Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Sivaganeshwar Subramaniam; Adam Lynch

Implications4.2.1 Academia pedagogy & researchThis study integrates engineering, business, and financial modeling to improve the decision-makingprocess, fostering an interdisciplinary approach. This structured decision framework can cultivate anentrepreneurial mindset amongst the students of both engineering curriculum and business curriculum.University is also able to provide students with experiential learning experience that simulates thedecision-making process involved within a startup through the application of sensitivity analysis,decision trees, and influence diagrams.4.2.2 IndustryThis study provides a high-quality decision framework allowing startup outside of theelectromechanical industry to benefit from resulting in an optimized cost

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Chika Winnifred Agha; Rebecca Atadero; Amir Hedayati Mehdiabad

influences early career engineers' ethicaland equity perspectives. Our findings highlight the diverse pathways through which ethics andequity are integrated into engineering practice.Conclusion: This study holds practical significance for engineering instructors, educationalinstitutions, and employers in the engineering field. Addressing issues related to ethics andequity in engineering education or practice requires integrating ethics and equity discussionsmore consistently across engineering curricula and workplace practices to foster a culture ofcontinuous ethical awareness and social responsibility. Also, encouraging engineering students toconnect with society and education beyond engineering is an important path to ethicaldevelopment.Keywords

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Mridusmita Saikia; Stephanie Fuchs

. Sophomore-year submissions exhibited an emerging understanding ofengineering design constraints and their application to distinct type-1 diabetes patients, as well asthe ability to create engineering schematics that accurately reflected the disease physiology andtreatment approach. By their junior year, students showed clear improvements in theirunderstanding of these engineering design parameters. Additionally, junior year studio studentswere able to apply mathematical equations to model type-1 diabetes and integrate these modelsinto their engineering designs. We are optimistic that our pedagogical approach will be highlyeffective in promoting innovative, engineering-design-based problem-solving approach amongour students. We are performing

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Benjamin Bruxvoort; Nehemiah Emaikwu; Kim Trenbath; Jason Schmidt

interdependence of these theoretical frameworks andunderscore the difficulty of clarifying the connections between the various frameworks andpractices in active, experiential, challenge-based, and project-based learning.This research study focused on understanding how professors implemented a real-worldproblem-solving project in their courses as part of JUMP into STEM, an annual, nationwidestudent competition.The competition comprises three real-world building science problems. Each year, thesechallenges are identified by national laboratory researchers in building sciences through directcollaboration with professors and implemented in building science courses nationwide.Professors integrate the real-world problems in their graded courses in a way that

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Chloe Long; Bobby Hodkinson

application of ai and large language models in software engineering education. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science & Applications, 15(1), 2024.[27] Paula Lauren and Paul Watta. Work-in-progress: Integrating generative ai with evidence-based learning strategies in computer science and engineering education. In 2023 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pages 1–5. IEEE, 2023.[28] Matei-Dan Popovici. Chatgpt in the classroom. exploring its potential and limitations in a functional programming course. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(22):7743–7754, 2024.[29] Basit Qureshi. Chatgpt in computer science curriculum assessment: An analysis of its successes and shortcomings. In

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Maila Hallare; Tanjore Jayaraman

transport phenomena, i.e., diffusion. However, many engineeringtextbooks present solutions to the mon-steady-state diffusion (Fick’s Second Law) without derivation. This paperadvocates integrating rigorous yet accessible mathematical approach to improve the understanding of the diffusionequations for students. By aligning mathematical derivations with prior coursework in differential equations, thisapproach strengthens students’ conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities and reinforces the connectionbetween theory and engineering applications. The alignment goal is implemented via a co-teaching approach in whicha mathematics professor and an engineering professor collaboratively guide students to derive the diffusion equa-tion solutions

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Alexander Aronov; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder; Angela Bielefeldt; Joseph Polman; Fabiola Palomar

-alonecourses focused on engineering.Student Artifacts in STEM AssessmentWithin the secondary curriculum of the SCENIC program, the learning culminates with a postersymposium. Students are provided a template and examples from university students whorecently conducted similar inquiry projects, and then create their own posters. Artifacts such asstudent-created posters can serve as rich sources of evidence for evaluating inquiry-basedprojects. These artifacts capture not only the data collection and analysis aspects of scientificinquiry but also the iterative design and problem-solving processes inherent in engineeringpractices [17]. Analyzing posters allows researchers to assess how students integrate theoreticalexplanations with practical applications

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

John M. Santiago

Network (KEEN), and the other enabled byemerging technologies such as generative AI and multimedia storytelling platforms. This paper exploreshow these two threads—mindset-driven learning and AI-assisted content creation—can be woventogether using Camtasia, an accessible yet powerful multimedia authoring tool, to enrich STEAMeducation and cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset.The KEEN framework, supported by the Kern Family Foundation and exemplified by the work of Dr. DougMelton, emphasizes the development of three foundational traits in engineering students: Curiosity,Connections, and Creating Value. These “3Cs” are not just aspirational values—they represent specific,observable behaviors that can be cultivated through intentional curriculum

Collection

2025 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Ruhan Yang; Ellen Do

Exploring Circuit Education for Early LearnersAbstract:Early exposure to circuits is critical to fostering an interest in engineering for young students, buttraditional circuit education is often not adapted to their cognitive and motor skill levels. Wedeveloped and evaluated two hands-on circuit education approaches, the Circuit Sticks and thePre-Prepared Copper Tape Circuits. Both methods were designed for first-grade students toimprove accessibility and engagement in early circuit learning. The Circuit Sticks provide astructured, guided experience, using color-coded polarity indicators and modular assembly tolower the barrier to entry. The Pre-Prepared Copper Tape Circuits, on the other hand, requireindependent