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Engineering DesignFirst-year engineering students mentored localmiddle school students during the annual SolarChallenge held at University Park.PHOTO: NICK BUGOSZero-Energy HomesCenter develops middle school curriculum ondesigning energy-effi cient homesPenn State’s Center for Sustainabilityhas developed a new curriculumon zero-energy homes designed forgrades six through eight, to help educateand inspire the next generation to makesmarter decisions regarding energy use athome and in the future.The project team, led by Associate Professorof Engineering Design Andrew Lau,was commissioned by the PennsylvaniaDepartment of Environmental Protectionto develop the curriculum, which was firstpresented in May 2009 at a state-wideteacher workshop, Zero-Energy Homes: CanYour Students Get Us There?, held at PennState.“The material was well-received by theteachers,” said Lau. “The Center for Scienceand the Schools at Penn State asked us topresent another workshop in January 2010.”The curriculum, which will be distributedthroughout Pennsylvania, consists of fourmodules, each of which includes a lessonand a series of activities. The first module,Solar RacersThe one-credit engineering first-year seminar, “Solar Racers,” taught by AssociateProfessor of Engineering Design Andrew Lau, is based on the successfulmiddle school program, the Junior Solar Sprint. Student teams compete to buildand race small-scale photovoltaic-powered vehicles.Many learning goals are achieved through the development of the prototypes:team building; introduction to engineering; increased confidence; and the use ofengineering analysis, testing, and design.Solar Racers makes a great topic because of the many relevant issues that first-yearstudents can understand, including renewable energy, vehicle physics, electricalcircuits, team work, experimentation, material selection, design processes,mathematical analysis, and computer tools like spreadsheets and equation solvers.The use of knowledge and techniques from various courses and subjects helpsdemonstrate the application and integration so uncommon in the traditional firstyear of engineering. Students in this seminar also serve as mentors for local schoolchildren who build similar cars.“Sustainability and ZeroEnergy Homes,” introducesteachers and students to theproblem and defines keyterms, such as sustainabilityand zero-energy homes.Module two, “How Do Homes Use Energy?”takes a closer look at energy use withinthe home, examining key components ofthe system such as appliances, lights, andelectronics; heating and cooling systems;and domestic water heating.In module three, “Solar Technologies,”the use of solar energy resources andtechnologies is explored. Activities forthis unit investigate components such asphotovoltaic cells and solar water heaters.Module four, “Designing a Zero-EnergyHome,” brings together all the knowledgelearned from the previous three modules forapplication in designing a home that useslittle energy and obtains any energy that isneeded from the sun.“Home energy use in the U.S. accounts forabout 21 percent of our total energy use,”said Lau. “Clearly, teaching young people toappreciate this and then to empower themto imagine a home that uses no net energyis critical to a sustainable future.”Future spinoffs of this project will includea new first-year seminar based on thiscurriculum that Lau will develop for PennState engineering students.For more information about this project,contact Andrew Lau at asl1@psu.edu.SingaporeFirst-year engineering students in EDSGN 100HHonors Introduction to Engineering Design havethe option of participating in a course add-on thefollowing summer; students may take a two-weekdesign course the following May-June at theNational University of Singapore. The sequence isworth three credits. Optional touring in southeastAsia is available. Assistant Professor of EngineeringDesign and Mechanical Engineering MatthewParkinson (parkinson@psu.edu) teaches thecourse.ChinaTwo international opportunities are availablein China. The first is a three-credit, three-weeksummer course based in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian,Huangshan, and other locations throughout Chinathat enables students to learn Chinese history andculture on site in China. Students in ENGR 197Impact of History, Culture, and Environment onEngineering Design in China participate in fieldtrips to major engineering projects in China. Thesecond opportunity for education abroad in Chinais a summer internship. Students spend threemonths in Beijing, Tianjing, Changsha, Dalian, andvarious locations conducting research projects forprofessors at universities or working as internswith companies. The internship is worth one credit.Engineering Design Instructor Xinli wu (xinli@psu.edu) coordinates both programs.SpainStudents in EDSGN 100H Honors Introduction toEngineering Design may choose to participate ina two-week program at the Technological Campusof the University of Navarra (Technun) in SanSebastian, Spain, following their course at PennState. The three-credit design course includespractical labs, a design project, and field trips.Assistant Professor of Engineering Design andMechanical Engineering Cari Bryant arnold(crbryant@psu.edu) teaches the course.FranceÉcole Centrale de Nantes, a top French engineeringschool, will host Penn State students for thefirst summer design academy in summer 2010.The three-credit course, offered to EDSGN 100students following their course at Penn State,will provide two weeks of courses, practical labs,and a design project, in addition to exposing thestudents to design in France and Europe. Professorof Engineering Design richard devon (duf@psu.edu) will lead the course.I N T E r N a T I O N a L P r O g r a M s28 | SEDTAPP NEwS | SPriNg 2010 SPriNg 2010 | SEDTAPP NEwS | 29