Robert Hoekstra has lived in two worlds for many years 麻豆精品 S� engineering and the arts. Now, he 麻豆精品 S檚 officially bringing them together in unprecedented fashion at UCF.
Hoekstra, an associate professor in UCF’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, was recently named an associate professor of art and is co-teaching this spring with art professor Robert Reedy to bring both fields together in the class Advanced Design Lab. Hoekstra is the first at UCF to share a joint appointment between the art and engineering colleges.
The class has 44 students, with about a third of them engineering students.
麻豆精品 S淲hat we 麻豆精品 S檙e trying to do is have engineering come together with art, 麻豆精品 S� said Hoekstra, who has a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in English, a master 麻豆精品 S檚 in design and a doctorate in engineering.
麻豆精品 S淓ngineering has marched so far down the road, and art has too, that 麻豆精品 S檚 it 麻豆精品 S檚 not possible to have one person be both. The solution is not to develop a new industrial design program. The solution is to respect what artists bring to the party. And we can do that by literally getting them into a room and having them work together. 麻豆精品 S�
For centuries, engineers and artists were mostly the same people, but as technology emerged the disciplines began to separate.
But that 麻豆精品 S檚 changing at UCF.
麻豆精品 S淭o the best of my knowledge, this isn 麻豆精品 S檛 being done anywhere else, 麻豆精品 S� Hoekstra said. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 never been done within a traditional university structure. 麻豆精品 S�
In Advanced Design Lab, all is being done in the names of creativity and innovation. Reedy cites the need to 麻豆精品 S渁dapt, improvise and overcome 麻豆精品 S� and warns the students to expect the unexpected from the client.
Hoekstra preaches creative exploration. 麻豆精品 S淐reativity is at the very core of engineering,” he said. “I want students to explore 100 ideas before they arrive at one solution. 麻豆精品 S�
In the class, students are being asked to work on projects in partnership with an Orlando theme park that will challenge them to create solutions for real-world scenarios.
麻豆精品 S淎rt students who go into industry need to know how to work with engineers, 麻豆精品 S� Hoekstra said. 麻豆精品 S淭hey might need to know how to speak some of the language; they have to have some basic engineering and physics concepts. That 麻豆精品 S檚 the communications link. The artist can have the discussion with the engineer. And that 麻豆精品 S檚 what we 麻豆精品 S檙e trying to teach here. 麻豆精品 S�
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 new Maker Space Labs in the Engineering II building and the Advanced Design Lab in the School of Visual Arts and Design illustrate the new approach. Each area is designed to foster collaboration across academic lines. 麻豆精品 S淲hile many universities are looking at this, UCF is the first to make it happen in this way, 麻豆精品 S� he said about the labs.
Reedy said it is his goal to establish a place where these kinds of experiences can continue. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 critical that artists understand the importance of science and math and what engineers do, and even business. And the reverse is true for engineers and businesspeople, 麻豆精品 S� he said.
Michael Shears, a senior in mechanical engineering, said he is looking forward to working with the art students.
麻豆精品 S淭heir different backgrounds may give an聽alternative聽view on a problem, 麻豆精品 S� he said. 麻豆精品 S淭hey often聽ask questions on whether or not something technical can be done. And so far, many of the ideas in my group have come from one of the artists asking the engineers if a process聽was possible, and after discussion we found new ways that it may be accomplished that we hadn’t entertained previously. 麻豆精品 S�
For Hoekstra, who came to UCF as an assistant professor in 1993, the move is a natural. Aside from his multiple degrees in art and engineering, and before he became an academician, he conducted advanced research at IBM in artificial intelligence, designed cars for Penske Racing, and ran an award-winning media production company that won an Emmy.
His quest at UCF is to foster the kind of synergy and exploration that ultimately lead to breakthrough creativity: 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 getting engineers and artists to work together 麻豆精品 St brings the artists out of their studio into industry. 麻豆精品 S�