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918 R. Savage
factors such as time-to-market and cost-effective- pure research activities employ the scientific
ness. Engineering students must learn to recognize method and the value of the effort is measured
the similarities and differences between the scien- by the increase in fundamental knowledge that is
tific and design methods. Both can be looked at as achieved.
systems for solving problems; however, the input The design method begins with a careful evalua-
for the scientific method is a theory with the output tion of the application as a system with inputs and
being increased knowledge, while the input for the outputs along with the technologies required to
design method is an application and the output is a address the application. A minimum set of inde-
practical device or process [5, 6]. The goal of the pendent functional requirements that completely
scientific method focuses on the process of estab- satisfy the performance goals of the application
lishing fundamental truths from theories that have must be established. Concept maps are tools that
been proven by extensive observation, testing and engineers can utilize to develop and analyze the
analysis. The goal of the design method is to outline of a design architecture that can achieve the
produce a device or process that satisfies the functional requirements [7]. They enable the engi-
functional requirements derived from a customer neer to `brainstorm' and optimize the architecture
or market application. The similarities and differ- of the design solution and diagram a pathway for
ences of these two approaches are outlined in translating the functional requirements into design
Fig. 1. specifications. From these specifications a proto-
Throughout the process of learning the funda- type of the design solution can be fabricated and
mentals of Materials Science, undergraduate tested to verify if it meets the target performance
students are immersed in the scientific method requirements. The results of these tests must be
but are often not exposed to design until their clearly reported to the engineering team and
capstone senior project. It is imperative that management before any commercialization deci-
students be exposed to the design process earlier sions can be made. This requires engineering
in their education, preferably during their fresh- students to develop effective written and oral
man year. Doing so will enable them to see how the communication skills.
fundamental concepts of science, math and engin-
eering are applied towards solving problems.
Moreover, it will enable them to perform success- A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO DESIGN
fully as engineers and empower them to make
significant contributions to society at large once Design requires the ability to think holistically,
they graduate. to view the big picture and approach a problem
Typically, students are introduced to the scien- from a systems perspective. Systems thinking em-
tific method in high school chemistry or physics phasizes seeing the whole and establishing a frame-
classes. It begins with the development of a theory work for seeing inter-relationships rather than
or hypothesis for a solution to a problem. Experi- individual things; it requires seeing patterns of
mental methods are then carefully defined to test change rather than static conditions [8]. Many
the validity of the theory. Data is collected and the educators have identified the need for this type of
results are analyzed. Hopefully, the results enable pedagogy in design [9, 10, 11]. A systems approach
the scientist to formulate clear and concise conclu- to design involves learning that simply optimizing
sions regarding the correctness of the theory. The individual components cannot optimize complex
results are then communicated to the technical systems. It requires an in-depth knowledge of how
community with the identification of a scientific the components interact with each other [12]. It
truth as the underlying goal of the process. Time also requires the engineer to design with five basic
and cost should not influence the outcome. Most considerations in mind [13]:
1. The total system's objectives or performance of Design problems are multi-faceted with many
the whole system inputs and outputs that must be carefully
2. The system's environment or fixed constraints balanced and optimized to achieve a solution
3. The resources required by the system with acceptable risks, in the shortest period of
4. The measures of performance for each compo- time and at the lowest cost.
nent in the system Engineering itself can be thought of as a prob-
5. The management of the system lem-solving system, where technical methods are
applied to meet stated performance objectives. As
Systems thinking is particularly important for with every system, there are inputs that are acted
design engineers, as it requires careful attention upon (processed) and produce outputs (results).
to the process of developing a balanced solution For engineering, the inputs are scientific know-
rather than a single, `correct' answer. When ledge, mathematical techniques, design methods
making decisions in the design process, an engi- and creative problem-solving techniques. These
neer is required to balance inherent trade-offs. inputs are put through an analysis process that
results in outputs such as a device or process that must the device or process achieve to satisfy the
has value to a customer and a benefit to society, as application's requirements? Keep in mind that
illustrated in Fig. 2. functional requirements should only tell the engi-
The engineering design process itself can be neer what to do but not how to do it. The objective
looked at as a system that has inputs based on tree method described by Haik provides an effec-
the requirements of a customer's application. tive format for organizing functional requirements
These requirements are analyzed and a design [14]. It utilizes a diagrammatic form for showing
solution is developed that will produce perfor- the inter-relationships and hierarchy of the func-
mance results that match the customer's applica- tional objectives.
tion, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Design is also an It is important to identify whether functional
iterative problem-solving process that draws requirements are coupled or dependent on each
upon whatever technology is necessary to meet other. It is easier to design a solution if the
the performance requirements. Importantly, the functional requirements are decoupled. For ex-
performance results must be verified before the ample, some faucets have two separate knobs to
product or process can be carried through to control the hot and cold water. If the functional
commercialization. In addition to technical perfor- requirement is to achieve a constant water
mance, the design process must be carefully temperature regardless of water flow rate, then
planned and managed to meet schedule and this design will have problems, since the tempera-
budgetary requirements. ture and flow rate of the water are coupled. It is
At the heart of this cycle is the design solution, difficult to change the temperature without affect-
which can also be looked at as a system. There are ing the flow rate of the water. A better design
many inputs to the design solution analysis includ- would be a single lever faucet, which employs a
ing functional requirements, integration of tech- control mechanism that can vary the balance of
nology (e.g. hardware, software and science), hot and cold water while maintaining a constant
reliability, costs, technical and business risks and flow. The functional requirement of achieving a
market timing. All of these inputs must be opti- constant temperature at varying flow rates can
mized and balanced to achieve the level of perfor- now be achieved because the parameters (flow
mance required to satisfy the application. It is rate and temperature) are decoupled; each can be
important that students develop the ability to see established independent of the other. It is best to
engineering as a problem-solving system with try to minimize the number of coupled functional
constraints. They should also realize that develop- requirements as they often lead to conflicting
ing a design solution often requires them to have design requirements.
cross-disciplinary skills. Concept maps and design specifications are the
Taking a systems approach to developing a next step and this involves creating potential
design solution is a skill that can only be developed system architectures for the device or process
through practice. Engineering students can achieve that will satisfy the functional requirements.
this by completing progressively more complex Conceptual design solutions can be developed
design activities throughout their undergraduate using the concept mapping process. This is where
curriculum. Examples of how to integrate design the creativity of the students can be developed.
into the curriculum will be addressed later in this Begin by encouraging students to sketch out ideas
report. while keeping a focus on the top-level require-
ments. Do not get bogged down in the minutia
but challenge students to participate and embrace
THE DESIGN PROCESS alternative ideas. A functional analysis and opti-
mization of the concept map should identify the
Design begins with identifying the needs of a inter-relationships of technology (e.g. hardware,
specific application and defining the performance software and process). The concept map should
of a device or process that would satisfy that need. outline the overall system architecture of the
Most undergraduates are only familiar with facing product and identify key sub-systems and compo-
clearly defined problems, whereas most design nents [15]. Now is the time to question functional
problems have vague objectives and performance requirements and consider design criteria such as
requirements that are not always clearly spelled geometry (size), kinematics (motion), forces
out. This can lead to a design solution that does (weight), energy (heating and cooling), materials
not satisfy the requirements of the application; (thermal conductivity), controls (electronics),
therefore, the first task is to clearly define the safety (regulations), assembly (automated/
functional requirements for the design problem. manual), reliability (uptime), service (repair time
Functional requirements are the minimum set of and routine maintenance) and ergonomics (user
independent requirements that completely charac- and service). Attention should be paid to any
terize the performance of the design in order to physical limitations on the use of the design intro-
satisfy the application. It is imperative that all of duced by human capabilities. The user's body size,
the functional requirements are clearly identified, strength, reach, visual acuity, average manual
characterized and prioritized. They are usually the dexterity, sensitivity to shock, noise and vibration
answers to the `what' question. What performance along with tolerance to environmental conditions
The Role of Design in Materials Science and Engineering 921
such as temperature and humidity must be consid- the one in which it was originally learned, thereby
ered [16]. It is also important to complete a enabling them to develop a more holistic way of
preliminary life cycle analysis evaluating the approaching the solutions to problems. Many
natural resources required and environmental engineering curricula approach learning design by
impact of the device or process from development packaging problems along with a few principles
on into manufacturing and finally end-of-life [17]. into a cookbook-type format; however, leaders in
Next, clearly translate the functional require- engineering education feel that engineering and
ments into design specifications that can be science curricula have too many courses where
measured. Make sure that tolerances are included problems are presented to the students as a `tidy
for each. It is imperative that all design specifica- application of a few principles' [20]. William Wulf,
tions have tolerances that can be tested and President of the National Engineering Academy,
measured. Design specifications typically answer has recommended that students be asked to
the `how' question. How will the device or process develop a design given a limited number of
achieve the functional requirements? Overall constraints [21]. Accordingly, it is important that
system level specifications can be broken down the functional requirements of a design problem be
into sub-systems and ultimately components. clearly defined, but the implementation of a design
Once a conceptual design has been established, it solution should be left to the creativity and inno-
is time to develop a fully detailed design solution. vation of the student.
In industry, the design solution must address 10 This is particularly important as we enter the
key issues: nanotechnology age, where design problems are
. often cross-disciplinary in nature and require cre-
Detailed part or component drawings
. ative new approaches and solutions. Nanotechnol-
Material selection
. ogy is truly multi-disciplinary in its foundations
Make vs. buy decisions
. and requires an approach to solving problems
Verification of performance through modeling
. based on the integration of atomic physics, mole-
Fabrication processes
. cular biochemistry, mechanical, electrical and
Reliability analysis
. biomedical engineering. Mihail Roco of the U.S.
Safety compliance
. National Science Foundation has recommended a
Environmental impact analysis
. technique referred to as `reversing the pyramid of
The protection of core intellectual property
. learning' and he believes that it is a means for
Project schedules and design reviews
expediting the development of a nano technology
Building and testing is next and students need to workforce [22]. By utilizing this reverse pyramid or
recognize that this is an iterative process, where the top-down approach when practicing design,
design's performance is improved based on preli- problems can be broken down to their fundamen-
minary testing and a balance or compromise must tal levels and students can more clearly recognize
be reached between the time available for itera- the connection between the fundamentals of mate-
tions and the optimum performance of the design. rials science and applied engineering.
In addition, the cost effectiveness of the design is An example of a top-down approach to a design
usually very important. Unlike the scientific solution for a SmartChip bio-sensor might be as
method, if the design method does not solve the follows: a functional requirement might be to
problem (application) within a prescribed cost, the detect parts-per-billion of a specific pathogen.
design is not considered successful. First, test The design solution might involve a microfabri-
components, then sub-assemblies and finally the cated cantilever actuator employing capacitance
entire system. It is important that your tests are sensing. This would require the team to learn
capable of leading to conclusive answers. Tests about chemical etching, film deposition and
that generate lots of data but do not provide patterning of thin films to produce the cantilever.
conclusive evidence that the design is actually In addition, they would need to study molecular
achieving the critical performance requirements organic coatings and surface biochemical reac-
are of no value. tions. The team might also need to explore cell
biology and protein synthesis mechanisms. The
functional requirements of the design problem
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES can be broken down into the fundamental tech-
nologies required to achieve the targeted level of
The best way for students to learn to apply the performance by employing a fishbone diagram
design process is through a project-based peda- technique (see Fig. 4). Now students can see the
gogy. Moreover, Springer, Stanne and Donovan connection between the science and engineering
[18] as well as Colbeck, Campbell and Bjorklund principles that they have studied and their applica-
[19] have found that interactive-learning classroom tion to a practical design problem.
techniques promote `deeper learning.' Through Critical thinking is also an important part of
`deeper learning,' students retain concepts and active learning; it encompasses the entire process of
are more likely to apply the concepts to unfamiliar obtaining, comprehending, analyzing, evaluating,
situations. That is, they develop `cross-cognitive internalizing and acting upon knowledge and
abilities' by applying concepts to a context outside values [23]. A person who thinks critically can
922 R. Savage
ask appropriate questions and gather relevant second and third years it can provide a vehicle
information. They must then efficiently and crea- for learning to apply the fundamental principles of
tively sort through this information, reason logi- engineering and in the fourth year it can be put
cally and come to reliable and trustworthy into practice through their senior capstone project.
conclusions. Some of the key components of Moreover, design cannot be effectively learned
critical thinking include: through short-term problems of limited scope
. that constitute the traditional one- or two-week
Identifying problems and clarifying issues
. laboratory experiments. Longer-term projects
Focusing on relevant topics and methods
. based on authentic and practical applications
Manipulating data and statistics
. requiring students to collaborate to achieve solu-
Analyzing arguments and identifying assump-
tions should serve as the foundation for applying
tions
. Using logical reasoning and avoiding logical the design process that has been outlined in this
article. Importantly, assessing the ability to prac-
fallacies
. Considering your teammate's point of view tice design is a difficult task, but tools are avail-
. Anticipating the consequences of one's actions able, including portfolio assessment, cognitive
maps and a `freewriting' technique that captures
Overall, the design team should apply critical the evolving design strategies employed by
thinking throughout the design process. This will students [29].
provide students with the opportunity to assess the Peter Senge (1990) says that the core disciplines
impact of their design solutions on society and necessary to build a learning organization are
consider the benefits versus the risks. In addition, personal mastery, mental models, team learning,
the global social and ethical impacts of technology shared vision and systems thinking. He defines
should be discussed along with their environmental team learning as the process of aligning and
impact [24]. developing the capacity of a team to create the
results its members truly desire. It also builds on
personal mastery, for talented teams are made up
INTEGRATING DESIGN INTO THE of talented individuals [30]. Team learning is vital
CURRICULUM because teams, not individuals, are the fundamen-
tal learning unit in modern organizations. Unless
Educators have established that there are teams can learn, the organization cannot succeed.
considerable advantages when design activities Teams transform their collective thinking; they
are integrated throughout the undergraduate learn to mobilize their energies and actions to
learning experience [25]. The challenge is to achieve common goals and, thereby, draw forth
develop a systematic method for introducing an intelligence and ability greater than the sum of
design that parallels the skills that engineering the individual members' talents. The team must
students are assimilating as they progress through identify the technology required to solve a problem
their undergraduate courses. During the first year and the design solution must reflect the collective
it can provide a relational foundation for the math, expertise of all of the team members. Students
chemistry and physics that students are often should learn to discuss and debate to achieve a
struggling to master [26, 27, 28]. Over their consensus before taking action; such dialogue can
The Role of Design in Materials Science and Engineering 923
transform individual thinking into collective solu- explore the optical properties of materials and
tions. Design activities can serve as an excellent are challenged to design fiber-optic cables that
opportunity for students to learn and practice will be utilized in a system for evaluating the
teamwork. In an effort to encourage students to optical properties of various materials. They
learn more about teamwork, many courses are explore the fundamental principles of refractive
team-taught by a group of faculty. This often index, total internal reflection, absorption, trans-
results in each faculty member merely conveying mission and interference through traditional
a set of different learning objectives; however, it laboratory exercises. Then, as systems engineers,
is often left up to the students to try and they integrate this knowledge into a design solu-
correlate the information. A better approach tion that includes the fabrication of fiber-optic
would be to place students into a learning cables which channel light from a remote source
team, with faculty serving as guides and advisors to a sample and send the resulting optical signal to
to help direct them to the information required a spectrometer for spectral analysis. Their design
to solve their design problems. Faculty should experience enables them to develop an understand-
only serve as facilitators, helping students to ing of cleaving, stripping, epoxy and polishing
formulate practical solutions and challenging optical fibers along with a familiarity of tolerances
the results of their analyses. associated with specifying the necessary materials
At Cal Poly State University (San Luis Obispo, and components. They learn to develop CAD
CA) we have embarked on a journey that incorpo- drawings that are properly documented for the
rates a design experience into our Materials En- fabrication processes required. Design experiences
gineering student's first year. During their first such as these can be incorporated throughout
quarter, students are given a set of functional many laboratory sessions associated with founda-
requirements for a vacuum system and they tional materials science and engineering courses.
explore the process of developing a design solution They can provide both an opportunity to explore
and testing it to see if it meets their specifications. the design process as well as provide students with
The fundamentals of pressure measurement and an opportunity to practice the principles of science,
control are blended with the process of machining, math and engineering.
welding and selecting commercially available In this paper, the design process has been char-
components. During their second and third quar- acterized and contrasted with the scientific
ters, students study applications that involve method. Design has been introduced as a complex
service learning [31], where their design efforts decision-based activity with the common thread
will meet the needs of their local community on a that requires the integration of science and engin-
voluntary basis. This process helps foster civic eering to produce a result. Pedagogies such as
responsibility and enables them to see the impact activity-based learning, team-learning and top-
of their design beyond the classroom. One such down learning practices have been recommended
project involved the need for potable drinking as tools that can enable students to learn to
water in rural communities around San Luis practice design. In addition, methodologies have
Obispo and, hence, the design of a water purifica- been proposed for integrating design throughout
tion system. In a third-year course, students the engineering curriculum.
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924 R. Savage