Course Description

Class Outline

About the Instructor

E-Mail Instructor

Grad Engineering Home

Instructor:

Jon C. Dixon, Ed.D.

952-892-4403 (Off)
952-892-4800 (Fax)
jon.dixon@goodrich.com (Work E-mail)

Time/Location:

Section 01, Wednesday Evenings

6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

St. Paul Campus

Required Text:

Discovering Design
Buchanan, R. & V. Margolin
ISBN: 0-226-07814-0

Meaning: The Secret of Being Alive
C. Havener
ISBN: 1-890676-34-9

Course Description:

This course focuses on key elements which comprise "excellence in design." An overview of the psychology and philosophy of design are presented. Constituent criteria for design excellence are explored in depth. Guest lecturers with experience in industrial design and design psychology will present to and engage with the class. Each student will, through class discussion, reading, tours, presentations, personal research and book reviews, rigorously approach what "design excellence" and the psychology of design means for him/herself. The course is presented in a format designed to stimulate a high level of interaction and discussion.

Course Objectives /

Learning Outcomes:

Five overall course objectives are indicated. Associated learning outcomes (specific, measurable, attainable) follow. (Parenthetical, emboldened references are Program Outcome References.)

Objective #1: The concepts of “favorite”, “best in class” and “quintessence” are compared and related to “design excellence”.

Outcomes: Each student will learn to define these concepts, understand their appropriate use, and differentiate them from one another. Each student will be able to specify products that meet these criteria, singly or in combination. The measure of success is the ability to utilize these terms appropriately during assignments and in classroom discussions. (SE9, SE14, SE15, SE16)

Objective #2: This course focuses on the key elements that define “excellence in design”. Underlying, constituent criteria for design excellence are explored in depth. The importance of design excellence is viewed from both consumer and producer perspectives.

Outcomes: Each student will, through class discussion, readings, lectures, presentations, guest speakers, a visit to an industrial design company, personal research and a book review, be able to identify a dramatic variety of criteria that may be considered part and parcel of design excellence. The measure of success is the ability of the student to call upon or reject these criteria in an intellectual way by means of creating his/her own focused list of well-considered design excellence criteria. (SE2, SE5, SE14, SE15)

Objective #3: The role of industrial designer will be explored.

Outcomes: Each student will visit an industrial design house on a tour, and listen to guest speakers that are industrial designers. The measure of success for explaining the role of industrial design is through writing a paper describing the attributes of industrial design as learned on the tour, and through intelligent inclusion (or exclusion) of industrial design methods while developing the student’ list of design excellence criteria. (SE2, SE5, SE9, SE14, SE16)

Objective #4: Psychology in/of design and the philosophy of design are considered.

Outcomes: The student will develop a working knowledge of the concepts of psychology in/of design and philosophies of design. Each student will research these topics and present a paper discussing their research and its impact on modern design. The measure of success is a demonstrated ability of the student to appropriately and intelligently discuss these concepts in the research paper, in the class setting, and to create a “design map” illustrating the scope and breadth of these topics as they relate to the design process. (SE9, SE12, SE13, SE14, SE15, SE16)

Objective #5: Discussions about ethics in design are included.

Outcomes: One text deals dramatically with ethics in design. The measure of success is the demonstrated ability of the student to appropriately include ethical dimensions in his/her list of criteria, and to verbalize his/her viewpoint in class while discussing the text’s authors’ perspectives. (SE13, SE15, SE16)
 

Course Methodology:

Instructor will act as facilitator. Emphasis is placed on lively classroom discussion and debate on topics covered. Everyone is expected to be prepared, to contribute to discussion, and to have assignments prepared on time. Synergy is the key to this class.

Major Assignments:

See separate handout for assignments.
There are no exams or quizzes.

Grading Policy:

Grading is based on 100 points attainable, with no curve grading.
There are no exams. There are no quizzes.

• A+        98-100
• A          94-97
• A-        90-93
• B+        87-89
• B          84-86
• B-        80-83
• C+        77-79
• C          74-76
• C-        70-73

Assignments = 90% of your grade
Class participation = 10% of your grade.

Criteria:

• Voluntary, useful, frequent, verbal class contributions
• Clearly prepared for class discussions
• Adds to discussions using personal experiences
• Uses external, non-assigned readings & research
• Non-argumentative, but thought provoking contributions
• Explains beliefs, and reasons for them
• Displays Machiavelli’s 1^st class of intellect

Academic Integrity:

All students are expected to understand and follow the University of St Thomas policies on Academic Integrity. These are described at:
www.stthomas.edu/engineering/graduate/policies
 

Exams:

Exams are one of the instruments used to evaluate the knowledge gained by an individual student of the class subject matter, and the progress towards meeting the outcomes of the class and the degree.  To this end all exams (in class or take home) are intended to represent the effort of the individual and not a group effort unless specifically stated otherwise.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with documented disabilities who may need classroom accommodations should make an appointment with the Enhancement Program – Disability Services office during the first two weeks of the semester.  Appointments can be made by calling 651-962-6315 or in person in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, room 119.

Attendance
Policy:

Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Circumstances which prevent attendance will be honored up to two instances. Absences in excess of two times may result in a lower grade for the course. Contact the instructor when a special situation arises. All absences require that the instructor be informed in advance.

Instructor Bio: 

Jon is presently the manager of Airbus requirements flowed down to Goodrich having to do with Engineering for Manufacturing and Supply Chain management. His focus is primarily the air data instrumentation Goodrich designed and manufactures for the Airbus A380, the largest commercial transport aircraft ever developed, and also the new A400M military transport. Jon is also accountable for the division’s product reliability for the entire Airbus fleet.

Previously, Jon was instrumental in bringing MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology into Goodrich. Jon managed the Micromachined Sensors Group, a part of Goodrich’s Advanced Sensors Technical Center. The group was responsible for research and development of next-generation micro sensors. The group supported all Goodrich divisions across the country. Jon later managed a group responsible for packaging Goodrich MEMS sensors for ultimate customer use and configurations.

Prior to his work with advanced sensor technology research, Jon was involved in leadership positions in materials engineering research, manufacturing management, and has experience in numerous technology transfers. Jon has wide experience in applying modern manufacturing methods.

Jon is a recipient of Goodrich’s prestigious Edward M. Faber Award for bringing a patented new technology to profitable product through team effort.

Jon earned the Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (BAEM) from the University of Minnesota. He also earned the Master of Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MMSE) and a doctorate in Education, both from the University of St. Thomas. Jon’s doctoral dissertation was entitled "Nation-State Imperialism and Corporate Acquisitions: Parallels, 'Culturations’ and Personal Sketches".

Jon is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board for the St. Thomas School of Engineering.

Jon’s less formal education included duty as an Army combat assault helicopter crew chief in Vietnam during 1969-1970.

ETLS 672 Excellence in Product Design

Fall 2007

Date

Topics

H/W Due

Reading Due