The Scientific Foundations of Engineering course derives from one basic principle: in order to be a good engineering leader, one must first be a good engineer.

Through this portion of the curriculum, GIEL breaks away from more traditional treatments of leadership and management to concentrate on the scientific aptitude required to successfully lead technical teams and projects.

The course has three overarching goals:

  • It refreshes Candidates on the first principles of the main engineering disciplines that they are likely to face when leading cross-functional teams. This enables them to ask the right questions and make informed decisions, even when faced with information from outside their given domain.
  • It strengthens Candidates’ ability to leverage scientific analysis to understand problems and make decisions, often under significant time pressure.
  • It reinforces Candidates’ confidence that they can continually learn, understand, and master the science underpinning new and emerging technologies throughout their careers.

The course covers a broad range of topics, including principles of mechanics and mechanics of materials, wave physics, quantum physics, statistical and thermal physics, fluid physics, and Maxwell’s equations and constitutive relations.