"The 5xME" Workshop:
Transforming Mechanical Engineering Education and Research in the USA
May 10-11, 2007, Arlington, VA
Introduction
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
sponsored a workshop, held May 10-11, 2007 in Arlington, VA. The
goal of the workshop was to lay the foundation for transformative change in
mechanical engineering education and research in the USA. This was motivated by the fact that the
science-based engineering education taught at our engineering schools has
become a commodity, available to students all over the world, including
low-wage markets. Global
companies employ such world-class engineering talent, often at 20% of the cost
in the USA, and are moving manufacturing, design and even research activities
to such locations. The challenge for
engineering schools in the USA is how to educate a mechanical engineer that
provides five times the value added when compared to the global competition,
i.e., the "5xME."
The workshop was held May 10-11, 2007 at
the NSF in Arlington, Virginia in the Stafford II Building, Room II-555. Participation was limited to
approximately 20-30 invited guests (see list of participants below). The workshop planning committee, met
during the summer of 2006 to plan the workshop, and consists of Mary Good,
Marshall Jones, Lee Matsch, Dan Mote, and Galip Ulsoy
(Chair). The workshop has led to a
report, which is available through this web site (see below) for broad
dissemination to the mechanical engineering education community. A follow-up plenary session was held at
the International Mechanical
Engineering Education Conference, April 4-8, 2008, Galveston, TX. The Proceedings of that IMEEC 2008
conference are available online at http://www.asme.org/Education/College/Faculty/2008_Proceedings.cfm.
Any inquiries should be directed to Galip
Ulsoy (ulsoy@umich.edu).
This workshop is funded by
the National Science Foundation under grant CMMI-0647197.
Further Information and Links
- A brief brochure summarizing the Workshop and its Recommendations is available for downloading as a PDF file (5XME_Brochure.pdf), and hard copies can be requested from Galip Ulsoy (ulsoy@umich.edu).
- The workshop report (5XME_Report.pdf) is available for downloading and distribution as a PDF file.
- The presentations made at the workshop by Arden Bement, Richard Buckius, Adnan Akay, Galip Ulsoy, Ward Winer, Nariman Farvardin and Jim Duderstadt have been collected as part of the Appendices for the report and can be downloaded as a PDF file (5XME_Report_Appendices.pdf).
- Also available for downloading are:
- White Paper (4 pages, pdf)
- Agenda (2 pages, pdf)
- List of Participants (1 page, pdf)
- Photos (5XME_Photos.pdf), courtesy of Eduardo Misawa.
Follow-up Workshop on November 13-14, 2009 at the Dolphin Hotel, Lake Buena Vista, FL
- The NSF has now funded a follow-up workshop focusing on implementing the recommendations from the original 5xME Workshop. This second workshop was organized by a Planning Committee (Adnan Akay, Norman Fortenberry, John Linehard, Sheri Sheppard, Gretar Tryggvason, Galip Ulsoy and Kon-Well Wang) during the summer of 2009. Additional information can be requested from Galip Ulsoy (ulsoy@umich.edu).
- The "Implementing the 5xME Recommendations Workshop" will be held in conjunction with the ASME IMECE meeting at the Dolphin Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, FL during November 13-14, 2009.
- Currently available for downloading are:
- White Paper (2 pages, pdf)
- Agenda (2 pages, pdf)
- List of Participants (1 page, pdf)
- Breakout Groups and Breakout Questions (2 pages, pdf)
- After the workshop, available for downloading at this site, will be the workshop report, and other workshop materials (e.g., plenary presentations).
- A symposium or plenary will be held at the ASME IMEEC in Newport Beach, CA during March 25-27, 2010 to report the results of the "Implementing the 5xME Recommendations Workshop" to a wider audience.
Last updated on 04 November 2009 by A. Galip Ulsoy (ulsoy@umich.edu).