Conference Session

ABET Accreditation, Assessment and Program Improvement in ECE.

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark William Redekopp, University of Southern California; Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

are many interpretations and implementations of an "inverted" or "flipped"classroom, let us define the term "flipped" classroom as one where “events that have traditionallytaken place inside first the classroom now take place outside the classroom and vice versa”1.The typical flipped classroom achieves knowledge transfer of fundamental conceptual materialvia reading assignments and video lectures which students are responsible for before attendingthe in-person lecture. This lecture then becomes a setting for questions, joint problem solving,and targeted discussion of topics that require more in-depth treatment as well as short, interactivelearning experiences that provide individual and group practice along with immediate feedback.By itself

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John M Robertson, Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus; Kathleen Meehan, Virginia Tech; Robert John Bowman, Rochester Institute of Technology (COE); Kenneth A Connor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Douglas A Mercer, Analog Devices Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Initially, the oscilloscope functions were derived from a sound Page 23.576.3card9. The frequency range (roughly 50-5000 Hz) and maximum voltage (1 V) were limited bythe specifications of the sound card. It was replaced by the Velleman PCSGU 250, a twochannel oscilloscope with an arbitrary function generator to eliminate the continual issues withincompatible sound cards as a result of Windows operating system upgrades. This drove the costunder $200.In parallel with these ground-breaking educational platforms, there have been a number ofcommercial products aimed at the same market. They face three challenging requirements: lowcost, software that

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anil Saigal, Tufts University; Arun Karthik Saigal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Faculty At Top EE/CS Research Universities Anil Saigal1 and Arun Saigal2 1 Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 email: anil.saigal@tufts.edu 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 email: aksaigal@mit.eduAbstractDoes it matter where you do your doctorate if your goal is to become a faculty member at a top electrical engineering / computer science research university?  A number of criteria have been used to rank engineering institutions including total research and development expenditures, federally sponsored research and development

Conference Session

Recruitment, Retention and First-year Programs in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christina Howe, University of Evansville; Dick Blandford, University of Evansville

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

the computer engineering and computer science portions of the course.The focus of the EE portion of the course is frequency domain concepts in linear systems.Implementation involves the use of MATLAB® 1, difference equations, the Fourier transform,and sound files. Since freshmen do not have the math background of our juniors we view theFourier transform as a correlation between an input signal and a complex sinusoid. MATLAB®allows for easy manipulation of difference equations, the z-transform need not be mentioned, andthe course has no time for theorems or proofs.Sound files present an easy way to introduce real data into the course and all students are able tosee the frequency spectrum of sounds in their environment. In a final project they

Conference Session

Software and Web-based Learning in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dileepan Joseph P.Eng., University of Alberta

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

administrators, he succeeded via a transition fromprocedural C++, with a virtual robot called Karel, to MATLAB, with a video game calledGorillas. These two versions of the course are compared and contrasted, with a focus on theauthor’s own contributions. Furthermore, the pedagogical approach is compared and contrastedwith that of relevant literature. As with the state of the art, the work argues in favour of teachingintroductory programming using MATLAB. Unlike the state of the art, the proposed approachexploits video game design and iterative and incremental development. Effectiveness of thecontributions are demonstrated through student, peer, and self assessments.1. IntroductionAt the University of Alberta, all 1st year engineers take a 12-week course

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lihong (Heidi) Jiao, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

IPnetworks each month in 2016 1. The growing demands for bandwidth and capacity requirecontinuous upgrades in the optical communication network: the faster network speed (40Gb/s 100Gb/s  400Gb/s) and expanded network topologies (Long haul, Metropolitan, Access, Fiberto the Home). From the educational institutes’ standpoint, we must make sure that our graduateshave the knowledge and practical training to support the on-going changes. In response to these demands, the School of Engineering at Grand Valley State Universitydeveloped a three-credit senior elective course EGR458 “Introduction to Fiber Optics” in 2009 2.For the first two offerings, short active-learning exercises were supplemented for the lecture.Feedback from students showed that

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Mazloomzadeh, Florida International University; Mustafa Farhadi, Florida International University; Osama A. Mohammed, Florida International University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Photovoltaic arrays have a nonlinear voltage-current characteristic thatits output power varies with solar radiation and cell temperature. Due to the limitation on solarenergy availability in a laboratory environment, an alternative photovoltaic emulator was used.The emulator is a 6 kW Magna Power Electronics dc programmable power supply (Figure 1) andits maximum output voltage and current are 375 V and 15.9 A, respectively. The PhotovoltaicPower Profile Emulator (PPPE) software is used to calculate voltage and current profiles of aspecific solar array based on predefined parameters. These profiles are sequentially sent to thepower supply via RS232 serial communication interface. A power profile can be generatedmanually based on voltage-current curve

Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wookwon Lee, Gannon University; Nicholas B. Conklin, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Further details areprovided on project design, team structure and collaboration, experimental details, and lessonslearned, particularly on promoting student learning and improving its outcomes.1. Overview of the ProjectThe Earth’s magnetic field deflects cosmic‐ray trajectories from a straight line. Due to the fact thatcosmic rays are predominantly positively charged, this results in more particles arriving from thewest than from the east. This “east‐west” asymmetry has been investigated in the past at groundlevel. The goal of the project was to design and launch a small experimental payload to investigatehow the “east-west” angular asymmetry changes with altitude, as the cosmic ray flux transitionsfrom mostly secondary particles near the ground

Conference Session

ECE Curriculum Improvement

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tatiana V. Goris, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Michael J. Dyrenfurth, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

everyday experience, can significantly affect student learning. Evidencesuggests that students who learn new material may already have some understanding andpreconceptions about the new concepts.Misconceptions about electricity of novice students (college freshmen and first-semestersophomores) were analyzed and compared to the misconceptions of senior students. The studytargeted: (1) correlation between student academic success (grades) and student misconceptions,and (2) understanding how student mental models and misconceptions change with increasinglevels of competency and expertise during students’ progression from the freshman to seniorlevel. Non-equivalent groups of 20 novices and 22 seniors participated in this study. The mixed-methods

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation, Assessment and Program Improvement in ECE.

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diane T. Rover, Iowa State University; Douglas W. Jacobson, Iowa State University; Ahmed E. Kamal, Iowa State University; Akhilesh Tyagi, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

facultyand staff instructor(s), who manage all aspects of the senior design course sequence that servescomputer, electrical and software engineering students. In addition to its management function, itconducts frequent informal assessment of the senior design program as well as formalassessment pertinent to ABET student outcomes assessment. The other group is the portfolioreview committee. This is a small group of faculty, in addition to academic advising staffinstructors, who implement and use rubrics to review student portfolios. All students in thedepartment submit a portfolio of student work in a 1-credit senior course, Portfolio Assessment.Portfolios are introduced in a 1-credit first-year course, Professional Program Orientation.Development

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Lee Heyman, United States Military Academy; Wenli Huang, U.S. Military Academy; Guangming Xie, Peking University; Pongpat Taephanitcharoen, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Competition Platform. The underwater robot platform developed at the Peking University consists of four subsystems1,2: the robotic fish, image capturing and processing, decision making and wireless communication. The layout of the platform is shown in Figure 1. The pool dimensions are rectangular, 3 meters by 2 meters, with a water depth of .5 meters. The information about the robotic fish and their surroundings is captured by an overhead camera. The camera interfaces with a computer to serve together as the vision system and effectively collect real time data for the positions and directions of the fish as well as the surrounding objects, such as water polo ball and obstacles. This data is then sent to the decision

Conference Session

Capstone Design and Innovations in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John J. Burke P.E., Western New England University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

of entrepreneurship into thecurriculum.A student encountering the KEEN program should be able to: 1. Effectively collaborate in a team setting 2. Apply critical & creative thinking to ambiguous problems 3. Construct & effectively communicate a customer "appropriate value proposition” 4. Persist through and learn from failure 5. Effectively manage projects through appropriate commercialization or final delivery process 6. Demonstrate voluntary social responsibility 7. Relate personal liberties and free enterprise to entrepreneurshipWith the KEEN grant award, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) departmentbegan an effort to integrate business acumen into two ECE courses. The effort started

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jia-Ling Lin, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Paul Imbertson, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Tamara J Moore, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

responded. Educators agree that thequality of engineering teaching needs to be improved, and the content and delivery of traditionallectures fail to motivate students to meet learning challenges and job requirements. TheDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Citieshas developed a comprehensive plan to revamp the electric energy systems core courses. 1 Thereformed curriculum has integrated the three sub-areas of electric energy systems, i.e. electricdrives, power electronics, and power systems, into a single focus area. The new curriculum isable to cover a broader range of topics with greater depths while allowing students to explorecomplimentary areas, such as control systems, mechanical systems, and

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David H Hoe, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

detailed.IntroductionOngoing research in nanotechnology is revolutionizing several fields, includingmicroelectronics, biotechnology, and materials science. It is predicted that by 2020, nanoscaleengineering will bring about mass applications in industry, medicine, and informationtechnology.1 As a result, a growing number of scientists and engineers with the ability to createinnovative designs using nanotechnology will be required. This is creating an urgent need forcurriculum enhancements right now in STEM education. This paper focuses on the impact thatnanotechnology will have in the area of microelectronics, one of the main economic drivers ofthis information technology age. The ability to shrink electronic devices down to submicrondimensions has made possible Very

Conference Session

Project-based and Cooperative Learning in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stanley W. Hsu, University of California, Davis; Rajeevan Amirtharajah, University of California, Davis; andre knoesen, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, U C Davis

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

approach is touse sustainable engineering to motivate students from a wide range of engineering disciplines toacquire problem-solving and programming skills.Although inspiration for the curriculum is drawn from topics in sustainable engineering, ourcurrent effort emphasizes solar energy for its potential to be become a low cost energyproduction technology due to its steadily rising efficiencies. The Shockley-Queisser limit putsthe theoretical efficiency of a p-n junction silicon solar cell at 33.7%1 while the highest reportedefficiency today is at 27.6%2. However, the efficiency of more complex multi-junctionconcentrator solar cells is around 44%2. While solar energy most likely won’t completely replaceconventional energy sources, it is an

Conference Session

Recruitment, Retention and First-year Programs in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chad Eric Davis P.E., University of Oklahoma; James J. Sluss Jr., University of Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

ofundergraduates enrolled in ECE was 399, as shown in Figure 1. 261 of these students weremajoring in Electrical Engineering and 138 were majoring in Computer Engineering. Thesecond plot on figure 1 is the ASEE national ECE undergraduate enrollment data between 2004and 2011. 2012 data was not available at the time of publishing this paper. Corrective Action Plan InitiatedFigure 1: ECE undergraduate enrollment over the last nine reporting periods.When analyzing the enrollment increases for OU-ECE, the ECE enrollment numbers from theASEE data is used as a baseline. The ASEE data shows that national ECE undergraduateenrollment declined from 102,012 to 81,501 between 2004 and 2008. This 20.1% decrease waslower

Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lin Zhao, Gannon University; Nigel Yu, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

students who have very good GPA struggle during senior capstone design. This is duemainly to the lack of system-level integrating experience. When given a real-life project,students have challenges of linking it with what they have learned from different courses inprevious years. “It seems that all the course projects we completed previously in individualcourse have nothing to do with the senior design” said one student.One of the student outcomes evaluated by ABET for engineering programs accreditation is “anability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs…”1. Among the most-favored pedagogical models to help students attaining this ability are integrated curricula2,project-based learning (PBL), problem-based learning, and

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark T Carnes PE, Purdue University, Electrical Engineering Technology; Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

of the way you think about voltage and current”would not be particularly helpful6.The need for an alternative approach has led to the development of an interview structure thatallows the researcher to gather data by observing the working of the participant’s mental modelindirectly by prompting a general discussion of electrical phenomena and experience. Theinterview structure consists of asking the same four questions about several of the most commontypes of components used in electrical design: resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors,and op-amps. The questions for each component are of the form: 1. What is it? 2. What does it do

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rocio Alba-Flores, Georgia Southern University; Fernando Rios-Gutierrez, Georgia Southern University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

microcontrollers. There are also programs where the emphasis of thecourse is on the study of instrumentation and programmable logic controllers.One difficulty in teaching control systems is to provide a good balance between theory and practice. Byincorporating a laboratory component, it could help to provide some connection between the abstractcontrol theory and the real world applications.In the present paper we describe the educational experience gained by including team-based projects intothe control systems course. In these projects students design and implement different controllers forautonomous navigation in a mobile robot. In particular, the design and implementation of three maintypes of controllers are assigned to teams of students, namely: 1) a

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jorge Crichigno, Northern New Mexico College; Gregory L. Heileman, University of New Mexico; Ivan Lopez Hurtado, Northern New Mexico College; Alfredo J. Perez, Northern New Mexico College; Ramiro Jordan P.E., University of New Mexico; Timothy L Schroeder; José Marcio Luna, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, support structure in the form ofadvisement and tutoring which are essential for first-generation students, and student outcomesand articulation among institutions. Further motivations for this project include: 1. Students across New Mexico, one of the largest state in the US in terms of mass land, attend colleges that may be remotely located from their local community. This characteristic is typical in NM, where remote communities may be distant from one to another by tens or hundreds of miles. Online and hybrid courses are appealing for the state because they may allow students to physically attend college fewer times per semester or per week (e.g., for hands-on lab hours or recitation hours). Figure 1 shows part

Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Mark Jansson PE, Bucknell University; Daniel Schmalzel; Robert R. Krchnavek, Rowan University; John L. Schmalzel, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

for the State of New Jersey was completed at that time. Thefollowing two semesters (Autumn 2011 and Spring 2012) had smaller engineering clinic teamscontinuing to refine the document. It was completed and shared with the State over the summerof 2012 by summer students and their professors when the document went through its finalrevisions. This paper reports on general aspects of the EAP in order to provide the context and thenfocuses on the important relationship between project-based coursework and studentemployment opportunities. Some of the challenges in the academic environment include thesometimes competing goals of (1) providing relevant projects based upon real industry need, and(2) the accompanying expectations of professional

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Margret Hjalmarson, George Mason University; Jill K Nelson, George Mason University; Lisa G. Huettel, Duke University; Wayne T. Padgett, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Kathleen E. Wage, George Mason University; John R. Buck, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

questions as a template for writing the memo(using writing about in-class problems as an example). As an example, figure 1 showsresponses to the first three questions for reading summaries. • What are conceptual in-class problems? • Why should I use them? (How are they useful for the students? How are they useful to the instructor?) • What is an example (or two) of a conceptual in-class problem? • How do these problems fit into my class? How long will they take? • For which topics should I assign conceptual in-class problems? Page 23.402.3 • How should I grade these problems? Should I grade these problems? • What pitfalls

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tan Ma, Florida International University; Osama A. Mohammed, Florida International University; Ahmed Taha Elsayed, Florida International University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

the global energy reserves has already been a worldwide problem atenvironmental, industrial, economic and societal levels. In 2011, more than 80% of the energyconsumed in the USA was generated by petroleum, natural gas and coal, meanwhile renewableenergy sources only supplied less than 8% of the total energy [1], [2]. Therefore it is urgent andsignificant to teach the technologies related to development of utilization of renewable energy.Meanwhile, as the concept of the smart grid is becoming popular, intelligent analysis, controland optimization algorithms and tools are becoming essential topic to be taught to engineeringstudents [3]-[5].There are three major obstacles in the utilization of renewable energy in our daily life. First

Conference Session

ECE Curriculum Improvement

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dennis A. Silage, Temple University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven G Northrup, Western New England University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

course, there were many learning objectives that students mastered to varying degrees.Table 1 lists the objectives and what items were measured to assess how well the studentsachieved each objective. Many of the objectives are used in the department’s assessment ofABET a-k outcomes2. Because the scope of this paper is limited to the electrical engineeringaspects of the project, this paper will focus solely on the objectives related to the electricalsystems and the FMEA aspects used to teach robust design. The last three learning objectives: Page 23.469.3teamwork, written and oral communication, and societal impact are not covered in this

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roger A. Green, North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

-phase FIR hearing equalizer, students quickly learn thatMATLAB is highly preferable to hand- or calculator-only approaches. Numerous examples,both textbook and instructor derived, are provided to students throughout the semester to developtheir MATLAB programming skills.Initially, the course required students to purchase a textbook by Chassaing, first [1] and then [2].Later, the course adopted a textbook by Welch, Wright, and Morrow [3]. The primaryconsideration in adopting these selections is that each of these books emphasizes hardwareimplementation using TI TMS320C6xxx products. Using an implementation-focused class text,students self-learn the DSK and TI’s CCS IDE much more rapidly and with much less boredomthan the one-size-fits-all

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karl L Wang, Department of Engineering Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Boulevard Clarement, CA 91711 909-607-9136 ; Clint S Cole, Digilent, Inc.; Tinghui Wang, Digilent Inc; Joe Harris, Digilent, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

occur at arapid pace. The ability to work in a team design environment is important because oftenembedded system design skills, e.g. software, hardware, require close collaboration betweendesign team members with different expertise. In addition, team design experience trains thestudents to work in a similar work environment that they will likely to encounter in the industryas professionals.Course ContentsThe embedded system design course syllabus is shown in Table 1. It consists of 6 labs followedby a final project. The first two labs are designed to introduce the capabilities of the systemdevelopment board and design tool chain. The embedded system design development platformused in this course is the newest leading edge system design

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Askia Hill, Purdue University; Cordelia M Brown, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

theirlevel of intellectual development and their learning style. Preliminary results show that specificlearning styles achieve higher intellectual development assessment scores and the degree ofpreference for a learning style is a factor in the intellectual development as it relates to theassessment scores.I. Introduction Over the past twenty years, engineering educators have noticed a trend withinengineering as a whole: students are not progressing as much as they should with respect to theirintellectual development before graduating [1]. There has been research with respect to howexperimental courses can improve this deficit[2], [3], but very little published examining whatcan be done with respect to current engineering courses. One

Conference Session

Project-based and Cooperative Learning in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Reg Recayi Pecen, North American College; Keith L. Coogler, Sam Houston State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

the programming embedded in the memory section of themicrocontroller [1-2]. In most cases, there are components such as analog to digital converters,displays, electronics components, sensors (tilt, position switch, gas, temperature, level, force,humidity, mass, distance, image, light, motion, etc.) that the programmer should be familiar with,in addition to understanding the working principals and functionality. In order to program amicrocontroller, a programmer has to know the architecture of a microcontroller including itsmicroprocessor, bus architecture, I/O system, memory type, interrupts, addresses, etc. It may be achallenge to teach students about all the types of the sensors, microcontroller architecture, andprogramming skills in a

Conference Session

Recruitment, Retention and First-year Programs in ECE

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hector A. Ochoa, The University of Texas at Tyler; Mukul Shirvaikar, University of Texas at Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. The students weregiven a final project based on a simple circuit that could be applied to real life to wrap up thesemester. By this point in the semester, the students have acquired enough knowledge tounderstand the basic functionality of the circuit. Also, a basic description of how the circuitworks is provided to them. The students were asked to create a working prototype on abreadboard. Once their prototype is working, they were asked to design the layout of a PCB andby using a LPKF milling machine create their own PCB for their final design.The course lectures were divided into the following eleven main topics: 1. History, Dimensions and Units 2. Electrical Concepts and Components 3. Digital Systems 4. Electrical Engineering Tools