Conference Session

Pedagogical Innovations in Laboratory Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

learning.Instructors are also encouraged to act as cognitive coaches who can nurture an environment thatcan support open inquiry. (Barrows, 2000). It is important that the aims and objectives ofproblem-based learning are reflected in every aspect of the learning environment created.Problem-based curriculum should document accomplishments at the upper levels of Bloom'sTaxonomy Triangle. (Boud & Feletti, 1991). Scholars in the area of cognitive science andeducational psychology have identified four features that clearly separate a problem-basedcurriculum from a traditional, topic-based curriculum. (Nickerson, et. al. 1985). and equally tothe experiences that lead to those outcomes. The important aspect here is to move away from ateaching. Grading is

Conference Session

ELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debra J. Mascaro, University of Utah; Stacy Bamberg, University of Utah; R. Roemer, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

of the freshman year and year-long design projects in the threesubsequent years as outlined in Table 1. These hands-on competitive (years 1-3) or capstone(year 4) design experiences help the students comprehend the practical aspects of theirtheoretical learning and give them an opportunity to creatively apply course material. In years 1-3, the design projects are closely integrated with the course content, and involve “spiraling” ofconcepts in successive semesters and years. Weekly laboratory experiences provide additionalhands-on learning and prepare the students to achieve the various design project milestones.Table 1: Design courses in the four-year Mechanical Engineering curriculum. Year Semester Class

Conference Session

ELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Loren Limberis, East Carolina University; Jason Yao, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

concentrations, and to ensure the success of our students as well-rounded engineers.One of the responsibilities of our core curriculum is to provide meaningful design opportunitiesfor our students so they may experience engineering design associated with the different coreengineering disciplines. We have developed and delivered an integrated multi-week operationalamplifier-based laboratory design project within the circuit analysis course to address theseresponsibilities. The project incorporates the following Learning Objectives: 1) to strengthenskills in using mathematical knowledge to solve engineering problems; 2) to strengthen skills indesigning experiments; 3) to strengthen skills in conducting experiments; 4) to apply andimprove MATLAB

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seunghyun Chun, University of Texas, Austin, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Bruce McCann, University of Texas, Austin; Ariane L. Beck, University of Texas, Austin; Eric Dean, National Instruments; Alexis Kwasinski, University of Texas at Austin

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

to a labat the university and doing the required set of labs has changed due to an adoption of a newhands-on instrument called the NI myDAQ. The following sections, present an overview of thecourse curriculum, as well as what the NI myDAQ device is and important specifications areshown, followed by a summary of the students’ response to a first semester trial of the labchange. Future implementation plans will be shared.The Introduction to Electrical Engineering course Course Curriculum The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at The University of Texas, Austinoriginally created the Introduction to Electrical Engineering course (EE302) about 15 years agoso that students would have a course in their major during their first

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohammad N. Amin, National University; Ronald P. Uhlig, National University; Pradip Peter Dey, National University; Bhaskar Raj Sinha, National University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

lives and property, by designing a new fire detecting system using very low costelectronics, newly developed software, and existing wireless technologies. The system is capableof detecting fire at an early stage and helping to make an accurate plan to fight the wildfires in abetter way. The “Wildfire Detection and Monitoring System” capstone project dealt with a new design anddevelopment of a fire detecting system. In this capstone project, students integrated hardwareand software to develop an engineering product prototype to meet a pressing need3. They Page 22.344.2developed new software applications and used very low cost commercially

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chiu Choi, University of North Florida

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

highsensitivity and long-term repeatability. Their output signals can be in various formats such asanalog voltage output and serial (SPI or I2C) output. A semiconductor type pressure sensor withanalog voltage output was considered. The particular pressure sensor was Freescale’sMPXA6115A. This is an integrated silicon pressure sensor for measuring absolute pressure. Thissensor is on-chip signal conditioned, temperature compensated and calibrated.This reference design shows how to connect the pressure sensor to the CSM-12C32 module andprovide the C-codes for initializing the on-chip analog-to-digital converter for capturing theanalog output voltage from the temperature sensor. Pictures, ordering information, web link forthe breakout board, hardware

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Lu, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

time-consuming. These issuescould potentially shift the course focus away from experimentation and thus jeopardize thestudents’ interests in this important subject. A Design-Expert software has been integrated intothe experimentation course to help students learn the principles of the DOE. Students have usedthe software for designing the experiments and analyzing the results. This paper presentsexample lecture and experiment to demonstrate the effectiveness of the software. The impact onstudents’ abilities in experimental designs is also discussed.IntroductionLaboratory courses are an important component of engineering education. “Engineering withoutlabs is a different discipline. If we cut out labs we might as well rename our degrees

Conference Session

Pedagogical Innovations in Laboratory Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Chiou, Drexel University; Yongjin (James) Kwon, Ajou University; Robin Kizirian, Drexel University; Matthew Dordai; Bret Alan Davis, Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

integrated roboticsystem. The standard curriculum in the robotics course focuses on the programming of individualrobots, but the students never use the PLC to setup the I/O configuration. By completing thistutorial experiment, the students can gain a better understanding of how an integrated system isdeveloped and controlled.Advanced application – Quality controlThis experiment performs quality control testing on machined parts and sorts them based onpreset tolerances. The devices used in the physical part of the experiment are a YK220X SCARArobot, a YK250X SCARA robot, a machine vision camera, a conveyor belt, and a photoelectricsensor. The layout of the components in the workcell can be observed in Figure 9. Figure 9: Robotic cell

Conference Session

Pedagogical Innovations in Laboratory Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyn Marie Turner, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Sandra Shaw Courter, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Shirley Dyke, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

testing methods, suchas distributed hybrid testing, where various components of a single structural system are tested at Page 22.883.5geographically distributed sites. Video and data can be streamed in real time to laboratories andusers around the country for analysis and simulation through the Real-time Data Viewer (RDV)developed by NEES.ii The current evaluation study is a part of a larger project, an NSF funded Phase 2 Course,Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) project. The purpose of this project, inrecognition that integration of the fundamental concepts of hazard mitigation is not currently acomponent of traditional civil

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Methods and Learning Models

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jean-Claude Thomassian, State University of New York, Maritime College; Risa Kumazawa, Duquesne University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

OBJECTIVESI. ElectronicsThe Electronics course deals with an introduction to electrical circuits involving activecomponents such as integrated circuits, diodes, transistors, and their applications. The coursestarts with a basic introduction to circuit theory. This includes a quick review of current andvoltage divider rule, source transformation, Thevenin’s and Norton’s theorems, transfer function,and circuit models for amplifiers. The course covers an introduction to the physical operation ofelectronic semiconductor devices such as the diode, the field-effect transistor, and the bipolarjunction transistor. Device models are developed to aid in circuit analysis and design. Biasing,large-signal and small-signal analysis and the principles used in the

Conference Session

ELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Huettel, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

projects.Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from The MathWorks and The Lord Foundation of NorthCarolina.Bibliography1. Educating the Engineer of 2020. Washington DC: National Academies Press, 2005, National Academy of Engineering.2. L. J. Shuman et al., “The future of engineering education,” in Proc. 32nd Annu. Frontiers in Education Conf., Boston, MA, Nov. 2002, vol. 1, pp. T4A-1–T4A-15.3. B. Olds and R. Miller, “The effect of a first-year integrated engineering curriculum on graduation rates and student satisfaction: A longitudinal study,” J. Eng. Educ., pp. 23–36, Jan. 2004.4. J. H. McLellan et al., “Using multimedia to teach the theory of digital multimedia signals,” IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 336–341, Aug

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nael Barakat, Grand Valley State University; Lihong (Heidi) Jiao, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

enrolled in this course during itsfirst offering. Objectives of the course and lab were developed previous to the offering andoutcomes were assessed during and after the offering. In particular, the lab part was distinctlyassessed and the results were evaluated. This resulted in action items and conclusions whichhave already been integrated in the next offering for continuous improvement. The next offeringis planned to take place during the spring of 2011.KeywordsNanotechnology education, Nanotechnology lab, Nanotechnology courseIntroductionThe products and outcomes of Nanotechnology research and developments have beenexponentially expanding for the last decade. This expansion is expected to continue in the nextdecade as well, resulting in an

Conference Session

Mechanical and Architectural Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nancy K Lape, Harvey Mudd College; David L Harris, Harvey Mudd College; Matthew Joseph Keeter, Harvey Mudd College; Madeleine S Ong, Harvey Mudd College; Zachary Dodds, Harvey Mudd College

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

optimize robots tocompete in a “Capture the Flag” style game. This paper will describe the course content andsummarize assessment results from the Fall 2010 pilot course.IntroductionIn Fall 2010, Harvey Mudd College began offering a new core curriculum with more electivity,including, for the first time, an elective in the fall semester of the freshman year. Most existingelectives have prerequisites and are not aimed at first-semester students. As part of thiscurriculum revision, HMC faculty have created a variety of new courses tailored to incomingfreshmen. The authors have recently completed teaching one of these courses, titled E11:Autonomous Vehicles, which offers an interdisciplinary hands-on introduction to engineeringmotivated by a robot

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Methods and Learning Models

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Cherif Megri, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

systems to find leaks. Any leakage in an unconditioned area, such as an attic or vented crawl-space, is a huge energy drain. In addition, duct leakage within the home can cause pressure differences that drive air out of or into the home.  Blower Door Testing – A blower door is a precisely variable speed fan installed in an exterior doorway (or other location to be studied) that depressurizes or pressurizes the home. This diagnostic tool helps quantify air leakages in a home that are otherwise difficult to detect.  Infrared Thermography – An infrared camera sees temperature difference, which helps to find hot and cold spots in a home, often due to lack of insulation, water leak or the presence of thermal

Conference Session

Mechanical and Architectural Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rainer Bartz, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Daniel Cox, University of North Florida

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

models as well as tointeract with users and the database. The RLAB infrastructure has been ported to a mechanicallaboratory site at University of North Florida (UNF), Jacksonville, during the past two years andis now used in its engineering curriculum, thereby offering access to some further real worldmodels and gaining synergy from an international cooperation. To properly run such remote laboratory several aspects need to be considered. New usersneed to be registered at the system. The availability of experiments needs to be managed. Forinteractive work with one of the experiments, time slots need to be reserved in advance, and theattempt to access the experiments must be verified against the reservations. The experiments'parameter settings