engineering. This introductory freshmanengineering course has been offered since 1994, and is highly valued by faculty and students.2 Inthe laboratory section, they work in teams of 8-12 with a $200 budget (funded by our College ofEngineering) to solve a real-world, client-based engineering design problem proposed mostly byindividuals in the local community. Our regular clients often encourage others in the communityto apply to our program. To further recruit clients and projects, mass emails are sent out in thefall, spring, and summer to past clients, University researchers, and to local non-profitorganizations. For example, one of our clients is the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of our county.What started as one lone project in 2012 to build a stair
unique aspects of the course is the teaching format. In 2013, the College began aninitiative to double its enrollment over a period of about ten years. As part of this initiative,departments have been asked to find novel teaching approaches that allow for increased capacitywithout sacrificing quality of instruction. From this standpoint, a hands-on laboratory is one ofthe primary distinguishing components of engineering technology education and is also one ofthe major limiting factors to throughput. This course was the perfect opportunity to investigatemethods for offering a laboratory component without the requirement for a multiple, two to threehour, facility intensive laboratory sections. To this end, the course was designed to have
in Electrical Engineering Program since its inception. He developed the electronics laboratory I and II to offer hands-on experiences to online students. Dr. Liu is a member of Optical Society of America.Dr. Charles R. Westgate Sr. P.E., Binghamton University Charles Westgate is a Research Professor at Binghamton University and a former Dean of the Engineer- ing School at Binghamton. He has been deeply involved in online course instruction at Johns Hopkins, Binghamton, and Stony Brook. He conducts research in semiconductor devices and materials.Ms. Kim A. Scalzo, State University of New York, HQ Kim Scalzo is Director of the SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD). The SUNY CPD provides professional
process, but payoff may be significant in terms of market dominance. Inthis paper, design of a manually powered hydraulic bicycle using energy efficiency as a primarydesign objective is presented. A laboratory setup is developed to test performance of the hydraulicsystem components. Experimental analysis of component behavior of a functional prototype of thehydraulic system is performed. The analysis result is used to select components for optimumperformance of the system in its desired operational conditions. The methodology can be utilizedin design of similar systems where energy efficiency is a primary design objective.1. IntroductionWorldwide, the vast majority of energy is produced from fossil-based fuels resulting in theincrease of carbon
Engineering Education, 2015 A Hands-on Approach in Teaching Machine DesignIntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to present a modified curriculum for a Machine Design course. Themodified curriculum aims to provide students with hands-on experience in the development ofnew products following procedures used in the research and development departments in theindustry. The hands-on laboratories included in the course Machine Design are carried out afteran introduction to the design philosophy presented by Eggert 1 and most of the first two parts ofthe textbook by Budynas and Nisbett2. The design philosophy included in this course splits thedesign process in five phases1 (formulation, concept design, configuration design, parametricdesign
for a greater diversity oftraining setups to be utilized in a smaller area.IntroductionIn order to effectively teach instrumentation, mechatronic and robotic courses in an Engineeringor Engineering Technology curriculum, a variety of electromechanical laboratory setups aredesirable. [1] Exposing students to an assortment of technologies is also desirable, to give themas broad an experience as is reasonable. Thus, setups containing different sensors, effectors andactuators and indicators are needed. Quite often, the cost of such laboratory setups (or trainers) ishigh, thereby challenging the desire to have numerous full setups.To broaden the students’ programming capabilities, many programs teach such courses acrossboth microcontroller and
is covered by the cone of the wind augmentation apparatus as shown in Figure1. Therefore first and second year engineering students experienced a hands-on project thatchallenged their goal: to come up with a design that could improve power output on small-scalewind turbines. Page 26.447.2 Figure 1. Cross sectional of Wind Tunnel Attachment (WTA). (Modified from Dakeev, & Mazumder, 2014) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reported that today’s world is thrivingon the idea of renewable energy 7. Scarcity of nonrenewable resources necessitated increasingdemand for energy sources that are naturally occurring
basedapproach and the kinesthetic learning style has been adopted throughout all laboratory sections.From students’ comments, the teaching approach was very successful. By the end of theacademic year, students have developed their own various projects using the knowledge theylearned from PLC Programming and Industrial Automation courses. Some of the projects havebeen further advanced as a student research paper published at the college technology dayconference, ASEE regional conferences or the Latin American Caribbean Conference forEngineering and Technology. Moreover, these courses are intended to enhance careeropportunities for the students in Mechatronics Engineering program. Currently some of ourgraduates have chosen their careers in the area of
Page 26.455.2 • Integrated Services Construction ManagementEach of the project-based courses was based on a model of six (6) quarter-hours of laboratorycredit total of sixteen (16) scheduled contact hours per week and an additional two (2) hours perweek to be arranged for by the instructor. Based on a ten (10) week quarter system, studentswould receive a total of one-hundred eighty (180) hours of instruction. Similar to coursesoffered through an architecture program, their concept was teach each course in a dedicatedspace equipped with models, samples, contracts, marketing documents, specifications, estimatingguides, computer references, and other tools appropriate to that construction industry sector. Inaddition, the laboratory would be
26.892.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 Impact of Upgrading Equipment for Strength of Materials Labs on Student Perceptions, Motivation, and LearningAbstractAn important component of teaching introductory Strength of Materials (Mechanics ofMaterials) concepts to undergraduate engineering and technology students is the inclusion oflaboratory experiments, which give the students the opportunity to conduct tests and collect dataon the materials to obtain relevant properties. These laboratory experiments also allow studentsto observe firsthand the behavior of materials under different loading conditions, thereby givingthem a greater physical feel for these different behaviors. The
concerning the atomicmechanisms of plastic deformation within the context of a laboratory exercise. Sophomorematerials engineering students performed, analyzed, and compared results from both a traditionaltensile test of metals and a molecular dynamics simulation tensile test of a nanowire. The latterwas performed using the Nano-Materials Simulation Toolkit on nanoHUB.org. Students’responses to in-lab worksheet questions, their written lab reports, and their responses to a relatedexam question were qualitatively analyzed. Recommendations are made for better integration ofthe simulation and traditional tensile test components of the lab.IntroductionThe atomic mechanism of plastic deformation of metals is a difficult concept1,2. Studentsstruggle to
supplements an individual course lecture series withhands-on laboratory exercises. These laboratory exercises tend to deal solely with the materialbeing addressed in the lectures for the particular course. Consequently, not only are theselaboratories limited to one Civil Engineering sub-discipline but also limited to the material beingtaught in the specific course. The Civil Engineering Department at our Institute developed andimplemented a Design Studio Lab (DSL) for use in the 2014-2015 school year. This experientialstudio linked several of the Civil Engineering sub-disciplines in a series of two-two hourstudios/labs and one lecture per week (three credits). Four Civil Engineering sub-disciplinesparticipated in this experiential studio with the
culminating in the collaborative design and fabrication ofan autonomous vehicle. Students were provided a realistic design scenario early in the course,with subsequent lecture and laboratory activities tying directly to the proposed problem.Following the submission of student design work, and demonstration of their mechatronicdevices, student learning outcomes were assessed both indirectly and directly. Indirectassessment implied both the course content and collaborative design project contributed tostudent learning. Direct assessment of student designs showed improvement from previoussemesters.IntroductionLawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech) is engaged in a seven-year process toincorporate active and collaborative learning (ACL) and
inharm to employees, the environment and in some cases the public in highly publicized eventssuch as Bhopal and Deepwater Horizons. Risks are tolerated when hazards are controlled; whenan incident occurs, the risk becomes intolerable. The public reacts negatively to events involvingemployee deaths, environmental damage or threats to their homes.Incidents often result in negative publicity and a call for change. For example, a runawayreaction led to an explosion at a company called T2 Laboratories in Jacksonville, FL inDecember 2007.3 The blast killed four people. Another thirty two people were injured; fourteenrequired treatment at a local hospital. In response, the U.S. Chemical Safety and HazardInvestigation Board (CSB) called for improvements
Paper ID #12737Towards an Intuitive and Remotely Accessible Control System for Commer-cial NanomanipulatorsMr. Ryan Michael Dunn, Rochester Institute of Technology Ryan M. Dunn is a graduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His research interests include micro- and nanomanipulator control systems and interdisciplinary control development. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.Dr. Michael G. Schrlau, Rochester Institute of Technology Dr. Schrlau joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at RIT in 2011 and directs the Nano-Bio Interface Laboratory (NBIL
the impacts of poorstormwater quality and potential combined sewer overflows on receiving water bodies,constructing treatment wetlands is a growing practice. Treatment wetlands provide a sustainableapproach of onsite stormwater and wastewater treatment by improving the quality of stormwaterrunoff that enters receiving water bodies and by reducing loads on centralized treatment plants.To provide students with a hands-on experience of applying this treatment technique, twoundergraduate students, under the direction of their advising professor, constructed a treatmentwetland in the Cook Laboratory on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) campus.After researching constructed treatment wetlands and identifying our design requirements
DSP techniques. For instance, the “SIRI”function in iphone 4 uses DSP-based speech recognition algorithms. High quality headphonesemploys DSP-based noise cancelation techniques as well.DSP has become an integral part of Electronic Engineering Technology (EET) and ElectricalEngineering curricula at higher institutions worldwide. To fulfill a successful DSP curriculum, itis critical to complement lectures with well-designed hands-on laboratory exercises. It has beenwidely acknowledged that hands-on experiences improve teaching and learning efficiency andreinforce students’ comprehension of abstract topics1,2,3,4. Page 26.1307.2Motivations and
Architectural Engineering at the California Polytech- nic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where he teaches courses on the analysis and design of structural systems including laboratory courses.Dr. Graham C. Archer P.Eng, California Polytechnic State University Dr. Graham Archer, P.Eng., is a Professor of Architectural Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where he teaches courses on the analysis and design of structural systems.Dr. Cole C McDaniel, California Polytechnic State University Dr. Cole McDaniel, P.E., is a Professor of Architectural Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where he teaches courses on the
instruction and twohours of laboratory per week. This paper presents the design of the course, including anassessment-based approach for selection and rotation of supplemental instruction work groups,explores results of the pre- and post-assessments for two semesters of Engineering Physics I, andpresents implications for this course as well as for interfaces with subsequent courses inengineering curricula.IntroductionEngineering programs in the School of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsvillerequire two semesters of University Physics, a calculus-based sequence with associated labs.These courses are taught in the Department of Physics and require a pre-requisite of Calculus Iwith a grade of C or better and a co-requisite of Calculus
been instrumental in acquiring, through various grants, computers, and software for the physics laboratory at FVSU. Some of his funded grant proposals are as follows: 1) Establishing a Nuclear Science and Engineering Minor at Fort Valley State University 2) Establishing an Undergraduate STEM Teaching and Research Laboratory at FVSU 3)Establishing an Interdisciplinary Bioinformatics Laboratory at Fort Valley State University 3) Computer-based Instrumentation Laboratory for Undergraduate Science and Mathematics Programs at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Fort Valley State University. 4) Developing an Undergraduate Minor in Computer-based Mea- surement and Instrumentation at Fort Valley State
2 Function calls and arrays in embedded C with interfacing a liquid crystal display (LCD) module 8 2 PIC18 features and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversions 9 Course Review - Midterm Exam 10-12 6 Timer programming and interrupt programming 13-14 4 Capture-compare-PWM programming 15 Course Review - Final ExamTable 3 shows the laboratory projects in the laboratory exercise sections, where the content oflaboratory project #3 is included in Appendix A. For the laboratory exercises, MPLAB Integrat-ed Development Environment (IDE)8 as shown in Figure 1 is used to program the source code in
engineering education argue that educational programs focus too muchon the transmittal of information through static lecture-discussion formats and routine use ofoutdated laboratory exercises. On the other hand, active learning, learning that involves hands-onexperience, significantly improves student comprehension and proficiency. It is clear thatunderstanding and retention are greatly enhanced when students engage in active learning.While theoretical knowledge remains a fundamental component of any comprehension process,the underpinnings of proficiency development seem to increase best through active learningpractices. What remains less clear is the “gold standard” for pedagogical approaches thatcombine theory and hands-on learning.In this article
last part of the day, students participated in healthy lifestylesactivities. The objectives of the program were accomplished through many features such asprescribed hands-on experiments and activities, facility tours, library visits, computer lab time,design and prototyping an invention, and project presentations. Table 2 provides an overview ofthe week’s activities. Each aspect of the program is described in detail in the following section.Prescribed Hands-On ExperimentsStudents spent half of their day conducting laboratory experiments. These laboratory activitiesfocused on raising students’ awareness of the diverse types of engineering and providinginstruction on related STEM concepts. The experiments consisted of 1. Extracting DNA
discussed.BackgroundKettering University has for many years offered two primary courses in the area of DynamicSystems and Controls. MECH330, Dynamic Systems with Vibrations, was taught as a fourlecture hour course with no lab component. MECH430, Dynamic Systems with Controls, wastaught as a four lecture hour course with two hours of laboratory. In truth, the two hours of labwere often used to provide additional hours of lecture material.Ongoing course assessment indicated that neither course was fulfilling all of its planned learningoutcomes. MECH330 had an outcome which required that students would learn how to modelphysical systems using Matlab/Simulink software, yet few students gained any measurableproficiency due to lack of laboratory time devoted to that
from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSFATE) program. The program is now completing its second year and graduating a first group ofwell-prepared photonics technicians ready for employment in the growing photonics industry inthe state and across the US. The second year marked the successful completion of the programcurriculum and further development of the Optics and Photonics Laboratory. Outreach activitiesincluded summer programs for high school and middle school students. The paper describes theoutcomes of the two year project in relation to the objectives of the NSF ATE grant. Challengesand lessons learned along the way are discussed, together with plans for sustainability and futureexpansion of the
given rapid growth in first-year and transfer enrollments. Before the restructuring, the first-year program consisted of two, 2 credit courses calledIntroduction to Engineering I and Introduction to Engineering II. Introduction to Engineeringcourses were run out of the College of Engineering but were staffed with faculty and TeachingAssistants from the individual departments. Introduction to Engineering I was taken by all students independent of engineering major,usually in the first semester on campus, and therefore had a fall term enrolment approaching 600plus students and approximately 100 students in the second semester, mostly transfer students.The first course was run in the form of 2 lectures and 2 hours of laboratory per
non-technical lectures have been provided bysubject matter experts. This course has been revised in the past and additional web-baseddelivery modules have been added2-3. In course lectures and laboratory practices, guest lectures,and course projects, special emphasis has been given to critical thinking, real-world problemsolving, teamwork, and service to the community and profession. Biweekly organized team timemeetings have provided an ideal opportunity for students to question the problems and issuesthey face in the lectures, laboratories, and team projects.Lecture and Laboratory SectionsDuring the semester, weekly technical lecture and laboratory practices have been provided on theconventional CNC topics. They are 1) Introduction to
introductory-level laboratoryexperiment focused on the analysis of switching-mode DC-DC converters. This experimentwould take place in an analog electronics course as a laboratory component for juniorundergraduate electrical and computer engineering students.Switching mode power supplies have been used in industries and consumer electronics for manydecades. Recently, they have become pervasive in our daily life as many smartphones, portablecomputing devices, and renewable energy systems are using switching mode power converters.Due to the wide acceptance of this technology, a lab component has been added in an analogelectronics course to introduce switching-mode DC-DC conversion.The approach taken is to integrate students’ knowledge and experiences
overly fashioned examples2, 5, 6. Hands-on laboratories that feature realmeasurements could allow students to probe the dynamics of realistic systems, therebystrengthening their conceptual understanding2, 7, 8. However, the prohibitive cost of equipmentand shortage of laboratory space limits these options.Our project aims to overcome these challenges by utilizing a new, highly portable andinexpensive technology, which we call interactive-Newton (i-Newton). The i-Newton can engagestudents in the experiential learning of dynamics outside the confines of the traditional lecture-based teaching methods.The objectives of the project we describe in this paper are to: 1. Investigate whether i-Newton has an effect on students’ conceptual
Paper ID #13662A Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual Learning in Engineer-ing: Impact on Student Outcomes and MotivationDr. Lisa Huettel, Duke University Dr. Lisa G. Huettel is a professor of the practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineer- ing at Duke University where she also serves as associate chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the department. She received a B.S. in Engineering Science from Harvard University and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University. Her research interests are focused on engineering education, curriculum and laboratory