Studying Engineering with Robin Hood
Friday, December 19, 2008
See the World! Study Engineering! The University of Evansville’s engineering programs allow you to do both. Mark Valenzuela, a civil engineering professor at UE and several engineering and computer science students recently returned to the states after spending the fall semester at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England, a town close to Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame. Students completed courses in engineering, mathematics, and British Studies while making exciting trips to countries such as Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
Harlaxton Manor
Students lived at Harlaxton Manor – an English castle built in 1837 by Sir Gregory Gregory and now owned by UE – attending classes, studying, dining, sleeping, exploring secret passageways, and participating in a college experience that will help them understand the global nature of engineering in the world today.
Why study abroad?
Engineering and mathematics comes alive at Harlaxton College! Sophomore engineering students studying calculus learned more than just mathematical theories. Students visited Woolsthorpe Manor, the boyhood home of Sir Isaac Newton. In 1665, Newton completed his bachelor’s degree at Cambridge University and returned to Woolsthorpe while the plague raged in London. During the next two years, he dedicated himself to mathematics and developed his “method of fluxions” which was the basis for infinitesimal calculus. Woolsthorpe is located close to Harlaxton and is routinely visited by engineering students who take the opportunity to learn about one of the founders of calculus.
Students in Mark Valenzuela’s Calculus class including Jamin Heldt, Cory Simpson, Scott Lorimer, and Andrew Dial (civil engineers), Jeff Skinner (mechanical engineer), and Sean Zewicke (electrical engineer).
UE ranks seventh nationally among Masters-granting institutions for the number of graduates who have studied abroad. In 2008, over 59 percent of UE graduates completed a “study abroad” experience at Harlaxton College or other location(s) around the world. The engineering students returning to UE did much more than complete a semester of college….they built memories and forged relationships that will last a lifetime.