The AE 510 course was a compelling introduction into the various up and
coming technologies related to architectural, civil, and other building design professions.
Throughout my college, high school, and work experience I have encountered and
become very comfortable with many of the industry tools that are common in
engineering firms. This course forced me to assess the future of the field I
intend to work in and how effective I will be in that field.
The main exercises that I completed throughout the class broadened my
outlook on the developing technologies today. First we learned about robotics
development and their implementation into both engineering and other fields.
That was one of my favorite lectures. We also looked at BIM systems; which in
my opinion are likely to become one of the major new industry technologies with
proper development. The course also covered databases (which I had never even
thought about the construction of before) and Revit. Students had the
opportunity to interact with one another and share their real world experiences
and ideas via blog posts and in class discussions. I enjoyed these aspects of
the class as they offered interesting insights to work practices and material
studies. Generally I found that every lesson of the course introduced me to a
technology that I was unfamiliar with or expanded greatly upon one that I had
previously used.
This class also caused me to do some serious self-inspection. Towards
the end of the term we completed exercises that intended to provide us with the
opportunity to assess how the technologies we studied would be implemented into
the design processes that we have been studying for years. Groups were required
to invent a construction scenario. Descriptions of major stakeholders and the
technologies that they would utilize throughout the process were to be
provided. I found that, unfortunately I did not even think about incorporating
new technologies into the process apart from sensors in the final design
despite the focus of the class. This was disappointing to me. I am fascinated and
interested in learning about new technologies. When new lessons were presented
they were just really cool however I found that I have a hard time integrating
them into my own personal design process. I learned that if I do not actively
follow developing ideas and do not continually try to integrate them that I will
overlook them. This is a lesson I intend to keep with me as I continue on into
my professional life as to be effective as an engineer I will need to adapt and
incorporate new technologies into my projects. I really enjoyed the course. It
taught me material and about myself but was fun.
I commented on Gary Reiff’s and Rebecca Lynch’s posts.
Great point that this course is unique in that it emphasizes the future of our industry. Most of my classes focus on the skills we will need now, or the history of building. I think to gain a comprehensive education students need to focus more on the future. I also like that you brought up “self-inspection.” I had not really thought about this, but after you mentioned it I realized it was true for me too. This is an especially important component to include in a senior level course.
ReplyDeleteAllison, great point about how we were all stuck, so to speak, when designing our own “story”. We were applying an AE390 mentality, and that is a reflection of how Drexel trains you for the field that currently exists, which unfortunately exists to make money, not to innovate. In that context this class is so much more valuable. It’s really the only opportunity we’re given at Drexel to push the limits and think about creating innovative, beneficial, and economical products that the industry would otherwise never stumble upon without people who have the tools this class offers.
ReplyDelete