Author Profile

Indrek Wichman

Indrek S. Wichman is a professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan State University where he has been a faculty member since 1986. His research interests are in combustion, heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and related areas. Current projects of interest include research on flame and fire safety, flammability testing of composite materials, green roof technology, and combustion in engines. He is a member of the scientific honor society Sigma Xi. He has worked as a visiting professor/research scientist in Finland, Norway, and France as well as in the US at NIST. His consulting company is 3-B Combustion, Explosion and Fire Consultants. He holds a B.S.M.E from Stony Brook University, an M.S. in mechanics from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University (1983).

Articles by Indrek Wichman

Engineering Education: Social Engineering Rather than Actual Engineering

Aug 2, 2017 · Indrek Wichman · 164 Comments

We engineers like to solve technical problems. That’s the way we think, that’s why we chose our major, that’s why we got into and stayed in engineering. There are several other reasons why we got into engineering. One of them was the absence of what I describe here as “social engineering,” where the professor/instructor is … Continue reading “Engineering Education: Social Engineering Rather than Actual Engineering “

Engineering—or Social Engineering?

Dec 20, 2010 · Indrek Wichman · No Comments

A professor comments on disquieting trends in his field.

Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections? Sep 24, 2018
Free speech on campus has become a point of concern for many. News reports describe speakers being disinvited from campus or shouted down. Events such as students being arrested for giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution on a college campus have become ordinary. North Carolina has not been immune to this worrisome trend. In … Continue reading “Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections?”
Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great Sep 19, 2018
In recent years, the media has given us dire warnings about the “crisis of the humanities.” In article after article, one reads about falling enrollments in college English departments and funding cuts. Inside Higher Ed, a popular website that covers higher education, reports that English majors have declined 20 percent since 2012. History programs have … Continue reading “Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great”
Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools Sep 12, 2018
Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice … Continue reading “Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools”

A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech Sep 17, 2018
Colleges are using a new tool with the frightening potential to shut down open dialogue. They go by the benign-sounding name of “bias response teams.” Bias response teams monitor what students and faculty say. They encourage students to report, often anonymously, comments or behavior that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened, even if the speech … Continue reading “A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech”
Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools Sep 12, 2018
Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice … Continue reading “Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools”
How Political Indoctrination Destroyed the Promise of Learning in College Writing Courses Sep 7, 2018
By wide agreement of writing professors and composition scholars, new freshmen arrive not only ill-prepared for college writing but many show little improvement after four years of undergraduate education. In 2002 the College Board established the National Commission on Writing, which found “growing concern within the education, business, and policy-making communities that the level of … Continue reading “How Political Indoctrination Destroyed the Promise of Learning in College Writing Courses”

Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections? Sep 24, 2018
Free speech on campus has become a point of concern for many. News reports describe speakers being disinvited from campus or shouted down. Events such as students being arrested for giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution on a college campus have become ordinary. North Carolina has not been immune to this worrisome trend. In … Continue reading “Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections?”
Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes Sep 23, 2018
This report examines the speech and assembly protections for students and faculty members at North Carolina’s universities, both public and private. It is a follow-up to the 2010 report, “Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes.” In the eight years since the publication of that report, North Carolina … Continue reading “Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes”
Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics Sep 21, 2018
Kentuckians were forced to consider potential problems with intercollegiate athletics when both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky were implicated in the recent FBI probe into possibly corrupt and fraudulent recruiting practices in college basketball. Amid the outrage, politicians raised the possibility of serious reforms, such as expanding the oversight of Boards … Continue reading “Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics”