DIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION URBAN SPEED LIMITS: AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE

This paper will present one of a series of experiments that are part of a Department of Education Grant to develop a series of hands-on experiments designed to interest and motivate freshman students to study engineering.An essential part of this project is to design experiences (experiments) that may be used with diverse student populations and for which no prerequisite science or mathematics background is required.An integral aspect of each experiment is to illustrate the importance of fundamental science and mathematics as "tools" necessary to solve engineering problems before the student has mastered the science and mathematics.It is the opinion of the authors that the mystique associated with mathematics and science is often a deterrent to students selecting a career in engineering or technology.By demonstrating the final results of engineering and technical applications and showing how the necessary math and science relate to the solution, it is expected that the students will appreciate the importance of math and science and understand their relationship to everyday engineering and technical problems.The experiment chosen will articulate the engineering procedures used to determine the "Posted" speed of a section of an urban arterial route.This topic is usually discussed in a junior or senior level transportation or traffic engineering course.As is the case for all the experiments in the grant, the equipment necessary to accomplish the experiment is very inexpensive.Depending on the level of sophistication desired, the equipment expense for this experiment can be less than $200.This experiment introduces engineering and technical concepts at an elementary level.The student is familiarized with such concepts as precision, accuracy, sensitivity, resolution, probability, statistics, and significant figures, all of which are essential concepts for all aspects of engineering and technology.Most important, both the format and the application of this experiment (as well as the others being developed) are fun, engaging, easy to follow, and supportive and enriching of the engineering thought processes.An ancillary aspect of the exercises is that they may be readily adapted for High School enrichment programs as well as "one-shot" orientation presentations.