ENGINEERING
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The Dordt Difference Engineers have the privilege and responsibility of developing and keeping God’s creation. The core tasks of engineering include designing, building, maintaining, and improving structures, machines, and devices that have intricate and sometimes subtle impacts on humans and the broader creation. This God-given responsibility means that an engineer’s technical skillset is rooted in a biblical understanding of his or her calling. Dordt College engineering students master the technical skills for their work and are pushed to understand how all aspects of an engineer’s work can serve the Lord.
PROGRAM OPTIONS Dordt College offers an accredited major in engineering from which you can select a concentration that fits your interests. Civil engineers plan buildings, bridges, and roads, and they design systems to clean the air and manage our water resources. Electrical and computer engineers develop systems to move energy and information, focusing on technologies ranging from micro-circuits to software code. Mechanical engineers design and control mechanical devices and thermal systems, projects ranging from wheelchairs to solar collectors to refrigerators. Biomedical engineers design technologies that improve and assist the function of our bodies, technologies ranging from artificial organs to implantable sensors . Chemical engineers develop equipment and processes to convert both natural and recycled resources into fuels and materials for everyday products. Within these concentrations there are opportunities for interdisciplinary emphases in computer, energy systems, mechatronics, environmental, and structural engineering. You can serve the public in any of these fields by working with consulting firms, government organizations, manufacturing industries, research laboratories, and more.
FACILITIES • Computational labs: design and analyze 3D objects using solid modeling (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) • Solar energy lab: monitor solar collector and wind turbine performance
THE DORDT ADVANTAGE Distinctively Christian Students learn to be Christ followers while developing their engineering abilities and learning how to care for God’s creation. Academically Excellent Students excel on the nationally administered Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Students also have high industry placement and graduate school acceptance rates. Teaching and Learning Focused Students learn in a collaborative environment directly from faculty members who encourage them to connect the diverse subjects in the engineering curriculum. ABET Accredited* Dordt engineering has been fully accredited for 25 years, one of only a few Christian colleges with this distinction. Experienced Faculty Faculty enrich learning by bringing research and industry experience into the classroom. Interdisciplinary Curriculum Students prepare for leadership in interdisciplinary engineering environments through technical and nontechnical courses that emphasize communication. Professional Development Student chapters of the civil, electrical, and mechanical professional organizations organize industry tours and compete in design competitions.
• Prototyping lab: fabricate a project using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer numeric control (CNC) machining, and 3D printing • Mechanics and materials lab: measure material behavior under loading • Chemical reactor lab: experiment with combustion and gasification • Civil engineering lab: analyze soil and concrete samples • Biomechanics lab: measure forces and positions for the human body during movement
• Thermodynamics lab: test air-foils in a wind tunnel and measure the impact of a high-speed fluid jet on a vane • Electronics lab: build, design, and test circuits and microprocessors
* The engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Dordt’s program prepares you for a life of professional service to the Lord and to your community. Dordt College engineering alumni work all over the country at companies like Argonne National Lab, Boeing, DuPont, Florida Power & Light, Iowa DOT, John Deere, Motorola, and SpaceX. Our alumni also attend graduate school in aerospace, agricultural, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, materials, and mechanical engineering at universities across the United States and Canada. A few also go on to law school, business school, or seminary.
THE FACULTY Ethan Brue, P.E., Ph.D., Iowa State University. Mechanical-mechatronics. Experience: combustion control systems design (DuPont) Douglas De Boer, P.E., Ph.D., University of Colorado. Electrical-computer. Experience: integrated circuit design (Hewlett Packard) Kayt Frisch, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison. Biomedical-mechanics. Experience: experimental measurement of tissue mechanics Benjamin Saarloos, M.S., University of Illinois U-C. Mechanical. Experience: climate cooling, thermal energy storage (RINI Technologies) Joel Sikkema, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Civil-environmental. Experience: municipal consulting (DGR Engineering) Kevin Timmer, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Mechanical-environmental. Experience: HVAC system design (EDA, Inc.) Nolan Van Gaalen, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Chemical-materials. Experience: heat exchanger design (Adams Thermal Systems, Inc.) Justin Vander Werff, P.E., Ph.D., Iowa State University. Civil-structural. Experience: concrete and steel structural design (Superior Engineering) August 2015