Rowan University's Engineering Clinic Project Takes Flight
GLASSBORO, NJ. (CBS) -- A unique engineering course at Rowan University takes some cues from a different discipline.
Rowan's Sophomore Engineering Clinic combines engineering with English.
"Students learn rhetorical analysis, they learn persuasive techniques and they learn ethical judgments. Is a project worth doing or not doing? Just because we can do it doesn't mean we should," said Steve Royek, a writing arts professor at Rowan, who co-teaches the clinic.
"Forty percent of an engineers job is writing," Royek explained, "and we make sure they have all these skills to go out in the field, and we're getting great feedback from a lot of the businesses in the area."
Three dozen students took part in a competition Monday where they constructed paper helicopters and dropped them from the balcony of the Rowan Hall atrium to see whose could stay in the air the longest.
Quinn Rinaman's team won.
"What I learned here can be applied in a lot more significant things than just some paper," Rinaman said.
Not to mention extra credit points toward their final grade -- and department bragging rights.
