Samuel Bogan Daniels

A comprehensive engineering college-wide program for developing technical communication skills in students

The Project to Integrate Technical Communication Habits (PITCH) is being implemented in the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven across seven engineering and computer science undergraduate programs. PITCH develops written, oral and visual communication skills in students starting in the very first semester and continuing through all four years of each program. Communication instruments encompass technical memoranda, poster presentations, oral presentations, laboratory reports, proposals, and senior design reports, including the use of tables and graphics in each. Advice tables, annotated sample assignments and grading rubrics are being developed for each instrument to assist students in their work and facilitate consistency in instruction and assessment across multiple instructors teaching different course sections. Within each of the seven programs, specific courses that span all four years are targeted for implementation and assessment of technical communication skills. The different communication instruments are distributed across courses as appropriate, and the skills are developed at deeper and deeper levels as students progress through the years. A critical feature of the project is that technical communication skills are integrated into the content of regular engineering courses and are taught by regular engineering faculty.

Developing Entrepreneurial Thinking in Engineering Students by Utilizing Integrated Online Modules

Maria-Isabel Carnasciali is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Tagliatela College of Engineering, University of New Haven, CT. She obtained her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2008. She received her Bachelors of Engineering from MIT in 2000. Her research focuses on the nontraditional engineering student – understanding their motivations, identity development, and impact of prior engineering-related experiences. Her work dwells into learning in informal settings such as summer camps, military experiences, and extra-curricular activities. Other research interests involve validation of CFD models for aerospace applications as well as optimizing efficiency of thermal-fluid systems.