Engineering and Applied ScienceStudent Faculty Conference

February 14th, 2013

Purposes

• To identify problems and propose solutions for the EAS option as a whole and its sub-tracks

• To accommodate the effects of New Core on the EAS major

• To think of ways to enable students to have improved access to research

Members

• Students: – Matthew Voss (MS) Chair– Greg Izatt (CNS)– Emily Ellsworth (CNS)– Addie Rice (ESE)

• Professors:– Sossina Haile (MS)– Shinsuke Shimojo (CNS)– Paul Wennberg (ESE)– Jared Leadbetter (ESE)

Results from 2011 SFC

• ACM95 is necessary for any engineering major• Some advanced lab courses and many option

specific electives are infrequently offered

Identified Problems

• Lack of engineering lab courses• Incorporation of core• Lack of publicity for the majors and tracks• Course scheduling

Overview of EAS Requirements

• 1. Demonstration of computer programming competency by taking CS 1, or by taking an approved alternative course, or by passing a placement exam administered by the computer science option by first term of sophomore year.

• 2. a. 27 units of advanced EAS courses with the prefixes Ae, ACM, AM, APh, BE, CE, CNS, CS, CDS, EE, ESE, MS, or ME;

• and• b. 27 additional units of either advanced EAS courses or

advanced science courses offered by the biology, CCE, GPS, or PMA divisions.

Overview of EAS Requirements

• 3. a. 9 units of laboratory courses taken from the following list: APh 77 bc, Ae/APh 104 bc, CE 95, CE 180, CS/CNS 171, 173, and 174, EE 45, EE/CS 52, 53, 54, EE 90, EE 91 ab, ESE 159, MS 90, MS 125, ME 72 ab, ME 90 bc, ME 96;

• and• b. 9 units of additional laboratory courses either from the list

in 3 a or from EAS courses with the word “laboratory” in the title, but excluding those courses for which freshman laboratory credit is allowed.

• 4. ACM 95 abc or Ma 108 abc or Ma 109 abc. None of these course sequences may be taken pass/fail.

• 5. E 10 or equivalent; E 11 or equivalent.

Overview of EAS Requirements• 6. Courses used to satisfy requirements 1–5 above must also satisfy

a depth requirement, which must be met by either:• a. the concentration requirements listed below for one of the

following disciplines: computation and neural systems, environmental science and engineering, and materials science, or

• b. a customized schedule of requirements that is similarly rigorous to 6 a, has both breadth and depth, and that includes a senior thesis or capstone design project, such as, but not restricted to, EE 80 abc, CS 80 abc, ME 90 abc, or two terms chosen from EE 91 ab and EE/CS 53. To select this alternative, the student must submit a written proposal to, and obtain the approval of, the EAS option oversight committee. This approval must be obtained by the end of the third term of the sophomore year.

Overview of EAS Requirements• 7. At least 117 units of EAS courses not including those used to

satisfy requirements 3, 4, and 5 above. Concentrations marked with a dagger (†) in the list below include sufficient EAS courses to automatically satisfy this requirement; concentrations marked with an asterisk (*), and also the customized schedule given in 6 b, do not do so, in which case students will have to select sufficient additional EAS courses to bring the total to 117 units. Courses in ChE count toward this requirement.

• 8. All concentrations and the customized schedule of requirements described in 6 b shall include a major design experience.

• 9. Passing grades must be earned in at least 486 units, including those listed in requirements 1–8 above.

Computation and Neural Systems*

• CNS 100, Bi/CNS 150, CNS/Bi/Ph/CS 187, CNS/Bi/EE/CS 186, CNS/CS/EE 188 (or IST 4), EE 111, CDS 101, Bi 8 (or Bi 9).

• CS 2 is required in addition to CS 1 for the CNS concentration.

• In addition, the laboratory course Bi/CNS 162 is required. The project for CNS/Bi/EE/CS 186 shall be organized as a design project drawing on the ensemble of CNS disciplines

Environmental Science and Engineering

• Thermodynamics (ChE 63 ab or ME 18 ab), transport processes (ChE 103 abc or ME 19 ab), environmental laboratory (ESE 159);

• a total of 4 courses covering all three of the areas of environmental chemistry (ESE 142, ESE/Ge/Ch 171, 172, or ESE/Ch/Ge 175), environmental physics (ESE 101, ESE 102, 130–138, ESE/Ge 139,or ChE/ESE 158), and environmental biology (ESE 103, ESE/Bi166, or ESE/Bi 168); ESE 90 (senior thesis), 18 units.

• ESE 159 satisfies requirement 8.

Material Science

• APh 17 ab or ChE 63 ab or ME 18 ab, MS 115 ab, MS 90, and three terms of MS 78 (senior thesis, which includes a major design experience).

• In addition, the student shall complete 45 units from the following list of restricted electives:

• ME 35 abc, APh 105 abc, APh 114 abc, APh/EE 130, APh/EE 183, Ch 120 ab, Ch 121 ab, Ch 125 abc, Ch/ChE 147, ChE/Ch 148, CS 11, Ge 114 ab, MS105, MS/APh 120, 122, MS 125, 131, 133, 142, Ph 125 abc.

Overview of Survey Results

• Response rate: 13 students: 3 MS, 3ESE, 7CNS; 5 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 4 Sophomores

• Most had grad school plans• All had done either SURF or summer

internships• A smaller fraction had done research during

term

Laboratory Courses

• APh 77 bc, Ae/APh 104 bc, CE 95, CE 180, CS/CNS 171, 173, and 174, EE 45, EE/CS 52, 53, 54, EE 90, EE 91 ab, ESE 159, MS 90, MS 125, ME 72 ab, ME 90 bc, ME 96;

• Most courses are either not offered (strikethrough) or require a high number of pre-requisites (underlined)

Alternatives

• ChE114 (Solid State NMR for Materials)• E/ME105 (Product Design)• Ge114ab (Mineralogy Lab)• BE/EE189ab (Biodevice Construction)• EE119 (Advanced Digital System Design)• Ch6 (Physical Chemistry Lab)• Ph5 (Electronic Lab)• Research for credit

Lack of Publicity

• Very few students (3/13 according to the survey) knew their track of EAS existed when applying to Caltech

• CNS students reported finding out about their major from other students, MS and ESE majors reported finding out about their major from the catalog

• More than a third of students switched from another option into EAS

Lack of Publicity

• Solutions:– Admissions forms– Pizza course– Menu course

Incorporation of Core

• In the past Caltech core required:• Differential Equations, Probability and

Statistics, Waves, Quantum, and Stat Mech/Thermo

Incorporation of Core

• Survey results indicate students are largely in favor of retaining the topics of old core

• Preliminary talks with Option Representatives indicate they are in favor of retaining the topics of old core

Incorporation of Core

• Possible Implementation:– Keep it completely as is (require Ma2ab, Ph2abc

or Ph12abc)– Require the topics, but allow the topics to be

fulfilled in some open format• i.e. Pick from Ch21a, Ph2b, Ph12b, Ch125, Ph125 etc. to

fulfill quantum requirement

Core

• Differential Equations:– Ma2a,

• Statistics and Probability– Ma2b, ACM/ESE118, ChE Data Analysis Course

• Waves:– Ph2a, Ph12a

• Quantum:– Ph2b, Ph12b, Ph125a, Ch125a, Ch21a

Core

• Thermo/Statistical Methods– Ph2c, Ph12c, ChE63ab, Me18ab, Aph/MS105,

Ch/ChE164, Ch21c, Ch25?

Scheduling

• General solutions, or is this track-specific?

Research During Term

• Project courses• More announcements of opportunity• Ch10c model• Research for credit or pay– In addition to Senior Thesis

Research During the Summer

• SURF• SURF Abroad or at JPL• Other programs• E11 during the summer

General Concerns?