Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Molly Clay; William Jumper; Kavitha Chandra

Computing and Simulation in the High School Classroom Molly Clay1, William Jumper2 and Kavitha Chandra3This research investigates methods for integrating computational modeling and programming in three high schoolphysics classes at Lowell high School in Lowell, MA. In this work, a project based approach is undertaken in whichstudents conduct experiments, build mathematical models and learn to program using MATLAB, a general purposescientific problem solving and scenario modeling software platform. We discuss the approach taken where studentsfirst undergo a four-week introduction to basic programming skills and begin to apply these skills to a series ofprojects based on fundamental

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Craig Stringer

gender neutral toys allowed students the ability to setup and executeexperiments for mechanistic evaluation with emphasis placed on generating, testing andimplementing technical solutions to the toy design. Topics such as manufacturing, safety, costanalysis, materials selection, and marketing were directed from lecture portion of the class andapplied to the toy analysis. From the observations and mechanistic evaluation of the toys,students were capable to design and fabricate a working prototype to a technical challenge. Thispaper describes a case study project demonstrating the process of relating toy evaluation toengineering fundamentals and reports feedback from faculty and students. Observations are alsooffered on the manner in which

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Tom Goulding; Durga Suresh

traditional computer We have previously shown [ 2, 6 ] that encryptionscience classroom. We begin by contrasting the systems and game projects provide an instructor withinstructional style found within traditional pedagogy the opportunity to challenge students to reach a verywith that of a Socratic practitioner. We subsequently high level of software programming achievementpresent a case study in which juniors being educated while at the same time providing the instructor anin a traditional manner were called upon by a visiting opportunity to explore the power found in SocraticSocratic practitioner to develop the German WWII pedagogy.ENIGMA encryption system in assembly language infive weeks

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Steve Klosterman; Simon Pitts; Steven McGonagle; Carey Rappaport

engineering workforce, most criticallyin training technical leaders capable of competently bringing a product to market. Thetraditional leadership path using apprenticeships, mentoring, and gradually increasingresponsibility in running progressively larger teams, is heavily dependent upon opportunity. Theperfect alignment of these opportunities to lead, and availability of talented engineers who areready to lead rarely occurs in today’s lean corporate environment. Hence in many cases, highpotential employees are put in positions to lead, beyond what their level of genuine experiencehas prepared them for. Engineering executives have estimated that when relatively unseasonedengineers are tasked to run their first team or project, nearly 80% fail in

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Matthew R. Stein

laboratory.Topics of the course include sensors, real-time software, electronics, actuators and mechanics. Studentsdevote most course time to a semester-long design project, the development of an autonomous device tocollect and sort black and white balls on a playfield. Students are issued a RoboStamp kit that includes aniStamp onboard computer with eight digital, eight analog, three hobby servo motor and two H-bridge motorchannels. Although the kit comes with a few pre-made sensors, students construct the majority of theirsensors from electronic sub-components. Throughout the semester, students must achieve carefullydesigned milestones, each representing a necessary but insufficient capability for completing the designproject. For example, one milestone

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Kanti Prasad

tool for the experimental layout and simulation. The projects werefabricated at M2C, and were tested at UMASS Lowell using LV 500 tester.Full use was made of both of these in the class room as well as in the laboratory. Since itinvolved extensive use of programming in PASCAL, along with VAX operating instructions itdid slow down the layout, so project such as Flip Flops, LIFO’s, FIFO’s along with basic gatescould be completed. In 1985, Berkeley however, releases MAGIC through M2C, which was amouse driven drafting tool. It helped in getting bigger projects consummated during the semestersuch as ALU’s recursive filters, traffic light controllers etc. Advanced books on CMOS designby Neil Weste also appeared which provided an ideal mix of theory

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

John Finnie; Neil Fennessey

attainment ofvarious student outcomes. The objective of this paper is to show how a Communication Rubricfor grading student design projects could be used to provide some direct measurements ofattainment of student outcomes. DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF STUDENT OUTCOMESThe ABET web site (WWW.ABET.ORG) provides information about accreditation, includingthe documents entitled “Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs” for specificAccreditation Cycles (school years). A comparison of these criteria reveals that “directmeasures” for assessment are not specifically mentioned until 2011-2012. The definition sectionfor the 2010-2011 criteria defines Assessment as follows [1]. “Assessment is one or more processes that identify, collect, and

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

S Claudina Vargas

A language-infused approach to introduce Dominican high school students to the logical process of designing experiments to construct knowledge K-12 Education (Curriculum Integration) SClaudina Vargas Complex Systems Optimization Laboratory, Northampton, MA 01060 E-mail: scvargas@cosola.org1Abstract: This work reports on the results of a discovery project designed to introduce Dominican highschool students to research concepts. The curriculum uses the ubiquitous water rocket to submersestudents into the logical process of formulating hypotheses and designing experiments to constructknowledge. The curriculum is

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

William L. Cleghorn; Hapreet Dhariwal

in Figure 1. It uses two documentcameras to project hand written notes, illustrate mechanical drawings as they are created, anddemonstrate small mechanical systems. Both of the video signals are recorded using the lecturecapture device.The Easel Paper Dispenser Display Adapter (EPDDA) shown in Figure 1, along with a documentcamera and video projector, has some similarities to a traditional transparency roll and anoverhead projector. However, instead of a transparency roll, the EPDDA incorporates a paperroll, originally produced for a large-format printer, but modified by trimming to a 30 cm width.Using switch 1shown in Figure 1, the instructor can select to show images from either a personalcomputer or from the EPDDA on projection screen 1

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

David Kazmer

SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF ENGINEERS David Kazmer, P.E., Ph.D. Associate Dean, University of Massachusetts Lowell’s College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Education & Research AbstractA statistical survey of engineering majors is presented to understand potential disconnectsbetween the supply and demand of engineering graduates. On the supply side, the primary metricis the annual number of engineering graduates by major from United States Universities. On thedemand side, the presented data includes the government projections of current and futureengineering positions, recent job postings on

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Buket D. Barkana; Nelson Ngoh; Allen Cook

still evident that these technologies offer entry to every student regardless ofhis/her ability, and they offer the student a means to achieve success at his/her level of education.In 1999, Infinity Project innovators prepared engineering curricula for middle school, highschool, and beginning college students by using audio and image processing techniques andtechnologies. The curricula and pedagogy developed through this project continue to helpeducators deliver maximum engineering exposure through hands-on engineering learning intoday’s classrooms. Our developed course expands this project to the post-secondary level ofboth teacher preparation and in-service teacher training.The principles of digital audio and image processing have

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Xingguo Xiong; Hassan Bajwa; Lawrence Hmurcik

(SETs) [8], andnanoelectronics circuits based on quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) [9], etc. In EE 448 -Microelectronic Fabrication, we also introduced the fabrication of nanoelectronic circuits toprepare students for the challenges of next-generation nanoelectronics.3. Results and DiscussionsVLSI courses generally involve heavy design projects for students to get familiar with thevarious EDA tools. As a result, the computer support is very essential for VLSI coursecurriculum. The School of Engineering in our university has 6 general computer laboratorieswhich can be used for VLSI design and simulation. The computer labs totally have 135desktop PCs and 20 Ultra25 Sun Microsystems workstations. The PCs are equipped withWindows XP and Redhat

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Kenneth Edward Dudeck; Wieslaw Grebski

conducted at the Penn State Hazleton campus.The solar car was designed by Penn State Hazleton engineering students and built in cooperationwith high school students. The photovoltaic power station was erected in conjunction with aphotovoltaic installers training course which was offered on site at the Penn State Hazletoncampus.As a positive result of these projects, the Penn State Hazleton Campus decided to develop andoffer a new innovative Bachelor of Science in General Engineering with an Alternative Energyand Power Generation Track. The General Engineering with an Applied Materials Track was Proceedings of the 2011 ASEE Northeast Section Annual Conference University of Hartford

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Louis Manzione; Akram Abu-aisheh

- Problem-Based LearningIn order to prepare students for the global sourcing environment, it is important toincorporate Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as part of the teaching of technical courses.There are many benefits of using PBL including the development of critical thinking,improving students’ analytical abilities, and helping students understand the practicalapplications of the material presented in class.The traditional method of teaching engineering students follows a plan that is based onthe following steps: 1. Begin with a product or design challenge. 2. Explore possible technical approaches 3. Select one or more for a design project 4. Produce prototypes and test the design 5. Develop a manufacturing solutionUniversities

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Michael J. Rust; Abe Kamal

through the application of solid modeling or solid freeform fabrication (rapidprototyping). Collectively, the students were able to transition from the design concept of theracer to the testing phase of the final unit during the one-week program.Another unique and successful college outreach program to promote further awareness ofengineering disciplines to high school students was undertaken by the University of Ottawa,Canada7. The program involves collaborative efforts initiated by both the faculties ofEngineering and Education at the university. Engineering course-structured projects were sharedand explained to local high school students who had certain interests and aptitude in mathematicsand science. Surveys conducted by the university

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Biswanath Samanta

. Several novel applications of hybrid CI techniques proposed earlierby the author in engineering, manufacturing, biomedical and health care systems are discussed. Theexperiences of offering CI as a graduate course and a summer research project involving high schoolstudents are also presented. The importance of introducing CI techniques and their multidisciplinaryapplications as a senior level interdisciplinary engineering elective course and integrating these inresearch experiences for undergraduates and STEM education is discussed.1. Introduction Recently in US universities, there is a growing emphasis on multidisciplinary education and research,especially involving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) [1-8]. The

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Jerald D. Cole

conferencingand its derivatives promise to greatly increase the use of synchronous conferencing in education.The 20 simultaneous video/audio sessions limit currently imposed by OpenTok™ is twice the capacity of Skype (10concurrent sessions at $8.50/month per participant), and industry-leading WebEx and GoToMeeting™—both of whichsupport up to 6 feeds at $49.00/month. Six simultaneous feeds are not enough to involve an entire class; twenty isadequate, given that the average enrollment in project-based courses is 15 students.8 9 OpenTok™ is clearly theindustry standard-bearer with zero licensing costs and superior performance.OpenTok™ InterfaceThe OpenTok™ interface, depicted in Figure 1, is intuitive. It consists of a video presentation area

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Wendy Otoupal-Hylton; Pete Hylton

students’ interest in STEM careers and anincreased self-confidence in their ability to succeed in such careers. This paper will present bothquantitative and qualitative results documenting the improvement in both skills and attitudes.Additionally there will be an explanation of one of the more unique and interesting modules created,which involved a very unique engineering-type design project derived from motorsports engineering.Few career paths are as dynamic, exciting and engaging to STEM students as those in motorsports.Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), which offers the first Bachelor’s Degree inMotorsports engineering in the United States, has found motorsports to be an excellent mechanism forattracting STEM students

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Gaetan Garcia; Matthew R. Stein

exercise remotely. The paper concludes with an analysisof the project and a discussion of future plans.IntroductionAlthough the concept of distance education is by no means new, the offering of laboratory courses hastrailed the offering of regular didactic courses due to the presence of significant technical obstacles. Asthe network infrastructure became faster and more ubiquitous, many researchers [1][2][3][4] beganimplementing remote laboratories in some form. Among the first to be developed were systemproviding remote access to laboratory equipment controlling fixed experimental apparatus. As systemsdeveloped, laboratories began to include moving apparatus with mechanical uncertainties [5][6][7][8][9] requiring video feedback. Remote laboratory

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Tahany Fergany; Amal Abd El?Raouf

, syntax, use, examples, programming tips, commonerrors, self-tests, etc.) as shown in figure 2. This facility will be different from the lectureand the class notes in giving wider selection of examples and reinforcing the connectionsbetween topics. In addition, material can be recalled and projected. Also, students wouldhave the opportunity to go over the material any time and more than once.3.2. Problem-Solving Module The students will access this module to apply the knowledge gained through theinformation module. This module includes all the learning activities illustrated in sectiontwo. It has a wide selection of examples of real-life problem and the accompanied resultsof using each learning activity. This module reinforces the

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Vance Poteat

projects. When asked the same questionabout exams, the 2011 survey and 2005 survey answers were yes for 80.2% and 91.8%respectively. The same questions were then asked about college and the answers for the 2011 /2005 surveys were 46.2% / 82.2% for homework/projects and 51.3% / 80.6% for exams whichshow a noticeable drop from 2005.The students were then asked if they ever cheated in high school and college and the percentagethat responded yes are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 – 2011 Survey Results (% Yes) In High School In College EE CS CE All EE CS CE All Cheated 44% 59% 45

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Ladimer S. Nagurney

loaded to the Kindle willcome out in the Landscape format with no page overlap or scrolling.Although the aspect ratio of the presentation created for the Kindle is not the same as typicalpresentations, if one views the pdf file on ones computer, puts in into the full screen mode, thepdf may readily be displayed on a computer and projected without noticeable effects. LatexLaTex is considered the Gold Standard mathematical text processing program. Developed byDonald Knuth in the late 1970s as a way to typeset mathematics on a computer, it has gainedalmost universal acceptance. Because Latex use proportional fonts and auto-hyphenation, it's output looks like a

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Bruce Char

like a software engi-neering project. This includes 1. Automatic testing. With non-trivial amounts of programming to generate variants, testing is a ne- cessity, if only to explore all the possible branches that the variant generation code might take. As problems are modified due to design changes or bug fixing, re-testing is a necessity. The amount of work needed for this requires automated test scripts to be able to reproduce and hopefully check that the programming is functioning as required. Having scripts also means that regression testing can be performed so that fixed bugs do not reappear. 2. Testing can reduce the likelihood of a student finding a flaw in a question variant (improper presen- tation, unsolvable

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Sigrid Berka

., “Understanding Freshman Engineering Student Retentionthrough a Survey,” Engineering Student Retention: Reducing Attrition and improvingGraduation Rates of Upperclassmen Engineering Students. An Annotated Bibliography. PolsenEnterprises research Service, 1-9, August (2003) www.virtualpet.com/engineer/retent/retent.htm.[7] National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. Standards for ForeignLanguage learning: Preparing for the 21st Century Lawrence K.S.: Allen Press, 1999, 2006.[8] The International Engineering Program of the University of Rhode Island:http://www.uri.edu/iep/[9] McLeish, Todd, “URI Study Tour to Germany Provides Students with Language Immersionand Cultural, Career Awareness,” http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/index.php?id=5692[10

Collection

2011 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Saeid Moslehpour; Hesham Elsaghir

variables on real time manipulationTesting procedure:Working on this embedded system, I learned to test each component separately beforeconnecting them to the final project. Using this sequence did prevent a lot of glitches andany mistakes in the preparation of system. Also, by testing and completely understandingeach part functionality and requirements I simplified putting together a complexembedded system with multi functions such as Ethernet.Commands Used to communicate between Embedded System and GUI:The commandsare stored in the packet sent from the GUI to the Embedded System. These commandsdescribe the function that the reset of the packet will be applied to. The command isstored in the first byte and can start from 1 to 255 giving the user