Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Ward, California State University-Chico

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Rogers gives EC2000 implementers collective a grade of “F,” for failing to identify alimited number of performance indicators for each outcome. Based on personal observationsfrom accreditation visits, the author shares this opinion. While this is likely the most difficultelement in creating an effective assessment plan it is also the most important because it requiresfaculty to collectively decide what are appropriate measures of student learning.Like most new undertakings, much can be learned from studying the success and failure ofothers -which approaches constitute best practices, and which assessment methods should beavoided. The good news is that it is up to faculty and administrators to develop and implementassessment plans that fit

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Choate, Western Kentucky University; Kevin Schmaltz, Western Kentucky University; Stephen Howard, Western Kentucky University; Paul Graves, Western Kentucky University; Jonathan Martin, Western Kentucky University; Chris Kruckenberg, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

airflow test bench system was designed, built and tested for the undergraduate mechanicalengineering thermal fluids laboratory at Western Kentucky University. A two-semester seniorcapstone design sequence, ME 400 – Mechanical Engineering Design and ME 412 – MechanicalEngineering Senior Project, provided a four-member mechanical engineering student team withsufficient time to plan and execute this engineering process.The final airflow test system is primarily intended for instructional situations, but has thepotential for external industrial interaction as well. The system delivered by the project team isusable over a range of flows and system impedances. Primary benefactors of this test bed will befuture students in Mechanical Engineering Senior

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Biney, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

measured using outcome specific project related lectures andassignments given throughout the semester.The methodology discussed in the paper has made it possible to identify problems encounteredby students in these outcome skills, thereby, facilitating adjustment in course content anddelivery, and formulation of plans to assist students to improve on these skills. The methodologyalso makes it possible to document students’ performance in these outcomes. Thedocumentation is used to generate outcome specific binders of students’ work that are vital forABET accreditation.Importance of Senior DesignThis course is important because it provides the student, an opportunity to practice design in away that parallels what will be encountered in professional

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Trimble, Arizona State University; Ronald Bengelink, Arizona State University; Valana Wells, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

planning discussions for the new course in2002 by addressing the ABET (1997) criteria for “soft skills” as given in Table 1. In addition, Page 12.82.2these planners wanted the content to contain sufficient communications outcomes to qualify as aUniversity Literacy Course. This planning resulted in the course outcomes (and associatedmastery levels) given in Table 2 where the outcomes are correlated to the ABET criteria. Table 1. ABET Criterion 3 – Program Outcomes and Assessments f) An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility g) An ability to communicate effectively h) The broad education necessary to

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Van Treuren, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, thestudents initially do a test plan written report and presentation early in the course to get thenecessary background for the project. This enables the students to purchase required materialsand begin fabrication, if necessary, for the final project. The course ends with a final projectreport and a formal final briefing. While the workload on the part of the professor is demanding,the course was highly praised during the last two ABET accreditation visits. Student feedbackfrom industry also confirms the usefulness of such a course. The assessment tools used in thiscourse will be discussed in the context of the three ABET outcomes to be measured.IntroductionAssessment is an important process that must be accomplished for all mechanical

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hyun Kim, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Page 12.881.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Individual Course Assessment as a Core Assessment ToolAbstractThe mechanical engineering program conducts assessment activities largely based on thedescriptions and timelines set up in the plan to foster excellence in engineering education. Someassessment activities, such as maintaining student portfolios, require an enormous amount ofresources, expertise and time to fully implement and effectively utilize the assessment tools forevaluating students’ academic performances. Like almost all small engineering programs facedwith the full compliance of the ABET 2000 Criteria, the program decided to select a fewassessment tools that can be effectively used and managed by a

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Efstathios Michaelides, University of North Texas; Reza Mirshams, University of North Texas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

15 * May be substituted by any other Technical Elective (TE) course. The designation UCC in the courses denotes a course that must be taken to satisfy the University Core Curriculum, with the recommended subject of the course in the following parenthesis. Students may choose among several elective courses in a particular category or subject, which are listed in the University catalogue [2]. Courses that are planned to be offered by the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department are designated with the prefix “MEEN.” It must be pointed out that almost the entire freshman program of study may be taken outside the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department. This was designed in order to allow transfer students to enter the Mechanical and

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Duffy, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Linda Barrington, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Cheryl West, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; John McKelliget, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Eugene Niemi, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Sammy Shina, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Hongwei Sun, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Chris Niezrecki, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Robert Parkin, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Majid Charmchi, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Peter Avitabile, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

racial understanding), self-efficacy, leadership (leadershipactivities, self-rated leadership ability, interpersonal skills), choice of a service career,and plans to participate in service after college. “These findings directly replicate anumber of recent studies using different samples and methodologies.”6 They found thatS-L to be significantly better in 8 out of 11 measures than just service without the courseintegration and discovered “strong support for the notion that service learning should beincluded in the student’s major field.” 6 Page 12.1274.4Eyler and Giles7 in a classic study included 1500 students from 20 colleges/universities ina study

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Perwez Kalim, Wilkes University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

reorganization of a sophomore level thermodynamics course addresses these issues. Themain objectives of this effort are to expand the boundaries of students’ knowledge by engagingthem with the planning, design, build, and test concepts. The process included the reorientationof theory taught in the class and required an active student participation in a special designproject. The whole idea was to incorporate a hands-on design project and other pedagogicalchanges to transform the student’s learning into a pleasant and fulfilling experience. The projectwas successfully completed for the first time in the spring of 2005. The students associated withthis approach were divided into several groups, where each group was assigned to develop aStirling engine

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karinna Vernaza, Gannon University; Mahesh Aggarwal, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

theeffectiveness of the ME program. The assessment tools include university course evaluations,ME web-based course exit surveys, senior exit surveys, Engineering Advisory Council meetings,Review Board meetings, alumni surveys, and ME faculty meetings, amongst others. Anassessment process is in place to provide feedback based on the above evaluations for continuousimprovement in the program. The following six steps summarize the current assessmentpractice: 1. Assessment process done employing several evaluation tools. 2. Results of assessment are fed back to the ME faculty, Engineering Advisory Board and/or the Industrial Review Board, depending on the issues. 3. Action plan is developed. These action items drive the changes

Conference Session

Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Instruction

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Gerhart, University of Evansville; Andrew Gerhart, Lawrence Technological University; Bruce Cain, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

appropriate PTC as a guide. At a medium-sized technical university, studentsread and reported on PTCs as part of a senior thermal science laboratory course. At a largeresearch university PTCs were used as reference material in a laboratory capstone design course.In addition to instructor’s experiences, assessment data from student surveys are presented.1. Introduction to Performance Test CodesA. What Are Performance Test Codes The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)Performance Test Codes (PTCs) provide uniform rules and procedures for planning, preparation,and execution of performance tests and for reporting the results 1,2. A performance test is anengineering evaluation, based on measurements and calculations, whose results indicate

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University; Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Alfred Gates, Central Connecticut State University; Zdzislaw Kremens, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

it relates to curricular requirements. In addition, someaspects of the recruitment implementation plan are also discussed in the paper. Lessons learnedfrom the entire process conclude the paper.1. IntroductionCentral Connecticut State University’s School of Technology has recently faced anunprecedented challenge — but also a unique opportunity — in curriculum development. Theschool was charged with establishing a brand new (and the first) full engineering program in itsacademic offer. The faculty and administration started building an engineering program virtuallyfrom scratch. One must note, however, that implementing major components toward a futureengineering program had been underway for many years. The university already has in

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cindy Waters, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

themselves. The basic premise is that an individuallearner must actively "build" knowledge and skills3. What is more active than having to sign onto the class website, and take the time to link the various extra resources the professor hasprovided? This paper will describe a work in progress to use Blackboard’s tracking tool toassess this active construction of knowledge which can be linked to the “Recognition of need forand ability to engage in life-long learning”. At the initial stage our plan does not create avalidated predictive instrument, but tries to compare the grades of students who utilize theresources available on a very interactive Blackboard course website to those who do not andinfer that this will contribute to choices to engage in

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University; John McLaughlin, Clarkson University; Stephen Doheny-Farina, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

discussed. We have added a number of computational modules to make the coursepresentations of the materials more interactive. The plan is to have sufficient number ofcalculation modules for the student to experiment with. As a result the student willdevelop a physical understanding of some of the more complex concepts.Module II, Computer Simulations We refined and developed several computer modules that were incorporated intothe course sequence. One class of examples was concerned with exploring the flow andparticle transport in a variety of obstructed ducts. Fortran simulation programs that were Page 12.28.3developed earlier were converted to

Conference Session

Software and E-learning in the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John-David Yoder, Ohio Northern University; Mihir Sen, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Page 12.529.2be prohibitive, it was decided to propose to the National Science Foundation Course,Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program to adapt and implement acourse and laboratory on Intelligent Systems.Such a proposal was clearly in keeping with the strategic plan of the College ofEngineering at ONU1. Particular strategic plan actions that related to this proposalinclude: • “Regularly reassess the curriculum, and make comparisons to curriculums of other institutions. Changes to the ONU curriculum may be made to keep pace with industry and other leading-edge institutions. • The integration of engineering courses with mathematics, physics, and chemistry courses as well as integration within each

Conference Session

What's New in Dynamics?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

El-Sayed Aziz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Sven Esche, Stevens Institute of Technology; Constantin Chassapis, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

summarized in Table 2, the survey results used to evaluate the Web-based animatedteaching modules indicate the apparent level of success achieved in designing and implementinga comprehensive student laboratory experience as judge by the students. A more detailedassessment study of the learning effectiveness of the modules is planned for the Spring 2007semester. If the planned more in-depth assessment generates similarly encouraging results, thenfurther extensions of this environment to other courses of the mechanical engineering curriculumis planned in the future.ConclusionsA simulation-based online laboratory that was developed to assist students in understanding theconcepts of mechanical vibrations in the context of practical engineering

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Craig Somerton, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

) operated by the MSU College of Engineering6.For the Spring 2006 semester, 14 students participated in the pilot program. Twenty studentswere selected for the Fall 2006 semester pilot. It is planned for this course to be offered eachsemester to all incoming mechanical engineering students starting in Fall semester 2007 withapproximately 200 students taking the course during the 2007-2008 academic year.Project AssignmentsThe course contained three projects to be completed by the pilot students7,8. The first two wereperformed in 2- or 3-person teams. The final project was performed individually. The followingare detailed descriptions and goals of the projects

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ming Huang, University of San Diego; James Kohl, University of San Diego; Veronica Galvan, University of San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

students (second semester mechanical engineering juniors) and both had fairlycompatible learning objectives. Although not as straightforward as the aforementioned ones, thefeasibility factor was affirmed as well after performing a detailed review and planning of thetopics to be covered for both courses. During the review, in addition to topical concerns,attention was paid especially to the timing aspect of the related topics across the two courses, toensure that there could be adequate time gap between the key foundational concepts introducedin the Dynamics and when the students would see their corresponding applications in the Designof Machinery. To this end, the generation of a topics breakdown schedule (similar to the workbreakdown schedule

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Liang Zhu, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

variety of sources. This provides a means to cross-check the outcomes.The United States Military Academy uses a Course Assessment Plan to collect and analyze data.2This system relies on surveys and end of course grades to provide qualitative and quantitativeassessments. Felder3 suggests that there are many ways to assess student learning and, ultimately,program outcomes, but both qualitative and quantitative methods should be employed. With allof these recommendations in mind, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UMBC,developed a process to assess program outcomes that reinvigorated the course delivery andassessment process.MethodologyAs the reality of ABET 2000 criteria began to set in, the department began discussions centeredaround the

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Davis, Kettering University; Craig Hoff, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

than current production snowmobiles, while maintaining the performancelevels expected of a typical snowmobile. Further, the modified snowmobiles are also expected tobe cost-effective and comfortable for the operators to drive. Finally, the environmental hazardsof snowmobiles have come under scrutiny by environmental protection organizations and thefederal government. Currently, parks are operating under a temporary winter use plan whichrestricts the number of snowmobiles entering the parks per day. All snowmobiles are required tobe Best Available Technology (BAT), which are the cleanest and quietest commerciallyavailable snowmobiles.3 Thus, the development of clean snowmobile technology is also an areaof interest to manufacturers. Events

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laila Guessous, Oakland University; Qian Zou, Oakland University; Brian Sangeorzan, Oakland University; Xia Wang, Oakland University; Chris Kobus, Oakland University; Gary Barber, Oakland University; Alex Alkidas, Oakland University; Michael Latcha, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

mentorship and are eager to sharetheir knowledge and experiences with talented young students.The purpose of this paper is to present some of the lessons learned from the first year of theprogram. Some of the planning, logistics and procedures will be described. Emphasis will beplaced on the lessons learned: what worked, what didn’t work and what improvements can bemade in the following years. We believe that this type of information would prove useful toothers seeking to organize similar programs.Basic Philosophy of the ProgramThe nationwide problem of the under-representation of women in the sciences, technology,engineering and math (STEM) fields is well known and has been well documented 2-6. Whilewomen have been entering and graduating from

Conference Session

Introducing Active and Inductive Learning and Improving the Learning Curve in ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Veronica Addison, University of South Carolina; Christian Hipp, University of South Carolina; Jed Lyons, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

sections.For example, during the topic of “Non-linear Equations” students in section 1 are introduced tothe material through theory, equations and example problems. Students in section 2 areintroduced to the topic graphically as a root-finding problem. In the computer-based worksheets,roots are defined graphically and built in root-finding packages are explained. Non-linearequations are then introduced in the context of root-finding. The MathCAD Worksheet for thistopic is included as Appendix A. The text shown in italics are questions posed to the students,the highlighted portions of the worksheet represent the solutions that the student should provide.Research MethodsA mixed-methods research data collection plan was used. Two graduate students and

Conference Session

Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Instruction

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen McClain, Baylor University; Christopher Smitherman, University of Alabama-Birmingham

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Christopher B. Smitherman is an undergraduate honors student in mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mr. Smitherman plans to finish his B.S. degree in December 2007 and plans to pursue an MBA after graduation. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, and Pi Tau Sigma. Page 12.1040.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 MathCAD Functions for the Thermodynamics Properties of Moist Air, Ammonia, Propane, and R-22AbstractMathCAD functions were constructed to evaluate the thermodynamic properties of moist air,ammonia, propane

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Louis Everett, University of Texas-El Paso; Arunkumar Pennathur, University of Texas-El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

?”‡The concept that governs the terminal velocity problem is that rolling is akinematic phenomenon, not a kinetic one. Once rolling ensues, the dry frictiono N (as students understand it) disappears. There is an energy loss term in arolling wheel called rolling friction but rolling friction is not the o N term withwhich students are familiar; it is caused by deformation between the surfaces in Page 12.37.7‡ Do not think me nasty, but I plan to leave it up to the reader to figure out the answer. Or you canlook up the source reference. Keep in mind that many faculty get the incorrect answer.contact during the motion. There are some basic

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Messiha Saad, North Carolina A&T State University; Taher Abu-Lebdeh, North Carolina A&T State University; Devdas Pai, North Carolina A&T State University; Cindy Waters, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

upperclassmen level. To investigate the upperclassmen retention (junior andsenior engineering students), one may consider: gender; academic ability (scores inprerequisites); academic preparation (hours studies); work plan (hours per week); socialintegration (friends, participation in group work, and contact with faculty members). Inthis study, our objective is to focus on the most important issues. Those issues include,but are not limited to, instruction; advising; and student’s concern. Such elements aremore likely to impact retention and thus must be given high priority. In a survey tounderstand retention conducted by Kent State University (1996-1997), students indicatedthat items relating to instruction, course content, and a knowledgeable faculty

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Miller, Saint Cloud State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engineering programs inthe U.S. require or recommend that students take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exambefore graduation. Examinees must be able to determine vapor properties using the printed tablessupplied. Computers and PDAs capable of running software are not allowed in the exam. This isconsistent with situation at many schools where students do not have access to a PC during tests. Page 12.140.2Survey FindingsThe original plan for this research was to determine the policy or standard practice at a numberof schools. It became readily apparent that few schools actually have a standard, written orotherwise, about teaching thermodynamics

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Widmann, California Polytechnic State University; Kim Shollenberger, California Polytechnic State University; Jane Kennedy, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

inventories to measure outcomes. The authors plan to expand the study to Page 12.1319.8include more students as well as track students longitudinally to see if changes in study habitsand performance can be found by limiting textbook solution manuals as a resource for solvinggraded homework assignments.References1. Widmann, J., and Shollenberger, K., “Student use of Textbook Solution Manuals: Student and Faculty Perspectives in a Large Mechanical Engineering Department,” Proceedings of the 2006 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, June 2006.2. Walberg, H. J., Paschal, R. A., Weinstein, T

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bobby Crawford, USMA

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

ProgramAbstractAssessing the level at which a Mechanical Engineering program achieves its stated outcomes isessential, not only to a successful ABET evaluation but also to the continued improvement andeffectiveness of the program. While survey data is valuable, it should only be one component ofa broader assessment plan. The Mechanical Engineering (ME) program at the United StatesMilitary Academy (USMA) has employed a method to feed graded event averages and standarddeviations from student assignments, examinations, and projects into a multi-level assessmenttool that provides a valuable measure of how well the students are achieving the programoutcomes.In the fall of 2005, the need arose to objectively evaluate how well the students in a designcourse were

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Langerman, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; William Arbegast, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Daniel Dolan, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

sophisticatedcommercial software to engineering design and will take this appreciation to their senioryear and their capstone experience. We also anticipate students presenting results fromthis project at regional and national conferences on FSW.Conclusions and CommentsThe ME department at SDSM&T has presented a plan for synergistically engaging stu-dents, faculty, and staff of technical centers in project-based learning activities in a realworld environment that benefit all, but primarily the student classroom experience. Wehave encountered problems, however, including introducing additional course contentinto a burgeoning curriculum. From a short-term perspective, we have employed a zerosum approach to accommodate this additional content but we understand

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seifollah Nasrazadani, University of North Texas; Reza Mirshams, University of North Texas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

shortage in covering the complete content and the difficultyof evaluating the effectiveness of the adjunct faculty because of their limited availability tostudents.Introduction The ongoing expansion of the new College of Engineering at the University of NorthTexas (UNT) created an opportunity for the addition of a new, innovative mechanical and energyengineering (MEE) program and an excellent prospect for the establishment of an innovativeapproach to engineering education. As part of our planning approach for the MEE program andinnovative teaching approach, a small-group team-learning approach to Learning-to-Learnpractice was adopted. Because heat transfer is one of the essential subjects for any mechanicalengineering program, it was