Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

P. Ruby Mawasha, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Wright State University; J. Mitch Wolff, Wright State University; Joseph Slater, Wright State University; Zhiqiang Wu, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Education, 2007 An Integrated Interdisciplinary Technology Project in Undergraduate Engineering EducationAbstractThe ever changing engineering curriculum mandates an emphasis on interdisciplinary projects.Through interdisciplinary projects, students will be exposed to a curriculum that allows them towork in teams of multi-disciplinary members with focus geared towards integrated technologies.This effort requires collaboration of students and faculty from multiple disciplines, and providesstudents an opportunity to learn from several other engineering systems. In addition, theseprojects will also help students to learn and deal with the societal aspects of engineering.The main focus of the paper is the

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Forouzan Golshani, Wright State University; Michele Wheatly, Wright State University; Mary Ellen Bargerhuff, Wright State University; John Flach, Wright State University; Jeffrey Vernooy, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-3044: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE PROGRAM INTECHNOLOGY-BASED LEARNING WITH DISABILITYForouzan Golshani, Wright State University Forouzan Golshani is the NCR Distinguished Professor and the Chairman of Computer Science and Engineering Department at Wright State University. Previously, he was Co-Director of Arts Media Engineering and Professor of CSE at Arizona State University. His research interests include multimedia systems, assistive technologies, and information mining.Michele Wheatly, Wright State University Michele Wheatly is the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Biological Sciences at Wright State University. Previously she was Professor of Zoology at

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Skokan, Colorado School of Mines; Barbara Moskal, Colorado School of Mines; Heidi Barker, Regis University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-1278: TECHNOLOGY CAMP FOR TEACHERS – BRINGINGMULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING INTO THE MIDDLE SCHOOLCLASSROOMCatherine Skokan, Colorado School of Mines Catherine K. Skokan is Associate Professor in the Division of Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She received her Ph.D. in Geophysical Engineering with a minor in Geology and her M.Sc. in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include near surface geophysical measurements especially in the area of groundwater mapping, humanitarian engineering, and educational outreach. She has taught Electrical Geophysical Exploration classes, circuits, digital data analysis, linear systems, and Senior

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-1814: USING THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING MODEL AND COURSEASSESSMENT TO TRANSFORM A MULTIDISCIPLINARY SENIOR DESIGNCOURSE SEQUENCEMargaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology MARGARET BAILEY, registered professional engineer, is the Kate Gleason Chair and Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at RIT. She earned her BSE at Pennsylvania State University in 1988 and her Ph.D. at University of Colorado at Boulder in 1998. She conducts research with students using advanced thermodynamic analyses and neural network modeling applied to various, energy-intensive, complex mechanical systems. Dr. Bailey serves in numerous leadership roles within her college, including Executive Director of

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harvey Palmer, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-2905: CATALYZING SYSTEMIC CHANGE TOWARDS AMULTIDISCIPLINARY, PRODUCT INNOVATION FOCUSHarvey Palmer, Rochester Institute of Technology Professor & Dean, Kate Gleason College of Engineering Page 12.347.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Catalyzing Systemic Change towards a Multidisciplinary, Product Innovation FocusAbstractThe mission statement of RIT’s newly created honors program focuses on product innovation fora global economy. The critical elements of this program emphasize the importance of amultidisciplinary, systems oriented approach to engineering practice with a special focus oncustomer

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marcos Esterman, Rochester Institute of Technology; Dorin Patru, Rochester Institute of Technology; Vincent Amuso, Rochester Institute of Technology; Edward Hensel, Rochester Institute of Technology; Mark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-2386: DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED PROJECT TRACKS FOR ACOLLEGE-WIDE MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN PROGRAMAT RITMarcos Esterman, Rochester Institute of TechnologyDorin Patru, Rochester Institute of TechnologyVincent Amuso, Rochester Institute of TechnologyEdward Hensel, Rochester Institute of TechnologyMark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology Page 12.535.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Development of Integrated Project Tracks for a College-Wide Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Program at RITAbstractSince 2002, the Kate Gleason College of Engineering (KGCOE) at the Rochester

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Walter, Rochester Institute of Technology; Jeffrey Webb, Rochester Institute of Technology; Mark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology; Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology; Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; George Slack, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-1382: REDESIGNING A COLLEGE-WIDE MULTIDISCIPLINARYENGINEERING DESIGN PROGRAM AT RITWayne Walter, Rochester Institute of Technology WAYNE W. WALTER is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at RIT. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Wayne has worked for the U.S. Army, Rochester Products and Delco Products Divisions of General Motors, and Xerox, and is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in New York State. He can be reached at wwweme@rit.edu.Jeffrey Webb, Rochester Institute of Technology JEFFREY B. WEBB is a Mechanical Engineer with the Engineering Modeling and Simulations group in the Southeast Division of Applied Research Associates. He

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David LaGraffe, Air Force Institute of Technology; James Petrosky, Air Force Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-1387: DEVELOPING A PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE MASTER’S DEGREEPROGRAM IN COMBATING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONDavid LaGraffe, Air Force Institute of Technology LTC Lagraffe is assigned to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency with duty as a professor at AFIT. He is currently the Combating WMD Curriculum chair. His expertise is in experimental condensed matter physics. His past research has involved study of the growth, electronic, and magnetic properties of thin films, surfaces and interfaces.James Petrosky, Air Force Institute of Technology Dr. Petrosky is a retired army officer and has been on the AFIT faculty since 2000. He serves as the Nuclear Engineering curriculum chair. His expertise is in

Conference Session

Sustainability & Environmental Issues

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roger Hadgraft, The University of Melbourne; Jenni Goricanec, RMIT University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

• …sustainability challenges of the future. 14Rearranging the curriculum Figure 2 - Design and the Old BasicsTraditionally, engineering education has beencomprised of a process like this – a long sequence of technical courses followed by a capstonedesign course (Figure 3). Technical / Technology Courses Project / Design Figure 3 - Traditional engineering curriculumAt RMIT, where the authors worked until the end of

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Blair McDonald, SUU Integrated Engineering; William Pratt, SUU Integrated Engineering; Nicholas Winowich, SUU Integrated Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Engineering graduates are able to work in a variety of environments and quicklyextend their fundamental knowledge to the focus required by a new or rapidly changingenvironment. The following subjects are presented and discussed: the constituency that initiallyproposed establishing an Integrated Engineering degree program; the original curriculum; theshortcomings, growing pains, and maturing of that curriculum; and the programs current ideals.Introduction Engineers today impact society to a greater extent than ever before. We depend upon thesystems, machines and processes developed by engineers in virtually everything we do. Solvingproblems in our modern world mandates the use of technology that changes virtually as it isembraced. In this

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Grondin, Arizona State University; Darryl Morrell, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

all ASU institutional mandates forundergraduate degrees. The net effect is that a student must take 51 hours of engineeringcourses, 32 hours of math and science, 15 hours of humanities and social science and 9hours of courses that emphasize communications. There are 21 hours left and this wherewe allow the student to impose their own “mandates”. We illustrate this with thecurricular pie shown in figure 3. The individual student therefore makes their own finaldecision about issues such as a breadth/depth tradeoff. A student could take as many as72 hours of engineering and engineering technology in our program and minimalamounts of everything else. Should they do this, they can build in novel mixtures ofengineering topics such as a 50:50 blend

Conference Session

Sustainability & Environmental Issues

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Gaughran, University of Limerick; Stephen Burke, University of Limerick; Sonya Quinn, University of Limerick

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

educational intervention modules for SMEs as well as for engineering and design undergraduates for Interregional EU application. He lectures in design for sustainability across a number of courses in UL, and endeavours to link academic research with industry, through seminars and onsite coaching. He believes that the application of sustainability strategies is not just a moral obligation in manufacturing, but also helps secure competitive advantage. He holds a PhD in Design and Ergonomics from Brunel University.Stephen Burke, University of Limerick Stephen Burke graduated from the University of Limerick with a 1st Honours in Technology Education in 2002. He has served for two years as a teaching

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary and Liberal Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fernando Tovia, Philadelphia University; Muthu Govindaraj, Philadelphia University; David Brookstein, Philadelphia University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Engineering Education, 2007 A New Multidisciplinary Engineering Education Initiative at Philadelphia UniversityAbstractPhiladelphia University is developing a new engineering school based on a strategic decisionmade three years ago to re-engineer its School of Textiles and Materials Technology and expandundergraduate educational offerings beyond its legacy B.S. textile engineering program. Today,the school has re-emerged as the School of Engineering and Textiles, currently offeringbaccalaureate degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, andGeneral Engineering with a choice of minor concentration tracks in Industrial, Mechanical,Environmental, Textile, or Architectural Engineering

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fred DePiero, California Polytechnic State University; Lynne Slivovsky, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

responsibility in making decision”. Here, aprofessional organization has broadened the view of its standards. This is in contrast tothe narrowing focus of many academic departments, and further emphasizes the need for Page 12.1087.2change in academia.Expectations for ABET AccreditationBoth accreditation requirements and global industry needs are pushing engineeringprograms to find creative means to include multidisciplinary (MD) team skills in theircurricula. The Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) requiresprograms receiving accreditation to ensure that all graduates can accomplish a range ofProgram Outcomes. ABET’s Outcome 3D addresses MD

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Durward Sobek, Montana State University; Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

withadvisory board members.Other Multi-disciplinary Design Courses and ProgramsAs a first step, we searched the engineering education literature for programs and courses onmulti-disciplinary design. Many of the articles describing multi-disciplinary courses have aproduct-development focus.12,13,14,15,16,17,18 Our objectives seemed somewhat unique in thatwe wanted to include all College departments in our ultimate solution, even those whosedisciplines typically do not participate in a product development (civil and chemicalengineering, for example). Given that our College has five engineering programs, twoengineering technology programs, and a computer science program, the literature did notprovide much guidance

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Sullivan, East Carolina University; Rick Williams, East Carolina University; William Howard, East Carolina University; Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Paul Kauffmann, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Professor of Engineering at East Carolina University. Prior to joining ECU, he was a faculty member and program coordinator at Milwaukee School of Engineering. Howard has fourteen years of industrial experience in design and project engineering functions. He received BS and MS degrees from Virginia Tech, and his PhD from Marquette University. Howard is a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin.Jason Yao, East Carolina University Jianchu (Jason) Yao received a B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Shaanxi university of Science and Technology, China, in 1992 and 1995, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Kansas State University in 2005. Dr. Yao

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary and Liberal Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Josef Rojter, Victoria University of Tech.

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and knowledge of social sciences and humanities as well as theawareness of social and environmental impacts emanating from professional practices.Fawcett and Roberts4 observed that the engineering profession will be invisible andmarginalized in the public domain if it continues on the path of celebrants of technologywithout social values. As technological innovations become more common, the wonder oftechnology, in public eyes, recedes and with it the profession that developed it and services it.Yet despite the continual rhetoric, in engineering schools, departments and faculties, of Page 12.495.2meeting needs of industry, there is

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Sweeney, Florida Gulf Coast University; Diane Bondehagen, Florida Gulf Coast University; Claude Villiers, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

theinstructors as an exciting and readily assessed multidisciplinary theme for ensuring that studentsin (and across) all of our three majors would be able to identify focused and interesting topics forinvestigation, and for showcasing their skills in design as well as in the use of Excel®,MATLAB®, and AutoCAD®.Project Assignment and Topics ChosenThe semester project assignment, in part, informed students that …many engineers consider “Smart Houses” to be the future of residential building, integrating designs and technologies that yield increased quality of life for the occupants. Bioengineers, civil engineers, and environmental engineers can all play roles in Smart House design. Smart House features can address for example

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Hansberry, Northeastern University; Jennifer Love, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

today’s engineers at themultidisciplinary level. Literacy in graphics includes the ability to read the graphics dialectacross the engineering disciplines, create drawings as they are applied in the field includinginstrument and computer drawings, and to transfer mental images to a graphic design, which isthe beginning of the creative design process.IntroductionThe Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) sets the criteria for a broadbased engineering graphics program to include: “an ability to function on multi-disciplinaryteams”; “an ability to communicate effectively”; and “an ability to use the techniques, skills andmodern scientific and technical tools necessary for professional practice”.1 A multidisciplinarygraphics program

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-2913: MINOR IN ENGINEER STUDIES: A NEW PROGRAM FOR A NEWERAMani Mina, Iowa State University Page 12.1070.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 MINOR IN ENGINEER STUDIES: A NEW PROGRAM FOR A NEW ERAAbstractA new program has started in our school. This is a true multidisciplinary program that includesthe whole engineering college and all engineering fields. The major goal of the program is toprovide technological awareness and understanding of the technical issues to non-engineeringstudents. Since many managers, directors, and policymakers (all around the world) are makingdecisions on technological-based

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary and Liberal Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

for All Seasons, ALab for All Reasons.” The present paper, “A Lab for All Reasons, A Lab for AllSeasons: Enlarging the Participant Base,” extends utilization of our engineeringlaboratory to non-engineering faculty and to non-engineering students. The first of thesenewer forays involves utilization of the lab as an enrichment adjunct to courses taught inother non-engineering departments, here with examples from Foreign Languages andLiteratures, and Industrial Design. The second involves a new Technology Literacycourse created for non-engineering students, and taught with the assistance of an Englishdepartment faculty member (also serving in the College of Engineering’s WritingAssistance program). Collectively, these three instructional efforts

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lionel Craddock, Bluefield State College; Daphne Rainey, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Susan Faulkner, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Frank Hart, Bluefield State College; Martha Eborall, Bluefield State College; Lewis Foster, Bluefield State College; Stephen Cammer, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Betsy Tretola, Virginia Tech; Bruno Sobral, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Oswald Crasta, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Bruce Mutter, Bluefield State College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Management Service (CMS) at BSC in thedelivery of the course as well as the assessment.IntroductionIt is increasingly difficult for teaching to keep pace with rapid advances in science andtechnology, especially at the interface of several disciplines. The rapid and continueddevelopments in information technology are now the driving forces of many of these advances.To address this challenge, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Assistant Director forComputer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) convened a Blue Ribbon Panel toexplore the trends in information technology and to make strategic recommendations onprograms that NSF should award in response to advances in information technology. Thesummary report from this event, now referred

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Howard Evans, National University; Shekar Viswanathan, National University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-2836: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY MASTER’S PROGRAM IN HOMELANDSECURITY AND SAFETY ENGINEERINGHoward Evans, National University Dr. Howard Evans was appointed founding Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology, National University, in October, 2003. He received B.S. degrees in Physics and Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Evans has over 20 years of executive and senior technical management experience at 3M Company and IBM Corporation, primarily leading multidisciplinary, global technical organizations responsible for R&D; new business and market development

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Terrance Boult, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs; Jeremy Haefner, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

of which are still in business, and is currently CEO/CTO of Securics Inc which has been selected by the US Military to develop long range facial biometrics systems.Jeremy Haefner, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Jeremy Haefner has been a professor of mathematics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs since 1989. He spent three years at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville before joining the faculty at the University of Colorado in 1989. Since 2002, he has been Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. In addition to leading the College, Dr. Haefner also directs the Colorado Institute for Technology Transfer and Implementation, a campus-wide unit

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yusuf Mehta, Rowan University; Peter Mark Jansson, Rowan University; Dianne Dorland, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

focus includes renewable and novel energy systems, industrial sustainability, innovation and invention in electricity, Mach's Principle, and business transformation. Dr. Jansson lectures in advanced power systems, sustainable design in engineering, electric circuits, and electromagnetics. Professor Jansson has over 25-years of management, teaching and research experience in energy, engineering and consulting in the United States and abroad.Dianne Dorland, Rowan University Dianne Dorland is Dean of the College of Engineering at Rowan University. A Midwest native, she received her B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before joining Union

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ian Papautsky, University of Cincinnati; Erik Peterson, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

include microfluidics and MEMS devices for chemical and biological assays. He was the teaching assistant for the Biomedical Microsystems course discussed in this paper. Page 12.912.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Integrating BioMEMS and Biomedical Microsystems into Electrical Engineering Education: A Three-Year Pilot StudyAbstractMicromachining or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies are considered anenabling technology having revolutionary impact on many areas of science and engineering.MEMS technologies are now being applied to health monitoring, diagnosis and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Crockett, California Polytechnic State University; Jon Whited, St. Jude Medical; Daniel Walsh, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-860: OVERCOMING THE HURDLES ASSOCIATED WITH INDUSTRYSPONSORSHIP OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY, PROJECT-BASED LEARNINGRobert Crockett, California Polytechnic State University Robert Crockett received his Ph.D. from University of Arizona in Materials Science and Engineering. He holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Dr. Crockett is a specialist in technology development and commercialization of advanced materials and manufacturing processes. Prior to joining Cal Poly, he was founder and President

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University; Carmen Li Shen, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the history and process through which ASEE hasbecome involved with multidisciplinary engineering program accreditation. Sherra E. Kerns, ina Prism article4 while she was ASEE President, noted that “ASEE is a founding member societyof ABET.” Now, from the initiative of a single ASEE member and then a division and theefforts of other ASEE members and leaders with similar interests and the support of many othermultidisciplinary engineering educators, ASEE has become the lead society for the accreditationof multidisciplinary engineering (and engineering technology) programs.5 In addition to themulti-year process that led to this new ASEE role, this paper also reviews the development andmanagement of that new role, describes the experiences of the

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shekhar Sharad, National Instruments

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

technologies based on Virtual Instrumentation, it is now possible toimplement multidisciplinary labs that span different facets of engineering from control and signalprocessing to embedded design, from chemistry and physics to electrical and computerengineering. In this paper, we will explain how Virtual Instrumentation helps to establishmultidisciplinary labs. We will also examine a modular, cost-effective, laboratory platform, NIELVIS (Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite) from National Instruments thathas gained acceptance in academia as platform to teach concepts in sensors & transducers,circuits, electronics, microcontroller programming, control, signal processing and embeddeddesign and test.1. IntroductionThe recent years

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Bucks, Purdue University; William Oakes, Purdue University; Carla Zoltowski, Purdue University; Frank DeRego, Purdue University; Silvia Mah, University of California-San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

is that “the population of individuals whoare involved with or affected by technology…will be increasingly diverse and multidisciplinary.”This highlights one of the biggest pushes in recent years, which is for engineers who are able tofunction effectively on multidisciplinary teams.Often in engineering, when the term multidisciplinary is used, it refers to different branches ofengineering. A multidisciplinary team might have electrical, mechanical and industrial engineerson it. However, when students become practicing engineers, they will no longer be workingsolely with other engineers. Quite often, they will need to work with peers without a technicalbackground. For instance, their coworkers may have a business or management degree