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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Nihad E. Daidzic; Vojin R. Nikolic

Presenting Science and Engineering Careers in a Unique and Appealing Way Nihad E. Daidzic and Vojin R. Nikolic Minnesota State University (MSU), Mankato, MN 56001 An original summer camp activity in the areas of aerospace/aeronautical engineering and aviation has been developed. A pilot version of the program was completed successfully in June 2007 at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The main objective of the program was to increase the awareness and interest among high school students for science and engineering careers. Through a series of short lectures and extensive hands-on demonstrations the attending

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Peter J. Cattelino; Lynn A. Artman; Susan Amato-Henderson; John B. Lehman; Brian Hannon

YES! Expo – Inspiring Youth to Pursue Education and Careers in Science and Engineering Peter J. Cattelino, Lynn A. Artman, Susan Amato-Henderson, John B. Lehman, and Brian G. Hannon Michigan Technological UniversityIntroductionOur nation faces a serious crisis of youth losing interest in Science, Technology, Engineering,and Math (STEM). Michigan and other technology and manufacturing centers have alreadysuffered significantly from this decline. Additionally, women and minorities are vastly under-represented in STEM fields. Until these trends are reversed, the nation will struggle to develop ahighly skilled and knowledgeable workforce for

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Susan Amato-Henderson; Jessica Mariano; Pete Cattelino; Brian Hannon

others can also impact self-efficacy, although to alesser degree than both mastery experiences and vicarious experiences (Pajares, 1997).Interestingly, Bandura (1986) found it was easier to weaken self-efficacy beliefs throughnegative appraisals than it was to strength them through positive appraisals. Finally, the impactof physiological states on self-efficacy is akin to perceiving the anxieties and fears aboutcapabilities as indicators of a lack of ability to succeed – higher emotional arousal in thissituation will lead to lower confidence or self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Research within the educational arena has established a relationship between self efficacyand college major and career choice, particularly in science and mathematics

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

William J. Sproule; William H. Leder

ADDING CONSULTING ENGINEERING TO THE CURRICULUM William J. Sproule and William H. Leder Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Michigan Technological UniversityIntroductionMany civil and environmental engineering students join consulting firms when theygraduate or join later in their career. If they start their careers with a government agencyor contractor they will undoubtedly work with consultants. Many students do notunderstand how a consulting firm operates but are attracted by the business aspects ofconsulting and management. In response to student requests and the opportunity toprovide an introduction to consulting engineering, a three-credit elective course

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Pasi T. Lautala; William J. Sproule

AN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM IN RAILROAD ENGINEERING Pasi T. Lautala and William J. Sproule Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Michigan Technological UniversityIntroductionThe railroad industry has identified a need for engineers as many will be retiring over thenext few years and freight traffic is projected to increase. The challenge for railroads isfinding engineers when careers in railroad engineering have been forgotten on mostuniversity campuses. Michigan Tech University saw a unique opportunity for a six-creditsummer program that includes an introductory course in railroad engineering, a course ina foreign language and culture, and a study abroad component

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Qingli (Barbara) Dai

captures and/or animation. Each team was evaluated on their ability to doparametric modeling, motion simulation, team work and effective presentations. Studentswere excited with PACE Competition by presenting their group achievements and theirCAD abilities to the judges and other classmates. This competition event also encouragedthem to pursue a career of mechanical design and manufacture in industries.BackgroundMichigan Technological University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) was selected to be partnership with General Motors,EDS, and Sun Microsystems in the PACE program for the Advancement ofCAD/CAM/CAE Education on August 30, 2000. The PACE program’s mission is tointegrate mathematics-based CAD/CAM/CAE

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Leonard Bohmann; Dana Johnson; Kris Mattila; Nilufer Onder; John Sutherland

Future Engineers: Leading the Charge in the Service Sector Leonard Bohmann, ljbohman@mtu.edu Dana Johnson, dana@mtu.edu Kris Mattila, mattila@mtu.edu Nilufer Onder, nilufer@mtu.edu John Sutherland, jwsuther@mtu.edu Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI 49931AbstractThe demand for engineers to support the service sector is growing, and academic programs areneeded to prepare students for these careers. This need was recognized at Michigan Tech and ledto a dynamic effort by faculty members from different

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Tamer Ceylan

hope that it could assist other engineering programs seeking accreditation or re-accreditation. INTRODUCTION All seven engineering programs at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville went through the ABET accreditation process recently. This paper summarizes observations and reflections of an engineering educator about this experience. The author has been familiar with the process as a result of six engineering accreditation visits in his academic career since 1982. The engineering accreditation process has eight criteria (Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2006). It would be a mistake to think that a program deemed good or even strong in the collective and subjective opinion of the program faculty should therefore be accreditable

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

James E. Hertel; Amy J. Hamlin

. Onemotive for this work is to obtain data to justify or challenge the constraints that a common first year engineeringprogram necessarily places on degree programs. In addition, results from this study may be useful in developingfirst year programs to better meet student needs.The choice of engineering major is both difficult and weighty. The young engineer needs tobalance several criteria; i.e., personal strengths and interests, program requirements, career andemployment opportunities, etc. Often, undergraduates do not have the information orintrospection to get the decision right on the first try (or, in some cases, on the second or thirdtry). As such, engineering schools have long adopted methods to help students reach a confidentcommitment

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

K. R. Haapala; M. J. Hutchins; J. L. Rivera; V. Kumar; A. R. Clarke; T. D. Eatmon; R. A. Harris; M. H. Durfee; J. R. Mihelcic; D. R. Shonnard; J. W. Sutherland

metadisciplinary understanding of sustainability and to become agents ofchange in their careers. Two new interdisciplinary courses (3-credits) were developed throughthe SF IGERT project by MTU and SUBR faculty. Sustainable Futures 1 focuses on the toolsand methods needed for policy evaluation and sustainability assessment (e.g., life cycle analysis)and concentrates on issues relevant to industrialized countries. Sustainable Futures 2 examinespolicy implications of sustainability, especially in the developing world. Completion of thesecourses is a requirement of the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability.1 The certificate alsorequires students to complete at least one course associated with each of the three pillars ofsustainability, i.e., environmental

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Qiong Zhang; Dana Johnson; James R. Mihelcic

understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic,environmental, and societal context” (ABET, 2002).Research experiences play an important role for students to learn and apply knowledge. Asfound in a survey (Lopatto, 2004), undergraduate research experience is an effective educationaltool to enhance student learning and increase the interest of students in careers in science and thelevel of pursuit of graduate education. Research teams in a collaborative environment allow forstudents from different disciplines to gain a broader understanding and view of project outcomes.Since cross-discipline interactions are one nature of sustainability science and engineering, Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE North Midwest

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Abulkhair Masoom; Fahmida Masoom

Department. The program has the following continuing goals, which directlysupport the mission of the College and the University: a. Prepare students for entrance into the professional engineering programs; b. Smooth the transition from high school to college for new freshmen in engineering through proper advising, schedule-building, counseling and monitoring; c. Assist freshmen and transfer students in career counseling related to both engineering and non-engineering fields; d. Recruit and retain high quality high school and transfer students interested in majoring in engineering with special emphasis on attracting women and minorities; and e. Maintain the high quality of instruction and professional development necessary to

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

David A. Rogers

from the immense variety available today.SAMPLE LECTURE CONTENTAppealing to Abraham Lincoln (1838) enriches the debate on the environment in the context ofdiscussion of provision for the common good of society. In his Lyceum speech he states hisconviction that Americans have the responsibility to transmit what they have been given to allfuture generations. Lincoln was speaking early in his career on the perpetuation of Americanpolitical institutions. In the opening of a very serious speech that through its publication helped Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE North Midwest Sectional Conferenceto awaken a broad interest in Lincoln the politician, Lincoln proclaims two responsibilities ofevery American citizen. The first is the

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

AnnMarie Polsenberg Thomas; J. Roxanne Prichard

areain which they believed there was a real need for better designed products for the elderly.Due to the generosity of our sponsor, the University of St. Thomas’ “Beyond Career toCalling” office, we were able to accept all 17 students who applied for the program. Thebreakdown of student participants was as follows. Major # Gender # Mechanical Engineering 8 Male 11 Electrical Engineering 1 Female 6 Mathematics 1 Expected # Psychology 6 Graduation Year Accounting

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

William S. Helton; Michele H. Miller; Robert Pastel

amounts for typical small projects is notsufficient to support more than one investigator and a couple of students. The refereesjudging the proposals do not have the breath of knowledge nor the patience for thecreative insight into complex systems that are required for understanding systemengineering. These are at least tales that are told to HF adventurers: “do not beinterdisciplinary; it will kill your career.” There may be a kernel of truth to these folktales; like Voodoo death, what people believe can have a real impact on them.The simple fact, however, is that most real problems cannot be solved by one discipline.Funding sources, such as the National Science Foundation, encourage interdisciplinarywork because it is necessary, and the

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Matthew Roberts; Philip Parker; Christina Curras; Michael Penn; Max Anderson

develop an area of competencyuseful to them in their future careers as citizen engineers. This theme requirement was in-spired by the curriculum ThreadsTM requirements employed by the College of Computing atthe Georgia Institute of Technology.7New Infrastructure Course(s)One goal of the revised curriculum is to create a new course (or series of courses) that intro-duces students to the infrastructure. The goals of the Introduction to Infrastructure class(es)and associated topics are shown below. Introduce students to civil engineering (including the history of civil engineering, the role of the civil engineer in society, and the concept of the infrastructure). • Field trips • Lab experiences • Field

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michele H. Miller; Kari L. Jordan

further develop problem solving and communication skills [19]. Inmechanical engineering programs, a component design course is traditional in the junior year. Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE North Midwest Sectional ConferencePenn State has attempted to improve its relevance by using open-ended design problems tointroduce component design topics [34]. Although the courses may not be dedicated to design,some design content has been added to many engineering science courses in the sophomore andjunior years. The University of Hartford has successfully incorporated design project workthroughout a students’ academic career [35].Hands-On LearningStudents learn by seeing, hearing, acting, reasoning, memorizing and visualizing. A