Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Rose-Margaret Itua; Sharnnia Artis

students traditionallyunderrepresented in science and engineering programs. One pool of such students is community college students pursuing math, chemistry, and physics courses that are transferrable to baccalaureate programs. In a Strategy for American Innovation, the Obama administration stated that “President Obama is taking continuous steps to improve our educational system ... and to promote student achievement and careers in STEM fields”, and “the Administration is committed to restoring America’s global leadership in college graduation rates ...., making investments in community colleges ....”4,5 With more resources being allocated to community colleges to stimulate student achievement in STEM fields, and community colleges serving many

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Amelito Enriquez; Nicholas Langhoff; Wenshen Pong; Nilgun Ozer; Hamid Shanasser; Cheng Chen; Hamid Mahmoodi; Ed Cheng; Kwok-Siong Teh; Xiaorong Zhang

one million additional STEMprofessionals in the next decade in order to retain its historical preeminence in science andtechnology. The report proposes that addressing the retention problem in the first two years ofcollege is the most promising and cost-effective strategy to address this need. The CaliforniaCommunity College System, with its 112 community colleges enrolling approximately 2.5 millionstudents—representing nearly a third of the nation’s community college student population—is ina prime position to grow the future STEM workforce. However, for most community collegeengineering programs, developing strategies to increase the number and diversity of studentssuccessfully pursuing careers in engineering is a big challenge due to

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Ronald P. Uhlig

computer science. In keeping with the mission of National University, this degree wasand still is targeted toward working adults, typically in their mid-30s, although there have beenmany younger and older students as well. Thousands of graduates have gone on to havesuccessful careers in computer science and related fields. Hundreds have gone on to pursue andobtain master’s degrees in computer science and related fields. This has been aided by atransition program that enables upper division BS Computer Science students to take and receivecredit for some graduate courses required in the National University Master of Science inComputer Science program. A few of our graduates have gone on to receive doctorates incomputer science and related fields.A

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Laith Al Any; Jodi Reeves; Carl Josephson

Roadmap Barriers Options Self barriers University Education Certificates or Outer barriers Licenses Technical TrainingPROFESSIONAL LICENSES FOR REFUGEE ENGINEERSThe United States does not have a national engineering license. Licenses are issued by stateboards of licensure or registration. And while some engineering professions do not requirelicensure (they may be exempt due to “industrial exemptions” or they may not provide servicesto the public), in many disciplines such as Civil Engineering, a Professional Engineer (PE)license is mandatory for career

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Hasmik Gharibyan

computer scientist is typically considered to be socially awkward andnot fun to be around. Young women do not want to choose a career path where they would besurrounded by such people, and more importantly, they don’t want to become one of them. In thispaper we discuss certain social behaviors of some people in computing, both men and women, thatcontribute to the perception of a “computer geek” as a socially inept person. Recognizing andaccepting the truth behind negative aspects of the stereotype, as opposed to ignoring or denyingthem, will help us get to the root of the problem and find effective solutions for it. In theconclusion, as a step toward changing this perception, we propose adding a required Social Skillsand Etiquette course for

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Thais da C. L. Alves

andinterests and to have students experience how work is developed in their fields. Students are invitedto interact with professionals in different settings and occasions that promote networking, learningabout technical topics, and improving their presentation and interpersonal skills. The basis ofstudent chapters’ work is “tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me,and I will understand”. They basically help students to put into practice knowledge acquired incoursework and interactions with industry practitioners. Within this context, this paper discussesa research project funded by ELECTRI International about promoting careers in the electricalcontracting business through student chapter engagement and research on energy

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Tania Martinez; Amado Flores-Renteria; Jasmine Flores; Jolani Chun; Cheng Chen; Hezareigh Ryan; Wenshen Pong; Nilgun Ozer; Hamid Shahnasser; Hamid Mahmoodi; Amelito G. Enriquez; Albert Cheng; Kwok-Siong Teh; Xiaorong Zhang

-time hybrid simulation forearthquake engineering research. The purpose of the project is to evaluate the effects of delay onreal-time hybrid simulation and to apply a probabilistic approach for reliability assessment.MATLAB and Simulink are used and probabilistic concepts are applied to account forcharacteristics of one hundred ground motions. This research internship program allows for thedevelopment of project management, time management and teamwork skills, thus helpingstrengthen students’ knowledge of seismic design in civil engineering and prepare them forsuccessful academic and professional careers. The internship program therefore provides valuablementorship for community college students during their transition to a four-year college

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Rita Melgar; Anthony Nash; Mou Sun; Carmen Tepeu Yoc; Maral Amir; Cheng Chen; Amelito G. Enriquez; Hao Jiang; Hamid Mahmoodi; Wenshen Pong; Hamid Shanasser; Kwok-Siong Teh; Xiaorong Zhang

. Pre Post Difference I have a clear career path. 4.38 4.38 0.00 I have skill in interpreting results. 4.38 4.38 0.00 I have tolerance for obstacles faced in the research process. 4.44 4.56 0.13 I am ready for more demanding research. 4.25 4.38 0.13 I understand how knowledge is constructed. 4.19 4.69 0.50 I understand the research process in my field. 3.31 4.31 1.00 I have the ability to integrate theory and practice. 4.06

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Susan Wainscott; Julie Longo

, willaffect the students’ careers. A discussion ensues to share the experiences of the instructors andstudents in the publishing process in order to create this awareness. This dialogue touches onskills that result in a significant success rate in the acceptance of papers by journals andconferences, among other venues. At this point, the students realize why good writing skills areimportant to them. Now, they can focus on the next two segments: how to conduct a qualityliterature search and how to write a literature review.How to Conduct a Quality Literature SearchNext, is an active learning segment, involving small groups of students discussing the tools andtechniques they have used to complete a literature review; afterwards, they share key points

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Jeffrey Ashworth; William Crisler

in the undergraduate curriculum, move some of the computational tograduate curricula, and offer an extended program which could provide depth in some areas ofinterest to the students.Another area of concern in aerospace engineering is in an identity crisis. Some engineeringprograms are deliberately evolving away from engineering programs toward engineeringsciences programs and in some cases, the transition is virtually compete. The former programsprepare undergraduates to get entry-level jobs as engineers in careers in government or industry.The latter programs screen students to serve initially as low-paid workers in funded researchprograms and then eventually to earn doctorates for careers in research in academia. As a result,engineering

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Ronald Gonzales; Alan Watkins; Chris Simpson

Copyright © 2015, American Society for Engineering Education 261Learning ObjectivesMapping student labs to achieve clear objectives not only supports learning, but allows a studentto provide demonstrable skills to potential employers. With the National Initiative forCybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) andthe National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) have created the CybersecurityWorkforce Framework [10]. The purpose of this framework is to identify the common knowledge,skills, and abilities of Cybersecurity workers, along with associated job tasks [10]. Table 1provides a list of the

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu; Rajan Chandra

practical examples and greatly benefited by lab sessions. This paper presents some of theremedial steps that we have taken in order to increase the retention in both classes.Problems with introductory circuit analysis and C++ programming classesStudent success in electrical engineering is built on mastery of foundational circuit analysisconcepts such as Kirchhoff's laws nodal analysis, Thevenin, and Norton equivalent circuits.However, the course in which these concepts are taught, comes very early in the student'sbaccalaureate career. Many students at this level have not yet developed sufficient skills such aseffective note taking, building conceptual frameworks that integrate new ideas with existingknowledge, and the need to utilize concepts from

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michael Kinsler; Colin McGill; Giovanni Rodriguez; William Berrios; Jeremy Chow; Amelito Enriquez; Paul Grams; Xiaorong Zhang; Hamid Mahmoodi; Wenshen Pong; Kwok-Siong Teh

the enclosure. Both the tensile test andhardness measurement showed positive correlation between controlled temperature andmechanical properties of the printed poly-lactic acid. Comparing samples printed with and withouttemperature control, the latter allowed for the optimization of tensile strength and hardness.Specimens that were printed in a controlled temperature range of 35-37°C showed the largestimprovement in both tensile strengths and hardness as compared to specimens printed withouttemperature control, or printed at lower or higher controlled temperatures. Exit interviews withstudents showed a deepening of interest in engineering as a career, a significant increase inprofessional confidence, and strong interest in pursuing graduate

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Bryan J. Mealy

coursewarecould use improvements including more proof-reading, more example and exercise problems,and improved lab activity experiences. A secondary issue is that the scope of the FreeRangecourseware has never been acknowledged in any way by the Cal Poly administration. Though theFreeRange courseware is relatively popular with students and faculty who teach the courses, it isessentially a career-killer in the context of an administration that places a higher value onresearch, publications, and grant acquisitions than it does on actual course development.AcknowledgementsThanks to Nicholas Ross, Jennifer Lumbres, Andrew Ma, and James Mealy for help withproofreading. Thanks to Jeff Gerfen for creating the first cut at the FRCD LAM and being thefirst

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Pradip Peter Dey; Gordon W. Romney; Amir Rezaei; Amelito G. Enriquez; Bhaskar Raj Sinha; Mohammad Amin

of the 2015 American Society for Engineering Education Pacific Southwest Conference Copyright © 2015, American Society for Engineering Education 24advanced educational experiences and exposure to a variety of career options through theirparents, relatives, family friends, teachers, school counselors, college recruiters, older siblings,etc. For the vast majority of students, however, this ideal situation is far from reality. Far toomany high school graduates are inadequately prepared for college. The problem is systemic andthe numbers are staggering. For instance the California Community Colleges Student SuccessTask

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

VicePresident of Product Management & Engineering for the wireless terminals division of SamsungTelecommunications America. He began his career as an associate professor of electricalengineering at Lakehead University, Canada. He has authored more than 30 technicalpublications and received five patents with several patents pending.Dr. Justin P. OpatkiewiczB.S. U.C. BerkeleyPh.D. Stanford UniversityDr. Opatkiewicz joined the NanoEngineering Department at UC San Diego in 2012 to lecture in avariety of core courses in the Chemical Engineering curriculum. He has won the Teacher of theYear Award for both the NanoEngineering department and the Jacobs School of Engineering in2014. While at Berkeley, Dr. Opatkiewicz created and taught the course