Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Aleksandr Sergeyev; Nasser Alaraje; Scott Kuhl; Michael Meyer; Mark Kinney; Mark Highum

Robotics inelectrical engineering technology (EET) programs at Michigan Tech and Bay de NocCommunity College.KeywordsRobotics; STEM; Industrial Certification; Robotic SoftwareIntroductionMany existing jobs will be automated in the next 20 years, and robotics will be a major driver forglobal job creation over the next five years. These trends are made clear in a study conducted bythe market research firm, Metra Martech, “Positive Impact of Industrial Robots onEmployment”1. Many repetitive, low-skilled jobs are already being supplanted by technology.However, a number of studies have found that in the aggregate, the robotics industry is creatingmore jobs than the number of jobs lost to robots. For example, the International Federation ofRobotics (IFR

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Stuart W. Baur; R. Joe Stanley

attended the 2013 Missouri State PLTW Conference.Instructor observations from the survey indicated that: 1) hands-on projects promotereinforcement of PLTW course curricula, 2) PLTW courses provide useful college preparatoryexperiences for students and expose students to STEM related areas, and 3) school districtsreasonably support PLTW courses.IntroductionIn recent years, there have been numerous K-12 programs to promote science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs that have promoted the growth andinterest of science and math related fields. These STEM programs branch across a variety ofareas and grade levels. Project Lead The Way (PLTW) provides STEM education curricularprograms in high schools and middle schools in

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Charles E. Baukal

even solving a problem and then evaluating the result when it has beenobtained. Some of the checks include the sign of the solution (positive or negative), the correctrange and order of magnitude, the number of significant digits, and the error bars for laboratorymeasurements. The paper discusses problem solving, critical thinking, solution reality checks,and recommendations for how to implement solution prediction and assessment.IntroductionCalls continue to be made for improving engineering education. The Phase 2 report from thatcommittee titled Educating the Engineer of 2020 1 calls for the reinvention of engineeringeducation. An important finding of that study was the importance of addressing how studentslearn in addition to what they

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Arash Jahandideh; Samaeh Aminikhangahi; Ali Salehnia; Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan

conduct a trade of between shortest pathand longest path problem. The resulting path takes both economic and environmentalperformance into account in product/process design decision making.KeywordsLCA, Lignin derivatives, Dijkstra’s algorithm, Dynamic Programming 1IntroductionLife Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-known and widely used approach to assessing thepotential environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product’s life cycle, includingraw material acquisition, production, distribution, use, and end-of-life phases [1]. Currently, lifecycle thinking plays a significant role in environmental policy making. Renowned institutionssuch as the

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Erik Mallonee; John Barkley; Ramazan Asmatulu

to retain students in engineering education and complete the degree on time.Keywords: Science Project, Energy Harvesting, Engineering Education, Student Retention.1. Introduction1.1 MotivationThis study is a continuation of a study done in the Spring and Summer of 20141 by this groupthat was related to a study done in the Spring of 2013, of which one of the members of this groupwas involved2. The results of the 2013 study show that high school students involved in thetechnology training program showed increased interest in enrolling in the College of Engineering(CoE) at Wichita State University (WSU). This promoted interest amongst the authors to furtherstudy methods to recruit and or retain students, thus sparking the 2014 study. The 2014

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Francisco Lourenco; Nian Zhang; Sasan Haghani

prediction.KeywordsRunoff prediction, water quantity prediction, time series prediction, neural networks,backpropagation learning algorithm.1. IntroductionA wide range of evidence indicates that the earth has been warming over the past century. Thiswarming is causing the melting of mountain glaciers and sea ice in many parts of the world, arise in sea levels, and changes in patterns of precipitation. Most scientists agree that these trendsare likely to continue, and to accelerate largely due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide andother “greenhouse” gases in our atmosphere. Changes in temperatures and precipitation mayimpact the availability, use, and management of water resources. Since the publication ofIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Heather McCain

manufacturing can be difficult and trying to define quality for education is equally, if notmore, difficult. Philip Crosby (1979) defined quality as “conformance to requirements”.1 RussWestcott suggests that “Quality - I’ll know it when I see it”2 is used by customers to definequality. As a student at a university, conformance to requirements typically means followingthe course syllabus and completing the assignments for the course. As an instructor, quality of astudent’s work sometimes follows the “I’ll know it when I see it.”In manufacturing standard work is used to create consistency and define quality. Standard workis defined as documented and agreed-upon procedures and practices.3 In higher education,standard work are those procedures and

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Sara E. Wilson

thepublished literature, being able to evaluate scientific literature broadly across their field ofexpertise, having the ability to do independent research, and having the ability to communicatethat research successfully through publication. Other objectives include having technical skillsin important techniques of their field, being able to supervise the research of others, and beingable to formulate novel research questions that might serve the basis of grant proposals. Somewill express a volume of work such as three peer reviewed journal publications as an objective.In Bioengineering, our goal was to select outcomes that embody these objectives. Theseoutcomes were:Graduates in PhD Bioengineering program will be able to: 1. Read, comprehend

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Steve E. Watkins

and judgment. Topical content typically includes anintroduction to principles of applied ethics with supporting examples of related engineeringsituations. This paper discusses the organization of the ethics component in a senior seminarcourse. Key topics are ethics principles in the context of the engineering profession, codes ofethics as developed by professional societies, and ethical judgment in case studies.KeywordsEthics, Profession, Case Study.IntroductionThe development of ethics knowledge and judgment is recognized as an essential part ofengineering education. ABET student outcomes include “an understanding of professional andethical responsibility” [1]. University engineering programs must address ethics education toprepare students

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Brian Sandford

including welding and metal fabrication; framing; roofing; mechanical systems includingdrain, waste, and vent, electrical and plumbing; exterior work and landscaping; interior workincluding drywall, insulation, painting, and trim; and finally employment and accident and injuryvocabulary. About one week is spent discussing the vocabulary for each subject area.After the core grammatical information has been presented in weeks 1-3, students will begin topractice speaking and using the Spanish vocabulary learned each week in one of the topic areasby explaining simple construction related tasks assigned by the instructor. They are evaluated in4 major areas which must be included in their task descriptions. They must include: 1) anappropriate greeting; 2

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Robert M. O'Connell

assessment. At the same time, the results of the midterm exams are also often used 1 © American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 2015 ASEE Zone III Conference (Gulf Southwest – Midwest – North Midwest Sections)to provide feedback that helps students improve their learning in preparation for the final exam.This is the formative component of assessment.There are pedagogical difficulties associated with using midterm exams for both formative andsummative assessment. First, learning outcomes are usually expressed in terms of what studentsshould know and be able to do

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Shawn M. Hughes; Anh Pham; Kathy Huong Nguyen; Ramazan Asmatulu

in the engineering fields.Keywords: Electrospinning, Polycaprolactone (PCL), Nanofibers, Undergraduate Students,Hands-on Training.1. IntroductionNanotechnology has a great potential to revolutionize the scientific and industrial developmentsworldwide [1]. A number of different nanoscale materials in the forms of metals and alloys,polymers, ceramics and composites can be produced using nanotechnology processes (e.g., topdown and bottom up approaches). These nanomaterials have various application capabilities thatcould greatly affect physical and chemical properties of the new materials, structural integrity,and tissue engineering, as well as research and development in engineering [2].Electrospinning is one pf the nanotechnology processes to

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Susan C. Schneider

Disciplines(WID) 1, we began to include memos, progress reports, procedure instructions and final reports,all of which are likely to be used by our students when they are in their engineering jobs,including their co-op jobs. In particular, one of the expected outcomes for all our laboratorycourses is for the students to be able to effectively communicate the objective, the designprocedure, the experimental results, and the conclusion for a particular laboratory assignment(junior level) or electronic circuit/system design project (senior level).Current Laboratory Writing AssignmentsDifferent types of writing assignments are used in the final two laboratory classes in ourprogram. In the junior level “Instrumentation Lab”, students write three or four