The ability to visualize in three dimensions is a cognitive skill that has been shown to be important for success in engineering and other technological fields. For engineering, the ability to mentally rotate 3-D objects is especially important. Unfortunately, of all the cognitive skills, 3-D rotation abilities exhibit robust gender differences, favoring males. The assessment of 3-D spatial skills and associated gender differences has been a topic of educational research for nearly a century; however, a great deal of the previous work has been aimed at merely identifying differences. The author has been conducting applied research in the area of spatial skills development for more than a decade aimed at identifying practical methods for improving 3-D spatial skills, especially for women engineering students. This paper details the significant findings obtained over the past several years through this research and identifies strategies that appear to be effective in developing 3-D spatial skills and in contributing to student success.

In January 1993, we received NSF funding to develop a pre‐graphics course for freshman engineering majors who are weak in 3‐D spatial visualization skills. A text and computer lab exercises utilizing I‐DEAS software were written specifically for this course. The course is 3‐credits (quarter system) with two hours of lecture and two hours of computer lab each week. It was offered at Michigan Technological University (MTU) for the first time during the 1993 Fall term and has been offered each fall since that time. The objective of the course is to provide the prerequisite spatial skills needed by students to succeed in their subsequent engineering graphics courses. Assessment for the course has been continuous. Recently, a six‐year longitudinal study was conducted to determine the overall success of this project. This paper will describe the project and the assessment findings from the longitudinal study.

A case is made for growth of a new metadiscipline of sustainability science and engineering. This new field integrates industrial, social, and environmental processes in a global context. The skills required for this higher level discipline represent a metadisciplinary endeavor, combining information and insights across multiple disciplines and perspectives with the common goal of achieving a desired balance among economic, environmental, and societal objectives. Skills and capabilities that are required to support the new metadiscipline are summarized. Examples of integrative projects are discussed in the areas of sustainability metrics and integration of industrial, societal, and environmental impacts. It is clear that a focus on green engineering that employs pollution prevention and industrial ecology alone are not sufficient to achieve sustainability, because even systems with efficient material and energy use can overwhelm the carrying capacity of a region or lead to other socially unacceptable outcomes. To meet the educational and human resource needs required for this new discipline, the technological and environmental awareness of society must be elevated and a sufficient and diverse pool of human talent must be attracted to this discipline.

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