New Orleans, Louisiana
June 26, 2016
June 26, 2016
June 29, 2016
978-0-692-68565-5
2153-5965
First-Year Programs
Diversity
10
10.18260/p.26244
https://peer.asee.org/26244
6047
Dr. Kerry Meyers holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education (B.S. & M.S. Mechanical Engineering) and is specifically focused on programs that influence student’s experience, affect retention rates, and the factors that determine the overall long term success of students entering an engineering program. She is the Director of the STEM College’s First-Year Engineering Program and formerly the director of First-Year Engineering at the University of Notre Dame). She is committed to the betterment of the undergraduate curriculum and is still actively involved in the classroom, teaching over half of the First-Year Engineering Students each semester.
Dr. Brett Conner is the Director of Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Initiatives and Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Youngstown State University. Dr. Conner has research interests in additive manufacturing of the following: multi-material systems, functional graded materials, shock and energy absorption applications, and economics of additive manufacturing. Dr. Conner had fifteen years of experience in government and industry prior to joining the faculty at YSU.
The current study is a work in progress. First-Year Engineering Students from a medium-sized, urban, public university took part in a semester long design project. The Honors Students (1 section or approximately 20% of the class) had an additional design project that utilized 3D print technologies. During the 2015-2016 school year the honors students worked in small groups to develop a concept that was then 3D printed for a design competition and then students had the opportunity to revise their design for a final design competition. Course instructors assessed the experience to better understand how the use of 3D printing technologies could be used as an educational method to teach the design process. Students participated in three anonymous surveys. The surveys were administered at: (1) the start of the fall semester to all students (honors and non-honors) for baseline data, (2) after the first 3D Print experience (a car), and (3) after the second 3D print experience (flying disc). Findings indicate that 3D Printing based projects are perceived to be both interesting and relevant by students; further there were no statistically significant differences between male and female or honors and non-honors students in terms of their prior experiences with the technology or in their interest in learning about the technology.
Meyers, K., & Conner, B. P., & Morgan, A. S. (2016, June), 3-D Printing in a First-Year Engineering Design Project Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26244
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