Conference Session

Innovations in biological and agricultural engineering education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kyle Mankin, Kansas State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

project provided opportunity for experiential learning that engaged students,provided essential problem solving and teamwork skills, and assessed their learning about thedesign process. Students prepared a functional layout design for one of the BAE/ATM studentspaces within Seaton Hall. The development of the layout design followed the design process,culminating in a presentation to the client (Department Head) and other constituents. Studentswere assessed using self-assessment, assessment of the presentation, and a short-answer exam.Results were classified according to seven elements of the design process: 1) teamwork, 2)information gathering, 3) problem definition, 4) idea generation, 5) evaluation and decisionmaking, 6) implementation, and 7

Conference Session

Biology and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Meyer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; David Jones, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

the conclusion of the course, studentswere to be able to (a) develop and test FST and apply selected FST models to their particularresearch interest, (b) use current modeling literature related to biological and environmentalsystems for theory formation and hypothesis building, and (c) effectively use these methods tosimulate systems for understanding and solving new research problems. Supporting topicsincluded neural networks, machine vision, and genetic algorithms. Table 1 shows the syllabus ofcourse topics by number. Appendix A gives the university catalog description. Of particularconcern is the treatment of uncertainty and incomplete information associated with biologicaland environmental systems.Fuzzy Logic ModelingThe universe of

Conference Session

Innovations in biological and agricultural engineering education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jinglu Tan, University of Missouri

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

accredited programto formulate a set of program outcomes that support its educational objectives, to assessperiodically the level of achievement of the outcomes, and to use the assessment results forfurther improvement of the program [1].The central idea behind Criteria 2 and 3 is not new. It is simply the concept of assessment andimprovement routinely used in quality control and other fields. Since it is a change from thetraditional prescriptive approach, it has generated tremendous discussions. Numerous papershave been published, expert lectures given and workshops held; but most faculty membersfind the literature more puzzling than enlightening. Aside from a lack of prior experiences ineducation program assessment by engineering faculty, some

Conference Session

Biology and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ernest Tollner, University of Georgia-Athens; Caner Kazanci, Univ. of Georgia

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

showing how these laws describe solids and gases at themicroscopic level in the context of isolated, closed and open systems. We addressed thedifficulties of extrapolating from nanoscale to macro scale, critically evaluating theimplications of the scale change as related to the laws. We evaluated the impact ofdeparting from near-equilibrium conditions to far-from-equilibrium conditions. The seminar set forth the following broad objectives: *Appreciate the pervasive nature of the laws of thermodynamics and how these first principles may serve as a basis for interdisciplinary science/engineering research. *Appreciate the potentials and pitfalls of 1) scale-ups and 2) departures from equilibrium on reasonable

Conference Session

Bioengineering laboratories: Bringing research into the classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alvin Post, Arizona State University; Qiang Hu, Arizona State University; Milton Sommerfeld, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

systems will prove more productive, but they are also more costly andthey present different technical challenges.Figure 1: Algae seeded into a full bioreactor tank.These systems are not particularly complex, but they do pose challenging and educationallyuseful engineering problems. Efficient algal production requires environmental control oftemperature, CO2 and pH levels, nutrients, aeration and mixing, and light. Design andconstruction of a reactor that maintains optimal environmental conditions and resists corrosionposes standard engineering problems that engineering students can successfully work through, Page 12.309.2with a sense of real

Conference Session

Bioengineering laboratories: Bringing research into the classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rupa Iyer, University of Houston (CoE)

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

technologies haveprofoundly transformed the way scientists design, perform and analyze experiments. Asbiological concepts and models become more quantitative, biological research is increasinglydependent on concepts and methods drawn from other scientific disciplines. Thus as biologybecomes more quantitative and systematic, it will become a foundational science for engineeringsimilar to physics, chemistry and mathematics.The long term goal of this project is to design and disseminate interdisciplinary teaching materialthat will bridge different disciplines and provide an increasing understanding of the relevance ofconcepts of chemistry, engineering, and computing in biology. The objectives are to: (1)Develop an interdisciplinary biotechnology

Conference Session

Biology and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ramana Gosukonda, Fort Valley State University; Masoud Naghedolfeizi, Fort Valley State University; Sanjeev Arora, Fort Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

implies a continuous data explosion in the future coupled with anextensive need for professionals trained to analyze the data 3 and 7. Consequently, the demand forbioinformaticians is high as the trend in this field underscores the need for new breed ofgraduates with solid training in computer science, biology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, andengineering. It has been reported that both industry and government sectors have been hardpressed to find people with requisite job qualifications in this field7.Many research universities have responded to this demand by revising their curricula to includeminor and/or major programs in bioinformatics as indicated in Table 1 5, 6 and 8. However, themajority of four-year institutions, especially, HBCUs