Engineering Commons^™

Integrating A Biblical Narrative Into A First-Year Engineering Design Project, Matthew S. Kuester

Christian Engineering Conference

This paper describes the integration of a biblical narrative (Genesis 42) into a first-year engineering design project. Students designed, built, and tested robotic vehicles that mirrored the journey of Joseph’s brothers from Canaan to Egypt to obtain food in Genesis 42. The vehicles had to carry “Simeon” (a figurine) from “Canaan” to “Egypt” (across the room). Then, the vehicle needed to carry a bag of grain back to “Canaan.”

The narrative added context to the project and provided students an opportunity to interact with scripture. Student survey results suggest that students enjoyed the hands-on nature of the project and observed …

Collaborative Learning And Differentiated Instruction: Applying 1 Thessalonians 5:14 In The Classroom, Shannon L. Capps

Christian Engineering Conference

Increasingly, student-centered, collaborative learning is advocated in the pedagogical literature. Here, the epistemological underpinnings of these approaches are examined. Where these practices are established on principles contrary to God’s revelation, how God’s design for the building up of the church could inform collaborative learning and differentiated instruction is explored.

Specifically, many modern pedagogical techniques arise from constructivist epistemology, which acknowledges not an objective truth but a cognitive failures and successes. Practitioners of these methods are not necessarily complicit in adopting this worldview. Nevertheless, repositioning pedagogical techniques observed to be helpful in practice within a biblical worldview is necessary for discerning …

Pedagogical “Seasoning” For Engineering Class Using Analogy, Message, And Theme In The Story, Hoo Kim, Paul Leiffer, Craig Olson

Christian Engineering Conference

Engineering subjects typically do not refer to the Bible directly and may refer to technical things as neutral or independent of Christianity. In the Bible, Jesus frequently used analogies in His teaching. Through analogy, Jesus revealed truths to His audience in an effective way to enlighten and teach them. Moreover, Jesus used analogies to make sense only to a selected and chosen audience such as His disciples and to hide the meaning from other people. Jesus was successful in making His audiences listen to His teachings and understand His heart. With the use of analogy, an audience understands ideas and …

Augmenting Entrepreneurially Minded Learning With Christian Thought And Action, Benjamin D. Mcpheron

Christian Engineering Conference

As engineering programs attempt to develop engineering graduates who stand out to potential employers, integration of the Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) is increasingly common. The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) currently has 63 partner institutions who have committed to curriculum oriented towards developing EM in students and graduates. KEEN defines the entrepreneurial mindset using 3Cs: curiosity, connections, and creating value. This entrepreneurial mindset is then coupled with engineering thought and action, expressed through collaboration and communication, and founded on character.

This framework is useful, but incomplete when viewed in the context of a Christian engineering program. The framework provides a strong …

The Calling Of The Christian Engineer, Peter J. Staritz

Christian Engineering Conference

Engineering faculty at Christian universities have the freedom, opportunity, and responsibility to teach not only the technical knowledge future engineers need but also to delve into the theological aspects and implications of engineering. This work explores the fundamental question, what is the calling of the Christian engineer in Kingdom work? Answering this question equips engineering faculty at Christian universities to deepen the integration of faith and engineering in our teaching. This paper explores the calling of the Christian engineer, beginning with the great commandment from Matthew 22:37 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and …

Shalom Seeking: Contours For Flourishing, Kevin J. Timmer

Christian Engineering Conference

Jesus instructs us to seek first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33) [1], which is no small task. Seeking the Kingdom is a process of striving to show God’s love by loving our neighbors and to the rest of the creation. It is serving them by enabling them to flourish. Seeking first the kingdom of God is striving for true progress in all its wholeness; it is seeking shalom. Shalom is an Old Testament word which refers to the restfulness, contentment, beauty, and harmony of life lived together in perfect obedience to God’s will. Shalom is a state of being …

Next Generation Computing And The Quest For Artificial General Intelligence (Agi): A Critical Examination From A Theological Perspective, Kenneth N. Oversby

Christian Engineering Conference

This paper delves into both the hope and the hype surrounding next generation computing research as a critical pathway for creating true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a quest that has garnered substantial interest and investment from global entities ranging from governments to major corporations. At the heart of this excitement lies the potential of emerging technologies such as neuromorphic computing and spiking neural networks (SNNs) which promise a leap forward in computational power efficiency, miniaturization, and achieving human-level cognition. Neuromorphic computing refers to the design of computer systems inspired by the human brain's structure and function, while Spiking Neural Networks …

Retreats For Christian And Engineering Virtue Formation, Stephen Frezza, Valerie E. Plaus

Christian Engineering Conference

Franciscan University of Steubenville Department of Engineering and Computing has as its mission to be guided by our Catholic faith, driven by innovation: to form virtuous engineering and computing professionals to serve the authentic good with skill and excellence. While academically these are programs targeted to meet the ABET standards for program excellence, this mission explicitly embraces the formation of its students in Christian virtues pursuant to their vocation as engineers and computing professionals. As the formation of Christian virtue extends well beyond the classroom, the department remains committed to extra-curricular requirements to support student formation, primarily in the form …

Christian Stewardship During Transitions In Engineering Academic Leadership, Matthew G. Green, Michael J. Mcginnis

Christian Engineering Conference

Christian Stewardship in Engineering Education calls us to handle the inevitable leadership transitions with grace and wisdom. These transitions range from rare and well-planned to frequent and sudden, and how we handle them impacts our students and our mission. Leadership transitions may require those without formal leadership training to lead on short notice, and faculty experience alone is often incomplete preparation for academic leadership positions. This paper offers encouragement and recommendations to help engineering faculty prepare to lead or support the process of academic engineering leadership transition.

The authors have served in multiple interim and full-time leadership roles across two …

Reflections On Christ-Centered Engineering Education, David C. Che

Christian Engineering Conference

What is a Christ-centered Engineering Education? How to approach integration of faith and engineering? These are all questions an engineering faculty member in a Christian college/university needs to answer. The author shares his perspectives on various modes of integration of faith and learning. A manifold model is proposed. Christ-centered engineering education is compared with student-centered engineering education and subject-matter-centered engineering education.

100+ Years Of Faithful Engineering In A History Of 175 Years, Murat Tanyel

Christian Engineering Conference

Geneva College Engineering Department celebrated 100 years of engineering education in the academic year 2020 – ’21. This academic year, the College celebrates its 175^th year of existence. This paper will review the history of the College and the engineering program leading to the current state of engineering education at Geneva. This paper will be an expanded version of the article the author prepared for the 2024 summer edition of Engineers’ Society of Western PA Magazine with discussion on the faithfulness of the program to Christ’s call on the 21^st century technological challenges.

Domus Dei Et Porta Caeli: House Of God And Gate Of Heaven, Justin M. Greenly

Christian Engineering Conference

This paper introduces the technical accomplishments and the driving theological motivations of those who engineered the Gothic cathedrals. It ultimately derives lessons for Christian engineers, their processes, and their products. These exceptional feats of engineering, enabled by elements such as pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, and flying buttresses initiated a new style of building in the medieval equivalent of the last century’s space race. These cathedrals maximized height and light in the house of God, the true meeting place of Heaven and earth. Descriptors like “House of God” and “Gate of Heaven,” sung in the dedication liturgies, echo the patriarch Jacob …

What Engineers Can Learn From Wendell Berry, Danielle S. Wyenberg

Christian Engineering Conference

Born in 1934, Wendell Berry is a well-known poet, novelist, and essayist from rural Henry County, Kentucky. Berry moved away from his family’s farm as a young man and experienced success in his writing and teaching career, until, in 1965, he gave up a prestigious position at New York University to return to and work the farm. He is a farmer as well as an accomplished author, having written well over fifty publications including books of poems, volumes of essays, series of novels, and collections of short stories. His work has earned many prestigious awards, including the National Humanities Medal …

Redeeming And Sanctifying Engineering Imperfections, Markus D. Ong

Christian Engineering Conference

Comparing God’s designs with engineering designs can help Christian engineers understand both better. Most of the analogies of God as a creative designer focus on extolling the beauty and wonder of the created universe, but this paper aims to take a deeper look at how good design handles imperfection in this world. Although imperfections are ubiquitous, the imperfect can be used. Even the imperfections themselves can be utilized to accomplish the goals of a good designer. This is evident from three different perspectives: a macroscopic view of engineered products, a microscopic view of materials processing, and a “missioscopic” view of …

A Framework For Engineering Analysis And Worship, Timothy A. Wood

Christian Engineering Conference

Engineers work in an objective world, defined by an external reality created by God. As engineers approach problems, they face the difficult challenge of aligning a complicated and unforgiving reality to available analytical engineering and math models. A helpful engineering analysis framework focuses on three models: God’s reality, the engineer’s mental model, and engineering community’s analytical models. The transition between these models structures problem-solving strategy and critical thinking as the engineer restates the problem, plans the analysis, solves the problem, and checks the answer. The framework also engages all three engineering languages (words, sketches, and math) to communicate holistically the …

Sustainability And The Engineer – Control Vs. Sympathetic Citizenship In The Kingdom Of God, Ben D. Giudice

Christian Engineering Conference

The world is facing a sustainability crisis. Specifically, the pursuit of economic and societal progress is being pursued at the expense of the environment, and this is compromising the inheritance of future generations. Engineers play a role in this crisis in two significant ways – one, because we helped to cause it, and two, because we can play a meaningful role in either deepening it or addressing it. As we consider how to address the current crisis, we must critically examine the ways in which our practice of engineering helped us reach this point, because the paradigms that led us …

Reflections On Thomas Tredgold’S Definition Of Engineering, Randal S. Schwindt

Christian Engineering Conference

What is engineering? To a practicing engineer or to a college student majoring in engineering this question might be too obvious to ask or its answer too simple to bother articulating. Certainly, an engineering professor, an engineering educator, will have a ready answer... In any case, it behooves every engineer to consider and seek a broad, deep understanding of what he or she is about—after all, engineers know the value of good definitions. It is especially incumbent upon the Christian engineer to consider what engineering is in light of the Christian faith, in light of God, creation, man, Christ, and …

Design Analysis In Light Of The Seven Deadly Sins, Philip M. Tan

Christian Engineering Conference

Christian engineers ought to consider how their faith influences their assessment of the effects of their engineering products. In today’s age, words such as “sin” and “righteousness” are routinely deprecated in favor of more neutral terms such as “ethics”. Notwithstanding, the ancient list of the seven deadly sins—Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride—can serve as a refreshing, if supposedly anachronistic, framework for evaluating a product. In other words, to what extent does my product invite sin or virtue, whether in myself as the engineer, or in the end user? In traversing the list, I consider not merely the …

Design In Nature: Observing And Voicing God’S Glory Within An Engineering Vocation, Laurel Dovich

Christian Engineering Conference

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [Gen. 1:1] The Bible starts with the most colossal, grandiose and formidable engineering feat ever. Without debating the literacy of the account, the Genesis creation story presents a prudent engineering critical path flowchart for filling the earth – making sure all the biological needs of each species are in place before it is called into being, and placement in a setting where arbitrary and unrelated constants of physics are amazingly and inscrutably fine-tuned to the narrow, precise values needed to sustain life. [1] The complexities of the process of creation …

Dei Can Be Consistent With Catholicism, But It Promotes A Culture That Excludes Faithful Christians, Derek M. Doroski

Christian Engineering Conference

ABET’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be consistent with Catholic teachings specifically and Bible-rooted Christianity in general, but ABET’s DEI culture is an anti-Christian culture. In this paper I argue that

a) Christians can faithfully fulfill the current legal requirements of ABET DEI

b) ABET supports behaviors that are inconsistent with Christianity (these are not legal ABET requirements, but part of the ABET culture)

c) It is likely that ABET believes anti-Christian practices are part of DEI

d) Even if ABET DEI can be acceptable to Christians, it sends a message that faithful Christians are not welcome

e) While …

Training Students To Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness In Engineering, Jonathan Gingrich

Christian Engineering Conference

In the last decade, topics related to justice (i.e., diversity, social and environmental justice) have been readily adopted by secular institutions. While many faith-based organizations have advocated for Christians to develop renewed focus on issues related to justice, these topics have received some pushback from the broader American Evangelical Church. Often limited by the politics undergirding these topics, Christian higher education institutions have generally been slower to adopt justice topics into the classroom than their secular counterparts.

This paper will first show why God had a heart for justice, especially justice for the most vulnerable populations. Then, using this as …

The Sustainability As Stewardship Framework: A Biblical Model For Addressing Environmental And Social Issues In Engineering Education, David B. Dittenber, Mackenzie L. Booth

Christian Engineering Conference

The Engineering One Planet (EOP) Framework is a proposed approach for comprehensive sustainability education for engineering programs. It has recently become very popular with and has been heavily supported by ASEE. However, when the authors evaluated this framework for potential implementation in the engineering programs at [Blanked] University, they quickly concluded that (1) there were far too many proposed student outcomes and they were generally far too complex to be reasonably adapted into an existing program, and (2) some components of the framework were either indifferent toward or in conflict with a Biblically based Christian worldview.

The Sustainability as Stewardship …

Equipping Engineering Students To Reach The Nations—Undergraduate Course In Intercultural Problem Solving, Myunghee M. Kim, Juan C. Rodriguez-Ortiz

Christian Engineering Conference

Graduates from Engineering programs are heading into increasingly diverse communities in the United States and beyond. The ability of an engineer to effectively work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds is increasingly crucial--for the success of the engineer’s professional career, for the creation of ethical, culturally-responsive engineering solutions, and above all, for fulfilling the biblical mandate of loving our neighbors well and carrying out the great commission of making disciples of all nations.

The paper will present the approach taken at John Brown University Department of Engineering, which is to teach a required “Intercultural Problem Solving” class for engineering students. …

Incorporating Abet Student Outcomes 2 And 4 Into Christian Engineering Curricula, Philip P. Graybill, Camilo Giraldo, Philip M. Tan, Brian Swartz

Christian Engineering Conference

The ABET student outcomes require that engineering programs assess students’ ability to consider public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors in engineering design. Furthermore, students must demonstrate their ability to consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts. While these requirements may initially feel like a burden, at least in the sense that more is required in program assessment, they present an opportunity for Christian engineering programs to further emphasize their distinctive approach to educating engineers. Incorporating these important topics into the curriculum in a meaningful way …

Engineering Education In Developing Nations: Status Update On The School Of Engineering At Northrise University In Ndola, Zambia, Jeffrey D. Gladstone, John Tixier, Nolan Van Gaalen, Samuel D. Hodges

Christian Engineering Conference

This paper is a follow-on to our first paper at the 2022 CEC where we—the Northrise Engineering Development Team—discussed the progress-to-date on the School of Engineering at Northrise University in Ndola, Zambia. In that same vein, the present paper will describe the highlights of progress between then and now—namely, that the curriculum has been submitted to the Higher Education Authority for approval, the building has been completed, and the Head of Department has been hired and is on-site working toward an opening date of January 2025. Additionally, we will give significant attention to lessons learned since the beginning of this …

Engineering Opportunities In International Development Ministry, Bruce V. Rydbeck

Christian Engineering Conference

Engineers possess unique opportunities to impact social needs in the developing world while also communicating their faith and providing testimony to the positive holistic nature of the gospel message. Developing countries desire the dynamics which propelled development in Western countries centuries ago. These unfulfilled desires for advancement are symptomatic of a greater need for the Kingdom of God and provide an open door to express a Biblical perspective of work, science, technology, and development in a way that leads others to faith in Jesus Christ.

Civil engineering offers the opportunity to tangibly express biblical theology while responding to strong felt …

Nnu Engineering Student Mission Projects From Peru To Png To Kenya, Stephen Parke, Duke Bulanon, Autumn Pratt

Christian Engineering Conference

A substantial impact is being made around the world by Christian university student engineering teams collaborating with Christian mission organizations [1-3]. The application of engineering talents to meeting basic human physical and spiritual needs is perhaps the “highest calling” of engineers. These engineering projects meet basic human needs such as clean water, sanitation, agriculture, power generation, education, healthcare, housing, and disaster recovery. These efforts are complementary to secular humanitarian work done by organizations like Engineers Without Borders, EPICS, IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board/SIGHT, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Lifelong impact is made not only in the lives of the …

Inspiring And Equipping Students To Become Service-Focused Engineers, Brian W. Mckenna, Benjamin D. Mcpheron

Christian Engineering Conference

Anderson University’s engineering program was founded in 2013 with the mission of “developing highly qualified servant leaders.” That statement can be expanded to core values:

1. We provide a Christ-centered, hands-on education, grounded in the liberal arts that inspires students toward excellence in Engineering.
2. We model resourceful, pioneering, and creative thinking to uniquely mentor students to deal with the challenges of vocation, life, and community.
3. We seek to live God-honoring lives of integrity and share the importance of Christ-like servanthood.

In line with the core values of providing a Christ-centered hands-on education and sharing the importance of Christ-like servanthood, a Humanitarian …

Engineering, Meaning And Faith: Professional Formation Of Engineers With Magnitude And Direction, Michael J. Mcginnis, Jonathan Lett

Christian Engineering Conference

Training engineering students is challenging, and this challenge is reflected on both the student and teacher side of the learning relationship. The National Academy of Sciences (2018) has concluded that “engineering education must continuously adapt,” and identified several shortcomings of the current engineering education paradigm. Students and teachers should both ask “What is the purpose and what are the desired outcomes of an engineering education?” Furthermore, this basic question is being asked in the midst of an environment in western culture with measured declines in interpersonal connection and corresponding increases in anxiety, depression, loneliness and despair (CDC Youth Risk Behavior …

Developing The Engineer From The Perspective Of Calling - Providing A Means To Overcome Anxiety Through Discipleship, Timothy Shenk, Elizabeth Shenk

Christian Engineering Conference

College is a crossroads, where students can reflect on what they want to accomplish with their lives. This generation of students are reporting extremely high anxiety. There is stress related to making crucial life decisions and students need the assurance of God’s leading and guidance instead of relying on social media for wisdom. Discipleship and mentoring are key. They build resilience through spiritual support and foster confidence as individuals learn to interface with God. Discipleship is defined as walking with people in their daily life struggles and teaching them how to listen to and hear God’s voice. This paper applies …