SYLLABUS

SYST 489 - Senior Seminar

Fall 2002

 

Professor:

Dr. Peggy Brouse

 

 

Work Phone:

(703) 993-1502 (with voice mail)

FAX:

(703) 993-1706

E-mail:

pbrouse@gmu.edu

Office:

GMU:  Science and Technology II - Room 317

Office Hours:

Mondays:  3:00 - 4:00 and by appointment

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce the students to several important topics in systems engineering, provide additional experience to the students in writing and giving presentations, and obtain feedback on the curriculum for the B.S. in Systems Engineering.  Several lectures will be devoted to ethics in systems engineering.  Writing and making presentations for systems engineering will also be covered early in the semester. Lecture series presenters will present material that is not part of the required course load to expand the horizons of the students.  Each student will write a short paper on each of these presentations.  In addition, students will work in teams to critique and redesign the curriculum in Systems Engineering.  Each group will deliver a written product and provide at least one briefing to the class.  The best critique and redesign will be presented to the faculty.

Course Hours:

Monday and Wednesday  1:30PM to 2:45PM in Krug Hall room 253

Text:

1.      Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists (2000) Leo Finkelstein.  McGraw-Hill.           ISBN 0-07-237080-7

2.      How to Give Effective Business Briefings (1999) Colin Clark.  Stylus Publications. ISBN 0-7494-2513-X

3.      Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Engineering: Selected Readings (2000) Joseph Herkert. IEEE Press ISBN 0-7803-4712-9

Grades:

On following page

 

 

Topic

Lecture

Deliverables

Grading

Technical Writing

From Finkelstein text

1 - Introduction, Technical Definition, Description of a Mechanism, Description of a Process:  pages 1 - 61

2 – Proposals, Progress Reports, Feasibility Reports:  pages 63 – 118

3 – Instructions and Manuals, Laboratory and Project Reports, Research Reports:  pages 119 – 170

4 – Documentation, Visuals, Presentations and Briefings, Electronic Publishing: pages 207 - 266

 

 

Giving Presentations

From Clark text

1 - Intro, Background, Preparation 1 - 22

2 - Structure, Delivery, Impact, Motivation, Informal Feedback 23 - 66

3 - Formal Feedback, Routine, Variations, Evaluation 67 - 103

 

 

Ethics

From Herkert text

Individual: Case write-ups (every case except the one your group presents)

 

Group: Team presentation and discussion lead

Individual:

10%

 

 

Group:

students

evaluation of others in group

20%

Curriculum Review

 

Group: Determine subject of curriculum review

Brief subject

Interview professors, students

Draft review

Final review

In-class brief

Vote on best

Brief faculty

Group:

4 students

evaluation of others in group

25%

Technology Review

Attend speaker series lecture

Individual:

Short paper on lecture attended (3 pages)

Long paper on bleeding edge technology (20 pages)

Individual:

10%

 

25%

Professionalism

 

Individual:

Evaluated by instructor

Individual:

10%

 


Exact Grade Breakdown

 

Individual

 

 

Ethics - Writeups (5 at 2% each)

10%

 

Bleeding Edge Annotated Outline Presentation

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Presentation

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Paper Draft

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Paper

10%

 

Seminar Review Paper

10%

 

Professionalism

10%

 

Group

 

 

Ethics Case Presentation

10%

 

Ethics Case paper

10%

 

Curriculum Review Subject

5%

 

Curriculum Review Draft Presentation/Paper

5%

 

Curriculum Review Final Presentation/Paper

15%

 


CLASS SCHEDULE

Week 1>

26/28 August

¨       Background; Introductions

 

 

 

Week 2>

2 September

4 September

¨       LABOR DAY - no classes

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 1

 

 

 

Week 3>

9/11 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 2

 

 

 

Week 4>

16 September

18 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 3

¨       Group: 5 min presentation of curriculum review subject

 

 

 

Week 5>

23 September

25 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 4

¨       Ethics case choices due

 

 

 

Week 6>

30 September

2 October

¨       Lecture Clark 1, 2

¨       Individual: Write up (annotated outline) on long paper due

 

 

 

Week 7>

8 October

9 October

·         NOTE: 8 October is a Tuesday class -  Lecture Clark 3

·         Individual: 5 min presentations on major paper to date

 

 

 

Week 8>

14 October

16 October

¨       Individual: 5 min presentations on major paper to date

¨       Lecture: Herkert

 

 

 

Week 9>

21 October

23 October

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 1

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 2, Individual: Write up (draft paper) on major paper due

 

 

 

Week 10>

28 October

30 October

¨       Group: 5 min presentation of curriculum review to date, Group: Write up (draft) on curriculum review due

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 3

 

 

 

Week 11>

4 November

6 November

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 4

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 5

 

 

 

Week 12>

11 November

 

13 November

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 6,  Individual Ethics Case Write-ups due

¨       Individual: Presentations of final paper, Final paper due

 

 

 

Week 13>

18 November

20 November

¨       Individual: Presentations of final paper, Group: Final curriculum review due

¨       Group: Presentations of final curriculum review, Individual: Vote on best curriculum review team

 

 

 

Week 14>

25/27 November

¨       No classes. (Thanksgiving)

 

 

 

Week 15>

2/4 December

¨       Individual: short paper on lecture attended due

¨       Individual:  Evaluation of Others in Group due

¨       Group: Presentation to faculty on best curriculum review (everyone attends)