Conference Session

Back to Basics in Mechanics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Martinazzi, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown; Brian Houston, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

points added to their final coursepercentage was welcomed by the students and did serve to motivate them to assist the authors incoming up with some novel ideas. Any student team who did not choose to participate was notpenalized in any manner, but very few teams chose this latter option. The students were given a week to develop their ideas. They were required to presenttheir suggestions in a formal written format to be evaluated by the instructors. After all of theproposed reengineered quiz ideas were evaluated, 33% of the students earned 2% points to beadded to their final grade, 54% earned 1% point, and 13% of the students did not receive anybonus points for their efforts. Names were chosen by the instructors to best illustrate

Conference Session

Assessing Design Coursework

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Asli Sahin, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech; Timothy Simpson, Pennsylvania State University; Steven Shooter, Bucknell University; Robert Stone, University of Missouri-Rolla

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

’ perceptions about the case assignments collected via survey methods. In the analysis,the instructional efficiencies of the case studies were defined in the form of a ratio of threecarefully selected outputs (assignment appropriateness, clarity, and effectiveness) to a singleinput variable (assignment technical complexity). The DEA model has shown that Case 2 isalmost twice as efficient as Case 1 with respect to the students’ experience with the caseassignments. Presenting the concepts of function-based family design, component sharing, andmodularity along with customer needs-driven approaches and decision-making appeared to beinstructionally more intuitive and cognitively more complete for the students.A major outcome of this research is an improved

Conference Session

Teaching Innovation in Arch Engineering II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Erich Connell, East Carolina University; David Batie, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

collaborativecourse were described on the poster. (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Course information posterEach faculty member taught the issues related to their discipline. The specific topicscovered in the course were; Values of designers and design process, Issues facingLandscape Architecture, Problems from an Interior Design perspective, Tools utilized Page 11.284.4for Communications in the Built Environment, Ethics, Professionalism, Values andLegal obligations, Professional Interrelationships, and Technology’s impact on the futureof Design Professionals. Presentations were rotated in sequenced to have each disciplinepresent once, then

Conference Session

Teaching with Technology in Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Honghui Yu, The City College of New York; Feridun Delale, The City College of New York

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

for the course and instructor evaluation, student feedbackappears to be very positive. Introduction Mechanics of Materials (MoM) is the first course in solid mechanics, which coversstress, deformation and strength of simple shaped members, and their applications.Topics include concepts of stress and strain, uni-axial loading, torsion, beam bending,column buckling and stress/strain transformation, etc. As a mandatory course, it has farreaching effects in students’ future learning and career development. Since the introduction of Timoshenko’s book, [1] Strength of Materials, the subject Page 11.839.2has become

Conference Session

Student Misconceptions and Problem Solving Abiltiy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ruth Streveler, Colorado School of Mines; Monica Geist, University of Northern Colorado; Ravel Ammerman, Colorado School of Mines; Candace Sulzbach, Colorado School of Mines; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Barbara Olds, National Science Foundation and Colorado School of Mines; Mary Nelson, University of Colorado

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

concepts in electric circuits andengineering mechanics do students find difficult to learn?” and “How can we describe students’mental models of the concepts identified in question 1?” This paper discusses the process used toidentify difficult concepts in engineering mechanics and electric circuits, the results of thatidentification process, and the results of interviews to uncover the mental models engineeringstudents use to explain these concepts. This study, part of the Center for the Advancement inEngineering Education’s “Scholarship of Learning Engineering” element, builds on previouswork in thermal and transport science and allows comparisons among difficult concepts inchemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical

Conference Session

Innovations in Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adel Shirmohammadi, University of Maryland-College Park; Arthur Johnson, University of Maryland-College Park

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

to later career life. For the instructor,grouping students reduces the amounts of assignments to be graded. For both, groups promotecooperative learning and enhance speed and thoroughness of communications from the instructorto students. Changes in assignments or schedules are more confidently communicated as long asgroup members assist by telling other group members. Perhaps most importantly, the quality ofprepared submissions is improved if group members represent a diverse range of skills andexperiences from which to draw.Chadha and Nicholls (2006) emphasize the need for teaching transferable skills to students.They highlight several definitions for “transferable skills” as follows: 1. “skills that are developed within one

Conference Session

Preparing Engr Students for International Practice

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rosalyn Hobson, Virginia Commonwealth University

Tagged Divisions

International

U.S. Page 11.1326.2is answering and can answer the call for help to find solutions.IntroductionThe role of science, technology, and innovation in international development has been the focusof several recent studies, including ones produced by the National Academy of Science,1 theWorld Bank,2 The RAND Corporation,3 the InterAcademy Council4 and the United NationsMillennium Project.5 These studies all cite the importance of science and technology inaddressing development challenges. A number of the issues are engineering related and thusrequire engineering solutions. In addition there are a number of engineering competitions inwhich development problems are

Conference Session

FPD5 -- Placement & Early Success

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mwarumba Mwavita, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

unprecedented level of national interest.The 2003 National Science Foundation report emphasized that Science and technology willcontinue to be the engines of the US economic growth and national security 1. The report furtherindicates serious problems lying ahead that may threaten U.S. long-term prosperity and nationalsecurity. Among various trends is a reduced domestic student interest in critical areas, such asengineering and the physical and mathematical sciences1. Future projections indicate thatemployment in engineering and science will increase by 51 percent or approximately 1.9 millionjobs by the year 2008. 2 Numerous studies have examined plausible explanations and factors contributing to dropoutrates among engineering students in many of the

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas Scambilis, Sinclair Community College; Jennifer Wise, Sinclair Community College

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

accreditation criteria and promoted “assessment” as a way-of-life for the institution. The new way-of –life was to think: “Does the program meet the stated outcomes? Are the objectives being met?” In August, 2005 the Sinclair Community College Environmental Engineering Technology (EVT) and the Safety Engineering Technology (SET) Programs were accredited by the Technical Accreditation Commission of ABET (TAC-ABET)1. This paper describes the process that the Environmental Engineering Technology (EVT) and the Safety Engineering Technology (SET) Departments went through to achieve accreditation. The process involved four steps as detailed in Section IV. The steps include: • Request for evaluation • Self Study

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lashun King, Tennessee State University; Thomas Byl, U.S. Geological Survey; Roger Painter, Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

shown how the method can be applied to karst aquifers.Photo 1. Students run classic residence time distribution studies using a variety of non-ideal flow reactorsin the lab. TSU has also developed bench-scale flow-through reactors that simulate the hydrauliccharacteristics of karst groundwater flow. These reactors are used to teach students how tocalculate RTD (photo 1). Next, karst groundwater from the Ft. Campbell site is used to developrates of fuel biodegradation using batch reactors (photo 2). Next, karst water with bacteria areplaced in the flow-through system to study the efficacy of indigenous bacteria in biodegradationunder non-ideal flow conditions. Concurrent with the third set of experiments, students arechallenged with

Conference Session

Faculty Development: Tenure & Promotion

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Micah Hale, University of Arkansas; Findlay Edwards, University of Arkansas; Norman Dennis, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

paperprovides the young faculty member guidance in obtaining that evidence and compiling itinto their tenure dossier.BackgroundYour tenure dossier summarizes the first six years of your academic career and is dividedinto three sections; teaching, research, and service. Tenure dossiers can differ dependingon your type of institution. Hoback and Dutta surveyed civil engineering chairs in 1999and their findings showed that research activities are more highly valued as the number ofdoctoral students increase.1 At baccalaureate universities, tenure dossiers focus on Page 11.1021.2teaching and service. At research (or doctoral) universities, the emphasis is on

Conference Session

Program Delivery Methods and Real World Concepts

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Plemmons

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

addresses the requirements for Outcome 13 in the following statement, “Outcome 13(includes “understanding the elements of project management”) should be taken to Level 1(recognition) in the B and/or M/30.” The “B and/or M/30” refers to a Bachelors degree and/or aMaster’s degree or 30 credits, and represents to the total post-secondary education expected tofulfill the requirements for professional licensing and practice in civil engineering4.Level 1 or recognition is associated with the lower two levels of Blooms Taxonomy -Knowledge (memorization and recall) and comprehension. Knowledge “consists of facts,conventions, definitions, jargon, technical terms, classifications, categories, and criteria.Knowledge is necessary but not sufficient for solving

Conference Session

Innovative Lower Division Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Srikanth Pidugu, University of Arkansas-Little Rock; Swaminadham Midturi, University of Arkansas-Little Rock

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

for careers in industrialenergy sector.1. Introduction The U.S. Department of Energy, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Department ofLabor and other professional organizations have recognized the need for well-educated and well-trained workforce to meet the need of the changing U.S manufacturing industries. Therecognized competency gaps in today’s work force, according to the Manufacturing EducationFoundation [1], are: low level education, minimal skills to cope with high tech gadgets, lack ofmotivation for technical careers, poor communication skills, poor work ethics, unawareness ofjob opportunities, lack of adaptive skills, low skills in the use of energy related software, and lowlevel knowledge in the use of instruments for

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin Bower, The Citadel; Kenneth Brannan, The Citadel; William Davis, The Citadel

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Civil Engineers (ASCE) developedand adopted the Policy Statement 465 entitled “Academic Prerequisites for Licensure andProfessional Practice.” This document establishes a framework for some major changesin the education of civil engineers with the long-term goal that, at some unspecified timein the future, civil engineering candidates for professional registration would be requiredto obtain a baccalaureate degree plus 30 additional hours of gradate work (B+M/30) priorto obtaining licensure [1]. Due to the considerable impact this implementation of policystatement would have on engineering education, ASCE established the first Body ofKnowledge (BOK) committee to help develop and refine the idea presented in the policy

Conference Session

Capstone Courses II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Fernandez, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering Constituent Committee

(%) 100.0 85.2 68.2 32.3 Design reviews (%) 100.0 100.0 77.3 77.4 Code reviews (%) 95.8 74.1 81.8 71.0 Table 1. Projects (%) of Various Worldwide Companies Using Designated PracticesBy reviewing the data in Table 1, it seems reasonable to see why U.S. companies may feel comfortablewith outsourcing of software development to other countries. Outsourcing research appears to indicatethat computer science and information technology curricula lack sufficient experience and education inthe area of software design9. Programmers graduating from off shore universities which appear toemphasize this experience and education are an

Conference Session

Network Administration and Security

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farid Farahmand, Central Connecticut State University; Veeramuthu Rajaravivarma, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

demonstrations and briefly outline our future plansfor more sophisticated benchmarks and graphical features for Paloma to improve itseducational aspect.IntroductionToday’s ever-growing demand for information and services has led academic andindustrial communities to seek for high computing power at reasonable cost. The desirefor higher computational power may be due to many reasons, such as real timeconstraints (completing a task within a certain time period), throughput (processing manyrelated tasks together), or memory (delivering an efficient way to provide large amount ofmemory) [1]. Thus, the computer intensive applications are no longer limited to a fewscientific communities. In fact, emerging commercial applications such as simulatingmechanical

Conference Session

Electrical ET Curriculum

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Neal Widmer, Purdue University; Richard Furtner, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

2006-1672: TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND THE NEW FRONTIER OFDIGITAL ELECTRONICSRichard Furtner, Purdue UniversityNeal Widmer, Purdue University Page 11.1241.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 1 Technology Education and the New Frontier of Digital Electronics N. Widmer R. Furtner Purdue UniversityAbstractThroughout the ages, man has learned, discovered and built using the resources available at thetime. Education is about providing the knowledge and

Conference Session

Innovative Curriculum & non-Technical Skills

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Khan, DeVry University-Addison; Barbara Eichler, DeVry University; John Morello, DeVry University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

, modeling, and flow charts.Such approaches promote not only concept and practical awareness but also lead toconstructivist understanding of macro and micro problems of present and futuretechnologies and issues. Page 11.608.2I. IntroductionThe accomplishments of the 20th century are revolutionizing science and technology inthe 21st century. Researchers have gained ability to measure, manipulate and organizematter on nanoscale --- 1 to 100 billionths of a meter. At the nanoscale, physics,chemistry, material science, biology and engineering converge towards commonprinciples, mechanisms and tools. This convergence of multiple-disciplines will lead to

Conference Session

Software Engineering Curriculum Components

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Lutz, Rochester Institute of Technology; Gregory Hislop, Drexel University; Mark Sebern, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

the Software Engineering Body ofKnowledge project (SWEBOK) 1 was released, so SWEBOK provided the initial framework forthe project. The module categories in the prototype web site – design, process, quality, andrequirements – corresponded directly to major focus areas of SWEBOK. Page 11.1125.2More recently, the Computing Curriculum in Software Engineering (SE 2004) 2 became availableand influenced the development of the SWENET project. SE 2004 gave rise to a more detailedbody of knowledge for education. This software engineering education body of knowledge (orSEEK) had the advantages of (a) relating directly to the mission of SWENET, and (b

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Ziegler, State University of New York-Binghamton University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, each of the various systemsconsist of similar hardware, software, and functionality. The examples shown are based on theH-ITT2 system.Each student purchases a hand-held wireless transmitter similar to a television remote control, asshown in Figure 1. Each transmitter has a unique identification (ID) number that distinguishes itfrom all other transmitters. The H-ITT transmitters consist of 13 keys, A-J or 0-9, and 3 specialpurpose keys. The transmitters utilize infrared (IR) technology, have a range of 90 feet, andoperate on one 9-volt battery. Prices for students (from sampled vendors) range from $5 to $40depending on bundling options, rebates, access fees, etc. The H-ITT system transmitters werepriced at $5 if bundled with a textbook from a

Conference Session

Capstone Design II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Goff, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

asparticipants in various design projects and work as research team members. As part of theireducation, students may have received some guidance on how to perform in a team and how toproceed through the design process, though this can vary widely from one engineering disciplineto another. The goals of a senior capstone design project are: 1) to have students implementmethods for proceeding through a complex design project, 2) to assess student designs, 3) totrain students to be more effective team members, 4) to create opportunities for students toexercise being a team member and 5) to create opportunities for students to be more effectivefacilitators and leaders of design teams.Conducting a search of the ASEE data base from past annual conferences from

Conference Session

Materials Science and Engineering of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chrysanthe Demetry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Materials

engagement and the importance of prior knowledge in the learning process and thathave been shown to enhance student learning outcomes.6 Web-deployed assessments and use ofclickers in the classroom offer the potential to implement key elements of effective formativeassessment:1 gathering information about learners’ current states of understanding and makingadjustments in instruction to close the gap between those states of understanding and learninggoals.This paper is part of an ongoing inquiry into use of educational technologies to facilitateformative assessment in large-enrollment offerings of Introduction to Materials Science.Previous work explored students’ reactions to assessment activities and their perceptions oflearning gains.7,8 Students

Conference Session

ChE: Innovation in Existing Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Zollars, Washington State University; Jim Henry, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

anapproach can, however, be frustrating for students at the remote site if the equipmentmalfunctions. Page 11.872.2The process control class at Washington State University is taught in the first semester ofthe senior year. The class is typical of many ChE-based control classes. The courseobjectives state that the students should be able to: 1) analyze the dynamics of process operations 2) understand the dynamic response of various operations 3) understand PID controllers for process operations based on both theoretical and empirical process characterizationThe outcomes arising from the objectives outlined above are intended to partially satisfyABET

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Otieno, Northern Illinois University; Clifford Mirman, Northern Illinois University; Abul Azad, Northern Illinois University

-lifeapplications. Scientific principles covered included electricity, basic electronics, andexperimental design. It essentially covered introduction to electricity and electronic circuits.With guidance from faculty and graduate students, the participants built a simple circuit tocontrol blinking lights. At the end of the exercise, they took the completed project home. Asample project is shown in figure 1. Page 11.511.4 Figure 1. Circuit board for blinking lights2. ManufacturingThis module covered basic principles of design and machining with the use of computertechnology. A short video on the design and manufacture of a commercial

Conference Session

Retention Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andre Butler, Mercer University; Priscilla Hicks, Mercer University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

11.1156.2success in this area that exceeds the national averages by roughly 50% for both African-Americans and women.If attracting qualified students to engineering disciplines is the first step, then retainingthem is clearly the second. Retention symbolizes student progress toward graduation andmay be defined in several ways5-6. At MUSE, 64% of minority freshmen are retained totheir sophomore year and just over 50% are retained to their junior year. The respectivepercentages for women are 64% and 57%. These values are slightly higher than nationalaverages.The final component of success as it relates to the matriculation of minorities and womenin engineering is graduation. There are at least two ways to examine graduation data: (1)on a basis that focuses

Conference Session

Hurricane Katrina

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Pierce, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

university students,even civil engineering students, do not understand the broad and complex role that civilengineers play in disaster planning and recovery efforts.To this end, a research-based course entitled Civil Engineering in the Wake of Katrina is beingtaught during the Spring 2006 semester at the University of South Carolina. This coursedeveloped, in part, from the author’s involvement with a service learning relief effort in Biloxi,MS to clean up after Hurricane Katrina1. The course was opened to both engineering and non-engineering students in the South Carolina Honors College. It is intended to 1) introduce thediscipline of civil and environmental engineering to both engineering and non-engineeringstudents, in light of conditions in the

Conference Session

Retention Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phyllis Tedford, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; John Fernandez, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

coming years.1, 2, 3, 4 As can be seen in figure 1, all thirteen of the 2004 2014 Projected 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 Network systems and data

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurements: Innovative Course Development

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hong Zhang, Rowan University; Courtney Richmond, Rowan University; Ying Tang, Rowan University; Patricia Mosto, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

. Video RF Transceiver Transmitter Figure 1: Block diagram of the agent. Page 11.1101.3 We started with a simple agent-server approach. In the development of the IMAPS,there have been several iterative phases of improvement. The current configurations ofthe two parts are illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2. The field agent takes the form of amodel boat. Depending on working conditions or design preference, it can take onvarious shapes, such as a torpedo, a racing boat, or a pontoon. In order to have thecapability to maneuver and sample the water effectively, the agent was

Conference Session

Software Engineering Curriculum Support

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sheryl Duggins, Southern Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

, accreditation is a stamp of approval that says your department is successful atmeeting its goals and has an established process for continual improvement. To be able to showthis you must use assessment to collect the data, evaluation to analyze it, and incorporate theresults to improve your program.The importance of the role of process in software engineering, and of continual processimprovement as we teach in CMM and now CMMI, is a deep thread running through ourcoursework. Yet when trying to apply those very same concepts to software engineeringeducation, which is what accreditation is really doing, we realized we had been operating atCMM Level 1, with a set of undefined processes. We did not have stated program goals and wewere not assessing how our

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qingli Dai, Michigan Technological University; Zhanping You, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

numericalproblems and generate charts and graphs using MATLAB. This course is designed to givestudents opportunities for hands-on practice through the lab work and project studies. The authoralso instructed senior students to use MATLAB for experimental data analysis in course MEEN4131 (Mechanical Engineering Laboratory). In this paper, these successful teaching experiencesare summarized and some additional suggestion is also addressed.IntroductionMATLAB has been largely used in many engineering schools, because it provides a friendlyinteractive system that incorporates numeric computation, symbolic computation, and scientificvisualization [1-2, 4-10]. Authors taught a sophomore course to help the students apply theMALAB tool for engineering problem