Introduction to Technical WritingThis project is designed to significantly improve the introductory physics laboratory at Saint Anselm College. It has two specific aims: 1) new sets of experiments allow engineering students and biology students to follow distinct pathways, each suited to the later academic and professional emphases of the individual; and 2) new computer facilities, both hardware and software, allow a new and more modern emphasis on data processing and data analysis, together with special attention to technical writing skills. The introductory physics laboratory is a combined one - it handles students from the calculus-based course (engineering and chemistry students) and from the algebra based course (biology students). The new two-path concept exposes engineering students to experiments dealing with properties of materials, aerodynamics, and the Stirling engine. The biology students follow a track intended to achieve a firm grounding in x-ray properties. The new computer facilities equip an already existing suite of rooms where students gather for study, and pre- and post-lab work. The laboratory reports stress modern technical communications skills, both as to content and form.
