CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Eight Penn State engineering students, including three from Penn State Lehigh Valley, participated in a unique public policy training program over the summer. Led by Tracey Carbonetto, associate teaching professor of engineering at Lehigh Valley, and Brad Sottile, associate teaching professor in the College of Engineering at University Park, the students learned how qualitative research findings could inform public policy relevant to engineering.
“Engineers are accustomed to thinking about products and processes as solutions to technical problems, when in fact, a well-designed policy may be the optimal solution,” Carbonetto said. “Policy is the third component of engineering, but often the most overlooked. The students came away inspired to jump in and spend their summer conducting policy research as part of the Multi-Campus Research Experience for Undergraduates (MC REU).”
Sottile agreed.
“Engineering policy considerations are generally not taught or addressed in baccalaureate engineering programs,” Sottile said. “Generally, across the field at the undergraduate level, there is a remarkable absence of social implications. A policy is basically a social rule — should we do this, or should we not do this? It is a wonderful opportunity to think beyond the bounds of the technical engineering courses and to consider how engineering affects people.”
Engineering students across Penn State were invited to apply for research experience. Students determined what they wanted to do with their research by formulating a question they hoped could be answered through developing a policy. The group first connected virtually through a series of Zoom meetings, and the students were tasked with choosing what they wanted to research. The students framed their research via a three-phase problem statement: how does the potential solution affect humans, what are the design limitations, and how policy could help solve the problem.
James Arthur, an aerospace engineering major at Lehigh Valley, said the research was a new experience for him.
“Engineering is a very quantitative-dominant field. This new way of looking at problems will give me an upper hand — most of my fellow students will not have had this experience,” he said.
To supplement the course work, Carbonetto and Sottile met the eight students in Harrisburg to see firsthand how policy is put into practice. The group toured the state capitol and visited the Senate Library where they read about historical rulings, laws and policy. They also met with aides from Senator and Lehigh Valley alumnus Nick Miller’s office, who explained some of the policy decisions Miller has been involved with, including educational funding. From there, the group traveled to Washington D.C. where they visited the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and the National Archives.
Carbonetto said that during the visit, they had good discussions and a focus group on the constraints of engineering policy.
Isaiah Manzo-Wendel, an aerospace engineering major who will transition to University Park this fall, said that he felt the experience was a great way to introduce young engineers to the world of policy.
“I’m glad to have had this experience," Manzo-Wendel said. "The measures we took before the trip, and the articles we read about developing policy, helped explain why it’s such an important thing to learn. Now I have an idea of policy in my mind going forward.”
Manzo-Wendel’s research focuses on examining engineering policy surrounding the recent string of airplane crashes.
The trip gave students the opportunity to broaden their scope of how they approach an engineering project.
“The students are now using the engineering design process and also the problem-solution research method,” Carbonetto said. The students review different research skills, develop interview questions, and then conduct and transcribe interviews.
In the long term, Carbonetto and Sottile said they hope to develop this experience into an undergraduate course.
“Right now, engineering policy has to be integrated into existing engineering courses,” Carbonetto said. “Since I teach about qualitative research, I can integrate engineering policy into my course objectives.”
In addition, Carbonetto said engineering policy design will have a prominent role in many of the courses being offered as part of the Lehigh Valley campus’ new engineering degree, launching this fall.