Conference Session

Measuring Success of Graduate Program Components

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Zhang, Western Carolina University; Ken Burbank, Western Carolina University; Brian Howell, Western Carolina University; Bill Yang, Western Carolina University; Yeqin Huang, Western Carolina University; Robert Adams, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

through Applications: Comparison of Engraving Capabilitiesbetween the Haas CO2 Laser and the Oxford Lasers Solid State Diode Pumped Laser, abstract accepted bythe Proceeding of the 2008 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference. Pittsburg, PA,June 2008.9. Zhang, L. T., Adams, R. D., Zhang, J. Z., Graduate Learning through Teaching: Design of a DSSSSystem for Undergraduate Wireless Communications Laboratory, abstract accepted by the Proceeding ofthe 2008 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference. Pittsburg, PA, June 2008. Page 13.1065.10

Conference Session

Engineering in the Elementary School

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edmond Saliklis, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

vault and it was championed by the Guastavinos in the early 20th century on the EastCoast of the United States, and by Dieste in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. There wereseveral reasons for choosing this vehicle. One was that the faculty mentor was conductingresearch on this technique and there were many examples of bench-top scale models to view andcritique in our laboratory. The second reason was that the Guastavinos and Dieste created manyhistorically significant works that were structurally efficient and visually arresting. We assumedthat it would be important to show the children images of some of these structures and that suchimages would be effective in capturing their attention. This assumption will be discussed later inthis paper.We

Conference Session

Two Year College Tech Session III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexander Shayevich, Pima Community College; Jeff Goldberg, University of Arizona; Judy Edson, University of Arizona

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

AC 2008-605: PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION OF TRANSFERENGINEERING STUDENTSAlexander Shayevich, Pima Community CollegeJeff Goldberg, University of Arizona Jeff Goldberg is currently Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, at the University of Arizona. He was employed at Vector Research Incorporated and Bell Laboratories previously. Jeff has strong interests in increasing the retention rate of engineering students, improving the classroom experiences, increasing student learning, and increasing the diversity of the engineering student population. Jeff received his Ph.D. from the Michigan, in IOE 1984, and the M. ENGR.and BS from Cornell in ORIE in 1980 and 1979

Conference Session

Writing and Portfolios

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Warren Hull, Louisiana State University; Warren Waggenspack, Louisiana State University; Lillian B Bowles, Louisiana State University; Jennifer Farrell, Louisiana State University; David Bowles, Louisiana State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

database to assist faculty in the development and implementation of innovativeassignments to build students’ communication skills. Incorporating these two learning techniques forwritten assignments was found to be most challenging in Capstone and laboratory courses; therefore,examples of successful implementation in each are presented. Workload impact was found to be minimalwhen the faculty member had obtained tools at a CxC workshop or institute and also took advantage ofthe Engineering Communication Studio resources. Student acceptance was documented via course-endquestionnaires and selected focus groups. Both assessment approaches have yielded consistently positivestudent responses. Other assessment methods are in development, but early

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wookwon Lee, Gannon University; Fong Mak, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

and handouts, assignments, lectures, in-class discussions,group work, laboratory work, use of library and Internet resources, and instructor’s feedback.The entire class was divided into small teams of 3 or 4 students each and two teams were pairedas a group for the reasons further detailed below. With two class sections of the course due tolarge enrollment, there were 4 groups in one section, i.e., 27 students, and 6 groups in the othersection, i.e., 36 students. The topics covered in this course were organized in a manner such thateither as an individual or group as necessary, students could submit written reports as milestonesalong the way. There were seven Written Reports on 1) System Overview, 2) Requirement

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Douglas Cleary, Rowan University; William Riddell, Rowan University; Harriet Hartman, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

. In contrast, in comparison to the male students, thefemale students in Rowan’s engineering program: • Are as active or more in academic enrichment activities, counseling and mentoring activities, study group activities, and student chapters of professional organizations • Are as satisfied or more with the program’s opportunities and offerings, the course workload, the laboratory work, the clinic program, the teamwork emphasis, the faculty- student relationships, and the peer relationships • Have as high or higher academic achievement both overall and in engineering • Have as high or higher retention throughout the program (first-year to second year, second-year to third-year, third-year to

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pradeep Bhattacharya, Southern University & A&M College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethical education is that many valuable endeavors can be started andimplemented in numerous areas of STEM and general education by informing all areas ofthe campus higher education community. The partnership programs can consist of threesegments: classroom/laboratory using a number of hands-on activities; follow upactivities at the middle school/junior high school level in science talent expositions; andreinforcing these ethical principles in summer institutes, and freshman orientations inengineering with concepts of creative thinking. In this paper we will discuss typical casesof above and describe proactive approaches using independent research fields, nowhighlighting potential risks and achieved goals. It is aimed to deduce how these goals

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlisa Labrie Richardson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

such as furniture, toys or model plane according to instructions 1 2 3 4 5 4 Assembled items such as furniture, toys or model plane without instructions 1 2 3 4 5 5 Used common household tools such as screwdrivers, saw, hammer, drill, etc. 1 2 3 4 5 Created or modified an existing mechanical items to improve or change it's 6 1 2 3 4 5 operation, (i.e. toy, small appliance, computer, cell phone, etc.) Used common science laboratory equipment

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vukica Jovanovic, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Mileta Tomovic, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

. In the summer of 2002, she had an internship in the company Gamesa Aeronautica, section Moasa Montajes, Spain where she worked in product distributed environment at manufacturing of aircraft wings and nacelles. After graduating with a Master of Science (M. S.) degree, in area of Industrial Engineering, specialization in Production Systems in 2006, M.S. Jovanovic subsequently continued to work towards her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at Purdue University, department of Mechanical Engineering Technology. She is currently working as a Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant in Product Lifecycle Management Center of Excellence Laboratory at Purdue University. As a graduate student

Conference Session

Reaching Students: Innovations to Curriculum in ET

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Durfee, Eastern Washington University; Donald Richter, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Literacy, 2nd Edition, International Technology Education Association, 2002, ISBN 1-887101-02-0, pages 14-15 Page 13.1326.8 5. Ivey, S. and Lambert, A., “When They Stay and When They Don’t: Examples of First Semester Retention Rates and Relationships to Learning Styles”, Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference 2007, AC2007-3127.6. Garcia, J., and Backer, P., “Assessment of LABVIEW and MULTISIM in the Delivery of Electronics Laboratory Content” Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference 2007, AC2007-235.7. Vygotsky, l

Conference Session

Diversity and K-12 Issues

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Rockland, New Jersey Institute of Technology; John Carpinelli, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Howard Kimmel, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Joel Bloom, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

technology education units. Field experiences to observetechnology education classes are part of the course. The topics will include:1. Philosophical background;2. Content areas of technology education;3. Curriculum/program design and implementation;4. Instructional strategies – Effective teaching and learning;5. Educational measurement and evaluation;6. Classroom and laboratory management; and7. Development, implementation, and evaluation of a technology lesson learning activity. Page 13.529.7ConclusionOur application to the state department of education for offering the Technology Educationprogram was approved in January 2008, and we expect our first

Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pierre Lafleur, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal; Yves Boudreault, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal; Richard Prégent, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

6,0/8,0 287 (56%) 6,67 November (80,2) 5,6/7,8 S4 226 (38%) 6,42 (44, 13) MarchConclusionIn the spring of 2009 we will graduate our first students with the new curriculum entirely inplace. Then, we will be able to compare the “new” with the “old” students. However, we alreadyknow, after two years of implementation, that some of the changes that were made will have tobe adapted in order to attain the original objectives. For example, four major team projects ineach program require new versatile laboratory and demand more supervising resources. In orderto teach communication skills and team work

Conference Session

Design Communications

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Jonassen, University of Missouri; Tamara Knott, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Richard Goff, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Page 13.1062.2text [4]. In that model, the design process includes problem definition based on clientstatement, conceptual design, preliminary design, detailed design, and designcommunication.In our research, we are attempting to scaffold meaningful conversations among designteams in order to improve the quality of their designs. While the construction of sharedknowledge occurs naturally in authentic work groups (project teams, scientificcommunities, etc.), the structure and methods employed in most university courses do notsupport these processes. Most instructional activities, such as laboratories and writingassignments, are individualistic. However, trends toward the integration of active andcollaborative learning methods in large

Conference Session

FPD7 - Global Warming & Sustainability for First-Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Blair Rowley, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Central Michigan University; Thomas Bazzoli, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

of laboratories to afocus on two areas of interest to engineers that involved global warming. The lectures focused onalternative energies and alternative fuels and the labs focused on solar and wind energy sources,and hydrogen fuel cells. In addition, the length of the lectures was increased by a half hour. Thisadditional time was used to present the DVD “An Inconvenient Truth” and its update over a fourweek period, and provided discussion time on global warming. At the beginning and end of thecourse the students answered a global warming perception instrument. This paper focuses on theresults obtained from this perception instrument. Page

Conference Session

Design in the BME Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joe Tranquillo, Bucknell University; Donna Ebenstein, Bucknell University; James Baish, Bucknell University; William King, Bucknell University; Daniel Cavanagh, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

especially if a project is outside the advisor’s technical expertise. • Evaluate technical progress and professional behavior of team members. • Provide analysis and associated grading to the course coordinator. • While it is the responsibility of the advisor to provide technical advice and suggestions, it is not his/her responsibility to make decisions for the team, provide answers to problems that a team is expected to solve, or tell a team when they have done enough work.Mentor(s) • Provide biomedical clinical and/or technical advice to a senior design team. • Provide an opportunity for teams to gain experience in a clinical or laboratory setting. • Commit to the project for nine (9) months. • Commit to

Conference Session

Accreditation Issues

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2008-778: DIRECT MEASURES FOR COURSE OUTCOMES ASSESSMENTFOR ABET ACCREDITATIONHakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver Hakan Gurocak is Director of School of Engineering and Computer Science and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University Vancouver. His research interests are haptic interfaces, robotics, automation, fuzzy logic and technology assisted distance delivery of laboratory courses. Page 13.439.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Direct Measures for Course Outcomes Assessment for ABET AccreditationAbstract - Direct measures provide

Conference Session

Accreditation Issues

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Whiteman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

institutions feel thattheir programs might be misrepresented. Substantial judgment and interpretation had to beapplied in determining how to best allocate course work into the defined categories.As much as possible core technical curriculum requirements were included in the break out ofsubject areas to minimize course work placed in the electives category. Some mechanicalengineering programs are introducing mechatronics into their curriculum. When thesemechatronics courses were part of the mechanical engineering core degree requirements, theywere placed in the vibrations, system dynamics, and controls category. Otherwise, they wereincluded as electives.A few programs listed instrumentation, experimentation, measurement, and laboratories asseparate

Conference Session

Sustainable Energy Issues in Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

lana El Chaar, Petroleum Institute

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

laboratories (ISET) were visited. The trip took place during spring break. Even thoughthis trip was not mandatory, 80% of the class attended. The willingness to learn more wasunlimited. Below are some of the pictures taken during the trip showing some of the sites visited Page 13.777.8 Fig. 5 Wind Farm Visit in Retzstadt owned by Conergy9 Fig. 6 Getting ready to be escorted to the top of the wind turbine.Fig. 7 12.5 MW Photovoltaic Power Plant at the Vine Farm Erlasee10 Fig. 8 SMA11 Inverters Manufacturing Company Visit Page 13.777.9 Fig.9 Institute fur Solare

Conference Session

ET Leadership, Administration, and Articulation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alok Verma, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2008-147: APPLYING SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY TO THE ADMISSIONSPROCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAlok Verma, Old Dominion University Dr. Alok K. Verma is Ray Ferrari Professor and, Director of the Lean Institute at Old Dominion University. He also serves as the Director of the Automated Manufacturing Laboratory and MET Program Director. Alok received his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, MS in Engineering Mechanics and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from ODU. Prof. Verma is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Virginia, a certified manufacturing engineer and has certifications in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. He has organized several international conferences as General

Conference Session

History and Future of Engineering Technology

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence Wolf, Oregon Institute of Technology; Michael O'Hair, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

1974. He was appointed as a dean at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, directing a joint project with MIT in Iran, after which he returned to St. Louis in 1975 as the associate dean of instruction. He headed the Department of Manufacturing Engineering Technologies and Supervision at Purdue University, Calumet, from 1978 to 1980, then served for ten years as the dean of the College of Technology of the University of Houston. After a sabbatical year working on the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Wolf became the president of Oregon Institute of Technology. He retired from administration in 1998, designated as a president emeritus. He

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patrick Jarvis, University of St. Thomas; Jeff Jalkio, University of St. Thomas; Marty Johnston, University of St. Thomas; Christopher Greene, University of St. Thomas; Mari Heltne, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

. Thomas Marty Johnston received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Riverside working in atomic physics. After serving as a Post-Doctorial Researcher at the University of Nebraska he came to the University of St. Thomas in 1995 to initiate an undergraduate research program in physics. When he is not in the laboratory, Marty can be found teaching classical physics, electricity and magnetism, theoretical mechanics or experimental methods.Christopher Greene, University of St. Thomas Chris Greene received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and proceeded to a 25 year career in industry. At Honeywell, he did research on

Conference Session

Interdisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ryan Beasley, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

material and later give another presentation to answer those questions. Once the topic hasbeen explored to the satisfaction of the instructor and the class, a new topic would be chosen.Regular presentations also provide the students with enough experience working in groups forpeer evaluations to play a role in final grades. The method that has been most recommended for encouraging active learning in the classis through project-based learning, such as investigating real-world problems, working with actualmedical equipment, and by holding regular laboratory exercises. Incorporating projects wouldrequire some restructuring of the class, but may be synergistic with the regular group

Conference Session

Non-Technical Skills Build Success in ET

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Edwards, Pennsylvania State University-Erie; Gerald Recktenwald, Portland State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

systemand to think about any differences they observe compared to their preconceived ideas. Thedemonstration is intended to be immediately followed by a lecture on the topic. In the case ofthe hair dryer the topic is the first law of thermodynamics for an open system. The third step isfor the students to meet in the laboratory for a more extensive exercise using the same apparatus.Each of these steps is described in more detail below.Use of a Hair dr yer as a Teaching ToolThe use of something that is familiar to the students for a demonstration can add relevance to anunfamiliar process that is being described in a lecture13 . There are many examples of the use ofsimple devices being used as teaching tools in the literature. Jodl and Eckert give

Conference Session

Industry and Engineering Technology Partnerships

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jaby Mohammed, Morehead State University; Sam Mason, Morehead State University; Xiaolong Li, Morehead State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

-be students opted to earn rather thanlearn (1997). As the unemployment rate continued to drop and the economy offered more jobopportunities, the enrollment numbers continued to drop in the department to dangerously lownumbers compared to the past three decades. Beginning in 1991, the Mining and ReclamationEnergy Studies program was eliminated due to the decline in the coal boom of Eastern Kentucky.According to Smith-Mello and Schirmer, from 1990-1992, Kentucky coal mines had a reductionof 58% from 1,769 to 752 and surface and strip mine operations fell 71% from 943 to 270(1994).Due to a steady decline in enrollment in the early 1990’s, expensive laboratories, highlyspecialized faculty and continued association with vocational education, the

Conference Session

BME Courses & Curricular Content

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Linsenmeier, Northwestern University; David Gatchell, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

Expertise Abbott Laboratories Biomaterials AstraZeneca Biomechanics Baxter Healthcare Bioinformatics Boston Scientific Bioinstrumentation Cardiodynamics BioMEMS Cleveland Medical Devices Biotransport Page 13.981.4 Datasciences, International Cellular Biomechanics Dentigenix, Inc. Computational Modeling Table 2 continued Companies

Conference Session

K-12 Engineering Outreach Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Powers, Clarkson University; Bruce Brydges, SUNY Potsdam; Gail Gotham, SLL BOCES; James Carroll, Clarkson University; Peter Turner, Clarkson University; Douglas Bohl, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

them establish a benchmark for their current pedagogical approaches and strive tomove into a higher quadrant.Specific Program ComponentsThere are numerous programs and program components within our Partnership. A few examplesare described here to illustrate the breadth of both the approaches used and the STEM disciplinesaddressed.Teacher Training through STEM InstitutesThe optimal partnership involves teachers partnering with working scientists, mathematicians,and engineers, who have sophisticated equipment in laboratory work space, computing facilitiesand other resources of higher education. Well-designed 30-hour Summer Institutes provide a“hands-on”, project-based environment to improve teachers’ content knowledge throughapplication

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glenn Ellis, Smith College; Mary Moriarty, Smith College; Gary Felder, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

mandatory for students identified bythe above criteria.II. IN THE CLASSROOMThe class met for six hours a day for five consecutive days during the last week of August. All11 students attended each session and arrived on time and were actively engaged throughout theentire class time. Prof. Glenn Ellis from the Picker Engineering Program was the lead instructorin the course. Dr. Catherine McCune, Director of the Quantitative Learner Center (QLC), alsoled a two-hour session and was present for much of the class time. Two Smith engineeringstudents—Shannon Comiskey (a junior) and Briana Tomboulian (a senior)—provided additionalassistance in the classroom. Hands-on activities and laboratories, group-learning experiencesand class discussion were the

Conference Session

Engineering and Math Potpouri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S.K. Sen, Florida Institute of Technology; Gholam Ali Shaykhian, NASA

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

has 58 systems. In Asia, Japan leads with20 systems, Taiwan has 11, China 10 and India 9 [18]. The No. 1 position goes to the BlueGene/L System, a joint development of IBM and theUS Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) andinstalled at DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. AlthoughBlueGene/L has been in the No. 1 position since November 2004, the current system is muchfaster at 478.2 teraflops compared to 280.6 teraflops six months ago before its upgrade. BlueGene/P system installed in Germany at the Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ) is in theNo. 2 position with the processing speed of 167.3 teraflops while the No. 3 system is at the

Conference Session

Professional Graduate Education & Industry

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald Keating, University of South Carolina; Thomas Stanford, University of South Carolina; Joseph Rencis; Eugene DeLoatch, Morgan State University; Mohammad Noori, North Carolina State University; Edward Sullivan, California Polytechnic State University; David Woodall, Oregon Institute of Technology; Norman Egbert, Rolls-Royce Corporation; David Quick, Rolls-Royce Corporation; Albert McHenry; Roger Olson, Rolls-Royce Corporation; Samuel Truesdale, Rolls-Royce Corporation; Timothy Lindquist, Arizona State University; Harvey Palmer, Rochester Institute of Technology; Joseph Tidwell, Arizona State University Polytechnic; Mark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology; Duane Dunlap, Purdue University; Mark Schuver, Purdue University; Edmund Segner, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Stephen Tricamo, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Barry Farbrother, University of New Haven; Ken Burbank, Western Carolina University; Carla Purdy, University of Cincinnati; Randall Holmes, Caterpillar Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

Conference Session

Capstone Design II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Conrad, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; William Heybruck, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Daniel Hoch, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Martin Kane, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Peter Schmidt, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Frank Skinner, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Linda Thurman, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Charlotte College of Engineering Industrial Solutions Laboratory he was a Senior Engineer for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies specializing in the Microdrive and automotive hard disk drives. Prior to Hitachi, he was Product Development Manager for the Wireless products at IBM. He has three patents in the field of test technology.Daniel Hoch, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Dan Hoch is a faculty associate in the Engineering Technology Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He teaches courses in the Mechanical Engineering Technology department such as machining practices, senior design, and thermodynamics. Dan’s areas of interest are related to thermal