Last spring, Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Glenn Cunningham taught the university's first energy conversion and conservation class with a focus on U.S. Department of Energy assessment tools widely used in industry.

The elective class was a hit with students, teaching them to think about conservation, economics and efficiency the way practicing engineers do each day on the job. And it raised the credibility of the classroom experience at TTU.

"If you were to ask practicing engineers what they consider the most generic weakness in their formal engineering training, you'd likely hear many note the shortage of real-world connections," says Don Casada, who works for Diagnostic Solutions LLC in Knoxville and wrote about the class in Energy Matters, an Office of Industrial Technologies publication that reaches more than 40,000 industrial leaders in motor, steam and compressed air systems.

Cunningham's class formed teams and surveyed several campus systems using tools to evaluate the energy efficiency of motors, pumps and steam systems. One group used an infrared camera to look at steam system insulation. Another group used a portable power meter and an ultrasonic flow meter to measure chilled water pump flow in Brown Hall, while yet another group measured voltage and speeds of various motors around campus.

By gathering data and entering it into the assessment software, students learned how adjustments could result in energy savings. However, they also learned about non-engineering issues related to marketplace decisions, says Casada, who came to campus and observed field-testing and class presentations.

"The vast majority of real-world engineering problems are intertwined with economic issues," says Casada. "The two fields can't be isolated from one another. It's a reality that often isn't grasped by engineers until they begin their practice."

Mechanical Engineering major Chris Hamilton says although the experience with industry software was valuable, the knowledge of how to use the information generated with the software makes the class exceptional.

"What was nice about this class was the practical component, the focus on information that industry professionals consider when they make decisions," says Hamilton. "We thought in terms of economics, how every choice has to be made in terms of how it affects a company financially.

"For example, you can make an extremely efficient boiler by building one out of some insanely expensive material that allows it to operate at a high temperature," says Hamilton. "But you'll never recoup the cost of building the boiler, even with the energy savings, so the idea isn't practical."

The attention the class has generated means many industry leaders across the country are now aware of how Tennessee Tech engineering students who have taken Cunningham's course have an advantage in the job market.

Wally Brithinee, who founded Brithinee Electric in Colton, Calif., in the early 1960s and is considered an industry leader, e-mailed Casada to express his enthusiasm about Tennessee Tech offering such experience to students. Cunningham says DOE and Oak Ridge National Laboratory leaders have said the class is breaking new ground.

"The fact that these subjects were even being discussed indicated that the class is successful in bridging the gap between concept and reality," says Casada. "That success alone convinced me that the class wasn't just a good idea — it was a great one."