EDUCAUSE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

January 13, 2004

IMPLEMENTING THE“CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES” PARADIGM AT UNION COLLEGE”

Robert T. BalmerDean of Engineering

Union College, Schenectady, NY

WHAT IS IT?

• “Converging Technologies” (CT) refers to the

continuous melding of concurrent technical,

scientific, and cultural phenomena

• At Union CT will integrate engineering and the

liberal arts to define innovative interdisciplinary

curricula for the 21st century

The concept of technological “Convergence” comes from the rapid evolution of pocket PCs that now contain: Mobile phone, Email, Web browser, Ebooks, Games, Music, Movies, Photography, Spreadsheets, etc., etc., etc.

CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES

• In recent years the most significant

technological advances have occurred at the

interfaces of the liberal arts and engineering

• These advances often produce unimagined

technologies

• They are, by their nature, multidisciplinary

WHY?

Converging Technologiesfor a Changing World

Emerging TechnologiesIn a Changing

World

At Union College we see …

becoming

Computer Eng.Electrical Eng.Mechanical Eng.Computer ScienceBiologyChemistryPhysicsSocial Sciences,

etc.

Nanotechnology

Bioengineering

Mechatronics

MEMS and NEMS

Pervasive Computing

and many othersChanging

World

Existing Programs MustLead to New Opportunities

"Students who do not understand how the new and

converging technologies work, how they construct

meaning, how they can be used, and how the

evidence they present can be weighed and

evaluated are, in contemporary cultures,

considerably disadvantaged and disempowered."

Abbott & Masterman "Working Paper No. 2",Centre for Literacy, 1997.

See:

http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/andersen.htm)

WHY ELSE?

The strategic elements of organizational change in higher education are complex and varied. The following list was recently developed by Dr. Joseph Zolner, Director, Harvard Institutes for Higher Education.

How Do You Do This?

The Psychology of Change in Higher

Education

1. Loss of Control - Change is exciting when it is done by the faculty and is of concern when done to the faculty.

2. Too Much Uncertainty - Almost by definition, a decision to pursue something new means one cannot be absolutely certain what will happen or what new outcomes the change will produce. Significant uncertainty can spell doom for administrators seeking to introduce new ideas to their institutions.

3. Surprise, Surprise - There are some who (falsely) believe that the best way to implement change is to “sneak up” on faculty/staff/students and inform them of a change at the moment of implementation.

Zolner’s Tenets of Change

4. The “McDonalds Factor” - Familiarity and consistent application of standards breed comfort. To the extent possible, build on recognized institutional strengths – items that faculty know, understand, and appreciate about their program, department, or institution.

5. Ripple Effects - Inevitably, changes send ripples beyond their intended impact.

6. Loss of Face - For many, accepting a change implies repudiation of what was done prior to the change. This could mean admitting (either implicitly or explicitly) that someone’s past actions or prior leadership were “wrong,” or at least ill-conceived.

7. Concerns About Competence - Change inevitably raises disconcerting questions about an individual’s ability to get a new job done. Am I up to the challenge presented by this change?

8. More Work - One entirely understandable reason people resist doing something new or different is that it often requires more work. In addition to managing “routine” duties, people must often add new demands imposed by change to an already-full agenda.

9. Past Resentments - While this reason for resisting change is “negative,” it is also completely understandable. Cobwebs from the past (or skeletons in assorted departmental closets) can easily impede future progress.

10. Sometimes the Threat is Real - Sometimes, a threat posed by change is a legitimate source of concern and reason to embrace the status quo. Despite all efforts to the contrary, change sometimes creates winners and losers.

So, How Do YouImplement Change?

Administrators often see change as an opportunity for progress and innovation, whereas faculty typically view the same elements of change as disruptive and intrusive. For academic institutions, there are five steps to implementing significant change:

1. Create a compelling vision that establishes a sense of urgency for change

2. Communicate the vision and the urgency to the faculty3. Empower faculty to contribute to and act on the vision4. Create a strategy to produce a series of short-term

successes5. Institutionalize the results by implementing the vision

First: We created acompelling vision that established a

sense of urgency for change

If 21st century technology is being generated at theinterfaces of engineering and the liberal arts, then amodern postmodern educational model shouldemulate this through a similar convergence ofacademic disciplines.

Liberal Arts College Enrollments

40

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1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

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% All Inst. % All Students

Second: We communicated the vision and the urgency to the faculty

The faculty and the deans spent a great deal of time at retreats (four over two years) and faculty meetings discussing the vision of the Converging Technologies initiative. In the fall of 2002 there was a college-wide faculty retreat to discuss these same issues (complete with a SWOT analysis and a list of goals).

Also, the President and the Board of Trustees were very enthusiastic about CT, and wanted it to move forward as fast as possible. The future of engineering at a liberal arts college had been discussed for several years without any conclusion. Consequently, it was quite clear to most of the faculty that there was an urgency to at least investigate the feasibility of CT at Union.

Third: We empowered the faculty tocontribute to and act on the vision

We accomplished this by establishing

interdisciplinary faculty committees composed of

faculty willing to engage the new ideas. To

facilitate faculty participation we provided

released time and summer stipends to develop the

necessary materials.

Fourth: We then created a strategy toproduce a series of short-term successes

We have done this by having faculty introduce CT related

segments or modules into their existing classes and by

supporting student research in the CT areas. Success

then comes from administrative kudos and the recognition

of faculty peers at their annual performance review.

We have also developed a very effective CT web site on

the Campus web site to highlight faculty and student CT

activity (see www.union.edu/ct). This also provides a good

recruiting tool to attract top high school students to these

new fields.

Fifth: We institutionalized the results byimplementing the vision

The CT vision became implemented via the

creation of new courses and programs

1) Develop new introductory CT courses and possibly minors in CT areas

2) Integrate CT concepts into existing courses and develop

upper level CT courses

3) Developstudent CT

projects with RPI,SUNY, GE, IBM, etc.

4) Expand faculty research and

scholarship into CT areas

Implementing the Converging

Technologies Paradigm at Union

College

• Nanotechnology

• Bioengineering

• Mechatronics

• Pervasive Computing

• Neurotechnology

The Five

Converging Technologies

Areas Adopted At Union

NANOTECHNOLOGY - The Convergence of Engineering,

Chemistry, Physics, and Biology

Biology Chemistry

Physics

Engineering

Nanotechnology

BIOENGINEERING - The Convergence of Engineering,

Biology, and Computer Science

Biology

Engineering

BioengineeringComputerScience

MECHATRONICS - The convergence of Mechanical and

Electrical Engineering with Computer Science

Mechatronics ComputerScience

ElectricalEngineering

MechanicalEngineering

PERVASIVE COMPUTING - The integration of the computer into all forms of human interaction

This includes engineering, computerscience and all of the liberal arts

NEUROTECHNOLOGY - The integration neuroscience,

engineering, and computer science

Neuroscience

EngineeringComputer

Science

Neurotechnology

SO, WHAT ARE WE RECOMMENDING TO YOU?

• The freshman “Introduction to Engineering and Mechatronics” is now a GenEd course open to all students on campus

• A $1 million CT gift from IBM provided SEM and AFM equipment

• Our Computer Engineering Program represents a convergence of electrical engineering and computer science

WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?

• EE senior projects and summer interns students at UAlbany Nanoelectronics Center

• EE Faculty sabbatical the the GE GRC nanotechnology facility

• Four new course in the pervasive computing area developed

• Three new Mechatronics courses developed by ME and EE faculty

• Faculty from EE and Biology engaged in neural network research

• Biomechanics and Introduction to Bioengineering courses developed

• Several senior bioengineering projects

• ME and Biology faculty now working on bioengineering research

• Aero-gel project with ME and Chemistry professors led to NSF proposal for an aero-gel fabrication facility

• Hired a new faculty applying nanotechnology to energy conversion processes

•Hired a new faculty and staff with Atomic Force Microscope expertise

•New course - “Frontiers of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials” developed with ME, Physics, and Chemistry faculty

•Three new Mechatronics course developed by ME and EE faculty

•Pilot laptop program in engineering includes students constructing and programming a functional mechatronics interface for data acquisition and process control

Converging Technologies Board

Robert T. Balmer, Union CollegeWalter H. Berninger, General Electric R&DPaul Burton '82, Plug PowerGary Cohen '78, IBMJohn Corey '76, Clever Fellows ConsortiumDennis Deeb '82, General Mechanical GroupRichard Delaney '80, PepsiCoMatthew Fronk '79, General MotorsAbdallah Itani '80, General ElectricAmy Johnson '80, Capstone Inc.Catherine Keim '83, IBMJ.R. Spicehandler, '70, Schering-PloughDavid Usher '86, D.A. Usher Associates

Where is technology headed and howrapidly is it evolving?

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

• Hire a Bioengineer for the Union College Center for CT

• Develop more General Education CT courses collaboratively with liberal arts faculty

• Continue student and faculty projects with UAlbany, GE GRC, IBM, KAPL, and RPI

• Submit NSF/DOE/SRC/… proposals for undergraduate research in various CT areas

• Publish student/faculty research in CT areas

• Renovate or build a facility for the Center for converging Technologies at Union College

• Continue to recruit new students interested in CT areas.

In 2003-2004

BEYOND?

CONCLUSIONS

• Technology is rapidly changing, and engineering education will have to adapt by embracing a

broader intellectual basis at the undergraduate level.

• Since much of the new technology is occurring at the interfaces of engineering and the liberal arts, the traditional disciplines, or educational “silos,” will have to merge and become more

interdisciplinary.

• Union’s concept of “Converging Technologies” is our way of beginning to address these changes.

THANK YOU(Visit us at www.union.edu/ct)