Traditionally, the path of an ME major winds through two years of general engineering coursework. Then the fun begins. In ME 270, the fun begins for sophomores, who encounter everything from gummy candies to camp stoves during their introduction to ME.

The experimental course, which will be expanded to four sections in the spring, is intended to give students a taste of ME a year earlier than usual. ME Assistant Professor Mark Bryden serves up material meant to challenge and instruct budding engineers. “This class teaches them what ME is about, so when they get to their other classes they have a basis on which to start,” Bryden said. “Engineering education is changing a lot. It had gotten away from practical skills and now is getting back to them.”

The class consists of one lecture and three labs per week. Bryden meets with teams of students for 30 minutes at a time while the others work in the machine shop, conduct research in the biomass lab, or study.

In one assignment, students investigate the engineering of gummy candies and the physics of camp stoves and manufacture tools in the machine shop. Some express concern about generating calculations for the camp stove assignment. Bryden tells them to focus on fundamental concepts, using anecdotes from his days as a manager at Westinghouse to give his stories industrial relevance.

“In high school you were given equations to solve. Here you can’t solve the equations until you know what’s going on.” He tells them to think about combustion, vaporization, and heat and mass transfer. The calculations will come later. “Ask lots of questions and investigate. Avoid jumping on the first solution that comes to you.”

Students appreciate the opportunity for hands-on work. “It’s a great time and so far it’s been a lot of fun,” said Elizabeth Schmerr. “In my other classes we talk and see examples, but here professor Bryden says, ‘Hey, go do it yourself.’ ”