Incorporating Art into Engineering by Introducing the STEAM Approach

“We are creating the next, and the next is going to reintegrate science and technology and arts,”

Madison Cario, the director of Tech’s Office of the Arts, Georgia Tech.

Nowadays, there is a perception that science, technology, and the arts are separate vocations. Particularly, during a cooperation between industrial designers and mechanical engineers, some difficulties can arise as each expert strives to bring unique perspectives into a product design. Nevertheless, as practice illustrates, if both professionals tend to perceive shared vision and common interests, the situation is vice versa. Every industrial designer strives to understand the original idea embedded in a future product while realizing its creative spark. The same goal is shared with a mechanical engineer who aims to deliver the conceived product successfully. This is what makes both professionals collaborate effectively while speaking the same language.

From STEM to STEAM

Art and Science

It is well known that STEM education incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The concept of the STEM approach covers the development of students’ essential skills such as research and analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.

At the same time, experts argue that the STEM method has a lack of elements required for innovation, i.e. design thinking and creativity. Therefore, adding the arts into the STEM approach allows specialists to obtain specific knowledge, including risk-taking capabilities and creative problem solving, which eventually facilitate experts to solve multiple issues in various spheres.

Thus, the STEAM approach incorporates the arts and sciences to develop a multi-disciplinary concept to technology development, engineering, product design, and others.

As Steve Jobs stated, “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough” and that the combination of the arts and technology was the key to Apple’s success. He noted that scientists and technologists must collaborate with artists and designers to enhance changes for the better.

Job’s statement is supported by Conrad Shawcross, a British artist, who insists that “technology is a fundamental force in art” while “engineering has always been a fundamental aspect of artistic endeavor”. Conrad’s sculpture, Paradigm, an impressive 14 meter-high weathered steel art object installed at the entrance of the Francis Crick Institute in London, is a “beacon for progress and endeavor”.

This trend is being supported by scientifically ad technologically focused organizations across the world. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is one of the communities that focuses on the exploration of the sub-atomic particles to uncover the fundamental structure of the universe. Arts at CERN is a fundamental approach of the particle physics research center which involves scientists, engineers, and artists to work collaboratively to find new creative solutions.

Origami-inspired engineering

Today, engineers apply the principles of Japanese art origami to create innovative products in various industries. From the designing of active materials to the development of complex, intelligent structures, engineers build creative products and high-quality systems.

Mary Frecker, a mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering professor at the Pennsylvania State University, states that origami engineering can create remarkable products with complex solutions which meet the demand of multiple industries.

In order to create on-demand solutions, engineers insert magneto-active elastomers and polymer into the origami-based structure of a product. This combination facilitates them to build complex and exceptional solutions. To make products to the crease, bold, or bend, experts use a magnetic or electric field that is exerted on the material. To achieve an effective functionality of the product, engineers construct most solutions from materials that provide the required strength and stiffness.

As origami-inspired products continue to raise popularity in practical use, more and more companies strive to build origami-based products and place them into the commercial market. An origami-based design was selected to produce the extension arm of an X-ray machine used in the operating rooms in hospitals by GE Healthcare in cooperation with Brigham Young University. The company improved the design of the existed shroud, which maintained the sterile field during the movements of the extension arm.

Besides medicine, the production of origami-based solutions covers various industries, including the automotive business, different sports, construction, electric power industry, and others.

Creative thinking

Specialists argue that in order to cultivate the link between engineering and the arts, the latter should be included in the curriculum of educational institutions. Integrating the arts into engineering education facilitates students to develop increased creativity and motor skills, helping them to collaborate and communicate effectively with colleagues. Furthermore, the study of artistic approaches makes it possible for learners to obtain better visual skills as well as enhance the learning experience, which can serve practical functions in their professional spheres.

As experts state, it is necessary to incorporate art subjects into STEM programs to reach students' full potential. This approach provides learners with the ability to enhance the capabilities of STEM subjects while making the study of topics more engaging, exciting, and enjoyable.

More and more universities across the world continue to implement the arts into their curriculums to develop learners’ creativity and critical thinking. One of the first schools which have integrated the arts with STEM subjects was Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the USA. As noted, one of the RISD’s leadership members, the demand for the study of arts was brought about by both students’ and teachers’ interests across the USA. Furthermore, this demand was caused later in Northern Ireland and the UK, where interdisciplinary and project-based learning was the key. Now STEAM groups, formed by the RISD students, network with students from other universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Brown University. As education experts state, the arts help create a new learning environment that enhances innovative and flexible thinking while solving complex issues that can be applied to practice.

STEAM Benefits

An “A” that means “Arts” in the STEAM approach represents new possibilities in an innovative environment. From the learners’ perspective, the arts subjects engage students in dynamic and relevant conditions facilitating them to become responsible and successful professionals able to apply obtained knowledge into practice.

Creative problem-solving

The changing world requires rapid responses across all industries. Creative thinking, which breaks rigidly defines rules, allows experts to adapt to changing environments quickly. By imposing alterations and changing different variables, engineers can find the best possible solution for a specific task. Furthermore, while being flexible in their actions in terms of testing their ideas from different angles, engineers hone their skills while becoming aware that there is a possible way to solve any complex problem.

Visual imagery

Drawings and paintings used in STEAM provide professionals with the ability to quickly and effectively engage and focus on their work and, at the same time, improve their observational skills. Scientists argue that the usage of photography, origami, and sketching develop spatial skills, which are among the essential capabilities of successful experts.

“Big picture” mindset

The creation of the “real world” on a small-scale project makes it possible for engineers to visualize it in the physical environment. From building a simple website to designing a robot prototype, engineers can analyze and interact with a real-world case on a small scale. Such an approach enables professionals to dive into the physical and social environment and test their ideas while making necessary changes, which will eventually provide benefits to the future designed product.

Enhanced experience

The incorporation of the art element into the STEM approach facilitates engineers to be more engaged in their work. As pure technology and engineering can be tedious and monotonous, the artistic mediums allow engineers to enjoy the projects they work on. This, in turn, may increase professionals’ engagement and work productivity while enhancing their experience.

The positive effects of the STEAM approach on practice were noted in a Nesta report which illustrated that companies that integrated the arts with STEM methods showed increased sales growth and faster employment than those with only STEM approach.

Conclusion

In common, designers use multiple resources to develop a product idea that should be converted by engineers into a working model. There can be situations when problems in communication and realization of the collaborative work could arise. That is when the implementation of the STEAM approach can help industrial designers and mechanical engineers to communicate effectively and produce valuable products.

The point where the arts meet science is represented by the medium where the communication complexity between industrial designers and mechanical engineers may emerge. When adopting the concept of the arts into the work, during which mechanical engineers put their efforts to transform industrial designers’ initial idea into reality, acceptance, respect, and reward are at the forefront of the collaborative partnership.