Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rob O. Hovsapian, Florida State University; Chiang Shih, Florida A&M University/Florida State University; Juan Ordonez, Florida A&M University/Florida State University; Jose Vargas, Universidade Federal de Parana; Necesio Gomes Costa, Universidade Federal de Itajubá

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

studentsbecomes difficult when there are several time zones between them. They are required to holdregular team meetings, sometimes biweekly, so coordination is a key to their success andfunctioning as a cohesive team. How the workload is distributed and managed between the teammembers is another key component to address when working on an international capstone designproject. 2Figure 1 shows the evolution of the industry sponsored senior design projects in the past 13 yearsin the Department of Mechanical Engineering at our university. It is also shown the increase inthe number of students and projects in the same period. Page 25.572.3

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacob T. Allenstein, Ohio State University; Clifford A. Whitfield, Ohio State University; Bob Rhoads, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. Below is the GanttChart for the automotive industry sponsored project. Figure 1 – Gantt Chart for a Successful Capstone ProjectThe automotive industry sponsor provided wind tunnel research capability and available datesfor testing. The available dates provided a deadline for the specific project hurdles and theproject Gantt Chart was built around those dates. Once the Gantt Chart was established and Page 25.657.8approved by the facilty advisor and project coordinator, the students started researching mainsources of drag on a typical SUVs. Discovering the primary sources of drag, the students startedcreating prototypes in a CAD

Conference Session

Energy, the Environment, and Nano Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dhananjay Kumar, North Carolina A&T State University; Devdas M. Pai, North Carolina A&T State University; Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa; Robin Guill Liles, North Carolina A&T State University; Mainul Kader Faruque, North Carolina A&T State University; Courtney Lambeth, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

‘Fundamentals of Nanoscience and Engineering.’The NUE project (2009-2010, NSF-EEC 0939344) refers this course as Nanotechnology-I.The Nanotechnology-I offered as aspecial topic course in the first year of 20project has now become a regular coursein the Department of MechanicalEngineering, with the aforementioned 15 No. of studentscourse title. This course is now plannedto be offered every fall semester in theDepartment of Mechanical Engineering. 10Fig. 1 shows a continuous increase in thenumber of student enrollment eachsemester with substantial increment in 5the student enrollment in the Fall-2011.It is not clear if

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael J. Rust, Western New England University; Steven G. Northrup, Western New England University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, includingoperating as productive members of multidisciplinary teams in a global environment.1-3 Whilerecent trends in engineering education have emphasized the importance of teaming andleadership development, the majority of the engineering curriculum involves interaction withstudents within the same discipline.4,5 As a result, engineering students are often ill-prepared towork in multidisciplinary environments that are needed to solve many real-world problems. Inorder to address these needs, engineering programs must provide opportunities for students towork in multidisciplinary teams during their undergraduate studies. Moreover, it is particularlyimportant that these experiences involve real-world problems rather than traditional academicexercises, since

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Danielson, Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Chell A. Roberts, Arizona State University, Polytechnic

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

(e.g., management, technology, different engineering disciplines, computing, psychology, or thenatural sciences) depending on the project. As one example, the CTI’s engineering program andmultiple engineering technology programs have successfully implemented two semesterinterdisciplinary capstone projects involving industry sponsors.A number of challenges inhibit creation of an environment where authentic practice-basedexperiences can be a significant element of all students’ engineering education experience.These included the following challenges. 1. There was a need for large numbers of team-based projects to enable all the students to have such experiences. 2. A traditional engineering degree program is not structured for pervasive

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa D. McNair, Virginia Tech; Kahyun Kim, Virginia Tech; Jason Forsyth, Virginia Tech; Ed Dorsa, Virginia Tech; Thomas Martin, Virginia Tech; Eloise Coupey, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

interdisciplinaryexercises achieved four outcomes: 1) the workshops encouraged disciplinary groundingfor all the disciplines using domain knowledge from each participating discipline, 2) theworkshops promoted team-level interdisciplinary integration, 3) the workshops helpedstudents to reflect on their own choices and make more interdisciplinary decisions, and 4)the workshops provided integrative tools that led students to frame projects withinterdisciplinary approaches.Key words: interdisciplinary, teaming, designI. IntroductionThis paper focuses on evaluating the processes of interdisciplinary teaming in anundergraduate pervasive computing design course. Pervasive computing products requireinterdisciplinary or at least multidisciplinary approaches because, like

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Irina Nicoleta Ciobanescu Husanu, Drexel University; Michael G. Mauk, Drexel University; Patrick lee Kirby, Drexel University; Bailu Xu

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

opento them. Due to its straightforward conceptual basis, amenability to visual demonstrations,accessibility of the prototyping technology to students, and its impressive applications in thebiomedical area, microfluidics offers an excellent avenue for attracting students to science andengineering 1-7.Microfluidics has become an important commercial technology and engineering discipline in itsown right, with extensive applications in biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, materials science,nanotechnology, and energy conversion. Microfluidics also provides an outstanding vehicle toeducate and expose students to engineering subjects that are hallmarks of EngineeringTechnology curricula. Further, the instructional materials and resources developed here

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fouad H. Fouad, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Sarah Stephens Bettinger; Virginia Sisiopiku, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Isabel C. Scarinci, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Mona N. Fouad

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Page 25.857.2be found, studies indicated that neighborhoods where people were more involved with theircommunity and had more choices for recreation, shopping, and transportation had a tendencytoward overall better health.From the review of the literature, three basic areas of engineering impact were identified: 1)Housing conditions; 2) Environmental concerns; and 3) Transportation options and livability.Within these areas, potential engineering factors contributing to the incidence of obesity wereidentified as follows.Housing ConditionsOf all the engineering factors correlated with negative health outcomes, housing conditions arethe most closely tied to actual health, rather than lifestyle, impacts. Seven potential factors wereidentified: 1

Conference Session

Energy, the Environment, and Nano Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julanne K. McCulley, Weber State University; Dustin Scott Birch, Weber State University; Megumi Usui Leatherbury, Weber State University; Kelly A. Harward, Weber State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

baccalaureate degree programs, graduates must demonstrate the “ability tofunction effectively as a member or leader on a technical team” and demonstrate “a knowledgeof the impact of engineering technology solutions in a societal and global context”1.The overall MEPP team is comprised of twenty-three diverse students from four technologydisciplines: Electronics Engineering Technology (EET), Design Graphics EngineeringTechnology (DGET), Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET), and ManufacturingEngineering Technology (MFET), under the auspices of four faculty advisors. The large groupis broken down into five sub-teams with student representatives from each of the disciplines. Thestudents have been given the freedom to be innovative in their subsystem

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert O. Grondin, Arizona State University, Polytechnic

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

degree or a degree which is philosophically devoted to the value ofbreadth across engineering. This last type of degree was categorized by Newberry and Farisonas philosophical.DataIn Table 1, we provide a list of schools that had programs that were accredited as a generalengineering or engineering program by ABET in the 2010/2011 academic year. We also showhow Newberry and Farison categorized the program if they included it in their 2003 paper. Inaddition to classifying programs that have come into being since the time of Newberry andFarison, we also revisited all of the surviving programs from their study and independentlyclassified them as well. In almost every instance where the program was independentlyclassified in both surveys, we came to

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adam R. Carberry, Arizona State University; Ann F. McKenna, Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Odesma Onika Dalrymple, Arizona State University, Polytechnic

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

may direct their area of study after theirsophomore year in one of four focus areas – robotics, mechanical engineering systems, electricalengineering systems, and civil engineering (land development). Every student, regardless offocus area, must complete a project-based course each semester of his or her degree. The cohortof students was mostly male (91%) with a high percentage of non-traditional students (28%)returning to school.For the study, students were asked during their required engineering project course, to representtheir understanding of how the DC voltage measurement function (Figure 1) works in amultimeter that they assembled. Students were first asked to submit for homework their responseto the following question: Q1

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yuan Liao, University of Kentucky; Lawrence Holloway, University of Kentucky; Paul A. Dolloff, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. Page 25.454.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Development of a New Multidisciplinary Course: Smart Grid1. IntroductionThe future power grid will be a comprehensive cyber-physical (hybrid) system, where the powergrid should be able to deliver high quality, clean, reliable, efficient, and affordable electricity toconsumers 1, 2. Importantly, consumers will have more freedom in monitoring and managingtheir usage of power. More smart appliances and electric vehicles will emerge that interact withthe grid. There will be a greater diversity of generation including thermal, wind, solar, hydraulic,biomass, etc. and all will be more easily integrated into the grid. Though power transfer

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yogendra M. Panta, Youngstown State University; Michael T. Butcher, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

each other. For example, engineering students may facilitate biologicalsciences students learning about mechanical principles of solids and fluids, while biologicalsciences students may facilitate engineering students learning about anatomical features ofanimal tissues and systems. Integrative courses broaden the educational experiences of STEMmajors, and may serve as a general model for developing interdisciplinary STEM curricula atPUIs. Assessment for the course at instructor, institutional and external levels is to be conductedwith respect to student learning objectives (SLO) through both formative and summativeevaluations.1. IntroductionA general model of interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM) education

Conference Session

Energy, the Environment, and Nano Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence Holloway, University of Kentucky; Yang-Tse Cheng, University of Kentucky; Donald G. Colliver P.E., University of Kentucky; Aaron Cramer, University of Kentucky; Paul A. Dolloff, University of Kentucky; Bob Gregory, University of Kentucky; John George Groppo Jr., University of Kentucky; Yuan Liao, University of Kentucky; Stephen M. Lipka, University of Kentucky; Jim Neathery, Unversity of Kentucky; Johne M. Parker, University of Kentucky; Vijay Singh, University of Kentucky; Joseph Sottile, University of Kentucky; Timothy R.B. Taylor P.E., University of Kentucky; Rodney Andrews, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

fundamental core knowledge of power andenergy.1 This mirrors the larger movement calling for engineering graduates to have aninterdisciplinary and system-based viewpoint, in order to address the complexities of the majorchallenges (such as energy) that face our world. 2In response to this need for a power and energy engineering workforce, a Power and EnergyInstitute (PEIK) was created at The University of Kentucky, which already had a strong historyof power and energy education across the college of engineering but lacked a programintegrating these efforts. The task of the new institute was to bring together the existingactivities and then expand upon them. This institute brought together a core set of faculty fromacross the college who shared a

Conference Session

Energy, the Environment, and Nano Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harold T. Evensen, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Osama M. Jadaan, University of Mount Union; Tsunghsueh Wu, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Yan Wu, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Esther N. Ofulue

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

nanotechnology.Meanwhile, all Fortune 500 companies in materials, electronics, and pharmaceuticals have madeinvestments in nanotechnology since 2002.xiNanotechnology is expected to emerge throughout the economy in improved products and newapplications enabled by these improvements: the National Science Foundation has famouslyprojected that $1 trillion in products and two million jobs worldwide will be affected bynanotechnology by 2015.xi Applications that are already in the marketplace include burn andwound dressings, sunscreens, longer-lasting tennis balls, stain-free clothing, and more.Anticipated applications include drug delivery, solar cells, fuel cells, and wear resistance inmaterials.xii Indeed, in the latest renewals of the National Nanotechnology

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald G. Kander, Philadelphia University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

accreditationstandards focus more and more on the assessment of measurable learning outcomes, the C-DECcore curriculum provides an opportunity for the engineering programs within the college toaddress and assess, in part, student learning in a wide range of areas that are relevant to theABET “a-k” learning outcomes (ABET’s “Criteria 3: Student Outcomes”5). Specifically,students completing the five-course C-DEC core curriculum are assessed by the college todetermine if they attain the following seven core learning outcomes. 1. An ability to collaborate on multidisciplinary teams 2. An ability to describe the value of different problem solving and decision making styles 3. An ability to identify the unique contributions and limitations of specific

Conference Session

Energy, the Environment, and Nano Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clifford R. Mirman, Northern Illinois University; Lesley Rigg, Northern Illinois University; Melissa Lenczewski, Northern Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

programsdeveloped through the ESE Institute, at both graduate and undergraduate level, address societaland scientific needs for a greater understanding of environmental issues. Recognizing thecomplexity of environmental issues, a holistic approach was taken which connects energy(particularly alternative energy for Illinois), foundational and applied environmental science,with societal and policy issues. The strategies are twofold: 1. to train people in a broad-based environmental studies curriculum that complements our existing focused programs 2. to strengthen our research in environmental and alternative energy issuesThe program will produce graduates prepared to meet these challenges via careers in industry,small business, federal, state and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Weaver, Michigan Technological University; Jeremy John Worm P.E., Michigan Technological University; Jeffrey D. Naber, Michigan Technological University; Leonard J. Bohmann, Michigan Technological University; John E. Beard, Michigan Technological University; Carl L. Anderson, Michigan Technological University; Bo Chen, Michigan Technological University; Jason M. Keith, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

emerging technologies for advanced batteries, fuel cells, andthe recharging and supporting infrastructure required for each technology. The 30 course creditprogram of study is flexible and is designed by the student with committee approval with anexpected completion in 1 year.Certificate ProgramsMichigan Technological University also offers undergraduate and graduate certificates inAdvanced Electric Drive Vehicle Engineering with the graduate certificate focused on distancelearning for engineers in industry. Both certificates are interdisciplinary with courses fromMaterial Science, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering. The required and elective

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

AJ Hamlin, Michigan Technological University; Jean-Celeste M. Kampe, Michigan Technological University; Amy E. Monte, Michigan Technological University; Brett Hamlin, Michigan Technological University; Douglas E. Oppliger, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, which alsoprovides the first-year engineering program for all engineering departments. This degreeprogram serves students 1) who have very specific career goals that are not met with a traditionalengineering degree offered by the university; 2) who want a general engineering degree toprovide a technical foundation for other advanced degrees in areas such as law, medicine, andpublic policy; and 3) who want to work in a new, emerging, or interdisciplinary engineeringfield.The courses used in BSE degree pathways reside largely in the engineering departments, and inthe other academic units of the University, and are uniquely combined under supervision toprovide the individually specialized engineering education desired or needed for a

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Raber, Michigan Technological University; Susan L. Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

faculty serve as mentors and advisors to Enterprise team members; that is, they move fromthe role of imparting knowledge to helping students discover and apply knowledge. We envisiona relationship that parallels the one between faculty members and student researchers whereininquiry and innovation are the norms, learning and application go hand-in-hand, and students andfaculty advisors work in a team environment to solve problems of significance to industry.Enterprise has a twelve-year track record that includes several quantitative and qualitativeevaluative results that document the successful outcomes of the Enterprise program1,2,3,4. Someof the quantitative outcomes achieved by Michigan Tech’s Enterprise include: (1) Three yearretention rates

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohamed Abdelrahman, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Muhittin Yilmaz, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

internal entity and includes threemajor components, as shown in Figure 1. Page 25.259.2 Figure 1: Elements of a Research Experience ProgramThe research theme for a site dictates the research project selection process and is a veryimportant aspect for the research site. The thematic basis for the program can be a disciplinespecific or multidisciplinary in nature. The research projects could be loosely connected withinbroad themes such as science and engineering that allows almost all of the research conductedwithin a college or a university, or could be included in a more defined research theme such asmetal casting research that

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard S. Stansbury, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; William C. Barott, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; Salamah Salamah, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

students about the technologies to be used and how the different disciplines canwork together. Page 25.1431.4The mini-projects also borrow upon Cockburn’s concept of the technology spike3. Thistechnique involves having the team build to some proof of concept to determine the validity of aparticular design approach. Each mini-project is designed with the idea of demonstrating someintegrated functionality rather than on a specific end-user product.The typical script of a process miniature is as follows: 1. Students receive a detailed problem description and/or requirements 2. Students break down the problem into a set of tasks. 3. Tasks are

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andy Shaojin Zhang, New York City College of Technology; Farrukh Zia, New York City College of Technology; Iem H. Heng, New York City College of Technology; Sidi Berri, New York City College of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

STEM programs in Page 25.1453.4colleges and universities is the lack of preparation of high school students in STEM. To fill the gapand to help high school students to realize the importance of STEM education, hands-on engagingtraining programs are developed to help and encourage high school students to be exposed tovarious STEM areas through robotic design activities that tie to existing pre-engineering programssuch as FIRST Robotic Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). To maximizeparticipation, the trainings were offered 1) on weekends in conjunction with our FIRST partners, 2)in afterschool programs, and 3) in summer

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bobby G. Crawford, U.S. Military Academy; Stephanie Farrell, Rowan University; Elizabeth Bristow P.E., U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

(USMA) and the United States Air ForceAcademy joined forces and traveled to Afghanistan for thesole purpose of helping to build that nation’s fledglinguniversity system. Their focus of effort was at theNational Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA)located in the capital city of Kabul (Figure 1). They joinedthe core cadre of advisors as rotating members for themonths of June and July. Their mission was to assist theNMAA administration and faculty in the continuingdevelopment of the engineering curriculum and to mentor Figure 1. Dr. Grant Crawford and Dr. Elizabeth Bristow (authors) at NMAAthe engineering faculty in their development as effectiveengineering educators. To fully

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tolga Kaya, Central Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

“Research Experiencefor Undergraduates (REU),” “Research in Engineering Education,” and “Research InitiationGrants in Engineering Education (RIGEE).” [1]. Research has shown that one of the mosteffective ways of student engagement and enrollment is to involve them in research projects. Acomprehensive study showed that retention rates increased in undergraduate students who wereinvolved in research programs [2]. The same study revealed that sophomore level studentsbenefit the most out of those research opportunities [3]. On the other hand, another study showedthat even first-year engineering students can be involved in research projects and outcomes couldbe very promising [4]. Students’ motivation and academic performances increase as they

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence E. Whitman, Wichita State University; Don E. Malzahn, Wichita State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

decisionmaking stages and individual team members’ facets. The paper will present the process throughwhich each student’s vocabulary is developed and reinforced and the tools that supporttransitions and compensate for missing facets in the team decision process are described.Why “Engineering as Leader”“Effective leadership addresses problems that require people to move from a familiar butinadequate equilibrium – through disequilibrium – to a more adequate equilibrium”1. All leadersmust be able to formulate and communicate a vision that moves others to act.How does the engineer as leader differ from other leaders? In addition to what is required forleadership in organizations, leaders in the engineering process must address: • Design – a creative