What engineering classes should I take in college?

[vivek16]

Hi all,

I was very involved with my team in high school and will likely continue to help out. However, my major in college is Biology and I'm planning on going to medical school. I would still like to take engineering classes but need ideas on which ones would be most helpful for me in the future. Any suggestions? I'm not really interested in a double major and I'm positive that biology is the way to go for me.

thanks, Vivek

[Chris is me]

I have to ask: If you liked being on a robotics team in high school and want to help out in an engineering aspect, why don't you want to major in an engineering discipline?

[MrForbes]

Look at the prerequisites required to take courses like:

Statics
Dynamics
Mechanics of Materials
Electronics Circuits
Logic design

If you are already taking courses that will let you take these, then you can take these courses, they will probably get you a good start.

Although without knowing what you're interested in, it's kind of hard to say...but these will help your basic understanding of how to design "stuff"

[DonRotolo]

Aside from what squirrel said - all of which are excellent suggestions - you might find a course in Biomedical Engineering. There may be prerequisites which might be a major roadblock (to a Bio major), but you can audit it to see if it's over your head. There's nothing more awesome (and valuable in today's world) as an MD with an engineering degree - come as close to that as you can.

Having a background in Physics (as in Physics 101) would be valuable. You have the chemistry already (or will soon enough).

Go visit the dean of the engineering college. s/he will probably agree to a 30 minute meeting with you, and there you can explain what you're trying to do. Surely they know their curriculum, and maybe they can hook you up. (Prerequisites can be overridden, for example).

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by vivek16

Hi all,

I was very involved with my team in high school and will likely continue to help out. However, my major in college is Biology and I'm planning on going to medical school. I would still like to take engineering classes but need ideas on which ones would be most helpful for me in the future. Any suggestions? I'm not really interested in a double major and I'm positive that biology is the way to go for me.

thanks, Vivek

How many engineering classes are you planning on taking? At RPI, there are four full semesters of engineering prerequisites (see Squirrel's list) before you get to "the fun stuff," (for me, things like Aerodynamics, Propulsion Systems, Modeling and Control of Dynamic Systems, Numerical Computing, etc.) and they aren't prereqs for the sake of prereqs. It's important material, but isn't really all that fun.

If you're content for electives full of basics, then it's right up your alley. If you're interested in the fun stuff, you might be a little disappointed. I would definitely take the Introduction to Design class (essentially, you break up into small teams and build something), as I imagine it gives you good group experience, and you get to build stuff! Everyone loves building stuff! If there is a CAD class and you're not comfortable with CAD, take it. If there is a Machine Shop class, and you're not comfortable in a shop, definitely take it. You'll probably get to make some trinket that you can put on your desk and all your non-technical friends will be super impressed.

Statics & Dynamics will definitely be required for any junior/senior level classes, and it's essentially an in depth study of Physics I.

Finally, I would definitely talk to you engineering friends (or just hit up any random group of engineering kids) and ask them what the most usefully classes they took were. Aim to take those.

Hope that helps.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Aside from what squirrel said - all of which are excellent suggestions - you might find a course in Biomedical Engineering. There may be prerequisites which might be a major roadblock (to a Bio major), but you can audit it to see if it's over your head.

It wouldn't hurt to look into going to that major, either. If you don't go for it as an undergrad, look into doing it as a grad student.

For example, my school only offers Biomedical (and, for that matter, Biological) Engineering as a grad course of study--I believe it's through the Chemical and Biological Engineering department. But there are courses you could take to prepare for it--talk to whoever coordinates that sort of thing at your school to see which courses they'd recommend taking as undergrad electives if you wanted to go into that field.

[vivek16]

Actually, the University of Minnesota offers a Biomedical engineering degree for undergrads. I initially was planning on doing biomedical engineering but decided that I was too interested in biology for that degree to satisfy me. I actually get that a lot about my involvement in FIRST and not going on to an engineering degree. While I am tempted to go for an engineering degree and then medical school, it's just not for me.

Just a bit more information about me: I was the design and fabrication lead on my team as well as captain for 2 years. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert in CAD but I know my way around. I am interested in the mechanical side of robotics. Basically, I'm interested in biology because living things are just such cool machines! It's crazy how efficient things are after million years of evolution and how there's still so many limitations. This also explains (at least partly) my interest in becoming a surgeon.

I am not expecting to get into the super specialized stuff but I at least want the basics under my belt if it's not too much of a hassle to fit into my schedule.

thanks, Vivek

[MrForbes]

Sounds like physics, statics, dynamics, and mechanics of materials will give you the basics you desire. Once you understand this stuff, the rest of mechanical engineering is applying it.

[EricH]

Take a statics and dynamics course (combines both of those into one term), and a basic mechanics of materials course. That's the bare minimum, IMO. B.S.M.E.s at SDSM&T go through, in order, Statics, Intro to Solid Mechanics, Solid Mechanics (which also has Dynamics as a prerequisite--the Statics and Dynamics course is more for the engineers that need less depth).

It also wouldn't hurt to take a thermodynamics course, but that should be somewhat of a lower priority.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Some schools have Intro to Engineering. The class touches on many disciplines and gives students a taste of what is out there to learn. If you get through that and still want to investigate further, it would be best to talk to a counselor who can help you plan. Some of the best orthopedic people have an understanding of engineering and are currently working on prosthetics and newly designed artificial joints. A surgeon who knows his way around tools and understands biologic interaction could be a very desirable and in demand person to have on a hospital staff.

[mplanchard]

When I was teaching engIneering courses, there were students preparing for medical school. Please review the MCAT requirements: General Bio, Physics, General Chemisty,Organic Chemistry, Calculus and English. Once you have physics and calculus, you can take statics and dynamics. I would also see if there is an intro to a biomedical engineering course. This might be a fit between your two skill sets. Some students go to medical school with biomedical engneering background. Take a look at some of these products designed by SolidWorks customers. http://www.solidworks.com/sw/industr...ufacturing.htm

Many are designed with a team of engineers and doctors. The medical profession has become very technical. I once designed medical devices with the lead engineer and the medical doctor looking over each shoulder giving direction. The medical doctor new the surgical procedure, the engineer new alot about regulatroy materials.

Other advice - don't get behind and be persistant. Any lab based program or engineering program involves intense reading, labs and projects. Get help if you need it as quickly as possible. good luck. Marie

[IKE]

A lot of great advice up above. As a possible different direction, many graduate programs allow for undergrads to assist with some of their lab work. You may want to see if there is a position available in one of these programs. Sometimes they are even pay you to help.

[JesseK]

I wouldn't worry about people who ask why someone is not an engineer after being in FIRST. The world needs more problem solvers than explicit engineers. Though don't ever tell that to an engineer...

From what I remember about Biology, much of the science is devoted to cell mechanics and interactions at the molecular level. If you're interested in that aspect, the robotics equivalent would be Materials Science; it has a heavy Chemistry pre-requisite, which already aligns with your Biology major.

Another interesting applicable field would be Nanotechnology, which seems to be a combination of Materials Science, Chemistry, and Physics. You probably wouldn't see any nanotech classes until your 4th year or grad school though.

Good Luck!

[EricVanWyk]

For what it is worth, Design for Manufacturing was my favorite out-of-major engineering class.

[JamesCH95]

Fluid dynamics and any fluid modeling classes you can find. I have the feeling that many biological systems, especially the human body, rely on fluid flow to function properly. One of the projects gearing up at my college when I graduated was modeling airways in Fluent to try to analyze sleep apnea.