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Engineering DesignGerman engineer returns as guestlecturer on international engineering“It’s just not enough tobe a good engineer;you need to be a goodengineer with theadditional ability tomanage internationalteams or manageprojects in othercultures.”—Peter OlfsPeter Olfs, senior director emeritusand former head of corporatecommunications international forSiemens AG in Munich, Germany,has returned to Penn State to givea seminar to the first-year honorsEDSGN 100H Introduction toEngineering Design class. While here,Olfs also lectured to many other classesthroughout the University, includingbusiness, German, and capstone design.Olfs, an annual guest of theEngineering Design Program andan adjunct associate professor ofengineering, has been conductinghis seminars on internationalcommunications in engineering since2004. While at Penn State, Olfs runstwelve to fifteen classes, includingcapstone engineering classes inelectrical and mechanical engineeringand a German business class.During his seminars, which he presentsat several universities in the UnitedStates and Germany, Olfs encouragesstudents to gain internationalexperience, noting its importance inglobal business environments.“Most companies insist that the peoplehave international experience becausethey want to access the internationalmarket,” said Olfs. “When you look atthe market, the number of businessesthat are only national in scope iscontinually shrinking. Businessesare constantly becoming moreinternational—even if only because aninternational competitor shows up.”In line with the Engineering DesignProgram’s global initiatives, Olfsrecommends that students participatein international opportunities, such asstudy abroad programs or internshipsabroad.“I feel it is very important thatuniversities discuss these opportunitieswith first-year students as early aspossible, because when we discuss themwith sophomores, we already have onefewer year,” he said. “The world is alittle more international every day.”While at Penn State for his week-longvisit, Olfs discussed international andcultural topics and did activities withstudents, teaching them about realworldglobal engineering practices. Hegave students insight about challengesand strategies while working in globalsituations.“What I took away as far as whatwould help me in the future wouldbe just being a little more observantabout what’s happening both withengineering and with culture in otherareas,” said first-year engineeringstudent Dan Slotcavage. “You have tobe very knowledgeable about multiculturalaspects of engineering as wellas be a good engineer.”Computer-aided design at Penn StateCATIAThrough generous sponsorship support from Boeing, Penn State is able to offerthree courses in CATiA, Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional interactive Application.CATiA is a high-end CAD software application used by many professionals andengineering companies, including Boeing.CATiA instructor Xinli Wu (far left) invited guest speakersfrom Boeing, sponsor of Penn State’s CATiA program, tospeak with his class. Kevin Porter (second from left),Rick Bruce, and Don Hicks talked about how they useCATiA software in their work at Boeing.in EDSgN 496C CATiA V5 Fundamentals and Applications, students learn the fundamentalsof part, assembly, and shape design; digital mock up tools; and parametric design basics. Theyalso explore digital mock-up workbench tools in order to learn building and optimizing variousmechanism models. For reverse engineering exercises, each student must reconstruct a partfrom a 3D scan model and also construct and optimize a selected machine or mechanismmodel.in EDSgN 497K Engineering Design and Analysis with CATiA, the first part of the coursecovers the fundamentals of CATiA V5 in solid modeling, part design, and assembly design,prototypes via rapid-prototyping, and design documentation. The second part of this coursecovers the basic finite element analysis capabilities in CATiA V5. Students learn how toquickly generate a finite element model for surface and/or solid parts and how to performanalysis using the finite elements method with CATiA V5. Two design projects are assigned,and online design portfolios from each student are required during each semester. For moreinformation about the course, please visit the course web site: www.engr.psu.edu/xinli/EDSgN497K/index.html.EDSgN 498B CAD Based Finite Element Modeling, is designed to introduce thefundamentals of finite element modeling concepts through the use of commercial softwarefor real-world problems. This course emphasizes evaluation and verification of numericalsolutions.For more information on these courses, please contact Andras Gordon (EDSGN 496C) at axg17@psu.edu, Xinli Wu (EDSGN 497K) at Xinli@psu.edu, or Ivica Smid (EDSGN 498B) at smid@psu.edu.SolidWorksThe Engineering Design Program offers a courseon Solidworks, a mid-level mechanical CADproduct from the same manufacturer as CATiA.Happy Valleyin EDSgN 496A Solidworks Fundamentals,students learn the methods and techniquesnecessary to become proficient in the applicationof Solidworks to engineering design and analysis. This course covers all of the topicsnecessary to pass the Certified Solidworks Associate (CSwA) exam. The CSwA is aSolidworks corporate certification exam covering basic theory, drawing theory, part modeling,advanced part modeling, assembly modeling, and model analysis. Several advanced topics,including weldments, sheet metal, and finite element analysis, are also covered.User GroupCATIA courses sponsored byin addition to the academic course on Solidworks, students also have the opportunityto participate in the newly formed Happy Valley Solidworks User group, a network ofSolidworks users who meet several times a year. User group meetings feature technicalpresentations in engineering design and analysis using Solidworks.A Penn State student team attends a Happy ValleySolidworks User group meeting. Meetings are free, andall are welcome to attend! Photo: Randall BockThe Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group is a dues-free network open toall students, professionals, and community members interested in enhancing their SolidWorks skill set. Visit www.hvswug.org to learn more about the user group and to view upcoming meeting times.For more information about sponsoring or joining the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group, please contact Randall Bock at rgb@psu.edu.20 | SEDTAPP NEwS | SPriNg 2010SPriNg 2010 | SEDTAPP NEwS | 21