics. Incorporating professional ethics into an already crowded engineering curriculum can be difficult. The engineering faculty at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) have implemented a multidisciplinary approach to teaching ethics outside of the classroom environment. Our "Engineering Ethics Lunches" bring students and faculty from all four engineering disciplines: Electrical, Civil, Mechanical and Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering together in small groups to discuss ethics as they uniquely apply to the engineering discipline. Historically, ethics instruction at USCGA has been based upon a core "Morals and Ethics" course taken by all students, regardless of major. While this course provides the students with a good foundation in classical ethics theory, it did not include "engineering ethics". Specific instruction on engineering ethics was left to the instructors of each major's senior design capstone course. However, depending upon the knowledge, interest or even class time available to the individual faculty members, this instruction was inconsistent and varied each year. Starting in the 2006-2007 academic year, in an effort to improve upon and formalize ethics instruction for all engineering students, the four instructors of each major's senior design capstone project began holding multidisciplinary "Engineering Ethics Lunches". Students and faculty form small groups during scheduled lunches to discuss specific ethical topics related to the engineering profession. The discussions are based upon assigned readings and suggested talking points developed jointly by the faculty. Afterwards, the students are required to submit essays reviewing their discussions and answering an ethical question based upon the topic. Now in its fourth semester, the multidisciplinary ethics lunches have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the instructors and students. This paper will discuss the format of the multidisciplinary ethics discussions, the type of topics covered and the authors' efforts to develop a handbook to reduce the preparation required for future lunches. The paper will also review the advantages of these lunches, including reduced workload for instructors and the integration of ethics into the curriculum without displacing discipline-specific engineering topics.
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