Industrial collaboration for an interdisciplinary elective in applied system design and remote diagnostics

Electrical and mechanical engineering technology students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College are being provided the opportunity to make a connection between theory and real life practice. In this class, the students analyze a large system (a locomotive) and systematically break the large system down into its respective subsystems. The integration of these subsystems is discussed in terms of reliability from both a theoretical and practical viewpoint, as guest lecturers from industry supplement the class theory with their own real-world experiences. Students get hands-on experience with the locomotive, including taking the locomotive on test runs, while also studying system design analytically using Matlab. Specific locomotive systems will be addressed, such as engines, control, communications and remote monitoring. Other issues to be discussed include sensors, Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), risk assessment, the system design process and the importance of quality and reliability issues in the design of real-world systems. At the conclusion of the class, the students will be capable of looking at engineering through the eyes of those in the field. Both successful as well as unsuccessful systems engineering practices are absorbed before the students enter the engineering workplace.