10
Friday, October 15, 1976
University Daily Kansan
Engineers' preparation touches most bases
Engineering professors at the University of Kansas seem to take the blanket approach to instructing their students: touch them, make them least lightly - but make sure they cover it.
Don Daugherty, professor of electrical engineering, said he follows that reasoning.
"We give our students the basic tools to learn all of the fields of electrical engineering. It is then their job to learn more when they get a job."
Daugherty said students received a broad education to prepare them for the working industry, where they might not necessarily know what they may want to go into management, be said.
BECAUSE THE electrical engineering school's curriculum, is always changing, he said, the school will keep up with industries' needs.
Jerry Jenks, who has a specialized job as manager of the flight research laboratory in Nichols Hall, may have some job problems in the future.
Jenkins, who was graduated in 1975 with a master's degree in aerospace engineering, will move to Washington, D.C., to become a chair of the National Committee of Science and Technology.
Jenkins said that he didn't expect many problems but that the job was going to be hard. "I don't think I'm going to do it."
MANY PROFESSORS said specializing wasn't the best way to get an engineering degree.
Don Green, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, agreed with the other professors that the engineering school didn't want to become specialized.
"There is no way we can specifically
prepare each student exactly for a job."
Green said that there would always be problems in engineering jobs but that the grads would know how to handle the problems because of their KU education.
TO ALLEVIATE some potential problems, he said, those who think they will go into management should take some business courses and those who think they will do high technical work should do research and development work at school.
Rus Sill, a 1972 civil engineering graduate who now works for Burns and McDonnell in Kansas City, Mo. said he was surprised at how the real world turned out.
"What I envisioned it to be and what it turned out to be were two different things," he said. "School was a lot more strict in the past and it was harder to do here. Here we appraise a lot of the time."
Sill said it was probably easier for him to adjust to his job because he was working on it.
He said that the engineering school should such engineers' client relations and how to work with them.
"I'm not good at writing," Sill said. "Most of the engineers who have to write reports don't know."
"THE ENGINEERING school does offer a technical writing course, but the course is concerned with grammar and such. We should have two semesters of technical writing that are concerned with engineering-related subjects."
Steve Coffman also works at Burns and McDonnell. He was graduated in 1974, when he was 32, with a degree in civil engineering.
"Even though I was a lot older than everyone else," Coffman said. "I felt a close
relationship with the other students at school, I went back to school because I felt it was worth it.
Coffman is moving from college to work was easier than going from work to college.
"My GI BILL barely made the house payments," he said.
IT WOULD BE easier for graduates to get into the world work if the courses at
By Chris Riggs
school were designed toward real world problems, Coffman said, such as a course on how to make out environmental impact assessment reports.
"I don't feel civil engineering gave us enough information about the en-
gineering," she said.
Coffman said the assessment reports were very important because "if there is an impact on the environment because of our work we can't go ahead with the project.
"The school is very solid in developing managerial skills and the basic tools of math."
He said he didn't receive enough information about topics such as affirmative language.
BLACK AND VAETCH engineering
comamutants in amassage firm, who also employ
them as engineers.
C. B. Hogan, who has worked at Black and Veach since he was graduated in 1967 with a degree in civil engineering, said students must know to think all engineering is done with numbers.
learn how to write, even as design engineers." he said.
Hogan mid graduate had a much easier job in a job if they knew what they wanted to do.
"At one time or another they'll have to
Les Lampy, another Black and Veatch employee, who was graduated in 1973 with a degree in civil engineering, said "I had no experience other than the fact that I enjoyed college."
LAMPE, WHO SAID he has worried more about money since he's been working than he did while he was in school, said courses to instill a real world attitude in students.
John Robinson, a civil engineer at Black
Watch, was who graduated from KU in
1960.
"School and work are completely different things," Robinson said. "Getting into the routine of work is exciting, but college is more fun than work."
Do Boon, a Black and Veatch employee and 1974 KU graduate in civil engineering, said he had trouble applying classroom theories to his job.
HE SAID that persons who had worked a summer adjusted much easier to their jobs and that students in engineering school are able to learn by experience as possible to theory to help them in jobs.
Jerry Stoltenberg, a 1965 graduate of KU with a degree in civil engineering who works for the Kansas State Health System, taught KU's KU's engineering, program had few gaps.
John Deems, recruiter for the Bell telephone system, said "There are several
things we look at when we interview a person's past is a good indicator of his future.
WHEN LOOKING for a research and development engineer, he said, he looks at a student's academic record and when he needs to look for he looks for leadership and good grades.
"KU engineering grads have no problems in getting jobs," Deems said. "I can't say that for some of the other engineering schools."
DON DEMICHELE, a recruiter for Procter and Gambia in Kansas City, Mo., said he looked at an engineering graduate's background, leadership potential, school activities, and technical or creative work experience.
However, he said a lack of work ex-
ception would rule out a person for job
consideration.
"I talked to a girl who was a cocktail waitress," DMeichele said. "Her job created some conflict experiences but she got through so I rated her high."
STANLEY ALEMAN, director of engineering services at Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, OK., said, "My primary responsibility is to see what the needs of KU are and how to fulfill these needs. My second responsibility is to see how I can help the engineering students at KU."
Allenman has also worked to help black engineers.
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