Conference Session

Global Engineering Education: Developments, Implementations

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aurenice Oliveira, Michigan Technological University; Ivan Lima, North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

International

) Student overall performance (collective course GPA) Student performance on standard tests (Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, Brazilian National Final Exam) Student performance on language tests (TOEFL) Student numbers (program participants) Pretest/post test (student preparedness and performance) Student performance in the Capstone class Associated project (documented educational and research-related collaborations) Indirect Measures Student surveys (related to instruction) Student surveys (related to exchange program performance

Conference Session

Curriculum in Civil Engineering Technology

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Rose, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

communication tool. The AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognizes that the ability to communicate effectively is arequired outcome for civil engineering education, noting that in addition to written and oralcommunication skills, graphical communication is also important when interacting withtechnical and non-technical individuals.1Importance and Use of Hand-Drawn SketchesKivett2 notes free-hand sketching can quickly convey technical information to diverse audiences.At public meetings for proposed projects, clients often prefer free-hand architectural sketchesrather than CAD drawings since hand-drawn sketches imply the design is not set in stone,whereas the public may perceive the project as unalterable when CAD drawings are used.2According

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Design Constituents

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dugan Um, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi; Bahram Asiabanpour, Texas State University; Jesus Jimenez, Texas State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Engineering major, Texas A&M University.Bahram Asiabanpour, Texas State University Dr. Asiabanpour is an assistant professor of manufacturing engineering at Texas State University since 2003. He has published several journal and conference papers in Rapid Prototyping and CAD/CAM. He designed and has taught four new senior-level courses in manufacturing engineering program including capstone senior design. He has been very successful in involving undergraduate students in his research in rapid prototyping and in his publications. He has also enlisted the support of local industries in his teaching and research activities.Jesus Jimenez, Texas State University JESUS A. JIMENEZ received the B.S. and

Conference Session

Global Engineering Education: Developments, Implementations

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashraf Alkhairy, Alfaisal University; Leland Blank, Texas A&M University; Duane Boning, MIT; David Cardwell, University of Cambridge; W Craig Carter, MIT; Nick Collings, University of Cambridge; Allan Hayhurst, University of Cambridge; William Milne; Peter Robinson, University of Cambridge; Warren Seering, MIT; Kenneth Smith, MIT; Sallie Sheppard, Texas A&M University; Bill Stronge, University of Cambridge

Tagged Divisions

International

). The plan includes sevencore undergraduate courses in a discipline during the second and third year, and the fourthyear requires six advanced-level courses plus a capstone design project course.The core courses, which cover the major knowledge bases in a specific discipline, representthe second level of courses within a field of study, and teach applied science and engineeringanalysis. The advanced courses include considerable depth of topics in the discipline withoutsacrificing breadth. Page 14.346.10 Table 4. Generic BS Degree Plan Subject Subject

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Moderick Greenfield, Eastern Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Capstone Project 3Total 18-21* OPTION: Students must select PHY 420 or ELEC 450.REQUIRED ENGINEERING MECHANICS COURSESPHY 229 Strength and Elasticity of Materials 4PHY 230 Engineering Dynamics 4PHY 485 Fluid Dynamics 3Total 11The above courses were selected from Engineering Physics because they provide thebasic foundation in Engineering. The student completing these courses will have a strongbackground in Engineering Mechanics. For instance, PHY 229, 230, 360, and 485 are allbasic components administered on the FE Exam. Today, all engineers are required tounderstand Ethnics

Conference Session

Innovations in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Omer Farook, Purdue University, Calumet; Chandra Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet; Essaid Bouktache, Purdue University, Calumet; Jai Agrawal, Purdue University, Calumet; Jared Goodall, South Lake Automation

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

electrical and computerengineering. The rapid changes that are taking place in the engineering field, some of thetechniques the students learned or exposed to might have changed since the time theyentered the program to the time of graduation.Thus a capstone course was necessary to bring the senior students up to date in thevarious fields of electrical and computer engineering and to provide guidance tosuccessfully complete their senior design project. The students take courses based on theplan of study from the freshman year to the senior year when they are required tocomplete a project for graduation. Also the students may not be familiar with sub field ofelectrical engineering like power electronics if they have taken the electives

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Experiential Learning and Economic Development I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Olsen, Washington State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

in a number of exercises designed to help themvet the ideas they have developed and to form teams around the ideas deemed most likely toresult in successful companies. Academic Year ProgramDuring the following academic year, students participate in a year long course taught jointly byfaculty from the Colleges of Business and Engineering. Students work on interdisciplinary teamsto prepare both prototypes and business plans for their own entrepreneurial ideas. At the end ofthe year each team participates in the Business Plan Competition sponsored by the College ofBusiness and judged by external referees. The first course, “Capstone Projects in Innovation andEntrepreneurship” (Entr 496) is a three credit, one

Conference Session

Sustainability and Environmental Issues

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Skokan, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

synthetic fuels. The course isdesigned to inform and prepare students who could enter energy fields as engineers. ColoradoSchool of Mines is responsible for preparing the curriculum at the lecture level and for trainingthe college staff through a summer workshop to offer the courses. We are also available duringthe academic year as content consultants as well as visitors to present special topics to thecollege students. The process of curriculum development has resulted in challenges as well assuccesses. This paper will describe the overall IEED project and, specifically, the Overview ofEnergy Resources course, discuss the assessment of both the teachers and the studentsparticipating in the course, and will detail the challenges and successes of

Conference Session

Issues and Direction in ET Education and Administration: Part I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amin Karim, DeVry University; Jennifer McClain, IEEE

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Japan.However, although knowledge of standards should be integral to engineering and technologyeducation, standards education is still generally acquired after students graduate from college –in their professional lives and as needed. Private corporations, government agencies and otherprofessional organizations have provided this training for the last century, because mostengineering and technology programs in the United States do not have standards education intheir curriculums. In the college curriculums, consideration of standards has been generallylimited to applications in the design of senior projects. Page 14.1070.2The Engineering Accreditation

Conference Session

Assessing Design Course Work

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Sheppard, Stevens Institute of Technology; Edward Blicharz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Peter Dominick, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Engineering Department at Stevens Institute of Technology. He is coordinator of core engineering design courses in Freshman & Sophomore years. Prior to his current position, Blicharz worked for 25 years in project management and systems engineering in the aerospace & telecommunications industries. He has a B.E in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University.Peter Dominick, Stevens Institute of Technology Peter G. Dominick is Assistant Professor of Management in the W.J. Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology. He is coordinator of leadership development education for the School’s Executive MBA

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suryaprasad Jayadevappa, PES School of Engineering; Ravi Shankar, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

students with implementation capability. Courses can be offered from level L3 under the 4 different categories with an option to include courses left out from the previous level L2. Additionally, the first part of the capstone project can be started. We have considered a 2 year capstone project work. The objective of the courses at Level3 is to emphasize on “implementation” of various components in a computer system. Though computer languages will be necessary, we hope that in the near future there will necessary tools that will provide the code once the appropriate design is provided at high level. For example, in a course (L2 level) on OOAD, if we capture the design (functionality

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Assessment and Integrating Entrepreneurship into the Curriculum

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sridhar Condoor, Saint Louis University; Mark McQuilling, Saint Louis University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

technical competence, customerawareness, business acumen, and social values. In addition, engineering students exposed toentrepreneurship early in their education have shown higher retention rates3-6, higher GPAs6, andimproved soft professional skills, which are components of engineering entrepreneurship, evenwhile their understanding of engineering as a technical field does not change3,7. A recent study8revealed how engineering juniors and seniors believe they should receive education aboutbusiness and entrepreneurship throughout their college careers, even though their major is in atechnical field. Traditionally, the capstone senior design projects in undergraduate engineeringprograms come close to exposing the students to the business aspects

Conference Session

Engaging Students in Learning

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Val Hawks, Brigham Young University; Ronald Terry, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

concepts of delegation and direction, and the difference between leadership andmanagement.Students are also given the opportunity to use a 360 self-evaluation instrument developed byMerrell to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses as leaders and as seen by others.They are then expected to formulate one area in which they can improve, work on that areaduring the semester, and write their observations in a paper submitted at the end of the course.To serve as a ‘capstone’ type of project for the leadership section of the course, the students areasked to develop a personal leadership theory and defend it in a short paper.Question 1: Do the students see themselves as leaders?Although, no formal assessment was made of the students during the

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Holden, California Maritime Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

ready to apply to capstone design projects. The background knowledgeneeded to learn microcontrollers does not require typical engineering prerequisites such ascalculus or dynamics. Assuming that microcontroller programming (programming in C) will betaught as part of the microcontroller curriculum, only basic computer skills are needed from thestudents. Most incoming students have the knowledge to get started in microcontrollers.Another advantage is that the students will learn these skills without adding classes to the Page 14.1258.2curriculum. At the California Maritime Academy, as in most engineering programs, the studentcourse load is at a

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

the alumni gave the various areas. Due tochanges in the survey over time, the values represent an average of either 24 alumni responses tothe 2007 and 2008 surveys or the 15 responses to the 2008 survey. The alumni rate theimportance of almost all of the program objective areas as high (4) to extremely high (5).Expanding the list of objectives further may expand the number of highly rated items. But theseoutcomes may be lost within an also extensive list of knowledge domain requirements. Theseare discussed in more detail below.The key areas that we don’t ask our alumni about are BOK Outcomes 16, 17, and 18. Projectmanagement ideas are included in the capstone design course. Each team has a project manager,and the course simulates a consulting

Conference Session

Assessment and Continuous Improvement in Engineering Technology: Part II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Irwin, Michigan Technological University; Nasser Alaraje, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Fluids and Power Systems. As a capstone experience senior year METstudents from each of the focus areas are required to complete a team-based senior designproject. Students progress through a two semester sequence starting with Product Designand Development presenting integrated methodologies that examine marketing,manufacturing, and cross-functional teams including concurrent engineering and projectsutilizing CAD systems, and ending with a Senior Project course including evaluation anddesign optimization methods for efficient and cost-effective designs requiring anoral/written report. In the capstone sequence the student teams generate the design,optimize the design and document the design. Then, during the last semester the teamsplan for

Conference Session

Best Practices in IE Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Terri Lynch-Caris, Kettering University; Daniel Ludwigsen, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Industrial Engineering

technicalprograms. Intern, co-op and capstone experiences and preparation for professional certificationare popular benchmarks for relevance in these programs.2, 3 At Kettering University, all studentsparticipate in a mandatory co-op program from their first year, alternating every quarter betweenacademic terms and co-op work at an industrial or research-oriented sponsor. These culminate ina sponsor-driven thesis project, required for graduation.This fully co-operative model of education demands connection to practical applications inacademic courses. Students expect course topics explicitly tied to industrial needs orprofessional skills. Additionally, students bring a rich variety of experiences from their workterms, and will readily share what they’ve

Conference Session

Curriculum in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology: Part II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Li Tan, Purdue University, North Central; Jean Jiang, DeVry University, Decatur, GA

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

our teaching methods, which include real-time signalprocessing laboratories using low-cost DSP processors, and hands-on projects. We will alsopresent a course assessment and outcome, which will include how the students apply their gainedDSP knowledge to their capstone senior projects. Finally, we will address the possibleimprovement of the course content and associated laboratories.I. IntroductionDigital signal processing (DSP) technology and its advancements have continuously impactedthe disciplines of electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering technology programs. This isdue to the fact that DSP technology plays a key role in many current applications of electronics,which include digital telephones, cellular phones, digital satellites

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Ruhala, University of Southern Indiana; Paul Kuban, University of Southern Indiana

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

needed. Page 14.74.5ENGR 471 then sets up Senior Design, a capstone course were a real engineering project with amechatronics emphasis will be sought. Fall Semester – 1st Year Spring Semester – 1st YearENGR 101 – Engineering Orientation ENGR 108 – Introduction to Design (2dh)ENGR 107 – Introduction to Engineering MATH 330 – Calculus IIMATH 230 – Calculus I PHYS 205 – Intermediate Physics ICHEM 261 – General Chemistry ENG 201 – Rhetoric & Composition IENG 101 - Rhetoric & Composition I PED 1XX

Conference Session

Curriculum in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology: Part I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Muhammad Hasan, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

so,students are well informed about the choices they have for developing a working prototype fortheir capstone design project. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide a flexiblehardware platform to accommodate digital systems. FPGAs provide further opportunities forruntime reconfiguration that may be quite useful in applications requiring frequent changes insystem behavior. In addition to having the necessary background in digital systems design,students need a tool that allows them to easily model their design such that the design could beimplemented smoothly on FPGAs. Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) HardwareDescription Language (VHDL) appropriately meets that need. VHDL even enables IntellectualProperty (IP) cores to be

Conference Session

New Trends in Graduate Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Descoteaux, Norwich University; David Muckerman, CH2M HIll; Scott Sabol, Vermont Technical College

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

research project a student performs as part of the requirements to obtain a degree.Each student's thesis is the culmination of their research, creativity, and scholarship. At NorwichUniversity, the MCE program includes a six credit-hour course which is primarily the researchand production of a capstone project. Before the student begins this course they propose a topicand submit an abstract of their proposed research. Residency occurs after the completion of thiscourse, and during Residency each student presents and defends their capstone project in afashion similar to the defense of a thesis. This presentation occurs during Residency beforemembers of the MCE faculty and the other students.The students have the opportunity to learn both during

Conference Session

Writing Is Fundamental

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Beams, University of Texas, Tyler; Luke Niiler, University of Alabama

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

laboratory reports written by individualsor small teams. The work evaluated was thus principally the work of the EWI cohort. Thewriting samples evaluated in 2007-2008, however, consisted of senior capstone project reportsfrom seven design teams whose total membership was thirty students (seven from electricalengineering and 23 from mechanical engineering). Each team produced a preliminary designreport (known as a Primary Design Document, or PDD) at the end of the first semester ofcapstone design and a Final Design Report (FDR) at the end of the second semester. Thecurricula of electrical and mechanical engineering in the senior year at the University of Texas atTyler have few writing assignments outside of these capstone reports; it thus was not

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ping Ren, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech; Dennis Hong; Richard Goff, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

robotics curriculum is presented in this section. The structure isorganized in a hierarchical manner from senior robotics course and projects to advanced graduaterobotics courses.Senior Robotics Course:Introduction to RoboticsCapstone Senior Design Projects, Robots-relatedNote: The capstone senior design projects on robot development can be used to apply theknowledge in introductory robotics courseEntry Graduate Robotics Course:Robotics Kinematics, Dynamics and ControlNote: This graduate course can also be used to recruit graduate students interested in robotics,but with different backgrounds. The requirements are higher than those of a senior level course.Such examples are shown in previous sections. The coverage can range from

Conference Session

Robots in Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ryan Meuth, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Paul Robinette, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Donald Wunsch, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2009-162: INTRODUCING ROBOTSRyan Meuth, Missouri University of Science and Technology Ryan Meuth received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri –Rolla in 2005 and 2007 respectively. He is currently a Computer Engineering PhD student at Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri – Rolla). He works as a research assistant in the Applied Computational Intelligence Laboratory, contributing to research projects on optimizing the behavior of robot swarms, large scale optimization problems such as computer Go, and high performance computing methods utilizing video game consoles and graphics processing units. His

Conference Session

Trends in Construction Engineering Education I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Dunn, University of Maine

Tagged Divisions

Construction

CMTprogram builds mutual benefit with access to extended resources often not available in universitybudgets.Our program has an active and supportive industrial advisory committee. Participating membershelp in curriculum development and monitor the progress as the program expands. They providementoring opportunities, summer employment, and classroom assistance to enhance the learningenvironment. Many contractors open their active project sites to student groups to allow directobservation of the industry. We encourage professional networking and the industry encouragesstudent participation in the monthly trade meetings to give students greater understanding of theissues surrounding construction. This paper presents the structure of the industrial

Conference Session

New Learning Paradigms I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Warren Hull, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Warren Waggenspack, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Lillian B Bowles, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; David Bowles, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Tiffany Walter Choplin, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

for teaching these skills now engages the engineeringfaculty in a collaborative environment with resources drawn from within the College ofEngineering.We have used a variety of approaches to assess the success of our initiative, including studentevaluations, faculty survey, and an external advisory council. Our initial observations, drawnover a three-year period in Senior Capstone Courses, are that students’ understanding of thetechnical content has increased in the communication-intensive courses. It seems that students’efforts to communicate technical aspects of their designs, have required better understanding ofthese aspects, especially when the students are challenged during their oral presentations.Feedback from design review panels and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gregory Fischer, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gary Pollice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the crux of the problem. Students tend to learn facts in their, inthis case Physics, classes but, like the researchers referred to in the above quote, they don’tnecessarily learn how those facts are relevant to their chosen discipline. This phenomenon wasactually observed during an internal bi-annual review of the capstone design projects in theElectrical and Computer Engineering Department at WPI where it was observed that studentswere having a difficult time synthesizing designs.3 To correct this problem, a radically differentcourse in ECE Design was developed to teach the fundamentals of designing electrical systemsto students at the end of their sophomore year. With this course we were able to reach studentsimmediately after foundational

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olga Pierrakos, James Madison University; Julie Trenor, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

types of methods, and different methods are needed to understand the complexitiesof the research environment. The qualitative data, acquired from students’ weekly journalentries, provided data to further enhance an existing National Engineering Students’ LearningOutcomes Survey (NESLOS), developed by the lead author and utilized in prior efforts 12, 13. Thestrength of the mixed-methods approach used herein is that such qualitative and quantitativetools can be used across project-based learning experiences (undergraduate research, industryinternships, capstone design, service learning, etc.), across engineering disciplines andengineering programs. Key findings are likely to be transferable across other engineering REUprograms as well as other

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Culbertson, Arizona State University; Michael Oehrtman, Arizona State University; Janice Meyer Thompson, Arizona State University; Josh Gardner, Arizona State University; Christopher Mehrens, Arizona State University; Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University

, and mathematics in an NSF-funded Math-Science Partnership grant; serving as Director of the Master of Natural Science (Physics) program at ASU, including ASU’s Modeling Workshops and other summer courses; and leading a new summer research experience for forty math and science teachers project, funded by Science Foundation Arizona. He is also actively involved in a pilot project to provide a compact path to teaching certification for mainstream math and science majors. He has directed an NSF REU program in condensed matter physics, and he is actively involved in undergraduate education, including the teaching of the introductory courses for majors. His experience in teaching and expertise

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Ciaraldi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Eben Cobb, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; David Cyganski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Michael Demetriou; Greg Fischer; Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Fred Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Bradley Miller, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Yiming Rong, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kenneth Stafford, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gretar Tryggvason, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; James Van de Ven, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

designs and the various technical topics are introduced as needed. Each ofthese courses includes elements of CS, ECE and ME. To add cohesion within courses, eachcourse in the unified sequence has its own focus, such as locomotion, sensing, manipulation, andnavigation. Students in the Robotics program also take other required and elective courses,selected from courses already offered by the various engineering departments. In addition, theprogram includes an entrepreneurship component to prepare future “entrepreneurial engineers.”6Like all majors at WPI, the program culminates in a capstone design experience wherein studentssynthesize their accumulated knowledge in a major project. The RBE program is designed sothat it can be accredited under the