Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Design in the Classroom

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Pines, University of Hartford; Hisham Alnajjar, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

engineering curriculum went through a major curriculum change in2001 that included adding an interdisciplinary sophomore and junior design course to theexisting freshman and senior design capstone courses. The new courses were added as part of aNSF grant entitled “Integrating Engineering Design with the Humanities, Social Sciences,Sciences and Mathematics.” The interdisciplinary sophomore design course has undergoneseveral iterations since its inception. Initially, the sophomore course paralleled our seniorcapstone design course with each project team of 3 to 6 students working on industrial sponsoredproject with a practicing engineer as the technical mentor. This approach has worked extremelywell for our senor design course because of the effort put

Conference Session

Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cathy Burack, Brandeis University; John Duffy, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Alan Melchior, Brandeis University; Eric Morgan, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

exercise, it can potentially help someone.” They also sawservice-learning as a way of reinforcing the idea that engineering (and engineers) can contributeto the solution of social problems in the community. However, these benefits were generallyframed as coincidental outcomes rather than as an intentional, integrated part of the community-based learning experience for students. One faculty member noted that it is “difficult to focus onsocial implications. In the capstone, we do ask students to think about environmental and socialissues as part of review questions. But we don’t have significant discussions on socialconnections as part of projects.” Another faculty member in a different department said, “Wedon’t talk about social impacts much. We

Conference Session

Assessing Design Coursework

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Plumley, US Coast Guard Academy; Vincent Wilczynski, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

instance, students will draw on their knowledge of all courses fortheir capstone design project, including strengths of materials, thermodynamics, and machinedesign to name but a few. The presence of small design, build, and test projects in these coursesis intended to help students develop problem solving and design skills in the context of thosecourses. The portfolio provides a means for instructors of those courses to quickly see how theirclass contributes to the design goals of the program. More importantly, it allows instructors ofcore courses who may be from different departments to see the importance of their course to theMechanical Engineering program. At a small institution like the Coast Guard Academy, whereover 50% of students

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Teaching Part One

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Bronzini, George Mason University; Michael Casey, George Mason University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Conference, Nashville, TN.11. Chowdhury, S., Jalloh, A., Rojas-Oviedo, R., Seif, M., and Mobasher, A. (2007), “Capstone Design Course as a Tool for Assessment and Improvement,” AC 2007-895, Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI.12. Welch, R., and Estes, A. (2003), “Client-Based Projects for Every Senior – A Mark of Excellence for any Program,” Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Annual Conference, Nashville, TN.13. Bielefeldt, A. (2005), “Challenges and Rewards on On-Campus Projects in Capstone Design”, Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Annual Conference, Portland, OR.14. Chou, K., Wilde, W., and Moaveni, S. (2007), “Subcontracting the Senior Design Project in Civil Engineering” Journal of Professional

Conference Session

Collaborative & New Efforts in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fanyu Zeng, Indiana Wesleyan University

Tagged Divisions

International

the softwareengineering curriculum. This analysis particularly includes examining: • Team projects • Senior student capstone project reports and Master’s degree thesis • Curriculum for software engineering • Student end of course surveyCurriculum Review, Interview, Observations, Evaluation, and Survey StudiesAlthough this study mainly relies on quantity data analysis from observation, evaluationand survey, it is still feasible to review existing curriculum, interview Chinese instructorsfor their valuable personal experience and observe a sample of student’s project workfirst. Personal experience is always easy to obtain and results could be directly used togather findings. Interviewing Chinese instructors to obtain their personal

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Meyer, Purdue University; Mark Johnson, Purdue University School of ECE; Cordelia Brown, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, where networked computers arereadily available, nor does it occur when all team members are working in the same physicallocation. Our hypothesis is that equipping each project team with wireless Tablet PCs should notonly significantly improve the spontaneity (and regularity) with which the on-line lab notebooksare updated, but also facilitate collaboration among team members working on the design projectat different locations. An HP Technology for Teaching Grant has provided a critical mass ofTablet PCs to test this hypothesis. A description of how the equipment provided is beingutilized, along with a discussion of the preliminary results obtained, is presented in this paper.IntroductionIn most team-oriented capstone design courses, creation

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Waldron, Grand Valley State University; Pramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State University; Shabbir Choudhuri, Grand Valley State University; John Farris, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2008-2172: TEACHING DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF MECHANICALSYSTEMS - PART IIWilliam Waldron, Grand Valley State UniversityPramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State UniversityShabbir Choudhuri, Grand Valley State UniversityJohn Farris, Grand Valley State University Page 13.1156.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Teaching design and manufacture of mechanical systems using multidisciplinary teams-Part IIIntroductionA lot of progress has been made in recent years in improving engineering education, e.g.,emphasizing communication skills, working in teams, integration of computer-aided engineering(CAE), and capstone/senior design projects

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Technology Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Trian Georgeou, Arizona State University; Scott Danielson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

made by the students). Following thiscourse, students can also take either a high-performance-machining course and or a four- andfive-axis machining course.The paper briefly describes the CNC courses and the software and equipment used by thestudents. But, most importantly, the paper describes the benefits realized by the mechanical,aeronautical, and automotive engineering technology students from taking these courses. Thesophistication of the student’s design and build projects in their capstone class has seen adramatic increase since the students have begun to acquire the CNC machining experience.Thus, the paper builds a case for the value-added aspect of CNC machining within MechanicalEngineering Technology.IntroductionThe authors believe

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Samantha Jacques; Deepti Suri, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

thestudents are expected to know and accomplish at the time of graduation. Of particular interestand pertinent to the current discussion are criterions 3(d): an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams, 3(f): an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, and 3(g): anability to communicate effectively.In most engineering programs, capstone design courses tend to be the courses where these ABETcriteria are typically addressed. Capstone courses have evolved over the years from professordefined designs to industry-sponsored projects where “real” problems are given4,5. Asconstructivist theories of learning became popular, and the academic community recognized thatthat learning is a social activity6, these capstone project-based

Conference Session

Design Communications

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Ekwaro-Osire, Texas Tech University; Innocent Afuh, Texas Tech University; Peter Orono, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

students the ability to develop search strategies that will come up with moremeaningful results. Reading through the results, they will see and learn how to relate and useinformation not only in their final reports, but also in their design notebooks and presentations.The rubrics developed here are applied at two major engineering programs. The rubrics wereused in a capstone course. The implications of the results in the context of engineering designeducation are discussed.1. Introduction Engineering design education is a central element of student training in engineering schools.Design projects are usually open ended and thus present students with challenges. This requiresthem to sift through large amounts of information in all formats. Blake

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Design in the Classroom

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tongele Tongele, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

?” Once again, let’s resist the temptation of trying the answer the questions, and note thatwhen students become seniors and prepare to graduate, they must take capstone design coursesand do senior projects. This looks like a last opportunity but a major opportunity for students toget in depth in the use of codes and standards. This certainly sounds like the “major designexperience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier coursework and incorporatingappropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints” required by ABET. But thequestions remain relevant even up to this point: “Do students use in depth codes and standards intheir capstone design or senior projects?” There may not be an absolute yes or no to the

Conference Session

Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vince Prantil, Milwaukee School of Engineering; William Howard, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

] compiled a subjective assessment of common mistakesin finite element analysis routinely performed in many industrial sectors. After 5 years ofcollecting anecdotal evidence in both teaching undergraduates and advising capstonedesign projects, we found this list to be nearly inclusive of the most common and moreserious errors encountered by novice users of the finite element method. Here, we addseveral additional mistakes commonly observed in the classroom and in capstone designnumerical analyses and present the augmented list in Table 1. While it may come as nosurprise that novice users commit many, if not all, of these errors, they appear toroutinely and repeatedly encounter a particular subset of them. TABLE 1. COMMON MISTAKES IN

Conference Session

Preparing Engineers for the Global Workplace

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Parkinson, Brigham Young University; John Harb, Brigham Young University; Spencer Magleby, Brigham Young University; Chelita Pate, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

International

culture via aLearning project that connects technology with the abroad society. There has also been growing interest in programs such as Engineers Without Borders, which provide service learning via humanitarian projectsInternational Design/Capstone International experiences are integrated with departmental seniorProjects design/capstone programs. In this model groups of students are assigned projects that have international content.Research Abroad Students travel to an abroad laboratory and conduct research under the guidance of a faculty member or post

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Frederick Berry, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

further by requiring a junior-level course (ECE 362: Principles of EngineeringDesign) which teaches the fundaments of design before the students start their capstoneexperience. The course is required for all electrical and computer engineering students.ECE 362 is – essentially – a technical writing course taught within the confines of a ten-week quarter. Page 13.1370.2Students explore, develop, and document the framework for a product idea they wouldlike to pursue during their senior-level capstone course. The concepts of discipline-specific research, project design specifications, high-level design, detailed design, workbreakdown schedules, budgets, and

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Teaching Part Three

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Collins, J.P. Morgan Chase; Gerard Lennon, Lehigh University; John Ochs, Lehigh University; Richard Weisman, Lehigh University; Vincent Munley, Lehigh University; Joseph Sterrett, Lehigh University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

AC 2008-1253: A DECADE OF UNIVERSITY SPORTS FACILITY DESIGNCOURSESMichael Collins, J.P. Morgan Chase Michael G. Collins is a first-year analyst in J.P. Morgan Chase’s Management Services Program where he will rotate between 4 different branches of the bank. He is a January 2008 graduate of Lehigh University earning both a B.S. in the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors program as well as a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Michael has participated in 3 different courses at Lehigh which utilized a project-based curriculum to partner students with outside clients. In the Integrated Business and Engineering Capstone Project he worked with Online Staffing Solutions of Allentown, PA

Conference Session

Sustainability and Engineering Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Thorn, Rochester Institute of Technology; Andres Carrano, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

forboth departments.7.5 Capstone Project or ThesisFor each program there is a required summary capstone experience. For the Applications ofSustainable Engineering capstone project (for M.Eng. students, 4 credit hours), students areexpected to develop a design or an implementation with applications in sustainability.Comprehensive assessments of such developments are anticipated. In the thesis (for M.S.students, 9 credit hours), students are expected to engage in a novel research problem. Aformal written thesis and oral defense before a faculty committee are required.8. SummaryAt the KGCOE, student interest has motivated a number of developments with respect to thediscipline of sustainable engineering. These developments include • expanded

Conference Session

Curriculum Development in Mechanical Engineering Technology

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ivana Milanovic, University of Hartford; Tom Eppes, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

andinterestingly enough how student-designed experiments can be deployed into other courses forre-use. Page 13.905.3MARATHON StructureIn most undergraduate engineering and technology curricula, design and research experiences aredelayed until the capstone/senior design project. This prevailing approach does not properlyprepare students for the creative rigors of design-level activity. Typical laboratories precedingthe capstone experience consist of a set of exercises with largely pre-set experimental set ups andinstructions. Detailed procedures are provided and expected to be followed; outcomes are largelypre-determined with written reports detailing the

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Durfee, Eastern Washington University; William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

codes.During all of this classroom discussion, actual work experiences are solicited from the students.Many of the students have previous or current job experiences and most of the students have, bythis point in their academic program, completed an internship. Experiences that the students havehad in these working environments provide a wealth of material for discussion. Additionally, theinstructor provides a few examples of his own, and also includes some of the classic examplesused to discuss ethical failures within the technology and engineering professions. This entirelesson is also a subset of a lifelong learning project each student in the capstone course mustcomplete. In this project the students create a ten-year career plan that involves

Conference Session

Preparing a Modern Aerospace Workforce

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Helbling, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Lance Traub, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

for use of the Rapid Prototyping Lab by students to allow fair andequitable access to the printers. The build times for parts can be rather lengthy, especially forthose for which aerodynamic shaping is critical. Therefore, all parts to be fabricated must beapproved by a faculty member who is placed in charge of the lab and who ensures that the partshave some stated academic purpose. The CAD files are then brought to one of two labtechnicians, who evaluate the parts in terms of fidelity, projected build time, and cost. Build jobs(which typically consist of several parts which make up an assembly) are limited to a 48 hourbuild time and $500 cost. The senior capstone design courses are given priority, with all othercourses queued on a first come

Conference Session

Research in Multidisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Bachmann, James Madison University; Jeffrey Tang, James Madison University; Carl Puffenbarger, James Madison University; mike kauffman, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, human-defined problems.During the junior and senior years, students focus their studies more narrowly on one of severaltopic areas, arranged not by disciplines but by “strategic sectors.” Based on the National CriticalTechnologies list,4 the sectors are currently: biosystems, energy, engineering & manufacturing,environment, information & knowledge management, and telecommunications. After narrowingtheir coursework to three of these sectors during their junior year, students concentrate theirstudies in one area during their senior year. Every student completes a capstone senior project,most of which have strong hands-on component, fitting the departmental ethic of real-world,applied learning and work.The work of the AFV is, in several

Conference Session

Innovative Programs - Structure, Delivery, Evaluation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Joseph Tidwell, Arizona State University; Ronald Thomas, Raytheon; William Charlton, Boeing

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

dialogs withindustry-based participants, there are some useful outcomes for academic projects.However, we should first recognize four important differences. Student academicprojects (at least up to PhD level) are usually: 1. Undertaken by individuals or a small group. The participants do not have much variety or depth in the experience they bring to the project. 2. Short in duration. Even a capstone project is only equivalent to about a month of full-time energetic project work. That’s not long to learn practical techniques. 3. Not part of a continuous development scheme where one project depends on the timely delivery of results from another. 4. Learning-focused. That means that although a project may be funded by a

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sandra Yost, University of Detroit Mercy; Mohan Krishnan, University of Detroit Mercy; Mark Paulik, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Innovative Curriculum for Undergraduate Electrical and Computer Page 13.421.11Engineering Students.”References [1] M. Paulik and M. Krishnan, “A competition-motivated capstone design course: The result of a fifteen-year evolution,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 67–75, February 2001. [2] F. C. Berry, P. S. DiPiazza, and S. L. Sauer, “The future of electrical and computer engineering education,” IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 467–476, Nov 2003. [3] J. S. Bruner, The process of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960. [4] W. M. Clark, D. DiBiasio, and A. G. Dixon, “Project-based

Conference Session

Assessing Design Coursework

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Bannerot, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

) ‚ Initial Testing: Oct 8th ‚ Final Testing and Artifact Evaluation: Oct 31st ‚ Team Presentation: Nov 7th ‚ Team Final Report and Extended Abstract: Nov 19th 12% 5. Midterm exam (closed book), Oct 15th 23% 6. Final Exam (closed book), Dec 12thTeam ProjectThe largest single component of the grade is the grade for the Team Project. Asummarized problem statement (The actual problem description is usually seven or eightpages.) for the Fall 2007 team project is presented in Table 2. All elements of the projectare submitted by the team, not by individuals as in the capstone course. Students self-select into teams of four (to the extent possible). The major deliverables for the projectare: a final report, a

Conference Session

Sustainability and Engineering Courses

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Reisdorph, the GreenTeam Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

establishsustainability definitions, guides, and processes. For example, ASTM E 2432-05 StandardGuide for General Principles of Sustainability Relative to Buildings provides direction on how toincorporate sustainability into the design, construction and operation of buildings and would be arelevant standard to guide engineering student capstone projects related to buildings. ASTMInternational has assembled its standards with sustainability aspects relative to buildings into acompendium to more readily encourage incorporation into building design, construction andoperation.5 Designers of building products would likely reference and use as a guide ISO21930:2007 Sustainability in building construction – Environmental declaration of building

Conference Session

Recruitment & Retention in ET Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raju Dandu, Kansas State University at Salina; John DeLeon, Kansas State University at Salina

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

open to various other student populations on anoptional basis but will be mandatory for ELITE students:Enhanced Capstone ExperiencesAll Engineering Technology students are required to take a senior project course for theircapstone experience during the fall semester of their senior year. This course focuses on theprinciples and design methodology required to solve a significant design problem in a teamcontext. The project encompasses determining customer requirements, exploring and choosingdesign alternatives, scheduling, and project management. Significant milestones are the project'sconceptual, preliminary, and critical design reviews, which require written and oralpresentations. Often these projects are supported by local industry and they

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Godfrey, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Todd Taylor, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Corinna Fleischmann, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Daniel Pickles, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

instructors of each major’s seniordesign capstone project began holding multi-disciplinary “Engineering Ethics Lunches”.Students and faculty form small groups during scheduled lunches to discuss specificethical topics related to the engineering profession. The discussions are based uponassigned readings and suggested talking points developed jointly by the faculty.Afterwards, the students are required to submit essays reviewing their discussions andanswering an ethical question based upon the topic.Now in its fourth semester, the multi-disciplinary ethics lunches have receivedoverwhelmingly positive feedback from both the instructors and students. This paperwill discuss the format of the multi-disciplinary ethics discussions, the type of

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

-based, active learning environmentsfor improvement of student comprehension and engagement.1,2,3 Active-learning requires Page 13.414.2students to be involved in key activities of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. 4 For universitystudents, these activities are most clearly present in the context of directed and independentresearch.5 While certain active-learning activities can (and should) be built into the structure ofwhat would normally be a lecture class (such as group discussions, demonstrations, and groupdesign projects), the level of student engagement supported by a research project would be hardto duplicate in a classroom environment

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Friauf, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Steven Reyer, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

and patterns of expression, we find the gaps and lack of force that thinking alone oftenfails to identify. Writing has tremendous potential variety, each format serving specificpurposes. Yet the ultimate intent is to convey a message, ranging from precise clarity tointentional ambiguity.A central intent of the MSOE Electrical Engineering program and curriculum is to instill theimportance of professional skills, in addition to the normally expected technical skills.Communication, with an emphasis on writing, culminates in the capstone senior designexperience. While the nominal purpose of the three quarter course sequence is to teach theprocess of design, the project itself is the vehicle used to bring “to life” the design process and todevelop

Conference Session

Preparing a Modern Aerospace Workforce

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Narayanan Komerath, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

aerospace students. Several examples of current “grand projects”are considered, and progress towards them is summarized. Several ideas and proven strategiesfor nurturing such talents in formal curricula are considered.IntroductionWhen asked how to define and differentiate aerospace engineering, the best answer used to be:“Aerospace engineers turn the dreams of Humanity to reality through science and engineeringinnovation”. This is hard to remember in an age when air travel has become less pleasant than avisit to the dentist, working for airlines and aerospace companies seems to be a perpetualscramble to stay aloft in a downdraft, and we are under constant pressure to bring “cost reality”to squelch the enthusiasm of students and “focus on realistic

Conference Session

Learning to Communicate with Engineers and Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura Wilson, University of CIncinnati; Teresa Cook, University of Cincinnati; Jo Ann Thompson, University of Cincinnati; James Everly, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

Technology (ECET) department, with at least half of the graded weight comingfrom humanities components.5 The major project for this junior capstone was designed toweave together all of the concepts learned in the first two years of the engineering program(including both humanities and engineering courses). Assignments included an annotatedbibliography, a proposal, an oral presentation, and a project poster board.5 By strengtheningthis relationship and introducing a writing component into the engineering courses from anearly onset, it is believed that the students’ attitudes about and relationships with their ownwriting will improve, as has been suggested by the results of other studies.6Putting a heavy emphasis on humanities components in technical