Engineering Fundamentals - Loads, Forces & Materials - STEM at Work

This class is taught in English.

Students will be introduced to the main forces of compression, tension, shear and torsion. Also, how loads are applied to common situations and how these are all transposed to common engineering diagrams. Weights and testing of materials will be discussed along with brief demonstrations of how some materials are tested in labs.
Engineering the built environment may seem a highly technical subject. However, this introduction will demonstrate the simple tools engineers use everyday throughout the course of their profession.

As an architect with a degree in structural engineering, my primary college curriculum included years of courses in engineering as well as material sciences and individual courses in structural concrete, structural steel, structural wood and timber construction, statics and dynamics in addition to physics. I incorporate structural engineering practices regularly in my work as a multi-licensed architect.

No homework will be assigned. However, students are encouraged to attempt to use the principals they've learned in their everyday lives.

No grades will be assessed.

1 hour 30 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.

Please download or print out a copy of the single-page handout. It will help students keep track and provide a place for additional notes. Pen, pencil and paper are recommended to have available.