Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Frank M. Kelso

Pendulum Experiments for a Vibration Laboratory Frank M. Kelso, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering Department University of MinnesotaAbstractAn introductory course in vibration engineering naturally begins with the basic "building block"concepts on which a deeper understanding is built. The study of single degree of freedom lumpedparameter systems lays the conceptual groundwork needed for studying the behavior of multi-degree of freedom or continuous systems. The simplest single degree of freedom vibratorysystem is of course the pendulum. Pendulum problems illustrate basic vibration theory verynicely, providing a simple and

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

B. D. Braaten; D. A. Rogers; R. M. Nelson

ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF A MODERN RADIO-FREQUENCY (RF) AND MICROWAVE ENGINEERING LABORATORY B. D. BRAATEN1, D. A. ROGERS1 AND R. M. NELSON2 1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 2 Engineering and Technology Department University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie, WIINTRODUCTION AND HISTORYAt North Dakota State University the RF and Applied Electromagnetics Laboratory has beensignificantly upgraded in order to give undergraduate and graduate students

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Thomas F. Quinn; Ronald H. Brown; George F. Corliss

The GasDay Project at Marquette University: A Laboratory for Real-world Engineering and Business Experiences Thomas F. Quinn, Ronald H. Brown, and George F. Corliss Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Marquette UniversityAbstractThis paper presents Marquette University’s GasDay Project, a research activity that has beendeveloping natural gas demand forecasting models since 1993. The project provides studentswith opportunities for research and employment, and serves as a major technology transfer centerat Marquette by licensing software and forecasting models to energy companies across theUnited States. The project is part of the College

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Allen L. Jones

established, known as the “a” through “k” outcomes. Evaluation of outcome“b”, “a graduating student should have an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well asto analyze and interpret data” was accomplished using a well-designed rubric, as is the subject ofthis paper. The rubric was established and administered in CEE-346L, Geotechnical EngineeringLaboratory. The means of assessment was a particular laboratory experiment, One DimensionalConsolidation Test. The rubric consisted of several indicators in each of the categories: “1” –Below Expectation, “2” – Meets Expectation, and “3” – Exceeds Expectations, with a desiredmetric threshold score of 2 or greater. The rubric was applied to the entire class for the selectedlaboratory exercise during

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Robert W. Williams; Salam F. Rahmatalla

; Environmental Engineering students at the University ofIowa. At the end of each semester, students complete a survey to evaluate the condition of thelab, curriculum, and equipment, what they felt worked well and not so well, and to note any testsor materials that were not done which they would have liked to do. This evaluation was thensummarized and used to guide further development of the lab space and the curriculum. The useof the surveys together with significant equipment upgrades and purchases has led to asubstantial improvement in the lab experience for the students.Introduction As a “practical” profession, it can be argued that engineering is intrinsically hands-on,but at the undergraduate engineering education level, a solid laboratory

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Beckry Abdel-Magid

Empowering Undergraduates to Design and Conduct Experiments and Attain Outcome 3b of the ABET Engineering Criteria Beckry Abdel-Magid Department of Composite Materials Engineering, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987. Beckry@winona.eduAbstractTwo approaches of incorporating design of experiments in an undergraduate laboratory courseare presented in this paper. The first approach consisted of a semi-structured design ofexperiment project with prescribed experimental procedure, and the second approach consistedof an open-ended design project where students had to develop, justify and execute anexperimental program. Comparison and contrast

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Eric S. Musselman; Andrea J. Schokker

to the scaling back of laboratory and hands on courses and components [1].Within the development of the curriculum at UMD it was decided early on that there was a needfor a program that emphasized practical, hands on learning while still including the technical 2010 ASEE North Midwest Sectional Conferenceskills and fundamental knowledge that is required to be a successful engineer. In addition tothere being a need for this type of program, it was thought that having an intensive hands-onprogram would result in graduates who are better prepared to enter the workforce. Thejustification being that even if you are employed as a design engineer, the more practicalknowledge you have about what you are designing or where

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Harry C. Petersen

-to Face ClassesEach class included a final student assessment survey to monitor class delivery and effectiveness.A majority of students surveyed indicated a slight preference for on-line courses, but manypreferred traditional face-to-face classes; and we found that almost all of these students couldmeet on campus. The type of class affected on-line student learning and preferences. Classeswith little or no laboratory content, such as Industrial Safety (MET 424) and Manufacturing Proceedings of the 2010 ASEE North Midwest Sectional ConferenceResource Planning and Control (MET 407) gave results similar to or slightly better than face-to-face classes (See Figure 2): Instructional Evaluation MET

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Srinivasulu Sykam; Gale Allen

thank Dr. William Hudson, ECET Department Chair, for his efforts to helpimprove the communications laboratory and for his ongoing encouragement and support of studentsand faculty. Also the staff of National Instruments provided valuable guidance on operation of theRF instruments and LabVIEW programming.Minnesota Center for Excellence in Engineering & Manufacturing and National Instruments forsupporting acquisition of the NI RF equipment.References[1]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_harmonic_distortion[2]. http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/tubestuf/thdconv.htm[3]. ww.geappliances.com/email/lighting/specifier/downloads/Total_Harmonic_Distortion.pdf[4]. http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/print/p/lang/en/nid/203069[5]. http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Vincent Winstead

Integrating Hardware and Software Filtering in Embedded System Audio Data Processing: An Embedded Systems Course Project Vincent Winstead Minnesota State University, MankatoAbstractThis paper describes a course laboratory project for an embedded systems course. Theproject is intended to provide a real world embedded development task for the students toaccomplish in a few week time using a predefined microcontroller and suggested circuitcomponents. The task combines audio sound recording, off-processor storage andfiltered audio data replay. The paper includes a brief summary of the course conceptsand the particular topics related to the

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Melanie I. Cashin; Saeed Moaveni

Professionals: This course is designed tointroduce and develop the skills and knowledge necessary to create and present effective publiccommunication of technical content for a technical or general audience.In addition to these courses, students are required to write laboratory and design project reportsin many of their mechanical engineering courses such as Introduction to Problem Solving andDesign (ME 201), Engineering Analysis (ME 291), Mechanical Engineering Experimentation I(ME 336), Mechanical Engineering Experimentation II (ME 436), Mechanical EngineeringExperimentation III (ME 446), Mechanical Engineering Design Project I (ME 428), andMechanical Engineering Design Project II (438). During the senior year, students also arerequired to take the

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Joseph Dobmeier; Joseph Gehrke; Matthew Simones; Patrick Tebbe

, tocalculate the variables of interest. Defining the model drew upon knowledge gained in juniorlevel courses such as Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, and Thermodynamics as well as theelectives: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Thermal/Fluid Systems Design. Extensiveuse was made of the spreadsheet program Microsoft Excel combined with programming writtenin Visual BASIC for Applications. During coursework, particularly laboratory sections, simplecharts and calculations are made with Excel but the scope and complexity of this project went farbeyond what is typically expected in an undergraduate course. Overall, the individual tasksperformed in this phase of the project deviated from traditional classroom instruction the least;yet it was also the

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Waddah Akili

. They should share the work load, and share the credit. Thus promoting each others’ learning. Accountability- Each student’s role and performance is to be assessed, and the results are those of the group (and for the group). Keeping track of the contribution and knowledge gained by each member could be monitored, as well, by either testing each and every student in the group, or by randomly selecting a group member (or members) to be tested, and thus proxy for the group. Sharing known skills- Students who possess certain knowledge or skills (examples: computer skills, laboratory skills, data reduction skills, presentation skills) should be willing

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Waddah Akili

contribution and knowledge gained by each member could be monitored, as well, by either testing every student in the group, or by randomly selecting a group member to be tested and thus proxy for the group. Sharing known skills- Students who possess certain skills (examples: computer skills, laboratory skills, data reduction skills, presentation skills) should be willing to pass it on, and/or share it with their group members. Collaborative Skills- Groups cannot function effectively if members do not have (be willing to learn) or use some needed social skills. These skills include leadership, decision making, trust building, and conflict management. Monitoring Progress- Groups need to discuss amongst each other whether they are