Smith College  
 
I am rising senior at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, the largest liberal arts college for women.  I am pursuing a degree in Engineering from the Picker Engineering Program.  I came to Smith because it’s of intensive liberal arts education with a unique and growing engineering major.  The following are *descriptions of completed engineering courses and their impact on my education/interest in an engineering career. Introduction to Engineering (EGR 100) EGR 100 serves as an accessible course for all students, regardless of background or intent to major in engineering. Engineering majors are required to take EGR 100 for the major, however. Those students considering majoring in engineering are strongly encouraged to take EGR 100 in the fall semester. Introduction to engineering practice through participation in a semester-long team-based design project. Students will develop a sound understanding of the engineering design process, including problem definition, background research, identification of design criteria, development of metrics and methods for evaluating alternative designs, prototype development, and proof of concept testing. Working in teams, students will present their ideas frequently through oral and written reports. Reading assignments, in-class discussions, will challenge students to critically analyze contemporary issues related to the interaction of technology and society. Engineering Circuit Theory (EGR 220) Analog and digital circuits are the building blocks of computers, medical technologies, and all things electrical. This course introduces both the fundamental principles necessary to understand how circuits work and mathematical tools that have widespread applications in areas throughout engineering and science. Topics include: Kirchhoff¿s laws, Thévenin and Norton equivalents, superposition, responses of first-order and second-order networks, time-domain and frequency-domain analyses, frequency-selective networks. Mass and Energy Balances (EGR 260) This course provides an introduction to fundamental principles that govern the design and analysis of chemical processes. The conversion of mass and energy will serve as the basis for the analysis of steady-state and transient behavior of reactive and non-reactive systems. Specific topics covered will include a review of basic thermodynamics, behavior of ideal and real gases, phase equilibria, and an application of these principles to the concept of industrial ecology. - Skills applied from course were applied to a semester long project conducting a Life Cycle Assessment for a specific product Engineering Mechanics (EGR 270) This is the first course in a two-semester sequence designed to introduce students to fundamental theoretical principles and analysis of mechanics of continuous media, including solids and fluids. Concepts and topics to be covered in this course include conservation laws, static and dynamic behavior of rigid bodies, analysis of machines and frames, internal forces, centroids, moment of inertia, vibrations and an introduction to stress and strain. - Applied concepts to final project for a safety analysis of the Washington Monument. Furthermore, wrote and created an educational engineering video for high school students and gained Final Cut Pro video editing skills. Fluid Mechanics (EGR 374) This is the second course in a two-semester sequence designed to introduce students to fundamental theoretical principles and analysis of mechanics of continuous media, including solids and fluids. Concepts and topics to be covered in this course include intensive and extensive thermophysical properties of fluids, control-volume and differential expressions for conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, dimensional analysis, and an introduction to additional topics such as viscous and open-channel flows. Photovoltaic and Fuel Cell Design (EGR 390) This course applies fundamental principles of thermodynamics, electrochemistry and semi-conductor physics to the design, modeling, and analysis of renewable energy power systems. Concepts to be covered in this course include extraterrestrial radiation, solar geometry, atmospheric effects, polarization curve characteristics, system components and configurations, stand-alone and hybrid system design, and load interactions. This course applies these theoretical concepts in a laboratory setting involving the design and testing of fuel cell and photovoltaic systems. Thermodynamics (2) Chemical - University of Edinburgh This course provides a basic grounding in the principles and methods of Classical Thermodynamics. It concentrates on: understanding the thermodynamic laws in relation to familiar experience; phase change, ideal gas and flow processes; using sources of data such as thermodynamic tables and charts. The course also aims to introduce the concepts of Gibbs free energy and chemical potential and to relate these to both phase equilibrium and chemical reaction equilibrium in ideal systems. To introduce the Equations of State. To enable students to calculate heats of reaction and equilibrium concentrations for gas phase reactions using standard thermodynamic data. Mechanical Design Project - University of Edinburgh This course aims to give students experience of tackling an engineering design problem in the area of renewable / sustainable energy, with all the uncertainties of the real world, personal interactions and time management. On completion of the course, the students should be able to: 1. Analyse a real problem and identify the key difficulties. 2. Appreciate the uncertainties and gaps in design data. 3. Produce a range of possible solutions. 4. Select the best of them. 5. Write key design equations. 6. Do neat assembly drawings and detailed drawings of some critical parts. 7. Understand something of group dynamics and personal interactions. 8. Understand the non-linear passage of time and its acceleration at the end of a project. For more information about Smith College, please visit http://www.smith.edu/ For more information about the Picker Engineering Program, please visit http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Engin/ *All the of course descriptions are provided by the Picker Engineering program at the following website. Additional comments are included after “ - “http://www.smith.edu/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Engin/shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
Class of 2011, Engineering Student