Principles of Engineering Design

Principles of Engineering Design (EGRD) is a science CAA course where students work in groups to solve engineering real world problems. This course is offered at all CAA sites: Bristol, Easton, Haverford, Hong Kong, Seattle and Santa Cruz. It was previously offered at San Rafael. There are no prerequisites.

Course Description

From the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, built to sustain high winds and temperatures up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, to the Shanghai Maglev, the world’s fastest commercial train that can cover 19 miles in just over seven minutes, humanity’s unending quest to find the best, most efficient, and cheapest means to make human life better has created engineering marvels.

Students in this course work primarily in teams to solve real-world and simulated problems in the field of engineering. This study requires a synergy of mathematical knowledge, scientific thinking, and engineering design skills. Students first examine actual engineering projects to see how a vast body of human knowledge is applied to solve problems. For example, students may analyze aircraft design to discuss how composite materials are used to make modern vehicles lighter and stronger; how innovations in energy technology make electric vehicles more efficient and viable; and how bridges are made to withstand extreme stress and wind pressure. Students then design, construct, and test their own working models and prototypes, such as amphibious vehicles, solar-powered cars, bridges, or skyscrapers.

As part of the engineering design process, students weigh economic and ethical considerations along with technological ones and submit written technical reports. They also discuss and compare their projects to determine avenues for design improvements. Students leave the class with a broader view of the field of engineering and a deeper understanding of the day-to-day work of engineers.

Lab Fee: $65

Class History

EGRD.A.SUN.17.2 was the younger EGRD class. It was taught by David Shaw, who was... intimidating. The entire course was spent building stuff with balsa wood, with the exception of the first week, which was spent learning new vocabulary and equations everyone mostly forgot. Since the focus was on building, David had to tell the class how to reach the correct answers on the test at the end of the course. However, he said he was very proud of the CTYers for figuring out how to make functional things that met the criteria in the challenging scenarios he gave them.

The egg drop test was on the second floor of a parking garage, and apparently it was very interesting because it had the highest RA turnout for the entire session. Paul Burke's egg drop worked fine until it fell into the gutter and got stuck, and an RA had to fish it out. Drew's ran into the wall and dropped the egg, which cracked. The yolk somehow remained intact. This was found to be very amusing by the audience. Alvin's egg drop was essentially a very padded box. There wasn't even a parachute. It worked fine. Paarth Dewan made what he called a "ski mechanism" out of the balsa wood, which was supposed to make the egg drop slide smoothly to a stop. This didn't work; the egg drop flipped over and the ski mechanism was destroyed.

The class also built boats, which were tested in a fountain. Many of the boys went into the fountain barefoot, which led to the instructor yelling stuff like, "Alvin! PUT YOUR SHOES BACK ON!". Paul stood on a rock near the center of the fountain and made sure that the boats didn't get lost or run into obstacles. The boats made it into the end-of-session slideshow, which was created by RA Sofi.

Ethan was known for making insanely complicated designs that took a very long time to build. He often had to be nagged several times to go on breaks.

Paarth and Drew insisted they were brothers, and the TA continuously tried to find holes in their story. Paarth then decided that Edward, a guy from Korea, was also his brother and knew magic tricks. All these made-up siblings were supposedly adopted. He also made designs that wouldn't work and were only logical in his head.

Breaks, for the most part, were on the Union Green, where there were a bunch of dogs. Paul, being a commuter student, brought Frisbees to break. They were enthusiastically chased by both the students and dogs. Once, when returning to the classroom, Paul went, "Holy CRAP there are HOLES in this Frisbee!". He was then mobbed by the rest of the class. The TA also provided a few balls, one of which was pretty much shredded by a tiny but extremely energetic dog.

This class used so much balsa wood and hot glue that the hot glue ran out by the second week. The instructor then had to buy more and repeatedly told students to stop using so much glue.

EGRD.B.SUN.17.2 was made up of older students. They did similar projects to the the EGRD.A class, but their instructor was an electrical engineer rather than a mechanical engineer (like David, who taught the EGRD.A class) so it was a little different.

Their egg drop was some sort of mail protection thing, which they threw around the room to test. Additionally, while both classes built bridges, this class was allowed to have materials that were MUCH easier to work with. Both classes also built solar cars, but this class used a kit while EGRD.A used whatever was available in their lab. (Mostly lots and lots and lots of balsa wood and hot glue... and complaining about how there wasn't enough torque... and how the axles wouldn't spin...) This meant that the EGRD.B class had a much higher success rate with the cars, but many complained that it wasn't as fun.

A notable occurrence was when Diego accidentally shot hot glue onto Ines' leg. It resulted in a burn and a scar.