Abstract This paper addresses a common concern amongst engineering faculty: Which computer pro- gramming language should be taught to engineering students? The University of Central Florida (UCF) has initiated a novel course offering where both C (the modern language of engineering) and Fortran (the foundation language) are taught simultaneously using a problem solving methodology. An interesting contrast is developed between engineering ap- proaches to programming and that of computer sci- ence, as well as the importance of proper background in computer languages to the graduating engineer. Introduction The teaching of programming skills to all en- gineering majors has become widespread and inter- disciplinary. Increasingly, the question of which lan- guage to teach has become an issue and is sometimes hotly debated. Fortran has been giving ground to C, although many senior faculty see this as a problem since Fortran is still the language of choice for many physicists and mathematicians and its use is far more widespread than many realize. At the University of Central Florida, a novel approach to teaching both Fortran and C simultane- ously was initiated. Here C is taught as an implemen- tation language, while a reading knowledge of For- tran is developed at the same time. Few, if any, engineering colleges have the luxury of teaching computer programming to all engineering majors for more than one semester or three credit hours. The suggestion that engineers take a semester of C pro- gramming and a semester of Fortran would most likely be met with serious dissent, if not ridicule. As engineers become more specialized, colleges and de- partments are faced with a shrinking credit hour budget that will not allow waste or inefficiency in the total number of credits required. The program devel- oped takes advantages of similarities between the two languages to generate an economy of presentation. Additionally, the overall course goal of "read Fortran, write C" introduces further efficiency into the pro- gram. Finally, the approach to programming is one of rapid prototyping, where the engineer is interested in getting accurate results quickly and with a minimum of overhead in the way of algorithm elegance or pro- gram structural attractiveness. Those aspects of pro- gramming are best developed over time and with practice, rather than during critical early stages where the abstraction of the concept of programming a machine must be overcome. Motivation The development of the course began five years ago when the author was faced with that occa- sional predicament of finding a course to teach over the summer session. The only possible option at the time was to teach a college core offering entitled “En- gineering Analysis and Computation”, an articulation course targeted at entry-level engineering students who did not take a programming course in High School. The language taught at that time was For- tran, and the book being used was Etter’s excellent text (see references). For many years, Fortran was the first language that engineers were taught and was the first computer language that this author learned, later using it off and on during years in in- dustry and also in consulting. For these reasons the teaching of it was both challenging and refreshing. Nevertheless, the author found himself making refer- Teaching C & Fortran Simultaneously to Beginning Engineering Students Harley R. Myler Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida 32816-2450 407.823.5098 hrm@engr.ucf.edu