CU
Engineering Opens DLC for
State-of-the-Art, Inquiry-Based Learning
The College of Engineering
and Applied Science announced the opening of the
Discovery Learning Center on Oct. 18, 2002.
This outstanding new addition
to the Engineering Center Complex supports the deep integration
of undergraduate students into the college's research mission,
advancing student learning through an inquiry-based approach
that complements the academic curriculum.
The college is a national
leader in supporting undergraduate research experiences, with
up to 70 percent of students in some departments participating
in research during their undergraduate years.
The DLC enhances the visibility
and resources for this important venture, while creating a sister
facility to the award-winning Integrated Teaching and Learning
Laboratory. The ITLL pioneered a hands-on learning approach in engineering
education, which has been adopted enthusiastically throughout
the college.
In discovery learning,
undergraduates work alongside graduate students, post-doctoral
fellows, faculty, and industry representatives, as collaborative
partners on original research. Young students bring a fresh perspective to
the research team while also learning from their more experienced
partners. In so
doing, they prepare themselves to be the technological, academic,
political, and creative leaders of tomorrow.
The DLC also provides
outstanding opportunities for the K-12 community, including
summer research internships for secondary school teachers, which
help them meet requirements for re-accreditation while increasing
their awareness of the creative process in engineering. The DLC's visitor offices and videoconferencing
capabilities will further extend the facility's reach to those
both on and off the campus.
Upon entering the Discovery
Learning Center, visitors may be surprised at the openness of
a facility devoted to engineering research.
An abundance of windows combined with outreach exhibits
and a 16-panel digital video wall provide a dynamic view into
the world of discovery, from the new space mission control room
to micro/nano-scale research captured on the video screen.
The DLC is designed to
support vertically integrated research teams working on interdisciplinary
projects, ranging from genomics-based research to the latest
in space experiments.
