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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Kayson Christensen; Jordan Hunt; Brayden Parady; Melanie Butts; Abdennour Seibi; Mohammad Shekaramiz; Mohammad Masoum

Airflow Velocity Measurements: A Project-Based Learning ExperienceKayson ChristensenJordan HuntBrayden ParadyMelanie ButtsAbdennour SeibiProf. Abdennour is a member of ASME and SPE. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering, MS,and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics at Penn State University. He is a distinguished researcher inproblems related to the energy sector and advanced materials. He has published over 150 technical papersand 30 technical reports which earned him international recognition from ASME and SPE. He is currentlya Professor in the Mechanical Engineering program, at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA.Mohammad ShekaramizMohammad Masoum © American Society for Engineering Education, 2023

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Paul McMullin

A Framework for Teaching Project Based Structural Engineering CoursesPaul McMullinPaul is an educator, structural engineer, and mountaineer. He holds degrees in Mechanical and Civilengineering, and is a licensed engineer in numerous states. He worked through college as a steel detailer,and spent the last 20 years working on unusual (and ordinary) projects. His favorite work is on historic,industrial structures, on the verge of falling down (or well on their way). He is the lead editor of theArchitects Guidebook to Structures. In his spare time, he loves being with his wife and kids; climbing,hiking, sewing packs, remodeling the house, and living life. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2023A Framework

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Salman Mohaghegi

Advancing Energy Justice in Power and Energy Systems: A Project-BasedLearning ApproachSalman MohagheghiSalman Mohagheghi received the PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering in2006. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Electrical Engineering Department at ColoradoSchool of Mines. Prior to that, he was a Senior R&D Engineer at ABB Corporate Research Center,Raleigh, NC. His research focuses on power grid resilience against natural and manmade hazards,renewable energy resources, data analytics, and healthcare equity. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Advancing Energy Justice in Power and Energy Systems: A Project-Based Learning

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Blake Brandt; Melanie Butts; Abdennour Seibi; Matthew Ballard; Mohammad Shekaramiz

Project-Based Learning Experience: Design, Construction, and Testing ofNeutral Buoyancy Bubble Generation MachineBlake BrandtMelanie ButtsAbdennour SeibiProf. Abdennour is a member of ASME and SPE. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering, MS,and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics at Penn State University. He is a distinguished researcher inproblems related to the energy sector and advanced materials. He has published over 150 technical papersand 30 technical reports which earned him international recognition from ASME and SPE. He is currentlya Professor in the Mechanical Engineering program, at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA.Matthew BallardMohammad Shekaramiz © American Society for Engineering Education

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Melanie Butts; Isaac Manning; Abdennour Seibi; Matthew Ballard; Mohammad Shekaramiz; Abolfazl Amin

Project-Based Learning of Computational Fluid Dynamics: Challenges andLessons Learned – A Personal PerspectiveMelanie ButtsIsaac ManningAbdennour SeibiProf. Abdennour is a member of ASME and SPE. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering, MS,and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics at Penn State University. He is a distinguished researcher inproblems related to the energy sector and advanced materials. He has published over 150 technical papersand 30 technical reports which earned him international recognition from ASME and SPE. He is currentlya Professor in the Mechanical Engineering program, at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA.Mohammad ShekaramizAbolfazl AminI am an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering program of the

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Jessica Rush Leeker; Lyndsay Ruane; Hannah Sanders; Robertha Richardson

Where do we start? Lessons learned from the PI, graduate research assistant,undergraduate researcher, and a community member starting their inter-institutional STEM-focused community-engaged project using PALARJessica Rush LeekerThere is no shortage of inspiration and devotion within Dr. Jessica Rush Leeker.Fueled by her desire to deepen her knowledge and understand how she can leave a lasting impact on theworld and the people around her, Dr. Rush Leeker has cultivated a rich educational background. Equippedwith her undergraduate degree in Supply Chain and Information Systems from Penn University and herPh.D. in Engineering Education and MBA in Sustainability and Operations from Purdue University, sheis proud to currently share her

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Abolfazl Amin; Israd Jaafar; Abdennour Seibi; Sean Tolman P.E.; Matthew Ballard

was realized that a very strong Capstone program was needed in each of the fourdisciplines of engineering. Team-based learning was the core of the Learning Outcomes inCapstone courses as required by ABET. The focus of this paper is on the Capstone course in theMechanical Engineering (ME) program. Capstone has been taught as ME-4810 and 4820 in twoconsecutive semesters as three-credit-hour courses. In the past five years practical projects havebeen assigned to teams of seniors with great success. Each team has been assigned a coach/mentorwho has advised and monitored each team’s progress. Extreme care was taken in requiringstudents to use a comprehensive engineering design process, perform correct engineering analysis,use CAD and FEA tools as

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Barbara Sobhani; Veronica Corral Flores; Victor Andersen

WARP-SPEED: Increasing engineering student engagement through co-curricular undergraduate researchBarbara SobhaniBarbra Sobhani is the Director of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, housed at the University ofColorado Boulder, working with students on campus as well as across the state on space science andaerospace engineering projects. Barbra has been an educator for over 20 years, as a physics professor,Honors program director and STEM dean. Barbra's interdisciplinary background in physics, geophysicsand biology has led to a passion for experiential learning and interdisciplinary project development. Theproblems facing the world are wicked and complex, so helping the next generation become innovativeproblem solvers is crucial.Veronica

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Iris Bahar; Ashley Oelrich; Bridget Griswold; Eva Goetz

-hour class time split between lectures and hands-on student design ofprojects. Because the class was composed of students from various backgrounds from Brownand RISD, the Brown instructor’s lectures primarily focused on ensuring a common level ofunderstanding of the hardware and software components involved in each class project. Thismeant students from different disciplines established a foundation of knowledge essential for thesuccessful completion of all projects. Artist Eva Goetz’s lectures enhanced students’ learning byshaping the way they viewed the technology they were learning how to create. She sought toincrease awareness of the greater societal implications of modern robotics and encouragestudents to ponder the ethics of the

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

John Annor; Francois Jacobs

paper is to examine a collaboration between secondary (high school)and post-secondary (college or university) education institutions and construction industryprofessionals aimed at boosting the construction workforce. The paper seeks to address theshortage of skilled workers in construction and to drive an increase in the construction workforceby connecting faculty and industry to provide students with practical, real-world experience andto ensure that the skills they learn are relevant and in-demand in the industry. Wyoming added5,672 jobs in 2018, with the construction industry accounting for more than half of the increase.This positive feat may be unsustainable going forward due to a projected decrease in high schoolgraduates between 2020

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Cortney Holles; Cynthia James; Roel Snieder; Qin Zhu

Teaching with Heart in CommunityCortney HollesCortney Holles, Ed.D. is a teaching professor at Colorado School of Mines who teaches sciencecommunication, service learning, writing, and ethics. She researches faculty-student interaction and well-being in higher education and also writes poetry and memoir.Cynthia JamesRoel SniederQin Zhu © American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Developing Teaching with Heart: An Early ReflectionAbstract: Teaching with Heart is a project to bring faculty development workshops to STEMprofessors in higher education, focused on bringing love and compassion into the collegeclassroom to the benefit of both faculty and students. Researchers from Colorado School of

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

devi kalla; Zsuzsa Balogh; Julio Proano; Jeno Balogh; Fred Barlow

of the engineering population in medium and large companies in Colorado shows thataround 25% of the engineers have master’s degrees. They also show that engineers with master’sdegrees are chosen for supervisory and leadership positions. Frequently engineers with masters areresponsible for large and complex projects and supervise or coordinate with engineers from otherdisciplines. Not only would the proposed master’s program provide that interdisciplinary context,it would also have provided the industry with a diverse population of highly trained individualsready to take technical leadership roles. A large percentage of the students that graduate with a BSin engineering from the university are Hispanic. These individuals are very likely to

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Christopher Thiry

projected onto the land itself. The invention of augmented reality (AR)sandboxes has transformed the learning of topographic and hydrologic concepts into aninteractive, three-dimensional, lab-based experience.AR sandboxes offer four main educational advantages: hands-on learning, engagement, activelearning, lab-based. The sandboxes provide students with an immersive, hands-on experiencethat engages multiple senses and fosters the possibility of deep learning about topography andhydrology. The sandboxes capture students' attention and keep them engaged in the learningprocess; users repeatedly comment how much “fun it is play with the sand.” AR sandboxesencourage students to be active learners, as they are able to manipulate the digital

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Pinar Omur-Ozbek

and knowledge to the students can be achieved through a short projectwhere the students are asked to use tools such as the one created and by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool. Once the students getfamiliar with the tool, they are asked to identify a pollution issue, investigate the affectedcommunities, prepare a short report and presentation to share their findings with the whole class.Through the class discussions, and the short project, the importance of awareness, knowledge,gaining skills, and taking action in the pursuit of ethics and justice may be instilled in the students.Importance of Social Justice, Environmental Justice and Ethics Discussions in ClassAs educators, it is our

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Pinar Omur-Ozbek; Ketul Popat; DaeSeok Chai; Christie Peebles; Abdulkhakim Salokhiddinov

, information exchange and collaboration on projects. The details of the courseand the lessons learned are presented in this paper.Why a Global Perspectives Course?With the goal of training globally and culturally aware STEM students, and the financial supportprovided by the American Councils for International Education, a collaboration was establishedbetween a US and Central Asia institution. Virtual meetings were held between the faculty atboth institutions to create an understating for the expectations related to the course content andthe desired course outcomes to be achieved by both institutions. Once the details were ironedout, the US team visited the Central Asia institution along with three students to collectivelycreate the course syllabus and

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Nathan Edwards; Steven Kiss; Carter Grizzle; Asher Edwards; Vaanathi Sekar; John Branning; Brett Meadows; Mohamed Kassem; Michael McGivern

availability with over 100,000 unfilled jobs for the electronics industry, yet the majorityof talent pipeline discussions only consider university-level matriculation and overlook the abilityof high school and middle school students to learn and contribute to electronics innovation andindustry. The large misconception is that students must complete a post-secondary degree oreducation program to start contributing to electronics innovation or to begin their career. Thispaper provides two case studies that challenges those assumptions and establishes what high schoolstudents and middle school students can accomplish with mentoring, streamlined coursework, andexperiential learning through applied engineering projects in semiconductor design and

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Hongyan Liu

the importance and unique characteristics ofstructural design education. Aparicio and Ruiz-Teran [1] provided a historical perspective ondesign education, with a central question on what should be taught and how to most effectivelydeliver. Over the past decades, educators have looked at different ways to teach structural design,including problem and project based approaches (e.g. Quinn and Albano [2], Mills and Treagust[3]), as well as teaching tools utilizing web-based technology [4][5]. While code document is aninseparable part of design, there has not been dedicated discussion in existing literature (based onthe author’s limited experience) on the adoption strategy for code documents in lectures. In thispaper, a viable approach to

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Austin Hayes; Vani Sundaram; Graham Williams; Shreya Venkatesh; Claire Isenhart; Antonio Yervez; Celesse Myles; Vera Sebulsky; Kaushik Jayaram; Marina Vance; Gregory Whiting

, and other structures for the Community First! Village, an innovative attempt to address thehomelessness crisis in Austin, TX.Shreya VenkateshShreya is a PhD student who works with the Center for Equity in Mech to facilitate K-12 outreach events.She previously participated in a project-based learning class for students in rural schools in Colorado andcontinued on as a mentor for their related workshops and programs during the summer. Additionally, shehas experience working with science/art museums geared towards middle and high school students andhas experience managing and creating scientific exhibits to encourage K-12 interest in STEAM.Claire IsenhartAntonio Yervez © American Society for Engineering Education

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt; Joan Tisdale; Katherine Ramos; Mike Soltys

consistency (learning objectives, main course deliverables)while also allowing individual instructors autonomy over the design project themes and thedetails of course management. Each section of the course was capped at 30 students, but aninstructor could opt to let in a couple of extra students from the waitlist. Students typically workin teams with five students on both an introductory project (somewhat constrained) and a mainproject (very open-ended). The course teaches students an array of technical skills (design,hands-on manufacturing, circuits, Arduino) and professional skills (teamwork, communication).Each section of the course has two undergraduate course assistants who have previously takenthe course. There is also significant support from

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Joel TerMaat; Kristopher Williams; Christopher Wentworth

profound impact on thepublic and society. This reaches beyond the extreme “disaster-ethics” where failures inengineering competence or duties result in significant loss of life or property. Engineers, in theirday-to-day capacities, often make design and project decisions that incrementally, but assuredly,influence how technology and society interact. As our world becomes more reliant andintegrated with technology, it is critical that the next generation of engineering professionals beable to identify their ethical responsibilities and act accordingly.Engineering has undergone considerable advancements since the industrialization of our society,moving from a primary responsibility to the employer to a profession holding the safety andhealth of the

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Daniel Godrick; Angela Bielefeldt; Rachel Sharpe

Comparing learning outcomes and student experiences in Engineering Mathusing virtual and physical robotsDaniel GodrickDan Godrick, P.E., is a Teaching Assistant Professor with the Integrated Design Engineering program atthe University of Colorado, Boulder. He brings a wealth of experience to his teaching, including timespent as a buisness consutant, project manager, and as a engineering consultant in private practice.He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (BS Duke University, MS CU) and in Civil Engineering(MS George Washington University). He is a licensed P.E. in Colorado.Angela BielefeldtDr. Bielefeldt, P.E., is a Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) in the Departmentof Civil, Environmental, &

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Eric Bogatin; Mona ElHelbawy

-horseopAmps in our introductory courses and project courses is the TLV4110.It has six features that distinguish this particular opAmp as an excellent first choice in many projectapplications: ✓ Output impedance is < 1 Ω ✓ It can source and sink > 500 𝑚𝐴 ✓ It is single rail, capable of 2.5 V to 6 𝑉 operation ✓ Its output is rail to rail ✓ Input bias current is typically < 1 𝑝𝐴 ✓ Has a built-in enable pin so its output can be controlled with a digital signalAs with many low-cost, general purpose OpAmps, this one has a slew rate of about 1.6 𝑉/µ𝑠𝑒𝑐with a rated GBW product of 2.7 𝑀𝐻𝑧. These specs are a little confusing and sometimescontradictory.With a slew rate this large, the actual bandwidth of the response of

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Ben Weihrauch

. The bonds of “shared struggle” wereforged through study groups, course project teams, and senior capstone project. Studyparticipants reported forming peer study groups to be crucial to their academic learning andformation of social connections. Daniel was proactive in starting and joining study groups: Because most of them were engineers, we just started studying together. So, I just met people in my dorm that were like exceptionally good in certain subjects. One guy literally sat down for two hours to teach me a concept that like I was really struggling with. So having a friend group to fall back on if I don’t understand something has been big for me.When study participants entered “in their major,” they reported

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Alexis Capitano; John Cook; Kathryn Johnson

to apply in theworkplace. The reason identified by the professors stemmed from the content of the course beingoutdated compared to industry standard. When the students lack a clear understanding of the“why” behind the concepts learned in the classroom, there is a much larger gap to overcomewhen adjusting to the profession. An example of this problem and a solution is described in thepaper by Heckman et al. [12], where students were tasked to work on a software project that wasover ten years old. The technology was outdated and had many bugs and complications that werepreventing the students from having a productive learning experience. By completelyoverhauling the software and beginning routine updates to the program, the teachers were able

Collection

2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Randy Hurd; Dustin Grote

physics labs using smartphone sensors [16][17][18][19];these prior examples were designed to help students learn fundamental concepts in physicsclasses. Only one other study that we found used smartphone sensors to teach measurementtechniques in an engineering context [8]. The purpose of this project was to create two new labsthat students can perform at home using their smartphones, that mimic the traditional labexperience on campus as much as possible.Before completing the assignment, students were given some in-class training on how to usetheir smartphone to collect lab data. This provided an opportunity for the instructor to avoidsome common errors such as students downloading the wrong app, misunderstanding appoperation, and relying on

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2023 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt; Daniel Godrick; Joan Tisdale; Melissa Davis

teaching, including timespent as a buisness consutant, project manager, and as a engineering consultant in private practice.He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (BS Duke University, MS CU) and in Civil Engineering(MS George Washington University). He is a licensed P.E. in Colorado.Joan TisdaleMelissa Davis © American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Approaching Math as a Tool for Engineering: A Bridge into College EngineeringAbstractThere is long-standing data which indicates that many incoming engineering students struggle withmath upon entry into college. A very successful approach has been the Wright State model, whichteaches math in a highly applied engineering