Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mahmoud Quweider, University of Texas, Brownsville; Juan Iglesias, U of Texas at Brownsville; Katherine De La Vega, University of Texas at Brownsville

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

achievement by a female student in a male-dominated field gives agreat boost of confidence to upcoming female students in the CS field. Figure 2. Picture from the 11th Annual UTB/TSC Research SymposiumIndustry-based Mentoring ProgramMany studies show that mentoring can have a great impact on the career of students [9-12].Defined as a process whereby a more experienced person (mentor) provides guidance, support,knowledge, and opportunities to a less experienced person for the purpose of careeradvancement, mentoring is a great way to provide support and encouragement for students earlyin their academic career. The literature is full of studies about the benefits of mentoring whichinclude:• Mentors can fulfill both career and psychosocial

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rupa Iyer, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

≠ Combine practical, hands-on biotechnology training with cutting-edge biotechnology research and teachingThis major will prepare students for: ≠ Graduate school or entry into a research laboratory ≠ Entry into the biotechnology industryTwo curriculum tracks, Bioprocessing and Bioinformatics were offered to give students theflexibility to tailor their degree based on their interests, educational background and career goals.These tracks, in combination with core courses, were intended to provide our students with abroad exposure to the field of biotechnology. The presence of the Texas Medical Center in thegreater Houston area and a growing biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry places thisprogram at the forefront of Biotechnology

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Arturo Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Javier Macossay, The University of Texas-Pan American; Martin Knecht, South Texas College; Robert Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

-on ActivitiesIn order to support the DEEA program as well as other similar programs at STC, andUTPA, CBI with hands-on activities were developed and implemented to encouragestudents to integrate and understand multidisciplinary concepts through new instructionapproaches. Introduction to STEM was implemented as one of the initial steps in thisproject to use CBI with hands-on activities in early STEM career courses. CBI is aresearch proven methodology that provides students with an interactive approach inlearning and understanding new concepts . The literature indicates that hands-onactivities are required to promote STEM interest as a career path. These hands-onactivities also allow students to develop abilities and apply concepts and

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Michael Demetriou, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

unified multi-disciplinary curriculum. This paper describes one such program, a Master ofScience degree in Robotics Engineering (RBE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).The M.S. program is a natural successor to the B.S. program in Robotics Engineering that wasintroduced in 20071,4. The B.S. offers what we believe to be excellent undergraduate educationin preparation for careers in robotics and related fields. However, there is a limited amount ofscientific and engineering material that one can cover in a 4-year degree while still providing therich undergraduate experience necessary to become a well-rounded citizen in today’s society.The RBE M.S. degree goes beyond the B.S. to prepare graduates for technical leadership roles inthe robotics

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Smitesh Bakrania, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

accepts the sarcasm!) commented on theirimproved ability and comfort to deliver good presentations. The following are five selectedcomments that span the spectrum of responses: Student 1 “Confident I can put on a long presentation that engages the audience” Student 2 “Good presentation and preparation skills; Good searching and researching skills” Student 3 “Presentation skills; Ability to set-up experiment (research proposal); General interest in nano; Understanding what nano actually means; Better idea for future career path; Journal reading experience” Page 15.782.11

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Northrup, Western New England College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

activities and after dinner discussionphenomena relevant to the students‟ contemporary issues, other -Final Paper and presentationexperience or to personal career phenomena relevant to the students‟aspirations experience or to personal career aspirations. Ability to identify the values and4. Ability to compare and contrast assumptions of community -Quality of participation in dailyvalues and assumptions of a your development and rural potable water

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eli Patten, University of California at Berkeley; Sara Atwood, University of California, Berkeley; Lisa Pruitt, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

lab was assessed using four surveys throughout the semester.Most students reported noticing how different learning styles contributed to group discussions(70%) and thought it brought new and creative ideas to their teams (50%). On average, femalestudents ranked learning styles, teamwork, and the outreach teaching activity as more useful forthis course, other courses, and their career while male students ranked Bloom’s taxonomy andliterature search activities as more useful. With respect to different majors, bioengineers rankedtechnical writing, oral presentations, and teamwork as more useful, while mechanical engineersranked the literature search activities as more useful. This indicates that various activitiesengaged students of different

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Blanchard, Florida Gulf Coast University; Robert O'Neill, Florida Gulf Coast University; James Sweeney, Florida Gulf Coast University; Lisa Zidek, Florida Gulf Coast University; Simeon Komisar, Florida Gulf Coast University; Diana Stoppiello, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and working collaboratively as • successfully enter careers in civil environment, professionals in a diverse, engineering, serve society, and • pursue further studies in their interdisciplinary environment, and pursue further studies in their profession to remain technically • successfully enter chosen careers in profession, and competent and advance their technical the medical device, health care, or • attain professional licensure. competencies, and biotechnology fields, and/or • attain professional licensure. graduate studies or professional

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Fleishman, Western Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

committingto purchasing initial production units once the new vehicle has successfully passed Federal TransitAdministration (FTA) certification testing. The project provides exposure to a very real industryapplication which is similar to what many of the students will face when entering their career fields,and will allow for practical application of project planning, design innovation, budgeting, working withindustry standards and government regulations, as well as manufacturing process planning andexecution. An industrial approach is being utilized for the design process which emphasizes use of severalautomotive industry best practices including Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Design FailureMode Effects and Analysis (DFMEA), as well as

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanja Magoc, University of Texas at El Paso; Eric Freudenthal, University of Texas, El Paso; Francois Modave, Central Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

computerscience. This course aims at attracting more students to engage in multi-disciplinary study,research, and career by providing a problem-oriented approach to learning programming andunderstanding dynamic systems.AcknowledgementThis report is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation through the grantIIS-0829683. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thepaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.Bibliography1. M. Joshi, The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance. Cambridge, 2003.2. S. L. Spencer, M. J. Berryman, J. A. Garcia, and D. Abbott, “An ordinary differential equation model for themultistep transformation to cancer,” Journal of Theoretical

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anouk Desjardins, École Polytechnique de Montréal; Louise Millette, École Polytechnique de Montréal; Erik Bélanger, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

,teamwork and crisis management. The purpose of this reflection is to show students that theyhave not just gained technical knowledge but also learned skills in adjacent fields, such asteamwork, multidisciplinary work, team dynamics and crisis management, which are allimportant for their future careers as practicing engineers. Page 15.1211.7Several interesting results emerged from this exercise. The students found that it was better towork as a team than individually and that team management was easier if they closely followedthe project schedule from the beginning. The teachers made these suggestions throughout theentire term, but the students

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Fred Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gretar Tryggvason, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lance Schacterle, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

reported by seniors at similar universities. Fortunately, seniors have reported consistently strongly positive responses in almost all areas of the EBI survey. • CDC Report: The Career Development Center provides an annual report summarizing internships, post-graduation employment, and attendance at graduate school.Other forms of feedback are internal to the program. • Advisory Board Report: Bi-annual RBE Advisory Board meetings provide feedback to the program director, and offer suggestions about improvements and future directions. • Faculty Retreats: The program conducts a yearly faculty retreat with the goals of reviewing recent self-assessment data, evaluating current strengths and weaknesses, and

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Cramer, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Wendy Crone, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Moira Lafayette, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jeffrey Russell, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Paul Peercy, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Darryl G. Thelen, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Daniel Klingenberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amy Wendt, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

inengineering enrollment. Materials will allow students with different learning preferences to studyand solve problems at their own pace in “gateway” courses.)Enhancing Liberal Studies for Engineering Students (Goal: To better expose engineeringstudents to the humanities and social sciences by providing recommendations on how studentscan maximize elective credits to gain a comprehensive understanding of the social contexts ofengineering careers.)International Engineering Development (Goal: To provide leadership training for studentsparticipating in international projects, and in particular in countries where the Engineers WithoutBorders chapter is active.)Video-Enhanced Instructional Material for Statics (Goal: To help students better understandbasic

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Randall Brouwer, Calvin College; Steven VanderLeest, Calvin College; Paulo Ribeiro, Calvin College; Robert Medema, Calvin College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

different from what was traditionally seen as proper training of an engineer. Thegeneral approach to engineering education has always emphasized the benefits of a broadeducation and its advantages throughout the career of the engineer compared to a narrowengineering education that trains students for entry-level tasks or highly specialized engineeringwork. The adaptability of a broadly educated engineer will help her respond to system-levelchallenges and rapidly evolving technology and thus will set her apart in the 21st century.One of the best ways to enhance a broad engineering education is to complement it withcontextual knowledge which is associated with a liberal arts curriculum. Courses taken in non-technical disciplines help students

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexandra Coso, University of Virginia; Reid Bailey, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 5. Atkinson, M. P. (2001). The scholarship of teaching and learning: Reconceptualizing scholarship and transforming the academy. Social Forces, 79 (4), 1217-1230. 6. Austin, A. E. (2002). Preparing the next generation of faculty: Graduate school as socialization to the academic career. The Journal of Higher Education, 73 (1), 94-122. 7. Barbe, Walter B. , Milone, Michael N., Jr. (1980). Modality. Instructor, 89, 44-47. 8. Barr, R. B., & Tagg, J. (1995, November/December). From teaching to learning: A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Education, 13-24. 9. Barrows, Howard S. (2000). Problem-Based Learning