Conference Session

Outreach Projects: Promoting Energy Efficiency and Education in General

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Cherif Megri, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

at UW, he was an assistant professor and the director of Architectural Engineering Program at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He was re- sponsible for developing the current architectural engineering undergraduate and master’s programs at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). During his stay at IIT, he taught fundamental engineering courses, such as thermodynamics and heat transfer, as well as design courses, such as HVAC, energy, plumbing, fire protection and lighting. Also, he supervise many courses in the frame of interprofessional projects program (IPRO). In few months, Dr. Megri will defend his ”Habilitation” (HDR) degree at Pierre and Marie Curie Univer- sity - Paris VI, Sorbonne

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Projects and Applications

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

output loads),electric motors and motor starters (switches heavy loads), and solenoid directional controlvalves (widely used, controls fluids).The junior level applied process control engineering course utilizes Allen-Bradleyprogrammable logic controllers and the accompanying RSLogix ® software. A dozenclusters are equipped for the controller programming and wiring. Each cluster iscomposed of a desktop computer linked to a Micrologix 1000 ® PLC module was alsodesigned and fabricated as a project of this class. An organized kit includes typicalindustrial inputs such as push button switches, limit switches, and both inductive andcapacitive proximity devices. The kit also includes typical industrial outputs includinglights, buzzers, motors, and

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Projects and Applications

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cheng Y. Lin, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

to a PC for analysisthrough a data acquisition device (USB 6251) and Labview software provided by NationalInstrument (NI). Result shows that the machine can repeatedly generate an impact force up toeleven Gs. Demonstration of the project can be used as one of labs in the courses of Automationand Controls and Introduction to Robotics.1. IntroductionThe course of Automation and Controls offered in the Mechanical Engineering TechnologyProgram has the objective of teaching students: (1) Pneumatic components and pneumatic circuit designs. (2) Feedbacks from electrical sensors and related ladder diagrams. (3) Introduction to Programmable Logical Controllers (PLC) and PLC1 programs. (4) Integration of pneumatic, electrical, and/or hydraulic

Conference Session

Electromechanical Capstone and Design Projects in Engineering Technology

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chong Chen, Middle Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

was conducted as a graduate student project.Through this project, the involving graduate students not only leaned how to use the Maxwellsoftware for creating an electrical machine geometry, adding permanent magnet and current tothe machine, and interpreting the calculation results, but also got an in-depth understanding onthe linear alternator operation and design as well as what the machine may do in utilizingrenewable energy.Principle of Linear AlternatorFigure 2 is a cross section view of a single-slot single-phase cylindrical permanent magnet linearalternator. This alternator has two parts: a stator and a plunger. The stator consists of a statorcore, made of silicon-iron, and a circular stator winding embedded inside of the stator core

Conference Session

Electromechanical Capstone and Design Projects in Engineering Technology

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William C. Beston, Florence-Darlington Technical College; Elaine L. Craft, Florence-Darlington Technical College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology (EMET) or similar programs. Theinstructional modules, including an advanced certificate option for incumbent workers, can leadto certification as a Robotics Production Technician (RPT) and be aligned with theManufacturing Skill Standards Council’s (MSSC) "Certified Production Technician” credential,which is recognized by the federal National Skill Standards Board as the "Voluntary Partnership"for manufacturing.The project team has established the following goals: 1. necessary skills for RPTs will be updated and validated; 2. six instructional modules leading to certification as a RPT will be developed for on-line delivery; 3. completers will demonstrate “readiness” for industry- recognized

Conference Session

FPD X: First-Year Design with Projects, Modeling, and Simulation

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Naomi C. Chesler, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Cynthia M. D'Angelo, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Golnaz Arastoopour, University of Wisconsin, Madison; David Williamson Shaffer, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, 1993, pp. 196-202.4. Froyd, J.E., and Ohland, M.W., “Integrated Engineering Curricula,” Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 94, No. 1, 2005, pp. 147-164.5. Dym, C.L., “Teaching Design to Freshmen: Style and Content,” Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 83, No. 4, 1994, pp. 303-310.6. Dym, C.L., and Little, L. Engineering Design: A Project-Based Introduction, 2nd edition, New York, NY.: John Wiley, 2003.7. Schon, D.A., The reflexive practitioner: How professionals think in action. 1983, New York: Basic Books8. Schon, D.A. Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. 1987. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.9. Shaffer, D.W., “Epistemic frames and islands of expertise: Learning

Conference Session

Effective Projects and Experiments in Instrumentation and Control

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohamad A. Mustafa, Savannah State University; Asad Yousuf, Savannah State University; Jeff Kesling

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

this project is to design a smart rod that will improve the accuracy of themeasurements of differential leveling over the currently used industry methods. The smart rodconsists of graduated rod that employs a tilt sensor (Parallax Memsic 2125 Dual-axisAccelerometer), transmitter (Parallax XBee 1mW Chip Antenna (XB24-ACI-001)), and ParallaxDiscovery board (Board of Education carrier board with BASIC Stamp 2 module). The tiltsensor is used to measure the rods’ angle with respect to the earth, and the transmitter wirelesslytransmits the angle data to an automatic level that is also equipped with a Parallax Discoveryboard (Board of Education carrier board with BASIC Stamp 2 module). The Parallax Discoveryboards are used to bridge the components

Conference Session

Outreach Projects: Promoting Energy Efficiency and Education in General

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Conference Session

Electromechanical Capstone and Design Projects in Engineering Technology

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael D. Johnson, Texas A&M University; Ram Prasad Diwakaran, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Conference Session

Outreach Projects: Promoting Energy Efficiency and Education in General

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shiyoung Lee, Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

systems. Where appropriate, these exercises should involve team-based work among students. Effectiveness and practicality of designs should be key components of the evaluation of students’ work.If design projects are used, students should be required to develop, follow, and periodicallyprogress report on their design developments. Evaluation should consider the quality of thepresentations and the professionalism demonstrated by the students.The proposed IPFC-IMD system, which is implemented mainly with discrete components,provides various teaching components to enhance EMET 325 Electric Drives course. It will beuseful for the practical dc and ac motor drive systems sections. Possible teaching topics and theirbrief explanations are listed

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Projects and Applications

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chandra R. Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet ; Omer Farook, Purdue University; Jai P. agrawal, Purdue University Calumet; Essaid Bouktache, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Signal Conditioning,2) Microcontrollers based Embedded System design,3) Embedded System Programming,4) Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Design,5) Use of Graphical User Interface (GUI) and6) Final System Design Projects. Page 22.29.5 Table1. Learning Modules Time Coverage Learning Modules Lecture Hours Laboratory Hours 20 15* Bio signal, Transducers and *Some of the theory is also Signal Conditioning delivered in the labs

Conference Session

Outreach Projects: Promoting Energy Efficiency and Education in General

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashley Banaszek, Missouri University of Science & Technology; Richard H Hall, Missouri University of Science & Technology; Mehdi Ferdowsi, Missouri University of Science & Technology

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Page 22.168.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 An Evaluation of an Electric Drive Vehicle Program Based on Student Motivation and Learning Effectiveness Abstract Electric drive vehicles (EDVs) are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s marketplace. As such, there is a growing demand for engineers and mechanics that understand these specific types of systems. The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded the Missouri University of Science and Technology and partners funding to develop a large-scale training project. The project includes the development of undergraduate and graduate curricula and programs at the university

Conference Session

Effective Projects and Experiments in Instrumentation and Control

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Bowker; Saleh M. Sbenaty, Middle Tennessee State University; Mark Newton Johnson, Equipass ID

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Conference Session

Project-Based, Inquiry Guided, and High Performance Learning Environments: Effective Approaches

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph J. Biernacki, Tennessee Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

students (mostly freshmen) at TTU. The results suggestthat even freshmen claim to have some level of prior formal teamwork training and considerableexposure to teamwork through extracurricular activities. Their prior experiences with teamwork,however, appear to be rather neutral, though 83% reported having been involved in a “prior Page 22.1341.4successful team project.”To see how students at the sophomore level respond, an independent survey was given by theauthor, seeking information regarding prior teamwork exposure and experience with team-basedactivities. Somewhat consistent with Hunter, et al, student responses indicate that virtually

Conference Session

Project-Based, Inquiry Guided, and High Performance Learning Environments: Effective Approaches

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrienne R. Minerick, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

and implemented attwo different institutions. The course content evolved considerably from the first time the classwas taught to the second time the course was taught in order to capture the substantial gains intechnology and research approaches that have occurred over the two years between courseofferings. A description of the content in the first offering of this course and four class activitieswere discussed in a paper in Chemical Engineering Education3. In addition, the initialimplementation of HiPeLE inspired concept development projects were described in an ASEE-SE proceedings paper4. This paper describes and presents evaluations of the high performancelearning environment in the second implementation of this course.Course Structure

Conference Session

Project-Based, Inquiry Guided, and High Performance Learning Environments: Effective Approaches

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Khairiyah Mohd-Yusof, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Syed Helmi Syed Hassan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Mohammad Zamry Jamaludin, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Nor Farida Harun, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

’ thinking visible – it is no longer solely limitedto making content visible as in the traditional transmission mode.11 It is important to emphasizethat PBL is “not only about infusing problems into the class, but also about creatingopportunities for students to construct knowledge through effective interactions and collaborativeinquiry.”11Supporting and monitoring students’ learning in small groups by a floating facilitator can bechallenging in a typical class while implementing PBL. It is typical for students to resistworking in groups, be it in laboratories or class projects, because of negative prior experiences.17Therefore, the support needed does not only involve cognitive coaching at different PBL phases,guidance and monitoring to develop

Conference Session

Teaching Analog and Digital Communication: Novel Ideas for Lecture Courses, Laboratories, and Projects

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce E. Dunne, Grand Valley State University; Codie Wilson, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

enrolled ECEstudents are engaging in projects which often include wireless communicationsubsystems.To meet this need, the course Wireless Communications Systems was developed anddelivered. This course is intended to help ensure our students’ competency in theemerging wireless communications field for now and into the future. The courseconcentrates on wireless physical layer communication and builds off of a traditionalcourse in communications. Laboratories and projects are a fundamental component of thecourse.In this paper, we present an overview of the course topics and describe the areas covered.We also discuss what was left out due to time and complexity considerations. We furtherdescribe the laboratory experiments and how they integrate with

Conference Session

Teaching Analog and Digital Communication: Novel Ideas for Lecture Courses, Laboratories, and Projects

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexander M. Wyglinski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Daniel J. Cullen

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2011-1869: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS EDUCATION VIASOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIO EXPERIMENTATIONAlexander M. Wyglinski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Alexander M. Wyglinski is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Director of the Wireless Innovation Laboratory (WI Lab), and Director of the WPI Limerick Project Center. He received his Ph.D. degree from McGill University in 2005, his M.S. degree from Queens University at Kingston in 2000, and his B.Eng. degree from McGill University in 1999, all in electrical engineering.Daniel J. Cullen Page

Conference Session

Teaching Analog and Digital Communication: Novel Ideas for Lecture Courses, Laboratories, and Projects

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lei Miao, The University of Cincinnati; Denis Fedorov, University of Cincinnati; James O. Everly, University of Cincinnati; Max Rabiee, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

address the above two concerns. However, these services require either ahigh installation fee or a high monthly/yearly service fee.This paper presents a senior design project which utilizes cellular and microprocessortechnology to provide similar and better services at lower cost. The project alsoenhances the convenience features of motor vehicles. The outcome of the seniordesign project is a complete electronic system assembled on a printed circuit board,and it is ready to be mass produced for the unit price under $100. When the system isinstalled on an automotive, the following functionalities can be achieved: i) a usermay turn on and turn off the engine remotely; ii) the car may turn the engine offautomatically after the desired temperature is

Conference Session

Project-Based, Inquiry Guided, and High Performance Learning Environments: Effective Approaches

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharon G. Sauer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Pedro E. Arce, Tennessee Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

from those of traditional lecture-based courses. For example, in Hi-PeLE, one mayencounter individual or team-based projects or both. Students interact with the facilitator of learning (i.e.,the professor), classmates, TAs, and even former instructors and vendors. Projects, primarily team-based,may be theoretical, computational, or experimental in nature and in some cases a combination of these arealso used. For those versions of Hi-PeLE that use an innovative and creative student-centered component(part of the Linear Engineering Sequence, LES) a working prototype of a proposed device may berequired as an outcome. Furthermore, a course offered in a Hi-PeLE format may involve studentparticipation in reading and/or discussion in formal or

Conference Session

Collaborative Learning, Project-Based, Service Learning, and Impacts on Engineering Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Forrest Alden Copeland, Western Washington University; Derek M. Yip-Hoi, Western Washington University

Tagged Divisions

International

project. Copeland is currently an industrial engineer at a Bellingham Washington hardwood plywood manufacturing facility.Derek M. Yip-Hoi, Western Washington University Derek Yip-Hoi has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He has broad experience in CAD/CAM and geometric and solid modeling from research and teaching experiences at UM and the University of British Columbia. Currently he coordinates the CAD/CAM instruction in the Engineering Technology Department at Western Washington University. Page 22.316.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011

Conference Session

Teaching Analog and Digital Communication: Novel Ideas for Lecture Courses, Laboratories, and Projects

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ratchaneekorn Thamvichai, Saint Cloud State University; Tonya Lynette Smith-Jackson, Virginia Tech; Carl B Dietrich P.E., Virginia Tech; Tamal Bose, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

digital signal processing.Dr. Tonya Smith-Jackson, Virginia Tech Dr. Smith-Jackson is an Associate Professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engi- neering. Her specialty areas are cognitive ergonomics and system safety.Carl B. Dietrich, Jr., Virginia Tech Carl Dietrich is a research faculty member at Virginia Tech, where he completed Ph.D. and M.S. de- grees after graduating from Texas A&M University. He worked with the Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, Virginia and Bell Northern Research, Richardson, Texas and conducted research on adaptive and diversity antenna systems and radio wave propagation. His current work in software defined radio (SDR) includes leading projects

Conference Session

Project-Based, Inquiry Guided, and High Performance Learning Environments: Effective Approaches

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lale Yurttas, Texas A&M University; Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi, Texas A&M University; Houssein A. Kheireddine, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

Page 22.181.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 1An Inquiry-Guided Learning Approach to Process Integration, Simulation, and Economics Lale Yurttas1, Houssein Kheireddine, and Mahmoud El-Halwagi Chemical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAThis paper provides an overview of how inquiry-guided learning (IGL) has been introduced intothe first senior-level design course at Texas A&M University (Process Integration, Simulation,and Economics). This has been part of an NSF-sponsored project to reform the chemicalengineering undergraduate

Conference Session

Teaching Analog and Digital Communication: Novel Ideas for Lecture Courses, Laboratories, and Projects

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jay Wierer, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Edward W. Chandler, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Design and Graphics Potpourri

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Trivett, University of Prince Edward Island; Stephen Champion, University of Prince Edward Island

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Design Graphics

AC 2011-1894: HOW TO DESIGN A DESIGN PROJECT: GUIDANCE FORNEW INSTRUCTORS IN FIRST AND SECOND YEAR ENGINEERINGCOURSESAndrew Trivett, University of Prince Edward IslandProf. Stephen Champion, University of Prince Edward Island Current chair of the UPEI Engineering Department and facilitator of Project Based Design courses at the University of Prince Edward Island. Page 22.787.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 How To Design a Design Project: Guidance for New Instructors in First and Second Year Engineering CoursesIntroductionThis paper is not an attempt to

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Technical Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Salah Badjou, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2011-783: IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED PROJECT-BASEDAPPROACH WITHIN AN ESTABLISHED AND EAC-OF -ABET ACCRED-ITED INTERDISCIPLINARY ELECTROMECHANICAL/BIOMEDICALENGINEERING PROGRAMSalah Badjou, Wentworth Institute of Technology Professor SALAH BADJOU, Ph.D. Wentworth Institute of Technology Electronics and Mechanical En- gineering Department Boston, MA 02115 USA Email: badjous@wit.edu Telephone: 617 989 4113. Salah Badjou received a B.S. in physics and mathematics and a M.S.in physics from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, and a Ph.D. in solid-state physics from Northeastern University, Boston, MA. He has a combined multidisciplinary experience of more than 25 years university teaching, research, and industry

Conference Session

Recruitment, Retention, and First-Year Programs in ECE

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qing Zheng, Gannon University; Ramakrishnan Sundaram, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2011-556: INTEGRATED STEM-BASED PROJECTS TO INSPIRE K-12 STUDENTS TO PURSUE UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMSIN ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERINGQING ZHENG, Gannon University Qing Zheng received the M.Eng. degree from the National University of Singapore in 2003 and the Ph.D. degree from the Cleveland State University in 2009, both in electrical engineering. She is currently an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Gannon University. Her research interests include modeling, estimation, control and optimization for complex systems, such as chemical processes, MEMS, hysteretic systems, biological systems, power systems, etc. Dr. Zheng is an IEEE senior member and an Associate

Conference Session

Design Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James M. Widmann, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Lynne A. Slivovsky, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; J.Kevin Taylor, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, California Polytechnic State University Lynne A. Slivovsky, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Ph.D., Purdue Uni- versity, 2001), has led service-learning initiatives both within the College of Engineering and across the university at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In 2003 she received the Frontiers In Education New Faculty Fellow Award. Her work in service-learning led to her selection in 2007 as a California Campus Compact-Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Faculty Fellow for Service-Learning for Political Engagement. She currently oversees two multidisciplinary service-learning programs: the Access by Design project that has capstone students

Conference Session

Female Faculty, Learning, NSF, and ABET Issues at Two-Year Colleges

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth T. Cady, National Academy of Engineering; Norman L. Fortenberry, American Society for Engineering Education

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

AC 2011-64: NSF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION (ATE)PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS GARNERING USEFUL INSTRUCTIONON DEVELOPING [PROJECT] EFFECTIVENESS (ATE PI GUIDE)Elizabeth T. Cady, National Academy of Engineering Elizabeth T. Cady is a Program Officer at the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE) at the National Academy of Engineering.Norman L. Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering (Washington) Dr. Norman L. Fortenberry is the founding Director of the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE) at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). CASEE facilitates research on and deployment of, innovative policies, practices, and tools designed to enhance

Conference Session

Two Year-to-Four Year Transfer Topics Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia F. Mead, Norfolk State University; Gwen Lee-Thomas, Quality Measures, LLC; Abe Eftekhari, Northern Virginia Community College; Ji Hyon Mun, Thomas Nelson Community College

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

AC 2011-2213: T-CUP: TWO + THREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO UNI-VERSITY PROGRAMS PROJECT: AN INNOVATIVE PILOT MODEL FORBROADENED PATHWAYS INTO TECHNICAL CAREERSPatricia F Mead, Norfolk State University Patricia F. Mead, Ph.D., earned the doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Electrophysics from University of Maryland, College Park, in 1994. She joined the faculty of Norfolk State University (NSU) as Professor of Optical Engineering in summer 2004. Since her appointment, Dr. Mead has been active in the development of innovative curricula for Optical Engineering courses, and she serves as Education Director for the NSF funded Nano- and Bio-Inspired Materials and Devices Center for Research