Multidisciplinary

Course Overview & Experience 

At the beginning of this course, I was enthusiastic about learning about the Grand Challenges and their significance in our lives, as engineers; I was eager to attain experiences that taught me to think about current social, economic, and global problems from an engineering point of view. 

Throughout the FSE150 course in the Fall 2022, I worked on a multitude of projects, class discussions, assignments, etc. that were customized to integrate a new concept about engineering and technology that catered to the development of our knowledge about one of the four grand challenges. I remember one of the first classes included the creation of a poster about one of the four grand challenges, followed by the discussion of how integrated all of them are. My team and I worked on the theme of Sustainability and realized how multi-faceted this domain of society is because as engineers, it is important to take into account factors like feasibility, reliability, number of stakeholders involved, and risks. In addition to that, the layout of the classes fostered communication with my peers that helped me gain insights into their opinions and views about the case studies, projects, and ideas we discussed.

The class discussions and activities while we explored each of the themes laid out unique experiences that inculcated a deeper understanding of the Grand Challenges. For example, the class debate on the pros and cons of stem cell technology during the discussion of the theme ‘Health,’ challenged me to think about both the multiple dimensions of the application of a technology in the medical world. The simulation of the utilities and sources market provided me with an experience that gave insights into how the inclusion of sustainable energy resources was affected by the conditions of the market, the economy, and the social conditions of society. The class discussion about space exploration, during the discussion of the theme ‘Joy of Living,’ portrayed to me how technology produced by engineers should be beneficial to a majority of the sectors of a population. Finally, the security role play allowed me to be in the shoes of a government official and deepen my understanding of how the policies that govern the application of technology in society can come with risks and how technology itself can be used to mitigate the risks.

Relation to Grand Challenges Theme: Health

One of the most significant experiences for me throughout this course was working on my GC Theme Paper and the Future Solutions project. Researching about the work that current ASU faculty and researchers around the world are pursuing augmented by interest in working in a biomedical lab and gaining experience as a freshman. In addition to that, I was able to speak to Dr. Bradley Greger, who is an Associate professor in the School of Biological Health and Systems Engineering about his research work related to neural engineering and deep brain stimulation. The Future Solutions Project gave me the chance to work with my peers and come up with a futuristic solution for a current world issue. Researching about melanomas and the technology that can be used to design the Quantum Patch was interesting as it fostered by interest in reading about current medical problems. This project was the first opportunity that provided me with the space to explore biomedical engineering and learn about the intricacies of the field, while simutaneously exploring my developing interests in medicine and healthcare.

Value Created

Being a student in the FSE150: Perspectives of Grand Challenges on Engineering class has provided me with the perfect impetus to start off my Grand Challenge Scholars Program journey. The GCSP events that I have been able to attend have given me the golden chances of interacting with professors, faculty members, alumni, and current GCSP students. One of the main reasons that I chose to be in the GCSP program was to equip myself with a worldwide perspective on the current engineering innovations and technologies in use as well as open myself to the innumerable research opportunities that ASU provides its students. Having completed this course, I feel confident in the fact that I have developed the mindset that will challenge me to think about a problem from a vision that is based on the interdisciplinary approach that this course introduced me to.

Final Poster & Presentation