Conference Session

Electromechanical Curricula

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Fuehne, Purdue University-Columbus; Kathy Bradley, MotoTron, Inc; Eric Bradley, MotoTron, Inc

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

a mathematics review class combined with an introduction to spreadsheet analysis.There is nothing much in the first two semesters of the MET program to create excitement infirst-year students, and this presents something of a retention challenge for the program.In order to provide a real-world experience and an enjoyable competition to motivate students,the MET department at Purdue University in Columbus, Indiana partnered with a local company,MotoTron (www.mototron.com), to present the Mechatronics Career Discovery Challenge.Mechatronics combines mechanical, electrical, and software design to produce complexmachines. This particular challenge involves writing the software to program a vehicle tonavigate a course using a global positioning

Conference Session

Impacts of Public Policy on Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering; Kamyar Haghighi, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

for a longitudinal study of the effects ofinnovative teaching (DUE-9150407) and in 1993 prestigious NSF Faculty Early CareerDevelopment (CAREER) awards were made to engineers Cynthia Atman of the University ofWashington (DRL-9358516) and Martin Ramirez of Johns Hopkins University (DRL-9358518)with joint funding provided by three different NSF units. Atman’s research examined how first-year engineering students developed strategies for solving open-ended, ambiguous problems thatclosely resemble problems in the engineering workplace, while Ramirez used research fromcognitive science and educational psychology to develop a framework for teaching engineeringso students learned how to make appropriate judgments for their work. By 2001, NSF

Conference Session

DELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Loren Limberis, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

learning and integration of research into undergraduate education. Dr. Yao is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education.Loren Limberis, East Carolina University Dr. Limberis joined the Engineering faculty at ECU in August 2006. He earned his B.S. in electrical engineering and Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Utah. Dr. Limberis taught for several years as an Assistant Professor at The College of New Jersey and was a research analyst with Southwest Research Institute prior to his academic career. His research interests focus on designing techniques to utilize nature’s highly complex and sophisticated biological systems to develop biohybrid devices for use in biotechnology

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation of Graphics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aaron Clark, North Carolina State University; Jeremy Ernst, North Carolina State University; Alice Scales, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Design Graphics

engineering with 91% ofthe age range being between 18 and 21. Students in the study were primarily sophomores andmost considered themselves to be visual (58%) or multi-modal (36%) learners. After a carefulreview of the favorite hobbies listed by each of the student participants, the majority of thesewere visual in nature, consisting of two-dimensional (i.e. games) and three-dimensional (i.e.baseball, soccer) environments. Overall, most of the student participants indicated they felt thecontent covered in the course would be useful in their future job or career. This is a notablefinding, since the course is listed as a visual and performing arts elective on the generaleducation course lists for all majors at NC State University. Likewise, about 20

Conference Session

History and Future of Engineering Technology

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Louis Frenzel, Electronic Design Magazine; James Hyder, Intel; Michael Lesiecki, MCCCD; Thomas McGlew, Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

jobs and they will determinethe pattern of recruitment and career progression for future technologists. Unfortunately,the educational sector has not changed at the same pace as industry and it is stilldelivering skills and qualifications appropriate for vertically integrated organizations.The immediate question is therefore how the educational world should respond to theconditions represented in Figure 3 (and the future requirements as it evolves further).Root cause analysis can update and redefine the “fundamentals” for the next generation.The roadmap process then provides the path to a productive solution while recognizingthe many options and priorities that have to be managed

Conference Session

Capstone Design III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Greg Kremer, Ohio University-Athens; David Burnette, Ohio University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

DESIGN COURSES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SKILLSIntroductionIn addition to completing a challenging technical curriculum, engineering graduates mustdemonstrate teamwork, communication, and other professional skills including professional andethical responsibility, life-long learning, and understanding the impact of engineering solutionsin a global and societal context. Unless these outcomes are integrated into students' conceptionsof being a "successful engineer" (getting a job and advancing their career), they will be under-valued and under-developed. This project demonstrates the use of industry-modeled 360°performance reviews in a team-based capstone project to link professional skills with an

Conference Session

Fostering and Assessing Effective Teaming

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steve Roach, University of Texas-El Paso; Elsa Villa, University of Texas-El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

assessments show that through repeated practice, peer leaders become more adept athandling larger numbers of students in group settings, and they become more confident andcapable in leading workshops. Systematic assessments show that students who are engaged Page 13.549.5through PLTL have higher grades, faster time to graduation, and improved retention ofundergraduate students. Students and peer leaders report that students arrive early to PLTLsessions and more fully engage in the process of acquiring conceptual understanding. Ongoingassessments suggest that students exposed to and use cooperative learning early in theirundergraduate careers more

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jin-Hwan Lee, University of Cincinnati; Ali Asgar Bhagat, University of Cincinnati; Karen Davis, University of Cincinnati; Ian Papautsky, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

others. These skills are crucial for future faculty or a career in the industry. One ofthe graduate student mentors in this project was enrolled in a Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)program at the University of Cincinnati.10 Senior projects allowed the graduate student to applythe concepts learned in the PFF courses and experience more teaching activities with students atvarious educational levels. As graduate student mentors, we learned how to gradually introducethe material, rather than overwhelming the undergraduates. It was also critical to identify theneeds and previous educational experiences of the individual students in order to outline acustomized work plan. The work plan included both short-term and long-term goals as well asthe

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Teaching Part Three

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thorsten Wagener, Pennsylvania State University; Sarah Zappe, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

their undergraduate career. The case studies are outlined in Table 1 and Figure 3.Learning objectives start with understanding and using general concepts and end withunderstanding and using actual applied engineering techniques. While the majority of casestudies focuses on geographical areas that the students are familiar with, an explicit attempt ismade to include at least one international study.Table 1. Some details on the case studies introduced.Title Learning objectives LocationNew York City Water Supply Understand and be able to New York City water supply apply the following concepts: reservoir located in the control

Conference Session

Engineering in the Elementary School

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Parry, North Carolina State University; Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University; Elizabeth Miars, Rachel Freeman Elementary School; Lizette Day, Rachel Freeman Elementary School

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

interest in engineering magnet programs, in North Carolina an elsewhere, makes this topic timely. Even though this school/university partnership is in its first year of full implementation, the need to convey progress to date is vital. Future publications will share evaluation results at all levels as well as progress. Introduction One of the well-documented challenges faced by today’s K-12 educational system is the underrepresentation of minorities and low income students in higher level mathematics and science courses. The resulting effect of few students from these demographic groups pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is of enormous concern to many people both inside and outside of STEM. In

Conference Session

Assessment of K-12 Engineering Programs and Issues

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faik Karatas, Purdue University; Amy Micklos, Purdue University; George Bodner, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

EducationAssociation (ITEA)6 has asserted that an increasing knowledge of engineering may increase thenumber of students who choose engineering and technology as their future career. This isespecially crucial because the number of students enrolling in engineering and technology hasbeen constant or declining in recent years. At the same time, the need for engineering andtechnology related school graduates is higher than ever.13 There has been a growing interest in Page 13.1083.2integrating engineering curriculum at the K-12 level as a result of the higher demand ofengineers and technicians.6,14,15 Science education research has shown that conceptions

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Kyun Lee, LeTourneau University; Paul Leiffer; R. William Graff, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

arelessening the likelihood of Gen Yers sticking around. Growing up with computers, cell phonesand being able to immediately upon impulse connect with friends and family around the worldhas made this group accustomed to keeping in touch at all times.”8“Because they are used to a world in which they can be doing multiple things at once, and whichtheir minds are always very active, they’ll come to expect the same degree of heightenedstimulation in the workplace. This means they’ll have to be provided with a regular stream ofnew projects and varied assignments and responsibilities. Not only that, but they will have to beprovided a career path that allows for multiple different jobs and careers throughout theirlifetime.”9“Progressive organizations are

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine; June Marshall, St. Joseph's College

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

roughtimes and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members will enhances students’intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and futureplans. • Make a point to talk with students on a personal level and learn about their educational and career goals. • Seek out students who seem to be having problems with the course or miss class Page 13.968.8 frequently. • Advise students about career opportunities in their major field. • Share past experiences, attitudes, and values with students.Encourage Cooperation Among StudentsLearning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race. Good

Conference Session

Research in Multidisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Halada, State University of New York at Stony Brook; Mary Frame, State University of New York at Stony Brook; Chad Korach, State University of New York at Stony Brook; David Ferguson, State University of New York-Stony Brook

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

elements of this courseinclude:1. Training as mentors for the freshman/sophomore projects, providing peer advisement and feedback.2. A structure that provides a forum for students to learn professional development skills (including advanced presentation, proposal writing, and scientific publication skills), assist in the mentoring process, and network with members of the professional scientific and industrial communities. These activities will help to further develop the research projects students have been involved in as part of the minor program, and will provide strong preparation for successful careers in science and engineering. As part of this effort, students will prepare a journal quality manuscript on their work and a NSF

Conference Session

Research in Multidisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Barry, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Jacqueline Isaacs, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the REU program.Technical CommunicationSince technical communications skills are essential in technical careers2, one of the ABETcriteria is the “ability to communicate effectively.” The teaching of technical communication,however, is a long-term process. Such training is often integrated into curricula3-6. As a result,all three University’s provide workshops on aspects of technical communication and theUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell’s College of Engineering requires the review (and revision)of at least one piece of student writing every semester during an undergraduate student’suniversity career. The challenge, therefore, was to provide some technical communicationtraining in a 10-week-long research program.During Year 1, training in

Conference Session

Engineering and ET Relationships & Professional Development

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Lambrechts, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

, and this may well be an arduousjourney, because we want to retain our roots in ‘hands-on’ education while satisfying therequirements for full engineering instruction. However, this departure from civil engineeringtechnology would leave a void in the preparation of civil engineering ‘technologists’ both for siteengineering and the traditional “number-cruncher” in the office. It would appear that there willbe an increasing demand for technologists for both field and office engineering, but career pathpotential has not yet been established in education and industry. The technologist will be in evergreater demand as the educational background and expectations of graduating civil engineerswho directly pursue their Master’s degree grow. This paper

Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Waterfall, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Elizabeth Albrecht, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

• Extend advising to the classroom; advising is not limited in function, location, time, etc. • Utilize a developmental advising approach according to Winston, Ender and Miller:14 o Academic advising is a continuous process with an accumulation of personal contacts between advisor and student – these contacts have both direction and purpose. o Advising must concern itself with quality-of-life issues, and the advisor has a responsibility to attend to the quality of the student’s experience in college. o Advising is goal related; the goals should be established and owned by the student and should encompass academic, career, and personal development areas. o Advising requires

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Unique Approaches

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shawn S Jordan, Purdue Univeristy; Robin Adams, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

brief discussion of future directions forresearch. Figure 1: Picture of the author’s paper-shredding Rube Goldberg machine Page 13.1.3Background and contextReuben Lucius Goldberg (1883 – 1970) started his engineering career designing sewer systems.In 1914 after six months, he left engineering practice to become a cartoonist. His cartoons took asatirist point of view on technology, with his major underlying message being that technologymisapplied often makes life unnecessarily complicated. According to Goldberg, his cartoonsrepresent “a symbol of man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to achieve minimal results.”He conveyed this

Conference Session

Issues in the Professional Practice of Faculty Members in Civil Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Rose, University of Pittsburgh -Johnstown; Norman Voigt, Penn State, New Kensington

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

similar attributes appropriate to the program educational objectives. Individual faculty members must have educational backgrounds, industrial experience, professional practice, communication skills, and technologically current knowledge that support the field of instruction and program educational objectives. Collectively, the faculty must be capable of providing students an appropriate breadth of perspective and effective instruction in the use of modern technical and non-technical Page 13.1257.3 methodologies in careers appropriate to the program educational objectives.”2In both cases, engineering experience, professional practice

Conference Session

Survivor: The First Few Years

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrienne Minerick, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

advanced degree or pursue acareer in research. Therefore, it is necessary to have well-defined projects that enable successively moreindependence as the participant’s competency grows. It is important that the project enable true research and thatthe participant does not simply act as a lab technician for a graduate student’s project. This section will discuss howto structure 10-week REU student projects to maximize productivity for the faculty member’s research whilesimultaneously facilitating a transformative and positive experience for the undergraduate both in the laboratory andin crafting their own professional career credentials

Conference Session

Innovations in ME Laboratory Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Davis, Kettering University; Craig Hoff, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

theexercise.Requiring the teams to perform the laboratory exercise on their own time provides a bettersimulation of the requirements they will face in their careers. The teams will need to becomeself sufficient, learning to rely on the use of manuals, and professional standards, etc. in order toperform their jobs. In order to help them begin to achieve this process, faculty members providea more detailed tutorial to the host team, and lists of references for all teams. Two hour timeslots are setup to conduct each exercise. If a team fails to complete the exercise during this timeslot, they must schedule another time with the host team. This encourages teams to comeprepared to test.An example laboratory exercise is presented in the Appendix. This exercise, a

Conference Session

Engineering Student Involvement in K12 Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malinda Zarske, University of Colorado at Boulder; Jacquelyn Sullivan, University of Colorado at Boulder; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado at Boulder; Janet Yowell, University of Colorado at Boulder

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

is now amechanical engineering instructor at CU-Boulder and is involved in grant-sponsored researchinto the reasons high school girls go on to choose a career in engineering. Another former Fellowstarted a company which offers the opportunity for high school students to become involved inbuilding elementary schools in developing communities. Yet another Fellow alumnus is teachingaerospace engineering at a high school as part of Project Lead the Way. Last, but not least, a pastFellow is coordinating the current incarnation of the TEAMS program and co-authoring thispaper. Even years later, some of our former Fellows harbor big dreams, envisioning for their ownfuture some deeper involvement in K-12 engineering activities such as developing a

Conference Session

Student Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

P.K. Imbrie, Purdue University; Joe Jien-Jou Lin, Purdue University; Alexander Malyscheff, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

’ Retention based on Cognitive and Non-cognitive FactorsAbstractEngineering students’ affective self-beliefs can be influential factors directly or indirectlyaffecting their academic success and career decision. This paper examines whether students’non-cognitive factors can be used, alone or in combination with cognitive factors, in artificialneural network (ANN) models to predict engineering student’s future retention. Four ANN basedretention prediction models using different combinations of non-cognitive and cognitive factorsare presented. The independent variables includes survey items from nine non-cognitiveconstructs (leadership, deep learning, surface learning, teamwork, self-efficacy, motivation,meta-cognition, expectancy-value, and major

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Michael Morrow, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Mark Allie, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Thad Welch, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

snapshot ofthree different progress points for incorporating real-time DSP into these activities.4.1 At the University of Wisconsin-MadisonThe Society of Women Engineers holds a one week summer program entitled “Engineering To-morrow’s Careers” for young women between their junior and senior years in high school. Theintent is to expose them to engineering and allow them to interact with people who work in a Page 13.1352.8variety of engineering disciplines. As part of this experience, we have hosted a 90-minute combi-nation classroom/lab session entitled “What is digital? (and why do I care?).” In the classroom,we start off by asking them to

Conference Session

Focus on IE Course Design and Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Kauffmann, East Carolina University; Cathy Hall, East Carolina University; Gene Dixon, East Carolina University; John Garner, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Industrial Engineering

AC 2008-2708: PREDICTING ACADEMIC SUCCESS FOR FIRST SEMESTERENGINEERING STUDENTS USING PERSONALITY TRAIT INDICATORSPaul Kauffmann, East Carolina University Paul J. Kauffmann is Professor and Chair in the Department of Engineering at East Carolina University. His industry career included positions as Plant Manager and Engineering Director. Dr. Kauffmann received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and MENG in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Penn State and is a registered Professional Engineer.Cathy Hall, East Carolina University Cathy W. Hall is a professor in the Department of Psychology at East Carolina University. She

Conference Session

Mentoring Graduate Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ram Mohan, North Carolina A&T State University; Vinaya Kelkar, North Carolina A&T State University; Ajit Kelkar, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

directly from their undergraduate semesters, armed with Bachelorsdegrees, but unhappy with the job market and their career prospects.Just as their motives for being in this class are diverse so are their academic backgrounds for theCSE graduate students. Many students have undergraduate degrees in mathematics orengineering, whereas some have majored in Biology, Business, Physics, agricultural sciences.Their level of knowledge of statistics is also varied, although, most have had at least someelementary statistical theory. Teaching statistics to students from different backgrounds is notdifficult, statistics is, in essence, an applied science and lends itself well to most disciplines thancan be quantified. However, all the different backgrounds and

Conference Session

SE Curriculum and Course Management

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arthur Pyster, Stevens Institute of Technology; Devanandham Henry, Stevens Institute of Technology; Richard Turner, Stevens Institute of Technology; Kahina Lasfer, Stevens Institute of Technology; Lawrence Bernstein, Stevens Institute of Technology; Kristen Baldwin, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, Logistics)

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

Page 13.34.1 Larry Bernstein is the Distinguished Service Professor of Software Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. He wrote “Trustworthy Systems Through Quantitative Software Engineering,” with C.M. Yuhas, Wiley, 2005, ISBN 0-471-69691-9. He had a 35-year executive career at Bell Laboratories managing huge software projects deployed worldwide. Mr.© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Bernstein is a Fellow of the IEEE and the Association for Computing Machinery for innovative software leadership. He is on the Board of Center for National Software Studies and Director of the NJ Center for Software Engineering and is an active speaker on Trustworthy

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Kander, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and technical challenges?• How can engineers best be educated to be leaders, able to balance the gains afforded by new technologies with the vulnerabilities created by their byproducts without compromising the well-being of society and humanity?• Will engineering be viewed as a foundation that prepares citizens for a broad range of creative career opportunities?• Will engineering reflect and celebrate the diversity of all the citizens in our society?To quote from the NAE report: “To maintain the nation’s economic competitiveness andimprove the quality of life for people around the world, engineering educators and curriculumdevelopers must anticipate dramatic changes in engineering practice and adapt their programsaccordingly

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Anderson, U.S. Naval Academy; Richard Buehrer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

equipmentfailures.Although it is too early to assess the impact of the research experience on these students’ careers,the experience appears to have been a success. All four students reported a greater depth ofunderstanding of the concepts taught in electromagnetics and communications courses.Additionally, students gained valuable experience in developing and carrying out fieldexperiments—sometimes in less than ideal conditions—and as a result of this experience, somestudents expressed a desire to pursue a graduate degree. Designing this research project alsoprovided several valuable lessons to the instructors which will aid in the further development ofhands-on learning activities for electromagnetics and communications courses. Page

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Miller, University of Pittsburgh -Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

the challenges ofpractical application.Sometime around a student’s sophomore or junior year, they realize that engineering is not anexact science. Conditions surrounding the choice of theories and/or equations are often the mostdifficult to judge. During their academic studies, they are helped in the decision-making by thesectioning of material but once they begin their professional career they suffer from doubt,uncertainty and the loss of the answers in the back of the book. The challenge then forengineering and engineering technology professors is in preparing students to apply classroommaterial to “real life” situations while still supplying them with the essential fundamentals.This paper discusses a class assignment that inspires students