The Web is making giant inroads in Engineering, although some faculty members advise that, to utilize the Web fully, it helps to have the assistance of Web experts such as Rob Callum, Electronic Publications Specialist at Academic Computing Services.
Unexpectedly, Engineering has become a major purveyor of Web technology to non-science majors. More than 500 non-science majors signed up for EE 101 ÒThe Digital Information Age" taught by Prof. Roman Kuc, Electrical Engineering, making it the largest class at Yale this academic year. One of the assignments was for every student to develop a personal Web page and a Web page for a Yale-affiliated organization.
Prof. Kuc started his course by filling the big screen in Davies Auditorium in Becton with an assortment of examples of Web pages. He instructed the students in the uses of HTML and on ways of examining the source code of other Web pages. Their personal page was to include at least an email tool, a link to a file in the studentÕs directory, a link to another Web page, and a picture.
Students went way beyond the requirements and happily constructed elaborate pages containing hit counters, blinking objects, background effects, and digital audio.
"Clients" turned out to be specific courses, departments, athletic teams, singing groups, societies, and Yale chapters of fraternities and sororities; and those students who found no other client which would inspire them to have fun and games for credit, developed a page for the EE 101 course, with links to their personal page. The Web page that was developed for a "client" was done on the student's personal computer account and, if the client was pleased with the result, the code was transferred to the organization account, catapulting the delighted client into the World Wide Web dimension.
Some students went on to develop Web pages for friends. In all cases, creators and "clients" were delighted that not only friends on campus but also far-away family members and even total strangers in different parts of the U.S. and foreign countries could view their creations.
A number of faculty set up home pages as a time-saving way to reach students in courses with large enrollments. Prof. Karin Rabe, Applied Physics, set up a home page for Physics 180, to provide access to the syllabus, the homework assignments, exam review sheets, course announcements, and answers to frequently asked questions. Prof. Rabe wrote most of the course material directly in html and found it simple to keep the Web page current. Prof. Victor Henrich, Applied Physics, continued the use of a class home page in Physics 181b. Prof. Robert Grober, Applied Physics, carried the class home page across departmental lines as a section lecturer in Mathematics 120b.
Lecturer Nathan Delson, Mechanical Engineering, used the Web for his Senior design course (ME489a) which consists of team projects. Eighteen students in four teams identified customer requirements, generated design solutions, and implemented them with working hardware. Each customer provided feedback during the design process. Emphasis was placed on applying engineering science to market-driven needs, project management, teamwork, and communication skills. Oral and written presentation were held at critical junctures in the design process. Web page project descriptions were an integral part of the course (http://www.yale.edu/me489).
The Faculty of Engineering (Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics) has a homepage with links to faculty research interests, graduate and undergraduate brochures, and a list of faculty who accept outside consulting. It is developing pages on its Centers and research areas and features links to major events such as talks by the Presidents of Coca-Cola and of United Technologies, the first two recipients of EngineeringÕs newly inaugurated Sheffield Fellowship.