EDUCATION
"A b-Mercapto Acid may work for you where an a-Mercapto Acid won't!'
Engineering education: industry's stake Michigan conference focuses on need to improve industry-academia relations as curriculums change Engineering colleges today are experi encing some rather drastic changes in curriculums—changes which will inev itably affect industry by way of the colleges' principal product—graduate engineers. Because industry has a major stake in the changing curricu lums, there seems to be a greater need than ever for industry and the univer sity to improve relations with one another. This feeling, which prob ably extends throughout most of U.S. industries and universities, was em phasized at the 21st College-Industry Conference at the University of Mich igan, Ann Arbor, sponsored by UM's college of engineering and the Relations-with-Industry Division of the American Society for Engineering Ed ucation. That a problem between industry and the university exists is undeniable. However, opinions on the extent of the problem vary considerably. For example, Dr. Louis T. Rader, vice president of General Electric's indus trial process control division, feels that the U.S. college system for engineers is excellent but still has room for im provement. However, GE engineer ing managers indicated in a survey that the education of new engineering graduates leaves much to be desired. Many of the managers surveyed think that new graduates are overtrained in theory and undertrained in practical application, can use math quickly but are short in creativity, and are not aware of engineering's role in busi ness. Closer relations. Several channels exist for establishing closer relations between industry and academia. For example, Dr. Rader feels that doing consulting work is one of the best ways for an educator to become in volved in the practical side of indus try. Dr. Hansford W. Farris, associ ate dean for research and relations with industry for UM's college of en gineering, maintains that professional involvement should mean more than consulting on current industrial prob lems. It should include an awareness of corporate objectives, general famil iarity with manufacturing processes, and an enthusiasm for illustrating classroom presentations with practical case histories. Unfortunately, Dr. Farris notes,
GE's Rader Educators should consult
educators are usually too much inter ested in "pure research" to nurture this kind of interest in industry. Other channels open for closer in dustry-university ties include coopera tive programs for students (in which students alternate class work with work in industry at several-month in tervals ), industry-sponsored research on campus, lectures at universities by qualified industry personnel, and par ticipation in summer employment pro grams for both faculty and students. Why the change? In order to un derstand why engineering curriculums are in such a state of change, asserts Dr. Robert Marshall, associate dean of engineering at the University of Wis consin, one must understand that en gineering is an interface discipline, composed of a great many areas in cluding social problems, health, and industry. Several factors have been instru mental in producing substantial changes in engineering curriculums. These factors include the explosive growth of science and technology, the advent of multimillion-dollar com puter systems, the trend toward treat ing complex problems with systems
b-Mercaptopropionic Acid HS-CH2-CH2-C00H
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Data Sheet available cover» ing references to: stabilizers, antioxidants, catalysts, anti bacterial agents, pharmaceuticals, etc. Samples available on request.
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250 East 43rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10017 \ Phone 212~βΒ$-0071 TWX 212-367-428$ .-'{i
MARCH 3, 1969 C&EN 35
the $1195* Monochromator with better than 1A resolution"
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We do not intend to praise the reso lution of the Heath/Malmstadt-Enke EU-700 Monochromator by numbers. The optical performance of the "700" is better illustrated by the degree of separation of a typical first order profile of a 3131 Hg line and by the sharp, coma-free line produced from a copper hollow-cathode lamp, en abling you to judge its resolving power against the criteria you gen erally use. If you think your Monochromator is as good as the "700" try the above tests on your instrument, compare them with the "700" . . . and see if you don't need a new Monochromator. The optical system is of the CzernyTurner type with a focal length of 350 mm. To prevent aberration of the images and minimize coma, the "700" has parabolic mirrors, coated with MgF2 for maximum reflectance in the UV. Image deterioration is virtually nonexistant. The plane diffraction grating features 1180 lines per mm and a blaze wave length of 2500 A. Continuously vari able slits between 5 and 2000 microns have ground and polished knife edges with heights from 0.5 to 12 mm. Stray light is minimized by the use of high
quality optical components. Special two-stage light baffles prevent offaxis light from entering or being dis persed. All "700" Monochromators will pro duce the 0.3 A resolution shown above, despite the fact that Heath conservatively states only "better than 1 A." This high performance, versatile and stable Monochromator also features: • ± 1 A tracking accuracy • Modular versatility integrates the "700" into a series of spectrophoto meters available soon • In-line entrance and exit beams • Electronic Programmable Digital Scanning 0 • Wavelength: zero order to 10,000 A • High Mechanical Stability with portability . . . all for just $1195.
ΙΓ5=5Ρ For more infor mation on the "700" send for the NEW HEATH Scientific Instru mentation Cata log. A Manual is also available for $2. 36 C&EN MARCH 3, 1969
HEATH COMPANY, Dept. 560-34 «sassse^ Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022 Π Please send New Free Scientific Instrumentation Catalog, Π Please send Manual 595-912, a 100 pg application and operation book of the "700" . . . $2.00 Name Address City. -State . -Zip. Prices & specifications subject to change without notice. *Mail order prices; F.O.B. factory.
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rather than individually, the rapid ad vance of the chemical industry, the trend toward interdisciplinary prob lems, the growth of research in uni versities by the impact of government support for programs, and current complex problems of modern society, such as air pollution, water pollution, and urban ills. Thus curriculum changes have been influenced by several areas of soci ety: business, the private sector, uni versity faculty, and students. Part of the students' role in changing curriculums has been in their search for rele vance in society. As witnessed by many campus disorders this year and last year, students can demand and get changes in curriculums. Students are also active on student-faculty councils that help draw up new cur riculums for recommendation to uni versities. The resulting new curriculums, with changes wrought by these vari ous influences, generally have more variety, greater flexibility, and fewer credit requirements. There is a trend away from analytical courses and a phasing out of courses dealing with mechanical skills, such as drawing. The changes add up to a continuation toward a liberal science program, par alleling liberal arts (C&EN, Aug. 26, 1968, page 5 8 ) . The new curriculums are made up of a core of courses in science, math, humanities, and an introduction to engineering. One report from the American Society for Engineering Education recommends that humani ties and social sciences should make up at least 20% of engineering curric ulums. Part of the trend in the new curricu lums seems to be in accepting the premise that engineering is a graduate discipline. The broadened and more flexible undergraduate curriculums to some extent carry the implication that additional graduate work will be nec essary for more than just a basic pro fessional specialization. To illustrate this trend, the highly controversial document "Goals of En gineering Education," published early last year by the American Society for Engineering Education, notes the steady increase in the number of en gineering students continuing on to graduate school. In 1950, the report says, about 10% of students with bachelor's degrees in engineering ob tained master's degrees. Fifteen years later, the proportion had risen to more than 40%. The report extrapolates the trend to show that by 1980, about two thirds of students with bachelor's degrees will obtain master's degrees. Those going on to obtain doctor's de grees have grown in smaller numbers but at a similar rate.
