Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Laura J. Suggs; James Tunnell; Kenneth Diller; Richard Crawford

Session 15-2 Implementing Redesign in the BME Senior Capstone Experience Laura J. Suggs, James Tunnell, Kenneth Diller Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Texas at Austin Richard Crawford Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Texas at Austin AbstractThe Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program at UT Austin graduated the first ABET-accredited class of

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Mohamad H. Ahmadian

• Analyzing and evaluating arguments, interpretations or beliefs • Synthesizing subject-matter insights and knowledge The Capstone CourseThe course enables students to: (1) complete two projects based on their field of interest, (2)prepare an effective written technical report, (3) plan and produce presentation materials whichmost effectively communicate the intended message for their technical oral presentation, and (4)apply concepts and practices of their field of experience to develop and effectively present their Proceedings of the 2008 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of New Mexico – Albuquerque Copyright © 2008

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Farrokh Attarzadeh; Miguel A. Ramos; Enrique Barbieri

variables varied slightly. However, the effectiveness of assessments in spring2007 was tenuous. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the results aswell as outlining next steps in the assessment process for the course. IntroductionThe intent of the Computer Engineering Technology capstone course (ELET 4308) is toprovide students with a dynamic learning environment that simulates industryexpectations (e.g. deadlines and production of deliverables). The assessment andevaluation structure of the course encourages active participation and exposes students toall phases of the project development life cycle. Technical depth of the subject, teamwork, planning, scope, student commitment and successful

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Farrokh Attarzadeh; Enrique Barbieri; Miguel A Ramos; Mayuri Mahajan; Vishal Naik; Aditya Gupta

Session 15-1 How the Capstone Class Students Perceive Their Knowledge Base?Farrokh Attarzadeh, Enrique Barbieri, Miguel A. Ramos, Mayuri Mahajan, Vishal Naik, Aditya Gupta Engineering Technology Department University of Houston AbstractThe Capstone Course is a 5-credit Research and Development course covering all aspectsof project development and implementation, entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity,team-work, and communication. The philosophy behind the course is to provide trainingand real-world, small-scale project experience

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Farrokh Attarzadeh; Enrique Barbieri; Ankur Shukla; Prafulla Kesari

roles and responsibilities. IntroductionThe role of a teaching assistant in a capstone class cannot be overlooked. He or she has avery important role as well as carries many responsibilities towards the functioning of thelab. The teaching assistant acts as a bridge between students and the instructor. The TA istheir first point of contact with the instructor as well as the technology. This paperdescribes all the aspects of a TA of a capstone course from the recruiting process to hiswork and responsibilities in the senior project lab [1, 2, 3]. Proceedings of the 2008 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of New Mexico – Albuquerque

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Susan M. Bogus; Kerry J. Howe

Session 6-4 Innovative Design-Build Approach to Project-Based Learning Susan M. Bogus Civil Engineering Department University of New Mexico Kerry J. Howe Civil Engineering Department University of New Mexico AbstractAll undergraduates in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of New Mexico must takea senior capstone course in the last semester before graduation. The

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Farrokh Attarzadeh; Enrique Barbieri; Miguel Ramos

. Bradley and Brian J. Thomas,“Student-Aimed Appropriate Technology Engineering Projects in Kenya,” Proceedingsof the 2006 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference, Southern University and A&MCollege, TX.4. Dubinsky, Yael and Ort Hazzan, “The Role of a Project-Based Capstone Course,”ICSE'05, May 15-21, 2005, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.5. Kimble-Thom, M. A. and Brian J. Thom, “Academic and Industrial Perspectives onCapstone Course Content and the Accompanying Metrics,” 35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers inEducation Conference, Session F4D, October 19 – 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN.6. Bruhn, Russel and Judy Camp, “Creating Corporate World Experience in CapstoneCourses,” 34th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference,Session T2G, October 20– 23, 2004, Savannah

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

William Jordan

service and not enough engineering. This is, in itself, an ethical issue. Ifwe are offering courses that get engineering credit without doing realengineering, we are being deceitful to our students. This is an issue that manyengineering programs have faced as some faculty are resistant to this new wayof doing things.Several papers were presented at the 2007 EPICS national conference thatattempt to alleviate these concerns about the real engineering content ofengineering service learning courses. Hefzy from the University of Toledo 2 andZoltowski from Purdue 3 made presentations about how to do service learningbased capstone design courses. Budny and Lund 4 from the University ofPittsburgh have written about how to use engineering service projects

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Kenneth W. Van Treuren; Ian A. Gravagne

electricity and gasoline, seems to elicit disapproval of the price increasesbut little more. America has become indifferent to energy issues and continues to pay the higherprices without much thought. This paper will begin by examining the state of the general publicconcerning energy and its lack of energy literacy. Most people have not begun to understand thecomplex nature of the energy challenge. Poor energy literacy led the authors to submit aproposal to a local foundation in 2006 to develop an “Energy Room” at the Mayborn Museum onthe Baylor University campus. The Mayborn Museum is a facility that “provides a widespectrum of learning opportunities to engage all types of visitors.” Baylor Universityengineering students worked on several projects

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Ian A. Gravagne; Kenneth W. Van Treuren

social, political, environmental, and economic impact ofenergy. The last semester is dedicated to a research project of the students’ choice. BackgroundIn September of 2001, Baylor University’s Board of Regents adopted a ten-year plan known asVision 2012. This plan encompasses a series of 12 imperatives which will lead Baylor University“…to new facilities and to new academic and scholarly environments, approaches andopportunities1.” Vision 2012 is an ambitious program; however, the results, if achieved, wouldelevate Baylor to top tier ranks while maintaining its heritage and Christian mission. Particularlyimportant to this project is Imperative I, which seeks to establish an environment where learning

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Ian A. Gravagne; Kenneth Van Treuren

security become ever more importantto Americans, engineering schools that have not traditionally focused on energy are moving toaddress the topic more formally. At Baylor University, an “energy core” of technical electives isbeing developed, including courses on wind energy, solar energy, power systems, turbines andcombustion engines. This paper documents the authors’ observations on the use of the TRNSYSsimulation software package in a senior/graduate elective on solar energy. The paper givesexamples of the types of projects students do using TRNSYS, how it can be used in theclassroom, and some suggestions for educators considering its use in future courses.Comparisons are made between projects completed using general-purpose numerical

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Kristi J. Shryock; Helen L. Reed

improperly worded surveys can cause a bias with your results. By adding open-ended questions to the survey, this can sometimes diminish these problems.4Direct Interviews and/or InputInterviews can be regarded as both indirect and direct methods of assessment, depending on theimplementation. Interviews held between the department head and graduating seniors where thediscussion focuses on their favorite class, favorite professor, etc. would be considered an indirectmethod since opinions or self-reporting is expressed. However, bringing industry members toobserve student performance during a senior capstone course design review would be considereda direct method. We have found this particular use to be an excellent way to achieve non-biasinput from one

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Jiecai Luo; Pradeep K. Bhattacharya

. 1. IntroductionFor an engineering degree to be generally accepted, it must come from an institution whose degreeprograms have been certified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).One of the essential major components to achieve program accreditation by ABET is the approval ofits capstone design activities, which are commonly referred to as its senior design courses. We havefound that a student’s successful completion of his (her) engineering design project is muchdependent of his (her) engineering mathematics background. The Electrical Engineering Departmentat Southern University and A& M College, Baton Rouge, in the past twenty year experiences hasshown that students with engineering major can’t make a