Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yul Chu, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

2006-12: A CLASS PROJECT FOR LOW-POWER CACHE MEMORYARCHITECTUREYul Chu, Mississippi State University Page 11.14.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 A Class Project for Low-Power Cache Memory ArchitectureAbstract This paper presents a class project for a graduate-level computer architecture course. The goalof the project is to let students (two or three students per team) understand the concept ofcomputer hardware and how to design a simple low-power cache memory for future processors.The project consists of three different tasks: 1) Design - Designing a low-power cache memory(instruction or data) at the abstract level after literature research; 2) Code

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

of a Java certification guidebook in a third quarter introductoryprogramming course; the students have previously had two quarters of instruction in the C++programming language. The guidebook, "A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification," byMughal and Rasmussen,1 was used in conjunction with a traditional textbook to provide acomplete treatment over the course material. This guidebook was written to provide coverageover the certification objectives of the Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform(SCPJ2) 1.4 Exam. However, the preface to the book makes it clear that it is not meant to be acomplete Java reference, nor is it meant to be a book on teaching one how to program. Instead, itemphasizes the salient features of the Java

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raymond Jacquot, University of Wyoming; Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Robert Kubichek, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

ago been deleted from the required curriculum. Withnew emphasis on communication systems and integrated circuits, the topic of transmission linesis more important than ever, although the context has changed. In many cases, the topic oftransmission lines has become part of the remaining required electromagnetics course.1 Usuallythis coverage is limited to sinusoidally driven lossless lines and propagation of suddenly appliedD.C. signals on lossless lines.Since transmission lines are distributed parameter systems, it is difficult to visualize the voltageand current on the line from analytical solutions. Many of our students are graphical learners andthus computer graphics may provide enhanced student learning. The authors have developedMATLAB

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Maixner, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Figures 1 and 2, andare framed in blue. Column A contains the values of entropy, one of two independent variables.Enthalpies (the dependent variable) are depicted in the remaining columns: • Column B: the second independent property here is quality. To the right of the critical point, a value of x = 1.0 is used (saturated vapor); to the left of the critical point, a value of x = 0 is employed (saturated liquid). Note that the cells associated with the critical point are highlighted in blue. When plotted versus the entropy values, this column produces the so-called “vapor dome.” • Column C: quality is the second independent property here, as specified in the gold “quality” cell. To the right of the critical

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Barrett, University of Wyoming; Daniel Pack, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

several areas ofthe criteria [1].As future engineers, our students must recognize the tremendous responsibility they havedesigning devices, products, and projects that will interact and be used by the public atlarge, in some cases dealing directly with human lives. Often testing is relegated to arequirement that must be accomplished as part of a laboratory assignment or for asoftware project. A student, who will remain anonymous, provided a seemingly typicalfeeling concerning testing and test plans, “oh yeah, I have to do a test plan for thisproject…I’ll throw something together to satisfy the assignment.” Students frequentlyview the test plan as a separate assignment they must complete without considering thesystem they are designing. We believe

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mario Garcia, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

2006-343: SQL INJECTION ATTACKS AND PREVENTION TECHNIQUESMario Garcia, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Page 11.1145.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 SQL Injection Attacks and Prevention TechniquesAbstractDatabases introduce a number of unique security requirements for their users and administrators.On one hand, databases are designed to promote open and flexible access to data. On the otherhand, it’s this same open access that makes databases vulnerable to many kinds of maliciousactivity 1. One of the main issues faced by database security professionals is avoiding inferencecapabilities. Structured Query Language (SQL) injection is a

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Bower, Kansas State University-Salina

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

semester the course was offered, two projects usingLinux kernel modules were used. The idea for using Linux kernel modules started with asuggested lab assignment from Gary Nutt’s book on kernel project’s for Linux.6 The labintroducing students to Linux kernel modules was enhanced with information from the LinuxKernel Module Programming Guide,1 which is available on the Internet. Based on informationavailable in the Linux Kernel Module Programming Guide, a device driver lab was alsodeveloped. For the second semester that the course was offered, in the fall 2005 semester, it wasdecided to take advantage of the kernel module’s ability to read global data, so additionalprojects were developed which dealt with process control blocks and virtual

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clark Merkel, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; David Fisher, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

of the unit. A typical Pico PLC unit is shown in figure 1.In order to make this PLC a stand alone unit for use in our classroom, we mounted eachunit on an electrical box and wired it through both a 1 amp fuse and a circuit interrupteroutlet to a standard three prong electrical connector. This could be connected to any 120VAC power socket. This provided a safe and mobile PLC unit which could be poweredeasily and used in the lab, the classroom, or at a remote site. This mount is shown inFigure 2. Figure 1. Pico PLC Figure 2: Mounted PLC Unit. Page 11.107.3 “Proceedings of the 2006 American Society for Engineering

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hassouneh Al-Matar, Oklahoma State University; Afshin Ghajar, Oklahoma State University; Ronald Delahoussaye, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

available to all.Motivation for the Project Before starting this project, the authors were aware of many existing software options forcomputer based heat transfer analysis. Unfortunately, all of them had major drawbacks for ourpurposes. There are professional level programs that can perform highly detailed heat transfer andfluid flow analysis, and most are available at a substantial educational discount. These programshave three major drawbacks: they are not designed to teach numerical heat transfer analysis; thetime required to learn to use these programs is substantial; and the cost to individual students isstill fairly high. Many heat transfer textbooks (see for example References 1 and 2) now include softwareaimed at

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Louis Plebani, Lehigh University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

students in operations research to focus their learning on the power of dynamicprogramming, as opposed to the nuances of computer implementations.IntroductionSince the formulation of Dynamic programming (DP) by Bellman,1 it has been successfullyapplied to a variety of problems, including capacity planning, equipment replacement,production planning, production control, assembly line balancing and capital budgeting(hundreds of articles referring to the use of dynamic programming are given in Sniedovichand Cole7 ). Despite seemingly successful, dynamic programming has not been adaptednearly as readily, and thus successfully, as its mathematical programming counterpartssuch as linear and integer programming. Some of the reasons for this are the lack

Conference Session

Issues in Digital Signal Processing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; David Mares, University of Wyoming; Steven Barrett, University of Wyoming; Thad Welch, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Abstract Students interested in biomedical instrumentation and the signal processing of biomed- ical signals are sometimes at a disadvantage compared to a traditional electrical engineering student. They often have not had as many courses or as rigorous a treatment of many of the foundational topics important to instrumentation and signal processing. To help rectify this situation, we created a two-course bioengineering sequence that makes extensive use of LabVIEW and ELVIS from National Instruments and various BIOPAC products. This pa- per includes a description of the courses, the associated lab exercises, student responses, and recommendations.1 IntroductionA new, two-course sequence in biomedically

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Asad Azemi, Pennsylvania State University; Laura L. Pauley

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

. This work describes our experience at the DelawareCounty Campus of Penn State. It covers a brief discussion about the role and benefits ofsimulation software packages, our reasons for considering this change, three different coursestructures that have been used including topics covered and weekly schedules, sampleprogramming assignments, challenges and problems associated with this approach, students’reaction, and finally our recommendations for those who are considering adapting a similarcourse.III. The role and benefits of simulation software packagesThe benefits of using simulation software packages, such as Matlab, in various engineeringcourses have long been realized by many educators, e.g. [1]-[8]. One of the main advantages ofusing

Conference Session

Computers in Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Will Humphries, Virginia Tech; Justin Gawrilow, Virginia Tech; Manuel Perez-Quinones, Virginia Tech; Scott Turner, Virginia Tech; Stephen Edwards, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

electronic grade book of a popular Course Management System (Moodle).This paper discusses the motivations for our work, the qualities of performance identified, theimplemented visualizations, and an initial evaluation of their utility.1. IntroductionMany professors frequently hear questions from their students regarding their performance in a course.Students often want to know what grade they have so far, what their likely final grade will be in thecourse, how they are doing in comparison with their peers, etc. It is important for students to self-assessand to have a grounded understanding of their actual performance in a class. Yet students rarely seem toget such an understanding just by looking at their assignment scores. Some students bring

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Lord, University of San Diego; Leonard Perry, University of San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

class sizes of less than twenty students. We will discuss ourexperiences and lessons learned in moving from “traditional” methods such as blackboard,transparencies or PowerPoint on a laptop PC to digital ink on a Tablet PC. The followingpresentation methods will be discussed: 1. Blackboard/Whiteboard 2. Transparencies 3. PowerPoint on laptop 4. PowerPoint on Tablet PC 5. Classroom Presenter on Tablet PCAdvantages and disadvantages of the various methods will be considered. Student comments onthe various presentation methods will also be included.Various Presentation MethodsA number of different methods are commonly used by engineering educators. In terms of format

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Carroll, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

designtechniques rest. Without a thorough understanding of asynchronous design techniques, thereasons for constraints imposed by less thorough techniques remain a mystery. Flip-flops areNOT fundamental circuit components, as is taught in introductory courses. Flip-flops aredesigned from more elementary components using asynchronous techniques. The purpose forthis paper is to remind digital circuit designers that to understand fully the principles they use intheir designs, they must apply knowledge of asynchronous sequential circuit design.BasicsSequential circuits, or finite state machines, are designed around the templates shown on the nextpage. Figure 1 shows the template for synchronous circuits, where the memory in the circuits isimplemented with flip

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harish Eletem, Lamar University; Fred Young, Lamar University; Kendrick Aung, Lamar University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

present project therefore is an effort todevelop a much more comprehensive Compressible Fluid Flow Solver (CFFS) intended forclassroom and educational use.Objectives of the paperIn the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University, compressible flow course isan elective course typically offered in the spring semester of each year. It is a three-credit hourclass with three 1-hour lectures per week. This paper describes the development of a web-basesolver for compressible flows using Java programming language. The main goal of the solver isto provide students with a software tool that can be used in the compressible flow course. Themain objectives of the project are (a) To design and develop a compressible flow solver (b) To test and

Conference Session

Computers in Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Jones, Southwest Tennessee Community College; James M. Northern, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

exercises and presentations to thecourses help develop those skills. Figure 1 shows students collaboratively working on a Page 11.1417.2problem. Figure 2 shows one of the student’s classroom presentations. Wireless tablet PCs are asignificant contributor to enabling the Engineering Technology Department’s ability to provide aquality education to its students and achieving its commitments and educational outcomes. Figure 1. Students collaborating on a problem. Figure 2. An example of a student presentation.Research demonstrates the ability of tablet PCs to improve teaching and learning at all levels

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Holden, San Francisco State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

[1], which allows students to focus on the system design rather than theindividual components.Mechatronics is primarily a systems design field [2], and like most complex systems,mechatronic designs can be improved through computer simulation. The simulation is used forseveral purposes: it ties the sensor electronics, control algorithm and actuator model together; itreinforces the mathematical concepts behind state-space models and state-space control, and itteaches the value of design by simulation, especially when the students must build the systemfrom their numerical model as part of a lab.The class design is novel in that the separate topics of sensors and signal conditioning,controllers and programming, and actuators are united in the

Conference Session

Computers in Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Reising, University of Evansville

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

0.2 0.2 dbinom( k , n , p ) dbinom( k , n , p ) 0.1 0.1 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 k

Conference Session

Issues in Digital Signal Processing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Murat Tanyel, Geneva College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

demonstration of a novel idea for envelopedetection of AM signals. Section II will provide a summary of amplitude modulation andenvelope detection of AM signals as well as recent developments in envelope detection andrelated fields. Section III will present the method of sampling the AM signal for envelopedetection, present a mathematical analysis of the proposed process and demonstrate thefeasibility of this method with the toolkit. Section IV will conclude with a discussion of thetoolkit as well as comments on hardware implementation.II. Envelope Detection of AM SignalsAn AM signal, s(t), is given by s(t) = Ac [1+ m(t)]cos ω c t (1)where m(t) is the modulating (or message) signal, Ac and ωc are amplitude and

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Rutkowski, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

2006-816: ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS FOR ENGINEERSGregory Rutkowski, University of Minnesota-Duluth Dr. Gregory Rutkowski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Page 11.527.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Electronic Portfolios for Engineers What is a portfolio? The Oxford English Dictionary 1 defines a portfolio as “a) Areceptacle or case for keeping loose sheets of paper, prints, drawings, maps, music, or the like;usually in the form of a large book-cover, and sometimes having sheets of paper fixed in it

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eugene Ressler, U.S. Military Academy; Stephen Ressler, U.S. Military Academy; Catherine Bale, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Engineering a Nationwide Engineering Design ContestAbstractThis paper concerns problems solved and lessons learned while conducting the West PointBridge Design Contest,1 with a focus on the design of technology support and operations behindthe scenes. The contest is a nationwide, Internet-based competition for teams of one or twostudents, age 13 through grade 12, culminating in a final round with large cash prizes. In 2006the contest is in its fifth year. We have previously reported it as a means of engineeringoutreach.2 This work, on the other hand, is technical, concerning the engineering behind thecontest that allows it to be run by a half-time administrator and two college faculty

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Naveen Nattam, Purdue University; Kermin Martinez-Hernandez, Purdue University; Doug Danforth, Purdue University; Steve Emberton, Purdue University; Ryan Pedela, Purdue University; Eugene Elkin, Purdue University; Carlos Morales, Purdue University; Kellen Maicher, Purdue University; Gabriela Weaver, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

identification of the motivational elements in video gamedesign and the use of these elements in conjunction with pedagogical techniques toinform the creation of educational video games that are truly engaging to players. In thecourse of conducting that research, our team elected to create a game to teach chemistryconcepts. The game was created using a production process in which game designers,artists, programmers, and subject matter experts colloboratively build the game. Thispaper focuses on the pre-production work of this team. In other words, the conceptualdesign of the chemistry and non-chemistry challenges, as well as the design of the gameconcepts. Figure 1 illustrates the process and composition of the team

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Filsinger, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

tasks could beincorporated into the inputs used for a rule-based expert system. Such hybrid systems can befound in many interesting applications, such as robotics. Interpreted sensor data forms part ofthe basis on which the robot will make decisions about what action to take.The following is an ordered list of topics for a ten-week course in artificial intelligence andexpert systems based around such applications: 1. possibilities and limitations of AI 2. predicate and first-order logic 3. resolution and inference 4. simple rule-based expert systems 5. probabilistic extensions and Bayesian inference 6. fuzzy extensions and approximate reasoning 7. pattern recognition – classification

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank Pietryga, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, 2006 Animation of a Power System Using PowerWorld SimulatorAbstractDuring the junior year, the electrical engineering technology students are required to complete anintroductory course in power systems analysis and design. Historically, this course waspresented without requiring the use of the personal computer. This past year, the PowerWorldSimulator software 1, packaged with the text book 2 was incorporated. With the power systemanalysis software, the student was given the capability to model complex power systemsconsisting of generators, transmission lines, and rotating/non-rotating loads. The software wascapable of performing a load flow analysis of a power system. Also, the students could analyzevarious types of faults for

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Josephson, Tuskegee University; Jaya Krishnagopalan, Tuskegee University; Nader Vahdat, Tuskegee University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

appreciative of the concept is to ask them to generate a column ofnumbers in series, e.g., from 1 to 100. Students unclear on the concept will simply manuallyenter in the numbers (or start to, before they realize that there must be an easier way!) whilethose who have learned how to make use of relative references will quickly determine that thebest course of action is to copy a formula that generates a value of 1 more than that of the data inthe preceding cell.Finally the students are taught advanced cell reference techniques, namely the use of absolutereferences. In Excel this is done by using the $ character in the cell reference; e.g., $D$3 is anabsolute reference and, if embedded in a copied formula, any new formula will still refer to thecell in

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Roberts, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Christina Curras, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Philip Parker, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, Allows the instructor to create homework sets efficiently, Allows the instructor to create homework sets that are unique from sets created in previous semesters, Allows the instructor to create homework sets that focus equally on the various sub- disciplines of civil engineering, and Page 11.53.2 Is easily updated.Database DesignThe main table of the homework problems database is the “Problem” table, which is illustratedwith its relationships to other tables in Figure 1. The design of the database allows thefollowing: • Each problem can have an author (linked to a separate author table using the

Conference Session

Mobile Robotics in Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ahlgren, Trinity College; Igor Verner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

projects [1],robot contests provide students with experience of social interaction. Such experience isconsidered in education as an essential component of student cognitive development [2].With rapidly increasing level of sophistication and reliability of robots required by the contests,robotics educators are developing new approaches to design, implementation, and evaluation ofeffective robotics curricula and dissemination of best practices of robotics education. This paperconsiders one of the aspects of robotics education; namely, understanding science andengineering concepts acquired through learning-by-doing activities in the robot project. Weemphasize the need for student understanding of knowledge acquired through a robot project andpropose

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raluca Rosca, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Page 11.876.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Learning MATLAB- just in time or freshman year?AbstractThe report describes an initiative to introduce MATLAB to the students of the Mechanical andAerospace Engineering Department (MAE) at University of Florida. It contains a comparisonof the effectiveness of a tutorial series open to students in all years versus an incorporation ofthe material in the 1-credit EML 4920 Professional Orientation course (incoming freshmen andtransfer students section). The topics covered in both Fall and Spring semester 2005 arepresented, followed by student population information, student opinions and instructorrecommendation.History/MotivationThe College of Engineering has a site

Conference Session

Issues in Digital Signal Processing

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Michael Morrow, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Thad Welch, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

logic for control/programming of the modulator.This paper will detail the hardware and software issues associated with this system and brieflydescribe the classroom utilization of this system in an undergraduate environment.1 IntroductionThe convergence of digital communications and digital signal processing is gaining emphasis inmany engineering colleges today. The implementation of these communication systems usingboth high performance digital signal processors (DSPs) and field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs) is nothing new. In general, these concepts and techniques can be discussed under theumbrella term of software defined radio (SDR). To understand a SDR, one needs to understand