2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

GIFTS: Introducing a Human-Centered Design Challenge to First-Year Engineering Students

Presented at First-Year Programs Division (FPD) GIFTS Session 1: Human-Centered and Project-Based Innovation in First-Year Engineering Design

This Great Ideas For Teaching (and Talking With) Students (GIFTS) paper describes a Human-Centered Design Challenge Activity recently introduced into Engineering Orientation (ENGR 1100). This first-year engineering course serves up to 820 students from all engineering disciplines a semester. First-year engineering students surveyed believe critical thinking and problem-solving are crucial to success as an engineer. While thinking critically and solving problems are essential, these are not the only skills that make an engineer successful. Other necessary skills are needed to round out the engineering toolbox. Such skills include effective communication, teamwork, demonstration of leadership and professionalism, equitable design decision-making, and solving sociotechnical problems. In Fall 2024, students were presented with a scenario of redesigning and assisting a community devastated by an EF4 tornado. In the scenario presentation, students are provided statistical data about the community's makeup from the recent US Census. During the introduction of this activity, students are also made aware that when designs fail, it is often because engineers and product developers do not fully design their products for all users. Therefore, this activity provides students with a real-world scenario where they must use a people-first, human-centered engineering problem-solving approach to solve a scenario as a team that will impact the greater good of the community and users. A group activity and survey questions evaluate students' understanding of the topic. This activity enhances first-year engineering students' understanding of the engineering design process, the importance and impact of engineering activities in terms of ethics, and the impact on ethical, health, safety, and environmental issues affecting individuals and society. After the activity, students will be able to understand the importance of engineering design, ethics, engineering sociotechnical problems, teamwork, and technical communication. Hence, this activity represents the critical skills needed to succeed in an engineer's toolbox.

Authors

Dr. Matthew Thomas Garnett http://orcid.org/0009-0004-7305-7988 Auburn University [biography]

Matthew T. Garnett received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University in Spring 2020 and continued his graduate work in Chemical Engineering starting in Fall 2020 pursuing his MS and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. Matthew’s research focuses on bioinspired hydrogel materials but has a true passion to teach students the fundamental engineering concepts. Matthew began co-teaching Auburn University’s Engineering Orientation (ENGR 1100) course to all first-year students in Fall 2023, teaching approximately 1300 students each year. Matthew recently defended his dissertation in February 2025 and plans to pursue a career in academia teaching first-year engineering students starting Fall 2025.
Jessica Bowers Auburn University [biography]

Jessica Bowers serves as the Manager for Career Development Content and Strategy in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering (SGCOE) at Auburn University. She holds a Master's degree in College Student Personnel from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With over a decade of experience providing student academic and career advising support, Jessica joined the SGCOE to support the launch of the college's first Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations (CDCR), charged with providing career development and graduation outcome support for 6,300 undergraduate and graduate engineering students. Today, she leads the CDCR's career education efforts to provide an infrastructure of embedded career development content and outcomes at strategic intervals within the engineering student academic experience. Jessica also serves as an active member of the SGCOE's Engineer Together committee which focuses efforts on the premise, "I belong. You belong. Together, we engineer for a diverse world."
Lucila Marcela Carias Duron Auburn University [biography]

Lucila M. Carias earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Centroamericana “Jose Simeon Cañas” in El Salvador in 2018. She continued her academic journey with a Master’s in Process Engineering from the same university in 2021 and a Master’s in Integrated Management Systems from Nebrija University, Spain, in 2020. Lucila has four years of professional experience in the flexible packaging and recycling industry. In Fall 2022, she began pursuing her M.S. and Ph.D. in Polymer and Fiber Engineering at Auburn University, focusing on bio-based polymers. In Fall 2024, she took on the role of teaching assistant for Auburn University’s Engineering Orientation (ENGR 1100) course, guiding first-year engineering students. She plans to defend her dissertation in the Fall of 2026 and aims to pursue a career in academia.
Prof. Maria Lujan Auad http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6932-5645 Auburn University [biography]

Maria Lujan Auad received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1995 and Ph.D. in Materials Sciences in 2000 from the University of Mar del Plata in Argentina. After a postdoctoral position at the California Institute of Technology in the Chemical Engineering Department, she was a research assistant at the University of Southern California in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences. She joined Auburn University as an Assistant Professor in 2006 in the former Polymer and Fiber Engineering Department. She served as an Associate Professor and Interim Department Chair during her tenure in the Department. In 2015, she was appointed Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Center of Polymer and Advanced Composites (CPAC). In 2017, she was awarded full professor and served as the Charles Gavin Distinguished Professor. In 2020, she was appointed to her current position as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Faculty Development. In Fall 2023, she began co-teaching Auburn University’s Engineering Orientation (ENGR 1100) course to all first-year students, teaching approximately 1300 students yearly.

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