Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

AC 2012-3390: HOW MUCH PHYSICS THE FIRST-YEAR ENGINEER-ING STUDENTS REALLY NEED: A STUDY AND SURVEYDr. Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University Bala Maheswaran, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115. Page 25.701.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 1 How much Physics the First Year Engineering Students really need: A Study and Survey AbstractFreshmen engineering courses are the eye opener for engineering students in

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, Oswego State University College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

,impressions, and enthusiasm are presented. The course was refreshing in terms of researchperformed at undergraduate level. We hope that our experience can be useful to others teachingsimilar courses.IntroductionHands-on learning stimulates curiosity, renders relevant the theory used in the classroom, andprovides practical foundation for senior capstone projects [1]. It is known that there aresignificant difficulties in transferring learning from one field to another, such as mathematics tophysics. Laboratory work helps such transfer of skills and is an important component for studentsuccess and preparation for real-life [2, 3]. Physics faculty could also help by focusing on how tointerpret real-world information and to set up the solution. [4

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hatem M. Wasfy, Advanced Science and Automation Corp.; Tamer M. Wasfy, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Jeanne Peters, Advanced Science and Automation Corp.; Riham M. Mahfouz, Thomas Nelson Community College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

traditional classroom/textbook/lab instruction5.Content DeliveryThe course content represents the information that the students should know after going throughthe course. In a fully automated online course, the content can be delivered in 3 methods:1. Written content is delivered as web pages or pdf, doc or other file formats. This is the method employed by most online courses that are offered today.2. Pre-recorded content can be in audio or video form. Although some students prefer listening or watching a video of a lecture to reading, this method of delivery offers the least flexibility in terms of making changes to the course. This is due to the fact that even to add a single word, an entire segment usually needs to be recorded anew.3

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael De Antonio, New Mexico State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

review cycle and forward.1 The definition previously stated that ProgramEducational Objectives are broad statements that describe the career and professionalaccomplishments that the program is preparing the graduate to achieve. This definition is nowchanged to Program Educational Objectives are broad statements that describe what graduatesare expected to attain within a few years of graduation.2 In light of these changes, ABETsuggests that programs reassess their Program Educational Objectives to fit the new criteriondefinition.BackgroundWorkshops and papers have addressed the previous definition of Educational Objectives. Locke3in his ABET workshop at the 2010 ASEE Midwest Section Conference states that some of themost common pitfalls when

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie Lopez del Puerto, University of Saint Thomas; Jeff Jalkio, University of Saint Thomas; Paul R. Ohmann, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

byElectrical Engineering and Physics majors.We first introduced “Equations in Words” in our courses as part of homework or in-classproblem packets. We showed students an example of an equation in words to clarify theexpectation that they were not to do a literal translation symbol by symbol but that they had tothink about the physical meaning of the equation. A typical “Equations in Words” problem fromthe Waves unit in Classical Physics II is shown below: Consider the following equation: ∆L = 𝑛 + 1 2  𝜆 n = 0, 1, 2, 3, … a) This equation applies to: b) The variables and their units are: ΔL n λ c) Explain the equation in your own words: d) Draw

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary P. Hillebrand, University of Detroit Mercy; Meghann Norah Murray, University of Detroit Mercy; Jenna Ross; Robert A. Ross, University of Detroit Mercy; Cherron Tarter, Ford Motor Company

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

modified thecurriculum to incorporate additional activities.1 This paper will describe a physics laboratoryexperiment to simulate the operation of the touchscreen on a smartphone.A detailed description of the activity will be provided. The simulator is fabricated usingcommon office and laboratory supplies and is inexpensive enough that students can keep themodel. We describe how the simulator is used in two different courses. One course is designedfor high school students attending a university enrichment program, the other is a second-semester undergraduate general physics laboratory course.In addition we present the results of an open-ended assessment of student learning. Students areengaged to write to a specific prompt and we assess the

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Baha Jassemnejad, University of Central Oklahoma; Wei Siang Pee, University of Central Oklahoma; Kevin Rada, University of Central Oklahoma; Devon Kelley Keith, University of Central Oklahoma; Dylan Bradley Miller; Evan C. Lemley, University of Central Oklahoma; Adam Dorety, University of Central Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

modified a prototype ROV. Page 25.116.2 1 INTRODUCTIONThe Summer Bridge program is designed for incoming freshmen with STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics) majors who desire an educational approach that emphasizes learningthrough participation in research and engineering activities in their field of study. The students mustapply for, and be accepted into, a research group that most interests them. Students in the research groupare then given a project assignment, and provided with the necessary knowledge (principles, tools, andtechniques

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie Lopez del Puerto, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

are required to take several Physics courses: thecalculus-based introductory Classical Physics sequence, Applications of Modern Physics, and atwo-semester Electricity and Magnetism (E&M) sequence. The introductory physics and E&Msequences are well established. However, it became clear after the EE program was started thatwe needed to redevelop the Applications of Modern Physics course so that it bridges theintroductory and advanced courses, is relevant and useful to both Physics and EE majors, andmotivates further study in both fields. Our goal is to develop a sophomore-level Applications ofModern Physics course based on Physics Education Research proven best-practices that: (1) as an allied requirement for Electrical Engineering

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jia-Ling Lin, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Manuela Romero, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jennifer Binzley, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Eman A. Zaki, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

25.1474.2students’ perceptions of the learning environment significantly impacted learning. Students whoparticipated in SI sessions indicated that academic support programs like SI played a key role infostering effective learning of course material and in promoting a spirit of joyful learning.1 Researchers in physics education have found that students’ attitudes toward learningsignificantly impact what students actually learn.3-7 Several instruments, including the MarylandPhysics Expectations Survey (MPEX),4 Views About Science Survey (VASS),5 theEpistemological Beliefs Assessment (EBAPS),6 and the Colorado Learning Attitudes aboutScience Survey (CLASS)7 were designed to assess students’ attitudes toward learning. Resultsfrom extensive survey studies

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bert Pariser, Technical Career Institutes

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

25.1040.2PHOTON MASSThe Helium Neon Laser operation is dependent on Light Amplification by Stimulated Emissionof Radiation. The metastable helium atoms in the 3P2 state collide with the Neon atoms andtransfer the energy to the 3S state of Neon. When the excited neon atom in 3S releases a photonit drops to the 2P energy state. The quantum of energy is emitted as a photon. Professor Willis ELamb wrote a paper “Theory of the Optical Maser”1. My research on gaseous lasers “TimeDevelopment of a Laser Signal”2 demonstrated how this transfer of energy from heliummetastable atom produces an excited state in the neon atom.Conventional physics has established that a photon has momentum, but does not have mass. Icannot find a reference in the literature for a

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jian Peng, Southeast Missouri State University; Santaneel Ghosh, Southeast Missouri State University; Ken Surendran, Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

Technology, Madras, India, and Ph.D. in applied analysis from State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is a senior life member of IEEE and a member of ACM and AITP. Page 25.1109.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Reflections on Teaching a Consolidated Capstone Design Course to a Mixed Student BodyI. IntroductionDesign is widely considered to be the central or distinguishing activity of engineering 1. TheCapstone Design course has usually been designed as a senior project laboratory to allowinggraduating seniors become prepared for working in

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yumin Zhang, Southeast Missouri State University; David K. Probst, Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

learned in the past can serveas stepping stones for the new knowledge.I. IntroductionElectromagnetics is widely considered as a very difficult course, and students often get lost at thebeginning. There are several challenges: mathematics, imagination, as well as new concepts andapproaches. First, vector calculus is the language of Electromagnetics, and many students havepoor background in this subject.1 Second, most students can visualize the motion of particles, butthey have a hard time imagining the spatial distribution of the EM field.2 Third, a number of newconcepts and theorems are introduced in a short period of time, as well as new approaches tosolve problems.3 One way to overcome these challenges is to engage new technology.4 There

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bert Pariser, Technical Career Institutes

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

email form which they could use for their compositions. The students werethen required to attach the composition to an email and then send the email to me.Figure 1 is a paragraph from the physics PHY201 syllabus .WRITING:Each week students are required to write a composition about the chapter. Thecomposition should be saved as a word document and submittedAs an attachment by email.Figure 1The student compositions where now easy to read but usually were not very interesting. To helpmy students improve their understanding of physics I decided to have them write about thehomework problems. Physics problems are usually a minimum of four or five lines. Students

Conference Session

Physics Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Rose Annoni, University of St. Thomas; Adam S. Green, University of St. Thomas; Marie Lopez del Puerto, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

from theHOMO to the LUMO, plus the hole that the electron left behind.The Schrödinger equation for a spherical infinite potential well can be solved analytically, andresults in the following quantized energy levels: !! !! !! 𝐸= !!! ! ,    𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, … [1]where h is Planck’s constant, m is the particle’s mass R is the radius of the quantum dot.As mentioned above, for excited quantum dots there are two particles to consider, the electronand the hole, such that the energy for the first excited state becomes !! !! !! !! 𝐸