XLIX

Engineering Design Firm

9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28223

Transmittal
Date:

Section: 1201 007

To: Professor McDaniel
Trey Revels
From: Joseph Satterwhite
Subject: Whole Life Concept Final Report

We are Memorandum Design Package Problem Set

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Description
 Whole Life Concept Final Report

Joseph Satterwhite

ENGR 1201-007

Professor McDaniel

November 23, 2016

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation
of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.

11/23/16
 Satterwhite | Whole Life Concept Final Report 2

Introduction:
Im passionate for history. Growing up as a child, I read many books about the history of warfare,
aviation, and spaceflight. As I have matured throughout my lifetime, my love for history has also
developed. Instead of just knowing battles that occurred in the Second World War, I have grown to see the
technological marvels that came out of that dreadful time such as the fighter jet; I have always been
amazed by this aircraft. I wanted to know the history that went into developing each aircraft as well as the
technical aspects that even allow something to fly.
This passion extends far past the history of military machines. Whether it be classic sports cars, medical
marvels, or new developments in the energy field, I have always loved learning how engineers solved
problems and how their inventions worked; therefore, a more accurate description of my passion would
be the history of problem solving. The technologies of the past have inspired me to become an engineer
for the future.

One of the greatest problems I foresee in the 21st century is our negative impact on the environment. My
goals of helping to solve this problem would begin in three years after my college education. During my
senior year, I would seek employment with an energy company such as Areva or Duke Power. This would
be my launching pad into the energy world and allow me to learn about the corporate world. My love of
problem solving would help me to get a footing in my career and push me towards bigger goals. Five
years from now, I would want to be developing alternate forms of energy. Looking back at history shows
that some sources of power cause harmful effects, while others are mostly clean. Finally, ten years from
now I would hope to be installing many clean power plants across the country, such as wind and solar
farms in areas that are yet to receive them. I want to make a difference in our world today, so that my
children will have a future tomorrow.

Reflections:

During the Whole Life Concept Project, I was tasked to figure out why I want to become an engineer. I
had to determine what my motivations are, what my plan is for becoming an engineer, and how I can use
academic and non-academic sources to strengthen my technical and soft skills. Much of the research that
went into this project has helped me to create a clearer vision for my future, especially when it comes to
gaining technical skills. Before the Whole Life Project, I was worried how exactly I would acquire the
skills needed to perform day-to-day calculations as an engineer. After my research into the courses I will
be taking here at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I feel much more confident that I will gain
all the skills needed to be an impactful engineer.

The Whole Life Model has offered me a new way of viewing my goals. Before having true impact,
application, or even knowledge, there must be some sort of passion inside oneself. Passion gives the
motivation factor needed to begin learning about a topic in depth rather than just memorizing information.
Passion makes an aspiring engineer enjoy all the writings assigned to them in their first engineering class
because they know that these writing skills will be essential in their career. Passion makes an aspiring
engineer want to understand how they failed certain aspects of a project so they can avoid those issues in
the future.

From passion comes knowledge, application, and eventually impact. I am currently in the stage between
knowledge and application. Some examples of this come from this engineering course. During class, we
learned about beam theory so we could apply that knowledge into creating our own beam. Whenever we
have discussed how important teamwork is, it was meant as a lesson that stays with us our entire career,
so that we can successfully solve problems with people regardless of their differences. Finally, the Whole
Life Model has shown me that I will always have my place in a team. I have different strengths and
weaknesses than my colleagues and together we will be able to solve a common issue.
 Satterwhite | Whole Life Concept Final Report 3

My perceptions of engineering have changed since beginning the Whole Life Project. This project has
proved to me how important soft skills are in the engineering industry. Examples of these soft skills
include showing good communication and teamwork skills as well as building a reputable resume
(Careers 2016). In addition to this, I have also realized how engineering revolves around selling a
product. If something is created, but there is no market for it, it is typically written off as useless. Finally,
the Whole Life Project has changed my perception of engineering by showing me how much writing is
involved. Many people, including myself before I began this project, think of engineering as a technical-
skill only field. The Whole Life Project has proved me wrong by showing how important it is for an
engineer to communicate clearly and effectively through writing with colleagues and supervisors.

During this project, I have also considered how important the classes I take are. The engineering program
at this university requires many challenging courses that will test all aspects of me. To meet my three-year
goal of gaining employment with an energy company, I will need to have a good mixture of technical and
non-technical skills. Non-technical skills can be built in classes that have a heavy focus on writing, such
as ENGR 1201, ENGR 3295 (Professional Development) or UWRT 1103 (Plan of Study 2015). In my
own opinion, soft skills come with practice and experience. Giving presentations, participating in clubs,
or being given an internship opportunity are all excellent ways I could hone my communication and
teamwork skills in order to be employed with an energy company after graduation. In addition to non-
technical skills, I will also have to develop technical skills. Understanding how to solve problems, how to
work energy equations, and how to have a good grasp on mathematics and science properties are all
crucial to graduating and finding employment in the engineering world. The classes that would help me to
prepare most for the technical side of a career in engineering are classes, such as calculus, physics, and
thermodynamics. Taking these classes builds a strong foundation for the rest of my education as well as
develop useful problem solving skills I will need to gain employment.

To achieve my five-year goal of developing alternate energy forms, my primary non-technical skills are
teamwork, communication, marketing, and budgeting. Marketing skills are essential to my five-year goal
because if I cannot prove that the project would be profitable and create clean, renewable energy, there
will be no funding for it. Budgeting skills are important so that monetary resources can be spent wisely
and in a way that does not go over budget. Classes like Macro and Micro Economics can provide the
skills needed to create budgets and track expenditures. When it comes to marketing, classes such as
Professional Development and Senior Design can provide me with good examples of how to pitch ideas
to companies and people. More advanced technical skills would be required for this goal. Actually
developing forms of energy would require immense amounts of knowledge on the transfer of energy how
the conduction of heat, and other general information about different fuels. I could learn these skills
academically through higher level engineering courses, such as Introduction to Energy Engineering,
Introduction to Heat Transfer, and Thermal/Fluids Laboratory.

My ten-year goal of going out and installing clean energy power plants across our nation and throughout
the world would require project management skills (ASME 2011). Going into the world and leading
projects requires many skills such as setting standards to work by (measurements, common language),
making sure that projects are up to code in countries that may have different laws, and coordinating with
people internationally. These are all key skills that anyone looking to manage a project in todays world
must have.

In addition to skills learned academically, it is also important to learn skills from life experiences. Seeing
how others solve problems in nations not as developed as ours and helping those countries to make
progress towards development is an eye-opening experience. I plan to visit many countries during my
lifetime and volunteer time and energy towards helping those not as fortunate. Doing so will increase my
ability to communicate with others from around the globe, as well as give deeper understanding and
appreciation of diversity.
 Satterwhite | Whole Life Concept Final Report 4

Conclusion:

The Whole Life Project has left me more committed to engineering than when I began. Over the course of
researching what exactly engineers do and what I must do to meet my personal career goals, I realized
that I will deeply enjoy working to help others and our planet. During my time at college, if I ever want to
give up, I will always come back to the fact that I want to help others by creating and innovating ideas.
Meeting my goals is an excellent motivation factor for myself and I will use it to do my best during my
time at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and throughout my engineering career.
 Satterwhite | Whole Life Concept Final Report 5

References

ASME. 2011. Management Skills Crucial for Engineering Success. Accessed October 20.
https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/certification/management-skills-crucial-for
engineering-success

National Careers Service. 2016. Last modified September 26.

https://national careersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/mechanical-engineer

UNC Charlotte. 2015. Accessed October 20.

http://academics.uncc.edu/sites/academics.uncc.edu/files/media/Mechanical-Engineering-APS
Sep-2015.pdf