Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

John Adams; Charles Kochakian

track all items picked up andexamined by a customer, this could lead to unwanted targeting by advertisers. There are alsosignificant business concerns, such as pressure by consumer groups to adopt privacy guidelinesthat have the potential of directly slowing the growth of RFID technology. The challenge toindustry is to take a more proactive position as RFID solutions become integrated into businessenterprises. An interesting topic is the efforts by industry advocating EPC global as a facilitator toadopt policy guidelines for both consumers and RFID technology in business processes andpractices.ConclusionsA course in RFID has been adopted as part of the core Electrical Engineering curriculum atMerrimack College. The choice to do so was based in

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Abdelrahman M Rabie; Rahman Haleem

1 A Model for a Bi-lingual Curriculum Abdelrahman M Rabie, Associate Professor, ISAT Department, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA Rahman Haleem Assistant Professor and Director, Institute for Technological Innovations (ITI), Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesAbstractThere has been an increasing demand for multilingual professionals, in various fields includingengineering, which in turn which in turn lead to the increased demand and

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Gad J. Selig

established the following wish list for the graduates of the TM program to be able toaccomplish once they were in the workforce: • Identify and evaluate the impact of relevant changing technology and managing those changes effectively in organizations. • Develop strategies and plans to identify, develop and implement innovative technological based solutions. • Manage the effective planning and execution of those technology based initiatives and the integration of their results into the mainstream of an enterprises’ strategy, processes and operations. • The application of technology to create wealth as in successful entrepreneurship and/or intrapreneurship initiatives. • Develop future leader

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

M.G. Guvench

courses mentioned above. As a matter of fact, thanks to anotherNSF grant received in mid 1990’s it became integrated in our Electrical Engineering curriculum and it isused extensively in most of the courses we deliver. Having such a standard computational tool gives thestudent long enough a time to become a competent user and saves time from training particularly in thehigher level courses where course-specific tools have to be introduced.2. Description of the CourseThe Analog Integrated Circuits (=”CMOS Analog IC Design”) course has the goal to introduceprinciples of operation, fabrication technology and design of analog integrated circuits to ElectricalEngineering students at the senior level. VLSI fabrication is introduced with an emphasis on

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Eileen M. Kowalski; Joe D. Manous

education, general chemistry, within an environmental engineeringeducation. Chemistry was selected as an area of investigation because of its repetitive application withinthe environmental engineering curriculum and, as such, provides a basic science topic that should bereasonably well understood by all environmental engineering undergraduates. Three successive cohortsof 12 seniors majoring in an ABET accredited environmental engineering program at the United StatesMilitary Academy were interviewed a few weeks before graduation on selected chemistry topics. Eachstudent was presented with five questions (Table 1) and asked to work the problems on a blackboard,explaining to the interviewers their thought process as they proceeded. The sessions were

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Rashmi Jain; Keith Sheppard; Elisabeth McGrath; Bernard Gallois

Promoting Systems Thinking in Engineering and Pre-Engineering Students Rashmi Jain, Keith Sheppard, Elisabeth McGrath and Bernard Gallois Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey, 07030 AbstractThe context of engineering is one dominated by systems. In order to better prepare graduates with asystems perspective and the competencies to be effective in system design, we discuss initiatives topromote the development of systems thinking, both in undergraduate and K-12 communities. This paperdescribes vertically-integrated curriculum innovation, in which graduate-level coursework spawned apilot program to embed

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

R. Radharamanan; Ha Van Vo

. 8[6] Barr, R. E., Schmidt, P. S., Krueger, T. J and Twu C-Y., “An Introduction to Engineering Through and Integrated Reverse Engineering and Design Graphics Project,” Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 89 (No. 4), 2000, pp. 413-418.[7] Moor, S. S., and Drake, B. D., “Addressing Common Problems in Engineering Design Projects: A Project Management Approach”, Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90 (No. 3), 2001, pp. 389-395.[8] Sheppard, S. D., “Design as Cornerstone and Capstone,” Mechanical Engineering Design, November, 1999, pp. 44-47, New York, NY.[9] Swearengen, J. C., Barnes, S., Coe, S., Reinhardt, C., and Subramanian, K., “Globalization and the Undergraduate Manufacturing Curriculum

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Creativity (5 points scale) 4.33 4.33 3.67 5.00 3.09DiscussionAs the results of the implementation of the beam design project in the Strength of Materials Course, thefollowing observations can be made: • Students learn more in a hands-on / creative environment. Building was an important part of this project. In 2007, some groups were extremely thoughtful in terms of assembly: grooves were made to improve the integrity and reduce the dependence on the glue. One group ran a FEA on the beam (this is typically an elective course during senior year). Prototypes were made by two groups, as mentioned earlier

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Kanti Prasad

-art technology, so that they are productive right away”. Dr.John White (Dean of Georgia Tech, then) said, “Our job is to teach Fundamentals”.Motorola’s executive V.P. said, “You will be history, and to prove my point I am awarding $1 million to Purdue University to come out with an integrated curriculum, whichwill accomplish both”. I came overwhelmed with enthusiasm and shared thisFigure 1: VLSI Education Modelconversation with our former Chancellor William T. Hogan who said, “This is ourmission in the university”. I felt deeply relieved, that we were doing the right thing.The author involved leaders namely Robert Meisenhelder and Robert O’Reilly fromAnalog Devices, George LeVan, Drs. Bradley Barber, Stan Swearingen, and VinayKulkarni from

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Elif Kongar; Paul Kontogiorgis; Nancy L. Russo; Tarek Sobh

and manufacturing as the leading contributor to gross domesticproduct in the world today. As the global economy has become more integrated, and the demand for aworkforce required to run service-focused organizations in an efficient manner grows, the level andvariety of skills needed in this new service economy have also changed and grown. In particular, thegrowth rate of technology-driven service industries is significantly outpacing the growth in other service-oriented sectors. It has been argued that women in general possess many characteristics that make themoptimal candidates to fulfill this workforce gap. However, the percentage of women enrolled inengineering, technology and related programs have been dropping. This paper attempts to

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ryan A. Ebel; Donald S. Abbott-McCune; David Chang

, which is not implemented in any otherautonomous vehicle programs.III. Approach The AUGV project at USMA is a multidisciplinary activity with electrical engineering andmechanical engineering curriculum. Figure 1 shows the course map. This paper focuses on theAutonomous Vehicle block. The design project consists of building an autonomous vehicle which will Figure 1 Course Map 2incorporate applied knowledge of robotics. In an introductory mechatronics course, there needs to be adesign project which allows students to apply these concepts in a meaningful way. This is done duringthe last five weeks of the semester by inductive learning. Inductive

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Jennifer Zirnheld; Adam Halstead

paper will discussthe advantages and disadvantages of each technique as well as what we have learned by introducingmethodical changes in these techniques over the past several years.IntroductionMany first year engineering students face the dilemma of choosing which engineering discipline fits hisor her interests and career goals the best. Because of this, it is common for engineering schools to have acourse early in the curriculum to introduce engineering students to each of the engineering disciplines.The choice of engineering discipline can have a very important effect on the futures of these students.This poses a daunting task to the instructors of these courses: How does one portray as many disciplinesas possible in an unbiased fashion, and

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Gregory S. Parnell; Michael Kwinn

Engineering at West Point was established in 1989 as an outgrowth of theformer Department of Engineering (now the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.)Brigadier General (Retired) James L. Kays was the first head of the newly formed department and had theresponsibility for not only developing the academic programs under the department but also most of thecourses. The department was designed with four overarching objectives that have endured through threedepartment heads [1]: focus on cadet education; foster faculty growth and development; remain linked tothe industry we serve - the Army; and integrate state-of-the-art computer and information technology intothe education process.The Department established the Systems Engineering major after

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Robin K. Burk

academic and their military professional training during their senioryear. Such integration supports the Academy’s overarching goal of producing “graduates who are able toanticipate and respond effectively to the uncertainties of a changing technological, social, political, andeconomic world”.4 To meet this goal, graduates must be able to “anticipate uncertainties, including 1challenges, problems, and opportunities” and to “respond effectively to uncertainties with confidence andreasoned judgment”.5All USMA graduates earn the Bachelor of Science degree after completing an extensive core curriculumthat includes 31 courses in both the sciences and the humanities. Beyond the core curriculum

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Paul G. Ranky

Case-based Learning Methods with 3D Interactive Multimedia for Millennial Generation Engineering Students by Paul G. Ranky, PhD Full Tenured Professor, Registered and Chart. Professional Engineer, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, NCE, and the NJIT IT Program, NJIT, Newark, NJ 07102 Email: ranky@njit.eduAbstractMillennial generation students are interested in an integrated, simultaneouslyanalytical, computational, interactive, as well as practical, real

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ashraf Ghaly

‘integrated’ approach to education. Specialization in onefield must be accompanied by the ability to collaborate with specialists in other fields. Innovative ideasoccur more and more at disciplinary intersections, and Union graduates must be prepared to engage in thiskind of collaboration.”To achieve these stated goals, Union offers an integrated education that takes its long-time commitment tothe liberal arts and engineering into the 21st century. This approach makes Union a magnet for studentswith primary interests in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who understand the importance of beingscientifically and technologically literate. It also makes it a college of choice for students who have aprimary interest in science, engineering, and

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Beena Sukumaran; Joshua Bonzella; Kevin McGarvey; Heather Klein

Developing Country, International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 11-26, Spring 2006. 3. Bruun, P., & Medfford, R.N. (1996). A Framework for Selecting and Introducing Appropriate Production Technology in Developing Countries. International Journal of Production Economies, 1996:46-47:197-209. 4. Thilmany, J. (2005). Managing Across Cultures. ASME magazine, 2005:127:2:41-43. 5. Sukumaran, B., Jahan, K., Dorland, D., Everett, J., Kadlowec, J., and Chin, S. (2006). Engineering Clinics, An Integration of Research into the Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum. CUR Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 3, March 2006. 6. Bonzella, J., Choma, S., O’Brien, K. (2007), Development of Human Powered Grain

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Roy T.R. McGrann

software package (Pro/Engineer) that integrates solid modeling,simulation/kinematic analysis, and finite element analysis is used as the basis of this course.As a means to education in design, students must first be trained to use the software. Fourteen videoswere created for this course, which incorporated audio combined with PowerPoint slides. The videofiles (avi’s) are distributed to students on five CD’s. This paper briefly describes the structure of thecourse and how the videos are integrated.The effectiveness of the software training and design education was assessed using a specific problemassignment that is repeated (although modified) each year. This is often referred to as a “markerproblem.” In this case, the assignment is an aircraft

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

David J. Palazzo; Chad C. Schools

visualization of mechanical phenomenon, and the ability toeffortlessly analyze instructor demonstrations. When applied to the curriculum of a traditional laboratoryprogram, these advantages should translate into an exportable, flexible, and independent platform. Ineffect becoming a cyber laboratory that can travel with the student, requiring only a laptop computer, adigital video camera, and a student’s initiative to operate. By exporting the analysis of mechanicalphenomena to the student’s domain, we attempt to bridge the most important gap in science education:connecting the classroom to the dorm room, while encouraging student’s to analyze everyday phenomenathat might otherwise go unexplored. Applications are endless, and limited only by the

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Matt Armstrong; Richard L. Comitz; Andrew Biaglow; Russ Lachance; Joseph Sloop

wellas engineering decision making concepts. Lastly our novel approach to curriculum development allowed for an earlier incorporation of theactual data into the process via ChemCad, the Chemical Engineering software that was used by eachstudent. Typically, use of this software does not occur until later in the design sequence. Background The Friedel-Crafts reaction is used in laboratory synthesis as well as in industry in the synthesis ofethylbenzene and its derivatives as an intermediate to make styrene monomers1. Therefore, this reactionwas a good choice to integrate several different courses. Laboratory experiments conducted during the second semester of organic chemistry generallyillustrate practical

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Roger Chapman Burk

author’sbackground in the subject. The author found that this approach did succeed in attracting a variety ofstudents who otherwise would learn little of engineering, and in engaging them in the subject and givingthem a basic quantitative understanding of some aspects of the subject. Of course, the approach was notwithout its difficulties, including the problem of integrating very diverse material. On the whole, theauthor found that the approach worked well and recommends it for further development.The rest of this paper is in five parts: (1) An account of how and why the course was developed and itseducational goals; (2) The design of the course, including the syllabus; (3) Observations on the types ofstudents who took the course; (4) The students

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Arthur Heinricher; Brian Savilonis; David Spanagel; Robert Traver; Kristin Wobbe

(2004).Menzel, P. and F. D’Aluisio, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, Ten Speed Press (2005).Pollan, M., The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, The Penguin Press (2006).Roedel, R.J., S. El-Ghasaly, and J.T. Aberle, “An Integrated Upper Division Course in Electronic Materials and Electromagnetic Engineering—Wave Phenomena for Electrical Engineers,” Proceedings, Frontiers in Education, Tempe, AZ (1998).Smith, B.L., J. MacGregor, R.S. Matthews, and F. Gabelnick, Learning Communities: Reforming Undergraduate Education, Jossey-Bass (2004).Somerville, M. et al, “The Olin Curriculum: Thinking Toward the Future,” IEEE Transactions on Education, 48(1) 198—205 (2005).Sternberg, R.J., “Interdisciplinary Problem-Based

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Daniel J. McCarthy; Michael J. Kwinn

students’ achievement of the program outcomes. The first method is theassessment of individual students against specified performance criteria that measure attainment ofindividual program outcomes. The second method is for each of the courses in the curriculum to designand administer graded events that assess student achievement of course objectives that align with theprogram outcomes. Both of these methods are routinely used and will be described in more detail below.The use of direct assessment is in keeping with an increased emphasis by ABET on the need for directlyassessing student achievement of program outcomes. In order to stand up a program of direct assessment,we made a concerted effort to align our current assessment processes with this

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Joseph Robert Yost; Randy D. Weinstein

. The first programs within the CoE were Civil Engineering and Electrical 1Engineering. Today there are four degree programs in Chemical Engineering (Che), Civil andEnvironmental Engineering (CEE), Electrical and Computer Science Engineering (ECE) andMechanical Engineering. All programs offer BS and MS degrees through the respectivedepartments. A five year program that combines the BS and MS degrees is also available in alldepartments, and an interdisciplinary PhD degree is administered and offered through the CoE.The CoE offers a common freshman year to all incoming students (Table 1). As can be seen inTable 1, the first year curriculum includes two semesters of calculus, two semesters of

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Aaron S. Bradshaw; Gary N. McCloskey; Franklin Miguel

it have implications that may tear them apart?Design Phase (Reflection-for-Action)In the design phase, the students will synthesize all the information that they have gathered from theresearch and field studies to ultimately develop a satisfactory design solution. This will require that theyreflect on their technical skills learned in their other course work as well as on their research experiencesin the first two sections of the course. In the course work, this will be an introduction to reflection-for-action. In this synthesis the student designers will need to integrate technical and “soft” skillunderstandings to provide a technically strong and practically feasible design solution.The students will first develop a number of possible

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Richard B. Mindek

toexperiment with the program structure needed to control particular output devices. Student feedback todate suggests the availability of this platform, which encourages self-exploration, has had a very positiveimpact on student learning in a recently run graduate course. Plans for implementing an experientiallearning approach using an updated version of the same platform in the undergraduate engineeringcurriculum are also discussed.1.0 IntroductionA programmable logic controller (PLC) is a microprocessor-based control system used by industry tocommunicate with other process control components. It is used in process control for simple switchingtasks, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, complex data manipulation, arithmetic operations

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Dean Aslam; Aixia Shao

increasing presence of new technologies in consumer products, are now becomingenabling technologies for bringing nanotechnology into our daily lives. Perhaps the best example is anintegration of ever increasing functionality into cell phones (Fig. 1). The introduction of projectioncapability in cell phones in 2008 will initiate the integration of HDTV and computer (operating system,RAM and storage may be placed on a network server) in cell phones.The integration of an air quality monitor (equipped with nano sensors) Computer Networkinto cell phones, expected in the next few years, will provide ‘air Interfacelabeling’ making it possible to monitor the air we are breathing and HD Video, PDAany

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Dean M. Aslam; Zongliang Cao; Cyrous Rostamzadeh

unique way and (b) attemptvery difficult and dry topics. One example is the explanation of a microcontroller (µC), its building blocks, andtheir fabrication/operation. A microcontroller is a computer chip that is the brain of today’s consumer products including those based onmicro- and nano-systems. It is a computer-on-a-chip suitable for applications that require high integration, lowpower consumption, and low cost. An electrostatic switch, called an MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor)transistor, is the basic building block of a microcontroller. Using the basic MOS concept different types ofcomputer switches are made, which are needed for computing and memory devices. Some examples are n-channel MOS (NMOS), PMOS (p-channel), and CMOS (a