2015 AASHTO RAC MeetingPortland, Oregon

Martin Pietrucha, DirectorLarson Institute, Penn State

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A Conversation onPairing Training and Career:

A University-based Education Perspective

Summary

• University curricula are changing– Undergraduate– Graduate

• Are they changing the “right” way?• Are they changing quickly enough (and can

they continue to change as needed)?

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Changing University Curricula

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Changing University Curricula• Undergraduate

– ASCE’s Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century• Foundational

– Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences• Technical

– Materials Science, Mechanics, Experiments, Problem Recognition and Solving, Design, Sustainability, Contemporary Issues and Historical Perspectives, Risk and Uncertainty, Project Management, Breadth in Civil Engineering Areas, Technical Specialization

• Professional– Communication, Public Policy, Business and Public

Administration, Globalization, Leadership, Teamwork, Attitudes, Lifelong Learning, Professional and Ethical Responsibility

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Changing University Curricula• Undergraduate

– The reality• Fewer required math, physics, and chemistry courses• Elimination of Surveying, Basic Circuits, Thermodynamics• Some

– Sustainability (coming slowly)– Leadership (strong presence; but not required)– Globalization (indirectly through study abroad, EWB, BTP)– Lifelong Learning (through osmosis)– Professional and Ethical Responsibility (inoculation only)

• None– Contemporary Issues and Historical Perspectives– Risk and Uncertainty– Public Policy– Business and Public Administration– Attitudes

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Changing University Curricula• Undergraduate

– Is the civil engineering degree the right entry level degree for a transportation professional?

– Is there finally a need for an undergraduate transportation engineering degree separate from civil engineering (like industrial broke off from mechanical in the early 1900s or environmental differentiated itself from civil in the 1960s/70s)?

– Can we do it “off the rack” by moving transportation from civil to industrial engineering?

– Or do we need to “custom tailor” a new curriculum for transportation engineering?

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Traditional Civil Engineer• Construction• Environmental• Geotechnical• Hydrology/Hydraulics• Materials• Structures• Surveying and Mapping• Transportation

Typical Transportation Engineer

• Design (Highway)• Operations (Highway)• Planning (Car/Truck/Transit?)

• Other Modes? (Peds? Bikes? Transit?)• Other Operating Schemes? (ITS? Supply Chain

Management?)

Engineering Knowledge Gaps

• Users– Needs, Wants, and Desires– Capabilities and Limitations

• Vehicles– Capabilities and Limitations

• Operating Environment– Weather/Surface Conditions– Lighting

Beyond Tradition

• Mechanical Engineering• Electrical Engineering• Computer Engineering• Computer Science• Industrial Engineering• Supply Chain Management

Business Requirements

• Speaking• Writing• Working on a team• Resolving conflicts• Handling the media• Managing resources (e.g. budgets, personnel,

facilities, equipment, etc.)

Transportation Engineerof the Future 1

• Construction ---> Facilities Management• Environmental• Geotechnical• Hydrology/Hydraulics• Materials• Structures• Surveying and Mapping• Transportation

Transportation Engineerof the Future 2

Planning, Design, and Operations

• Peds• Bikes• Cars• Trucks• Buses• Rail Transit

• Streets/Highways• Fixed Guideway• Air• Water• Pipelines• Telecommunication

s

Transportation Engineerof the Future 3

• Machine design• Tribology/meteorology• Command, control, communications, and

intelligence (C3I)• Lighting• Operations research• Human factors/ergonomics• Supply chain management

Transportation Engineerof the Future 4

• Speech communications• Technical writing• Human resource management• Media relations• Mediation• Marketing

Transportation Engineerof the Future 5

• 5th Semester– Transportation Systems Engineering– Contemporary Skills for Business Professionals– Supply Chain Management– Human Factors Engineering– Mechanical Systems Design

Transportation Engineerof the Future 6

• 6th Semester– Highway Engineering– Transportation Planning– Urban Transportation– Vehicle Road Dynamics– Automatic Control Systems

Transportation Engineerof the Future 7

• 7th Semester– Traffic Operations– Introduction to Operations Research– Introduction to Embedded Microcontrollers– Non-Motorized Transportation– Introduction to Air, Rail, and Water Transport

Transportation Engineerof the Future 8

• 8th Semester– Transportation Design– Fundamentals of Computer Vision– Fundamentals of Air Pollution– Computer Aided Lighting Design and Analysis– Management and Organization

Changing University Curricula• Graduate

– ABET accreditation for MS in applied science (engineering) programs– The reality

• Only 36 (of 544) universities have accredited MS programs– AFIT – 9 programs– Clemson – Environmental Engineering and Science– Colorado State – Environmental Health, Health Physics– Hunter College – Environmental and Occupational Health

Science– Idaho State - Health Physics– USF – Industrial Hygiene– Purdue – Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences– Michigan – Environmental Health Sciences/Industrial Hygiene

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Changing University Curricula• Graduate– The reality• Faculty drive what constitutes the degree program– Credits (primarily for PHD)– Required Courses

• 3 Types of Transportation Graduate Programs– Basic/Analytical– Applied/Empirical– Hybrid

• How does this curricular structure (and associated graduate product) match up with industry needs?

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If you really want to blow your mind• April 30, 2012 New Yorker– Get Rich U.• http

://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get-rich-u

• July 23, 2015 New York Times– The Fundamental Way That Universities Are an Illusion• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/upshot/the-fund

amental-way-that-universities-are-an-illusion.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

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