Addressing the Disconnect between Engineering Students and the Physical World

There is ample evidence of a growing disconnect between engineering students and the physical world.This chasm is being created by social and technological changes; in particular, the proliferation of microprocessor-based "virtual experiences" for children and adolescents has had an inhibiting effect upon their opportunities to explore forces, causal factors, and effects in the real world.Diminished opportunity to physically experience produces diminished ability to perceive.The predictable result is that students in engineering and the applied sciences struggle to critically evaluate their work in problem-solving exercises.In the fall of 2006 efforts were undertaken to reconnect undergraduate chemical engineering students with the physical world.Four groups of volunteers (27 students) from ChE 530, Transport Phenomena 1, were provided with a large-scale field experience in which water was: 1) pumped through a series of nozzles (trading pressure for kinetic energy), 2) pumped into a 325 gallon tank to test the delivery rate achieved by the pump (and the horsepower requirement), and 3) allowed to drain from the tank through a valve and a short length of 2-inch diameter hose (evaluation of Torricelli's theorem).The intent of this exercise was to provide students with the opportunity to experience fluid forces, velocities, and frictional losses in a physically meaningful context.Experience has shown conclusively that these objectives are not being met by the small-scale activities carried out with our present laboratory experiments.Results from the activities described above have been evaluated through quizzes, examinations, and direct student responses (questionnaires completed by the participants).The physically-relevant field experiences appear to have had a positive impact upon test subjects and the findings of this study are described in detail here.