Freshmen Engineering:  Computing using Mathematica

Jeanine Ingber and Eric Nuttall
College of Engieering
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131

A first course in engineering computing is typically taught using
a programming language such as FORTRAN, C or C++.  Symbolic
software packages are often thought of as "tools" that are either too
advanced or otherwise not appropriate for use at the Freshman
level.  At the University of New Mexico, Mathematica was
introduced in Fall94 and Spring95 during the last five weeks of the
traditional Engineering Computing course; FORTRAN77 was used
the first ten weeks.  Students were surveyed at the end of the
semester.  Of the 170 students surveyed 86% responded they had
learned enough Mathematica to be useful and that Mathematica
should continue to be taught in the Engineering Computing course. 
The University of New Mexico has a centralized computing system
and a University site license for Mathematica.  Labs for the
Engineering Computing course are taught in classrooms equipped
with 20 xterms and a projector system.  The site license makes it
convenient for students to use Mathematica in all of their classes.  Of
the students surveyed, 25% responded that they were already using
Mathematica in their other classes and 88% responded they expected
to use Mathematica in future classes.  This presentation will show
how Mathematica was introduced as a programming environment
for freshman level engineering students.  Numerous solutions to
engineering application problems using Mathematica will be
presented.