Iowa State University’s undergraduate minor, online graduate certificate and resource center in NDE

• Published in: AIP conference proceedings Vol. 1581; no. 1
• Main Authors: Bowler, Nicola, Larson, Brian F, Gray, Joseph N
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 18.02.2014
• Subjects: CAI; Colleges & universities; Computer assisted instruction; Distance learning; Eddy current testing; Eddy currents; Engineering schools; Engineers; Nondestructive testing; Students; Ultrasonic testing; Iowa
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4865085

Nondestructive evaluation is a ‘niche’ subject that is not yet offered as an undergraduate or graduate major in the United States. The undergraduate minor in NDE offered within the College of Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU) provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate aspiring engineers to obtain a qualification in the multi-disciplinary subject of NDE. The minor requires 16 credits of course work within which a core course and laboratory in NDE are compulsory. The industrial sponsors of Iowa State’s Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, and others, strongly support the NDE minor and actively recruit students from this pool. Since 2007 the program has graduated 10 students per year and enrollment is rising. In 2011, ISU’s College of Engineering established an online graduate certificate in NDE, accessible not only to campus-based students but also to practicing engineers via the web. The certificate teaches the fundamentals of three major NDE techniques; eddy-current, ultrasonic and X-ray methods. This paper describes the structure of these programs and plans for development of an online, coursework-only, Master of Engineering in NDE and thesis-based Master of Science degrees in NDE.