Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-college Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Lee, Central Illinois Technology and Education Research Institute

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

towards teaching science,technology, engineering, and mathematics principles both within and outside the classroomenvironment. Collaboration amongst academic researchers and educational practitioners hasyielded exceptional opportunities for students to increase technological literacy throughparticipation in structured formal and informal learning activities. This paper outlines a resourcefor students to display their creativity and independent learning skills by presenting a journalisticapproach to publishing student-initiated research projects. Comparable in format to professionaltechnical journals, the establishment of a peer-reviewed, online and open-access journal gearedfor the 7-12 grade audience is presented. This concept is currently being

Conference Session

Curriculum and Facility Developments for Innovative Energy Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abul K. M. Azad, Northern Illinois University; Clifford R. Mirman, Northern Illinois University; Avinash Varma Gadiraju; Chester D. Kolodziej, Freedom Field Renewable Energy, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Mechanical Engineering Department at Wilkes Uni- versity. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Technology at NIU. His research areas are CAD, finite-element-analysis, and kinematics, both securing grants and writing publications. Mirman is actively involved in ASEE and SME.Mr. Avinash Varma Gadiraju, Mr. Gadiraju obtained his Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the Andhra University in Vishakapatnam, India. He moved to USA, in 2009, in pursuit of his M.Sc. degree with the Northern Illinois University. He has received his M.Sc. degree in Computer Science, in 2011. While at NIU he was working as a Graduate Assistant and developed a number of web applications for Internet accessible

Conference Session

Design Tools and Methodology I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Kathryn Thompson, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; Beunguk Ahn, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

including the presentation and discussion (10%) • The final paper based on the writing, figures, references and appendices (20%) • The technical evaluation based on the content of the final paper (20%) • The prototype / proof of concept based on its purpose, method, and results (10%). Page 25.11.3Approximately half of the deliverable grades focus on the design process and outcomes of thestudent projects while the other half focus on the students’ abilities to communicate and discusstheir ideas. The grading juries assign these scores. Homework assignments, attendance, classparticipation, and peer review scores determine the last 20% of the

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sriram Sundararajan, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

50 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and two invited book chapters. He serves on the conference committee for the International Conference on Wear of Materials and has been recognized for his accomplishments with the Young Engineering Faculty Research Award and Early Achievement in Teaching Award at Iowa State University. He received his B.E. degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (India), followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of ASEE, ASME, and ASM

Conference Session

Student Development and Assessment in IE Programs

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yaseen Mahmud, Morgan State University; Masud Salimian, Morgan State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering

extend them to realworld problems. Since assessment of student development in three of the above four categoriesis not an easy task, the majority of schools[6] that offer OR courses have their main focus on theimplementation of the third item (developing operational skills).Based on that, students learn how to perform the simplex method, its iterations, write the dualproblem, and perform sensitivity analysis with or without the use of software. An instructorspends many hours trying to teach the procedural steps which are tedious, repetitive, and requirecareful attention to the details, but it is easy to learn.The concepts, on the other hand, require a higher learning mechanism and instructorstraditionally find insufficient time for such

Conference Session

Topics in Computer Science and Programming

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Dean Palmer, Northern Arizona University; Eck Doerry, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

out brackets,rules, and time limits so that the audience could clearly seewho was winning at any given moment…and so we could Figure  3.  A  Digital  Carnival  poster  jointly  award a winner immediately at the end of the carnival. sponsored  with  SUN  Entertainment.  Being computer scientists, our ACM members saw this asa software problem and responded by writing a sophisticated program to manage competitionbrackets and scoring, as well as an elaborate on-line preregistration system. Nonetheless, humanjudges remained important to monitor the events, verify the scores, and input the data.The third problem we identified centered around finding a viable financial model for the DigitalCarnival or, better yet, finding a way to turn

Conference Session

High School Students Thinking and Performance

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tamecia R. Jones, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Monica E. Cardella, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Senay Purzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

knowledge and conceptual knowledge can be challenging. Ideally,teachers would be able to trace thinking through the design rationale as the design proceeds, notjust retrospectively or from static project artifacts. They would also be able to use technology tosupplement teaching documentation and communication. The use of technology and culturaltechnology methods of communication has potential to impact assessment in K-12 engineeringeducation. Seventy-five percent of teens have cell phones2 and over 50% of teenagers 17 andyounger have access to the Internet outside of school and send email or text messages at leastonce a week. Twitter and other text-messaging tools help to motivate and encourage students todo more writing and encourage interactions

Conference Session

Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen W. Crown, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

experiencesthat promote STEM play a critical role in many students’ lives in these important transitionyears. The methods and long term impact of one such program with a twenty-six year trackrecord of attracting and preparing minority students is examined. The Pre-Freshman EngineeringProgram (PREP) is an educational summer program aimed at Hispanic middle and high schoolstudents to increase educational preparedness and interest in STEM fields. The three yearacademic program that serves middle and high school students interested in STEM runs sevenweeks each summer. Courses (Introduction to Engineering, Logic, Computer Science, AlgebraicStructures, Introduction to Physics, Problem Solving, Introduction to Probability and Statistics,and Technical Writing

Conference Session

General Topics in Graduate Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Pariyothorn, Texas A&M University; Robin L. Autenrieth, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

by contributing to ongoing faculty research projects or pursuing anindependent research topic. More than 555 participants have completed the USRG program sincethe summer of 2000.The objectives of the program are to: 1) provide immersive research experience(s) forengineering undergraduates; 2) increase participant’s interest in pursuing graduate studies withan emphasis on the Ph.D. program; 3) increase participant’s awareness of the graduate schoolexperience; 4) provide an outlet to enhance participant’s writing and communications skills; 5)increase participant’s understanding of the graduate school application process for admissionsand fellowships; and subsequently, 6) position participants to be more competitive for graduateadmissions and

Conference Session

Curriculum Exchange II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jared P. Coyle, Drexel University; Adam K. Fontecchio, Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

wereunfamiliar with what they saw, they were encouraged to write this. If there were topics ofparticular interest to a specific group, they were also encouraged to indicate that in their graffiti.As a result, a set of 14 metro maps containing anecdotal evidence of student backgroundknowledge was generated. The information that the students wrote down was characterized in 5ways: Total response (Did the students give any response at all?), Positive and NegativeResponse (Did the students respond positively or negatively to the idea?) and Informed andUninformed Response (Did the students demonstrate pre-existing and accurate knowledge abouta subject?).This graffiti method is also being carried out during the middle of the year in January and againat the end

Conference Session

Research in Assessment

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Chong, University of Toronto; Lisa Romkey, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

environment) approach. She has also conducted research on teacher education, the first year university experience, peer teaching, gender issues in science and engineering, and graduate attribute assessment. Page 25.594.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Evolving a Rubric for Use in Assessing Engineering Graduate Attributes in a Student Senior Research ThesisAbstract: This paper describes the process of developing and utilizing a rubric for graduateattributes assessment in a large senior research thesis course in a multidisciplinary engineeringprogram. Each

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kacie Caple D'Alessandro, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

form the framework for the ultimate purpose of this paper: to provide aresource for new graduate student instructors. Derived from my experiences, I focus on what Ihave learned based on four main themes: preparation, motivation, expectation, and reflection.Lessons on PreparationAs a graduate student teaching for the first time, it seems there is little time to prepare forteaching a course. However, it is important to make the most of what time you have to preparein between your own courses, research, and writing reports. Without proper preparation, youmake yourself vulnerable to late nights, coffee addictions, and possible embarrassment in theclassroom. In particular, if you are teaching a course as the primary instructor, it is essential

Conference Session

Lessons learned

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ibrahim F. Zeid, Northeastern University; William L. DUPE Chan, Josiah Quincy High School; Kristina Buenafe, Josiah Quincy High School; Jessica Chin, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

understanding of and the appropriate use of mathematical modeling breadth and depth of study.As a result of JQUS’ acceptance as an IB school, math teachers felt the need toincorporate projects that teach these skills, emphasizing critical thinking andinternational-mindedness in keeping with the IB learner profile and Common Corestandards [5-7]. Adjusting to a new curriculum while meeting district and staterequirements, the adherence of all standards poses considerable challenges to JQUS forteaching project-based learning, writing, mathematical content and technology content.EBL via the CAPSULE program was chosen as an approach for transitioning the school’sSTEM curriculum into the IB Diploma Programme.With every teacher limited by physical and

Conference Session

Engineering Education and Comparative Studies at Universities throughout Asia, Far East

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rafiqul Islam, Northwestern State University

Tagged Divisions

International

Score5. Final selection for admission will be based on the total scores obtained out of 100 weightage as follows:(a) Admission Test Score(50%), (b) Results of SSC/'O' level (20%)and (c) Results of HSC/'A' level/Equivalent exams(30%)For admission test waiver the candidates seeking admission in the Faculty of Sciences andEngineering must have minimum CGPA 3.5 in Math and Physics separately in HSC/A levelexaminations in addition to a minimum total score of 1500 in SAT (considering Critical Reading,Math and Writing). Admission test will also be waived for the GPA 5.00 without 4th subjectmarks in the latest SSC & HSC exams or 7'As' in 'O' level (at one sitting) and 3 'As' in 'A' level.Students who have completed a two-year Bachelor's degree

Conference Session

Improving the Pedagogy of Laboratory Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sujatha J., Mission10X, Wipro Technologies; Rajshri Jobanputra

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

order of magnitude judgments and use measurement unit systems and conversions. • Evaluate: Competence in selection, modification and operation of appropriate engineering tools and resources. Page 25.627.6 • Communicate: Communicating effectively both orally and in writing at levels ranging from executive summaries to comprehensive technical reports.In parallel, the success rate of generating maximum learner involvement, leading to activelearning, is likely to increase if the facilitator also chooses to pay sufficient attention to thefollowing important aspects of group work: a) Group Formation: a

Conference Session

Research Projects, Course Development, and Industry Issues

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John W Pritchard, Iowa State University; Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering

-day electronic devices. Page 25.688.4Common, low-cost devices that are simple to operate were chosen as the focus of the systems-level thinking activities. Students would make general observations about the device, thendisassemble it, discover how it works, and in some cases reverse engineer it. It was stressed thatprevious knowledge of electrical components was not required which made it easier for studentsto write a systems level diagram.Specifically, labs involved the use of a solar powered garden lamp and a disposable camera asthe focus of the systems-level thinking activities. For example, when discovering the disposablecamera, the

Conference Session

Aircraft Design Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David B. Kanipe, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

enough toprepare the students for the work environment. Toward that end, the first semester typicallyprovides the foundational principles the student teams will use to produce their design at thecompletion of the second semester.Initially, the first semester is relatively heavy in terms of lectures, discussions, anddevelopmental assignments designed to provide the students with the fundamental principles ofSystem Engineering, Project Management, the Project Life Cycle, and the tools of ProjectDesign including such topics as requirements definition, concept of operations, workbreakdown structure, schedule management, and configuration management. Coveringrequirements definition alone (as well as how to write a good requirement) could consume

Conference Session

Embedded Control and Instrumentation

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Y. Hung, Auburn University; Victor P. Nelson, Auburn University; Clint S. Cole, Digilent, Inc.; Alex Wong, Digilent, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

, graphics editor, and presentation software. Each student also archives his or her engineering work in a personal engineering notebook that is periodically reviewed.4. Study how engineering practice relates to a professional code of ethics. Students examine peer-reviewed case studies, identify ethical dilemmas, and propose professional practice solutions.The following student outcomes are assessed during the semester: • Ability to design and realize an electronic system to meet performance constraints. Page 25.788.2 • Ability to create experiments and draw meaningful conclusions from experimental data. • Ability to function as a

Conference Session

FPD II: Hands-on Curriculum in the First Year

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Michael Abernathy, Ohio State University; Barbara Elizabeth Carruthers, Ohio State University ; Kayla Fay Presley, Ohio State University; Paul Alan Clingan, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

unit.During their research students were told to keep records of all their work. At the end of thecourse, students turned in all documentation created (in the form of several-inch-thick binders) aswell as bound reports of their research. Students were encouraged to use the reports whenapplying to internships as a way to show the research they had performed and evidence of theirrecordkeeping and writing skills.The entire course concluded with two final presentations of the student groups, with smaller, in-class presentations throughout the class to improve students’ public speaking skills. The finalpresentations consisted of a poster presentation as well as a more formal presentation to a groupof peers. The poster presentation allowed the student to

Conference Session

Attracting Young Minds: Part II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Denson, Utah State University; Chandra Y. Austin, Auburn University; Christine E. Hailey, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

become a scientist.2 In general, a longitudinal study that followed a cohort ofsixth graders through age 25 found that students who participated in extra-curricular academicclubs were more likely to be enrolled in college at 21 than their non-involved peers.3The Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program utilizes a co-curricular programthat supports educationally disadvantaged students by providing pathways for minority studentsto succeed in science, mathematics and engineering disciplines.4 MESA was started in 1970 asan inter-segmental program, administered through the California Public School System,Community College System, and California College System. Because of the success of MESA inCalifornia, the program has expanded to seven

Conference Session

Retention of Women Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diane Yu Gu, University of California, Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

expressed in the interviews was that womenstudents needed to complete several research projects or grant proposals for their adviserswithout compensation before receiving continuous funding support. When asked about “fundingopportunities and resources,” several doctoral students reported similar stories: I need[ed] to work for free to prove myself and that definitely brought my confidence down a lot. I didn’t feel like he respected my work just because I was working for free, and I’d have to [teach] and then do research and write proposals for him, and I just didn’t feel like it was the right situation. And [more advanced women doctoral students] told me that, "Oh, yeah… you need to work for free here [in the lab] to

Conference Session

First-year Programs Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Rippon, Arizona State University; James Collofello, Arizona State University; Robin R. Hammond, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Evening was simply one facet of thethree-pronged exploration curriculum comprised of career research prior to the event, the eventitself, and directed reflection and writing that help the students synthesize the overall experience.The exploration curriculum was assumed seamlessly into our overall undergraduate careerdevelopment plan and was implemented through our engineering student success courses.Understanding that the engineering faculty teaching the success courses are not careerdevelopment experts, the career exploration curriculum incorporated online components as wellas face-to-face components in the classroom that were lead by our career center staff and ourtrained career peer coaches. Since the faculty has ultimate authority over their

Conference Session

Instructional Design

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

K.J. Rogers, University of Texas, Arlington; Melanie L. Sattler, University of Texas, Arlington; Andrea M. Graham, University of Texas, Arlington; Stephen P. Mattingly, University of Texas, Arlington

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering

AC 2012-4103: ”LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ECONOMICS” MOD-ULEDr. K.J. Rogers, University of Texas, ArlingtonDr. Melanie L. Sattler, University of Texas, Arlington Melanie Sattler serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches courses and conducts research related to air quality and sustainable energy. Her research has been spon- sored by the National Science Foundation, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Luminant Power, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She has published more than 60 peer- reviewed papers and conference proceedings. In 2010, she received UT Arlington’s Lockheed Martin Excellence in Engineering Education Award. She is a registered

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Swartz P.E., University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

. R.C. Wilson, J.G. Gaff, E.R. Dienst, L. Wood, and J.L. Barry, College Professors and Their Impact upon Students. New York: Wiley, 1975. 4. R.M. Felder, D.R. Woods, J.E. Stice, and A. Rugarcia, “The Future of Engineering Education: Teaching Methods That Work.” Chemical Engineering Education 34(1), 26-39 (2000). 5. R.M. Felder and L.K. Silverman, “Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education.” Engineering Education, 78(7), 674-681 (1988). 6. N.E. Gronlund, How to Write and Use Instructional Objectives, 6th Ed. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2000. 7. J.M. Haile, “Toward Technical Understanding.” (i) “Part 1. Brain Structure and Function.” Chem. Engr. Education, 31(3), 152

Conference Session

Project-based and Cooperative Learning in ECE

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Adams, University of Kentucky; Jens Hannemann, University of Kentucky; Lawrence Holloway, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

assemble their speakers and AM receivers. The only restrictionwas that they could not use components of an existing speaker or receiver (and eachgroup was given a diode). The student projects within this module were graded via peerevaluations. Each group received a peer evaluation of its speaker and receivercombination, with the each evaluation scoring both the functional quality and thecreativity of each artifact.Embedded computingThe second module introduced students to embedded computing using the Arduino15(UNO) microcontroller. Within this module, students were given a brief introduction tothe general area of embedded computing, followed by several well-defined tasks toperform using the Arudiuno controller. These introductory tasks were

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yuan Liao, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

data types, control flow statements, fileoperations, and modules are covered 10. Common Python programming interfaces used to callPSS/E functions are elucidated. Using Python programming to automate power system studies(load case, modify case, impose disturbances, run simulations, clear disturbances, runsimulations, write results to a file, etc.) is illustrated. PSS/E provides a comprehensive set ofprogramming interfaces between Python environment and PSS/E functions. Selected sets ofessential functions for case preparation, power flow, fault analysis, stability analysis, and resultsretrieval are covered, such as psspy.fnsl, fdns, natono, case, seqd, scmu, scinit, scdone, abusreal,busdat, scbus2, scbrn2, etc 3. The PSS/E Application Program

Conference Session

K-12 Teachers: PD, Implementation, and Beyond

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Emily Dringenberg, Purdue University; Ruth E. H. Wertz, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Senay Purzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Johannes Strobel, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

) Engineering content a) Students identified the role of clients/users b) Students identified criteria/constraints c) Students modeled their solution(s) prior to creating their final prototype d) Students identified connections between engineering and society e) Students utilized peer and teacher feedback to make decisions about redesign f) students utilized data acquired through testing when making decision about redesign3) Gender differences a) Were girls more, equally, or less actively engaged (answer for each stage of the engineering design process) b

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan G. Dimitriu, San Antonio College; Simona Dana Dimitriu, Pat Neff Middle School - Northside Independent School District (NISD); Thomas Gadsden Jr., Our Lady of the Lake University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

AM to Noon. (See Course Outline)STUDENT PRESENTATIONSEach student must choose two subjects from different chapters from the book “How Things Work” and present them in a PowerPoint format to the class at the appropriate time. The presentations will be graded for content and style by the professor and peers on anonymous ballots. The eligible subjects must be selected from the following chapters: 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. In case there are not enough subjects, the second presentation may be presented by teams of two students.SHOEBOX SCIENCE PROJECTSEach student is required to develop one shoebox science project based on a specific TEK Physics problem from their particular grade level. The shoebox projects will be presented

Conference Session

FPD VII: Research on First-year Programs Part II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Bazylak, University of Toronto; Susan McCahan, University of Toronto; Peter Eliot Weiss, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

to the course in 2010. He is co- author, with Robert Irish, of Engineering Communication: From Principles to Practice (Oxford Canada, 2008), and is also on the writing team for a new design/communication textbook for first-year engineering students. Page 25.507.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Effects of lecture capture on a large first year engineering courseIntroductionOur first year engineering classrooms are undergoing many obvious changes, such as increasingclass sizes, growing international student body, greater diversity in student background, and

Conference Session

Hands-on Laboratory and Design Experiences in Environmental Engineering

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sandeep Sathyamoorthy, Tufts University; Linda Jarvin, Paris College of Art; Michael Hollis, U.S. Air Force Academy; John Anthony Christ, U.S. Air Force Academy; C. Andrew Ramsburg, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

well established student-centered approach which promotesapplication-based learning, enhances problem solving skills and fosters peer learning. This paperdescribes implementation of a PBL lab within a junior-level course on environmentalengineering processes. The PBL exercise was an open-ended, two-hour lab, where student teamsdesigned, built and tested a prototype water treatment system to achieve stated water qualitycriteria (UV transmittance and turbidity). Each team was given a scope of work that outlined theproblem, objectives, design criteria, available materials, constraints, effluent quality testingprotocol (using a synthetic influent) and evaluation criteria. Students were given no priorinformation about the lab, and the PBL lab was