Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Lance C. Perez; Jerald L. Varner; Michael F. Anderson

A TIMS Based Laboratory for Undergraduate Probability and Random Processes Lance C. Pérez, Jerald L. Varner, Michael F. Anderson University of Nebraska, Lincoln/Clarke CollegeIntroductionThe Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Nebraska has implemented anIntegrated Signals and Systems Laboratory (ISSL) based on a single experimental platformthroughout a sequence of four courses at the junior and senior levels [1]. This laboratory isfunded by a Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI), Adaptation andImplementation (A&I) track, grant from the National Science Foundation. The four-coursesequence is ELEC 304 Signals and Systems, ELEC

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Stephan A. Durham; W. Micah Hale

report.Students are provided with a concrete mixture proportion shown in Table 1 which serves as thecontrol mixture. The control mixture is part of an ongoing research program and has beenbatched numerous times; therefore the fresh and hardened concrete properties of the mixture arewell documented. Along with the mixture proportion, the students are also provided the 28 daycompressive strength of the mixture and the cost of the mixture per cubic yard. The cost of theindividual ingredients of the mixture is also provided to the students along with the materialproperties (Table 2). Students are allowed to use any material in the concrete lab, and they arealso encouraged to search literature for HPC mixture designs. Proceedings of the 2004

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Rebeca G. Book; William Pfannenstiel

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Christopher C. Ibeh; Marjorie Donovan; Oliver Hensley; James Otter

).Introduction The satisfaction index, a new concept developed by this paper’s authors; is a derivativeof the EKE (Essential Knowledge Elements) protocol of the CUES-Assessment Model.CUES-AM is an integral part of epistecybernetics. Epistecybernetics, a new system’sapproach to knowledge governance and stewardship was originated by Hensley et al(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) : The satisfaction index can be used to provide a quantitative assessment andevaluation of the satisfaction level of participants in a given program or course. A literaturesearch especially of the consumer industry indicate that most satisfaction-based assessmentsurveys are qualitative(8)(9)(10) in nature. CUES-AM consists of the following innovativecomponents and modules

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Joseph J. Rencis; Hartley T. Grandin

A New Approach Where Students Question, Test and Verify the Solution to Their Problem Joseph J. Rencis, Hartley T. Grandin, Jr. University of Arkansas/Worcester Polytechnic InstituteAbstract This paper assumes the importance of educating our engineering students to question, testand verify “answers” to all of their problem solutions. It presents an approach currentlypracticed by the authors in teaching an introductory mechanics of materials course. In problemsolving, emphasis is placed on: (1) writing the governing equations in symbolic form with a bareminimum of algebraic manipulation, (2) solving the equations with a commercially available,student choice

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Cathryne Stein

Botball are threefold: 1. to create more technically literate students and teachers; 2. to encourage more students to go into science, engineering, math, and related fields; 3. to use robotics to engage students in engineering, science, and math, and help them understand how and why they can use the tools of math and science to do important and creative work.Botball uses the activities of robot programming, design, and construction as well aswebsite development to get students excited about being on the creative side oftechnology.Our strategy in pursuing these goals involves providing both a short and long termapproach towards improving the effectiveness of schools in teaching science, math, andtechnology. Specifically, we

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jason Moore; Mitchell A. Thornton; Ronald W. Skeith

diagram. Figure 1: Example of Datapath block diagram Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Midwest Section Conference In addition to datapath block diagrams, students also utilize Algorithm StateMachine (ASM) charts for the control logic of the circuit. ASM charts are very similar toflow charts used for software design. The three basic components that make up a ASMchart are listed below [1]: State box Decision box Conditional output box When combined appropriately, the above components can create an ASM chartthat completely describes the control logic. Although ASM charts are like fingerprints inthe

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Angie Crist; Russ Newcomer; Michael Propst; Pedro Leite

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Ken Bernard; Judy Collins; Fred Guzek; Pedro Leite; Jung Oh; Gail Simmonds

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Stephan A. Durham; W. Micah Hale

report.Students are provided with a concrete mixture proportion shown in Table 1 which serves as thecontrol mixture. The control mixture is part of an ongoing research program and has beenbatched numerous times; therefore the fresh and hardened concrete properties of the mixture arewell documented. Along with the mixture proportion, the students are also provided the 28 daycompressive strength of the mixture and the cost of the mixture per cubic yard. The cost of theindividual ingredients of the mixture is also provided to the students along with the materialproperties (Table 2). Students are allowed to use any material in the concrete lab, and they arealso encouraged to search literature for HPC mixture designs. Proceedings of the 2004

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Saeed M. Khan; Beverlee Kissick

The Design of a Knowledge Based Survey Scheme for Quantifying and Propagating Diversity Skills in Science and Technology Dr. Saeed M. Khan and Dr. Beverlee Kissick College of Technology and Aviation Kansas State University-SalinaDIVERSITY EDUCATION AT COTA:During the past few years, Drs. Kissick and Khan have been promoting diversity atKansas State University’s College of Technology and Aviation (COTA. The authorshave detailed their efforts in this endeavor through three recent conference proceedings[1-3]. They have stated their objectives in this promotional effort, and have studied thecompliance of their program with

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jung Oh

lists atomic symbol, atomic number and atomic mass for eachelement. With only symbol in the periodic table (e.g. potassium expressed to as 19K39.10),students sometimes have difficulty in connecting the symbol, K, to the potassium metal.My goals in a hands-on periodic table project and creative presentation are: (1) to makestudents illustrate the chemical symbol in personal way based on collected informationand what they have learned about the element, (2) to connect student learning to personalinterests and to have them enjoy an “ownership” of learning, and (3) to foster connectionbetween the basic science and engineering courses students take.Assignment and Students’ Work ExamplesThis assignment is introduced with the following information: To

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Marcus O. Durham; Robert A. Durham; Rosemary Durham

international face ofupper level engineers, time is invested in understanding cultural nuances and remotemanagement. Industrial interaction is promoted by bringing in specialty topics such as qualityand legal. Since the topics are very diverse, a single text was not available. The authorsdeveloped a text that was totally on-line {1}.IntroductionEngineering management is almost an oxymoron. Engineers, by definition, are trained to dealwith things and how things work. Management, by definition, is training to deal with people andhow to get them to work. Those are as dissimilar as imaginable. In fact, entering universitystudents often refer to the first semesters of the engineering program as pre-business. Is thatbecause early engineering training is so

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

S. B. Pidugu; S. Midturi

applications of fuel cellsand to stimulate enthusiasm for engineering and technology at a crucial stage in their education.Three high schools were selected and the project began in Fall 2003. The project wassuccessfully implemented during Fall 2003 at Central High School located in Little Rock.IntroductionThe EPA’s draft on Strategic Plan (2003-08) sets out five goals—Clean Air, Clean and SafeWater, Protect and Restore the Land, Health Communities and Ecosystems, and Compliance andEnvironmental Stewardship—and describes the work they plan to do over the next 5 yearstowards achieving the set goals [1]. Community awareness of environmental issues is vital to thesuccess of such a strategic plan, and this project, as small as it is, can make a

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Troy Harding

course improvement. Thispaper describes the project and its challenges.IntroductionThe Engineering Technology Department at Kansas State University is moving to more of anoutcome-based model for its degree programs. The biggest motivation behind this move comesfrom two accreditation agencies. The North Central Association provides accreditation for K-State University as a whole. In addition, most of the programs in our Engineering TechnologyDepartment are accredited by Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Boardfor Engineering and Technology (TAC/ABET).1 Both of these agencies emphasis the need for astudent learning assessment plan that specifies the desired outcomes that graduates shouldachieve. Furthermore, there should be a

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Thomas Mertz

of ABET EngineeringCriteria 3, commonly known as Outcomes 3a–3k [1]. Outcome 3e states that students should beable to function effectively on multidisciplinary teams. This started me contemplating how toincorporate team projects into my courses. The second event was being assigned to teach acourse in database management systems, a subject I had not studied (let alone taught) since 1977.Thus, I decided to embark on a cooperative learning experience, fortified by the excitement ofteaching a new subject and trying a new pedagogy. I assigned one major term project in thecourse to be completed by student teams. Other aspects of the course retained the traditional mixof lecture, homework and tests. Not knowing I was walking well-trod ground, I

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Norman D. Dennis

these courses as either a standard 3-credit hour course or as a 4-credit hour culminating design course. If taken as a 4–credit hour course the student is requiredto complete a multi-faceted design project to partially satisfy the culminating design experiencerequired by ABET. In order to fully satisfy the culminating design experience the studentswould be required to take two of the four available classes for 4-credit hours and complete a 2-Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Midwest Section Conferencecredit hour Professional Topics course. The current and revised curriculum for the civilengineering program is illustrated in Table 1. Courses that are in bolded typeface are new ormodified courses that would serve

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Christi L. Patton

Focus on Tar Creek By Christi L. Patton The University of TulsaAbstract Tar Creek is #1 on the EPA cleanup list and it is located about 90 miles from theUniversity of Tulsa campus. While the legislators and residents debate what should bedone to clean up the area, freshman Chemical Engineering students research the historyof Tar Creek and use this as a starting point for lectures and lively discussion on safetyand ethics. Throughout the course students perform practice calculations that are basedon the information gleaned through research. During the last weeks of the semester thestudents participate in a research project that

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Judy Collins; Beverlee Kissick; Jung Oh; Alysia Starkey

to people with knowledge, potential mentors *Resource investigation skills *Effective IT Skills For recording and disseminating information *Skills of Cooperative Problem- Solving Teamwork Open Dialogue Skills Flexibility Willing to take educated risks Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Midwest Section Conference *Ability to Review Risk Review risks, opportunities and successes. Learn from failures * (these entail IL skills) Table 1: Information Literacy from Employers’ Perspective: Knowledge Skills of the

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Julia Morse; Jung Oh

: (1) Documentation for evaluation of teachingperformance (commonly termed summative evaluation) and (2) a tool for improvement ofteaching (formative evaluation).Most often the impetus for a faculty member to develop a teaching portfolio typically comesfrom the need to provide more thorough support documentation for others to make evaluations ofone’s teaching performance. For example, the teaching portfolio (or pertinent sections) could besubmitted for: Promotion and tenure considerations New position applications Annual evaluations Application for awards Grant applications (especially ones related to teaching)The authors see an emerging application of the teaching portfolio: as a documentation tool forcourse

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

George D. Gray; Raju Dandu

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Suzanna Long; David G. Spurlock

disciplines. Other than computer and aerospaceengineering, which had a 4% and 13% increase, respectively, engineering departments witnessedan average decrease of 5%.1 Student recruitment and retention is of primary concern for academic institutions.Examination of diversity issues may provide insight for institutions seeking to counter thedecrease in engineering enrollment numbers. Understanding factors affecting decision-makingcan provide vital information as well. The stereotypical view of engineering students is white and male. However, the face of thebeginning engineering student is changing. Academic institutions can positively impact theirenrollment figures by recognizing this change and marketing to minority student groupsincluding women

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Ing-Chang Jong

in the direction of the force or moment,respectively, during the action. It is the force or moment, rather than the body, which does work.Before reaping advantages in the virtual work method, it is well to refresh certain fundamentalconcepts, which sometimes appear as challenges to beginning students.Work of a force.The work U1→ 2 done by a force F on a body moving from position A1 along a path C to positionA2 is defined by a line integral. It is given by 1-4 A2 U1→ 2 = ∫A F ⋅ dr (1) 1where · denotes a dot product, and dr is the differential

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Roger G. Harrison; Matthias U. Nollert; David W. Schmidtke; Vassilios I. Sikavitsas

“Introduction to Research” at Brooklyn College, studentswere required to select a research project provided by a chemistry professor (1). Then, studentswrote a rough draft of the proposal; and then, after receiving feedback from the professor, theywrote a final draft. In another course entitled “Chemistry Research” for undergraduates atYoungstown State University, the students were required to select a research proposal topic,write a rough draft of the proposal, and then write a final draft after receiving feedback from theprofessor (2). For both of these proposals, the time allotted for writing both drafts of theproposal seems unrealistically short for undergraduates (5 weeks at Brooklyn College and 2weeks at Youngstown State

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Scott Shepard

searched for (and found) what we believe are the underlying, common, key motivationalelements: (1) genuine interest of the instructor; (2) good instructor-student rapport (the instructor’s genuineinterest should spread naturally to the student, without the pressures that far too often occur in graduateresearch); (3) a simple, but adequately accurate, theoretical model of the problem; (4) a “mystery” to beresolved; (5) some “gee-whiz” aspects in the experimental apparatus (such as magnetic levitation devices,lasers, etc.); (6) actual quality in the measurement capability of the instruments; and (7) the capability of“closing the loop” between the experiment and a simple theory.Herein, we illustrate these seven points within the context of a specific

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

neuralnetworks are applied to high speed applications with complex nonlinearities and the trainingalgorithms are different for the different neural network architectures. In this paper, thefeedforward neural network is discussed in detail with the backpropagation training [1-5] forimplementation in JAVA.A feedforward neural network can consist of many layers as shown in figure 1, namely: an inputlayer, a number of hidden layers and an output layer. The input layer and the hidden layer areconnected by synaptic links called weights and likewise the hidden layer and output layer alsohave connection weights. When more than one hidden layer exists, weights exist between thehidden layers.Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Z. Carpenter; J. C. Diaz; G. R. Kane

white gaffer's tape markings. The carpet can be rolled upand stored when not in use. The field was not near the regular computer labs but waswithin TU's wireless LAN coverage. Laptops were available for use by the students formaking small corrections to their programs and downloading to the rovers at the fieldsite.Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Midwest Section ConferenceRover Components (detail):Each robot will fit in a cube 15 inches on a side when the arm is in its upright position.The controller used for the rovers was the 2004 EDU Robot Controller by InnovationFirst [1]. The EDU controller collects signals and processes them using a Microchip18F8520 PIC microprocessor. The program in this micro controller

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Pat Ackerman; Kathy Brockway; Raju Dandu; Pedro Leite; Jimmy Splichal

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Steve Menhart

interfacing to external memory so as to operate in an expandedmode, it seems very unlikely that this would ever be necessary, given the amount of single-chipmode memory available. All I/O lines and control signals are routed to two 50-pin interfaceconnectors, allowing the full use of all of its numerous ports. Figure 1 shows theAdapt9S12DP256 development board. As can be seen the board is remarkably compact, anddesigned to be modular and stackable with other types of boards. For student lab use, printedcircuit boards have been designed and constructed here at UALR. These boards plug into eachof the header strips, with each board having a set of terminal strips mounted to it. This allowsstudents to connect their experiments to the board, with

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

F. G. Edwards; E. W. LeFevre; W. M. Hale

formula; but, it is possible to evaluate understanding usingother types of questions.LearningLevels of learning have been categorized by numerous researchers (Bloom, 1956; Biggs &Collis, 1982; Pask, 1975; Säljö, 1979; Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) giving the engineeringinstructor some guidance as to the types of questions to ask to determine the level of learningthat the students have obtained. Bloom identified three domains of learning: 1) Cognitive, 2)Affective, and 3) Pshyco-Motor. Cognitive learning refers to knowledge skills, which is the areaof learning we are interested in for teaching engineering (except possibly for ethics). Cognitivelearning was further subdivided into levels of understanding, which from lowest to highest are