Consider it engineering with an entrepreneurial twist.
In the Towne Building, the cutting edge of technology and the basics of entrepreneurship combine for a few hours each week in a course sequence that focuses on seeing technological ideas come into fruition.
As students filed into the classroom and settled down on a typical day in the course, Engineering Professor Thomas Cassel immediately began class with a discussion of pricing strategy, followed by a PowerPoint presentation of concept testing. The students all took part in the lively discussion of Biopure Corporation, weighing the pros and cons of the marketing of two of the company's products.
Since its start in the fall of 1999, the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has continuously attracted aspiring technical innovators.
"The idea behind the program is to provide a capstone to technical education," said Cassel, who also serves as the director. "What we focus on is the tools an engineer needs to know to shape ideas into viable technological products."
The two course sequences, EAS 345 and EAS 346, cover the skills necessary for leading, gathering resources, planning and evaluating a high-tech idea.
The classes were "the perfect foundation for an engineer who didn't care to learn about the intricate minutiae of the financial universe," Penn alumnus Craig Englander said. Englander took both EAS 345 and 346 before he graduated in May 2000.
Five or six guest speakers, ranging from patent lawyers to venture capitalists to successful entrepreneurs -- many of them Penn grads -- come every semester to share their experiences with the students, tying real world examples into the curriculum and thus reinforcing what is taught. Some past guest speakers have included Andy Rachleff, managing partner at Benchmark Corp., and Mike Zisman, a University trustee.
Penn alumnus Louie Kolman, who took EAS 345 in the fall of 1999, praised Cassel's teaching style.
"Not only would we work on Harvard Business School case studies, but he would bring in the actual people from these cases to come in to speak with us," Kolman said in an e-mail statement. "It literally brought the material to life."
Cassel has been heartened and motivated by the feedback he has received, through e-mails and letters from past students, about the program. Many praise the program for its practicality and application to the real world.
"I draw upon the skill set I developed in the EAS program everyday," said Penn alumna Jennifer Friel, who is currently working in London as a management consultant, in an e-mail statement.
Engineering sophomore Jason Paik, who is taking EAS 345 with Cassel this semester, enrolled in the class because "it offers a chance to explore real-life situations." The initiative serves as the "perfect bridge," as Paik put it, between engineering and entrepreneurship for those interested in both.
Junior David Zhang agreed. "The class has great speakers," he said. Zhang started the Technology Entrepreneurship Club in the fall of 2000 and became interested in the program partly because of the speakers who came in to talk to the students.
The engineering and entrepreneurship initiative evolved several years ago after a discussion with Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt, who emphasized that business and engineering are increasingly interesting.
"How engineering is becoming entrepreneurship is a culture of the school," he said.
Cassel leads the program and teaches its two classes. With 20 years of entrepreneurial experience and having served as the leader and founder of an energy company, Cassel earned undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees from Penn. He also did post-graduate work at Harvard Business School.
