Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sandra Yost, University of Detroit Mercy; Mohan Krishnan, University of Detroit Mercy; Mark Paulik, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2008-210: DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED SPIRAL CURRICULUM INELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERINGSandra Yost, University of Detroit Mercy Sandra A. Yost, P.E., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Detroit Mercy, where she teaches in the areas of control systems, digital and analog circuits and electronics, and design. She is currently serving as Vice Chair-Programs for the ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division.Mohan Krishnan, University of Detroit Mercy Mohan Krishnan, Ph.D., is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Detroit Mercy. His area of expertise is in applications of Digital Signal Processing, including

Conference Session

ECE Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Freudenthal, University of Texas at El Paso; Brian Carter, University of Texas at El Paso; Frederick Kautz, University of Texas at El Paso; Alexandria Ogrey, University of Texas at El Paso; Robert Preston, University of Texas at El Paso; Arthur Walton, University of Texas at El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Machine OrganizationAbstractWe describe the reform of a fourth-semester course in computer organization in the ComputerScience BS curriculum at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), an urban minority-servinginstitution, where Java and integrated development environments (IDEs) have been adopted asthe language and development environment used in the first three semesters of majorcoursework. This project was motivated by faculty observations at UTEP and elsewhere1 andindustry feedback indicating that upper-division students and graduates were achieving reducedmastery of imperative languages with explicit memory management (most notably C), scriptablecommand line interfaces, and the functions of compilers, assemblers, and linkers.The pre-reform

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Klein, University of Idaho; Herbert Hess, University of Idaho; Brian Johnson, University of Idaho

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

essential to decidewhich projects would benefit the most from an integrated graduate student and which projectswould benefit sufficiently from a graduate mentor relationship.Due to the similarity between their implementations, the benefits of integration and mentoring atfirst appear to be almost identical. In both cases, the undergraduate student gains technical andnon-technical information from a graduate student who has previously completed a similar seniordesign curriculum. The graduate student benefits from working with a design team andperforming research through the undergraduate students that would not have been accomplishedotherwise. These benefits are the exact same for integration and mentoring when approachedfrom a theoretical standpoint

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank Kragh; Jeffrey Reed; Carl Dietrich; Donna Miller

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Education in Software Defined Radio Design Engineering Abstract— Software Defined Radio (SDR), an interdisciplinary emerging technology,presents new challenges for communications engineers and engineering educators. In SDR,signal modulation and information coding are defined in the system's software, nothardware. The authors have incorporated SDR design into their respective curricula bothto support the growing demand for SDR engineering and to teach widely applicablesystems engineering concepts. SDR-oriented curricular changes include new courses,laboratories, and software design tools. Software radio design is taught as aninterdisciplinary systems engineering undertaking, emphasizing the importance of

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jin-Hwan Lee, University of Cincinnati; Ali Asgar Bhagat, University of Cincinnati; Karen Davis, University of Cincinnati; Ian Papautsky, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

the University of Cincinnati. His research and teaching interests include application of microfluidics and nanotechnology to biology and medicine. Page 13.1042.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Research Training of Undergraduates through BioMEMS Senior Design ProjectsAbstractBio Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (BioMEMS) is a multidisciplinary research field thatclosely integrates engineering with physics, chemistry, and biology. This emerging technologyhas an innovative effect on many areas of science and engineering. Research in BioMEMSgenerally occurs at the

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Friauf, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Steven Reyer, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

demonstrated both the shortcomings ofgraduates in their ability to write and the demands of the workplace for improved performance.2However, what has been stated with insufficient clarity is what is the specific purpose of writing,and, therefore, how can one more effectively address this issue in a curriculum?We, like other programs, have both lofty and practical intents with our writing requirements.They are to enlarge and enrich the mind, to capture nuances as well as grand and complexconcepts and to convincingly demonstrate achievements. The challenge becomes one of havingstudents see writing as an integral part of their work as engineers, or their engineering practice

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Cambron, Western Kentucky University; Walter Collett, Western Kentucky University; Stacy Wilson, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

projects in an undergraduate project-based curriculum will also be presented.Role of Design CoursesThe EE Program includes a five course design sequence. The first design course, EE 101,introduces students to the university and the EE program. Students are taught how to solder andto how to use the departmental prototyping facilities. Students are exposed to programming inBASIC, MATLAB and HTML. Student teams design and build a small robot.6The second design course, EE 200, further builds on the project-based mission. Students learn toconstruct circuits using the departmental print circuit board facilities. Students continue todevelop programming skill with PSPICE and MATLAB. Students design and build a clock.During the third design course, EE 300

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Mark Jansson, Rowan University; Ulrich Schwabe, Rowan University; Andrew Hak, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

for Engineering Education, 2008Medium Voltage Switchgear, Transformer and Interconnection Specification in an ECE ClinicI. AbstractWorking on real world engineering technology projects with industry is a key component ofRowan University’s engineering clinics. Our College of Engineering has Industrial affiliates whoregularly act as sponsors of the ECE curriculum by bringing important and diverse real worldengineering design challenges to ECE students. This paper discusses how undergraduate ECEstudents were called upon to first learn about the proposed renewable energy system (in this casea 3MW photovoltaic system – the largest of its kind east of Arizona in the U.S.) optimize thearray field and the DC wiring, and then

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California; Michael Khoo, University of Southern California; Ellis Meng, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. With the world becoming “flat” due to globalization,increasingly, jobs requiring basic technical skills are moving outside of the U.S. by companies toreduce cost. Engineering graduates from the U.S. must bring added value and higher-level skillsincluding innovation, a problem solving approach, and leadership to garner higher salary jobs inU.S. companies. The call from various technical reports on engineering education is for U.S.higher education institutions to produce this kind of engineer. Accordingly, there is an urgentneed for reforming and enhancing engineering curriculum to address these needs. This NSFfunded BME focused urban ERC intends to meet these globally focused education needs throughits educational efforts in curricular reform

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Anderson, U.S. Naval Academy; Richard Buehrer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, and the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SIGNAL PROCESSING. Page 13.200.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 An Undergraduate Research Experience: Wireless Propagation and Position Location in a Forest EnvironmentAbstractOver the past several years, the undergraduate curriculum at many universities has been evolvingto incorporate laboratory exercises and research projects to reinforce and support traditionalclassroom lectures. In particular, involving undergraduates in meaningful research projects is akey to providing them with the hands-on activities students are

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fred Cady, (Retired) Montana State University; John McLellan, Freescale Semiconductor

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

components these days arefar too small and complex to allow an inquisitive student to explore and satisfy their curiosityabout how these gadgets work. These students often take to exploring mechanical systemsinstead and are thus led away from Electrical and Computer Engineering. Similarly, withadvances in computer simulations of engineering circuits and models that produce realisticresults, engineering programs have transitioned away from physical hardware and hands-onexperimentation. This trend away from having students being able to "tinker" with real hardwareis detrimental to their development into well rounded engineers. In addition, as globalizationcontinues, engineers must broaden their team-work and technical skills.This paper describes a

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tokunbo Ogunfunmi, Santa Clara University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

-IP.Most of the fundamentals are on Digital Signal Processing but we focus on the applications tospeech and voice coding.In this paper, we first describe the DSP curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students.We describe our experiences and the challenges encountered in developing these courses. Wedetail some of the laboratory and teaching materials and the exercises developed, etc.We discuss as an example the internet low-bit rate speech coder (iLBC) which is used to codespeech under packet loss conditions that exists on the internet.Finally, we present possible future directions in the course development. Page 13.967.2IntroductionThe area

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wookwon Lee, Gannon University; Fong Mak, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Management for First-Year Graduate Students in Electrical and Computer EngineeringAbstractThe electrical and computer engineering (ECE) department at the University offers a graduatecurriculum that is designed to help students develop skills for system integration and acquireeffective business and technology practices, as well as, fundamental knowledge in the ECE field.As part of the curriculum, a new course on engineering project and management has beenrecently introduced to first-year graduate students. This new course guides students through acomplete design cycle from inception to completion with a pre-defined project of a complexsystem. This paper focuses on the experience and lessons learned from offering the Capstone

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyssa Magleby, University of Utah; Cynthia Furse, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

communications systems in aircraft, including intra-vehicle MIMO performance. She has been involved in the Society of Women Engineers and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers chapter government and activities. She is presently involved in the TA Scholar Program at the University of Utah working on a project to improve teaching and learning in her department.Cynthia Furse, University of Utah Dr. Cynthia Furse is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. She is the PI of an NSF DLR project – Integrated System Level Design -- and an NSF STEP program -- Utah’s Engineers: A Statewide Initiative

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marc McComb, Microchip Technology, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

these labs are formatted, how to use them and the learningobjectives or benefits to the student that each provides. One lab will be chosen and dissected, toprovide the audience with an insightful overview of the general format used. Future labs willalso be discussed, to provide the audience with a clear understanding of the direction in whichthis program is moving.IntroductionThe Internet provides an opportunity for both educators and employers to offerquality educational resources for engineering students. Introductory learningmaterials developed by a manufacturer can supply students with unique insightinto a technology or process that complements what is learned in the classroom.Microchip’s Academic Program has recently dedicated a section of

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlen Planting, Boise State University; Sin Ming Loo, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

portability. The course wouldintroduce just enough material from the C programming language that students could work withdevices at a low level (minimizing the overlap for the computer science students). This wouldalso give some ECE students their first exposure to the C programming language.Before updating the Microprocessors course, an experimental course addressing the usage of theC programming language for embedded applications was undertaken to investigate methods ofincorporating the C programming language in the electrical engineering curriculum. Theexperimental course included an accelerated presentation of the C language directed to specificcourse objectives. When it became apparent that some of the students were struggling with

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce Dunne, Grand Valley State University; Melvin Cooke, GE Aviation

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 13.367.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Design of a Hardware Platform for Analog Communications LaboratoryIntroductionIn the typical electrical engineering curriculum, analog communications is usually ajunior or senior year elective. Such a course typically focuses on analog radio, coveringthe topics of amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). Also includedis the study of noise effects in communication systems and other related concepts insignals and systems. Increasingly, the laboratory portion of an analog communicationscourse has migrated to simulation-based experiments using MATLAB1 or to quasi-simulation methods based on the capabilities of LabVIEW2. The

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sheng-Jen Hsieh, Texas A&M University; Yuan-Teng Cheng, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

that self-improve based on the number ofstudent samples, and 4) an interactive graphical user interface design that includes with voice,visual, and other sensory devices.AcknowledgmentsThis material was supported by a National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum, andLaboratory Improvement (CCLI) grant (No. 0341287) and a gift from Rockwell Automation.Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are thoseof the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation orRockwell Automation.Bibliography[1] Asfahl, C.R., (1992), Robotics and Manufacturing Automation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY.[2] The World Market for PLCs – 2007 Edition, Frost & Sullivan

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Khalid Al-Olimat, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

majoring in Electrical Engineering. The teaching tool is designed to optimizestudents’ performance through an instant observation of and among the parameters oftransformers, dc machines, ac machines and transmission line models. The information and datacollected from survey and questionnaires were analyzed and used for the evaluation of attitudestoward the use of this media based teaching tool. Students have responded favorably to andexpressed their satisfaction with the developed software tool.IntroductionIn recent years and due to the evolving technology and its attendant introduction of new materialinto the curriculum, most colleges face a demand to optimize their curriculum and increase thecontent of courses. This challenges educators to

Conference Session

Project-Based Learning in ECE Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Albert Liddicoat, California Polytechnic State University; Jianbiao Pan, California Polytechnic State University; James Harris, California Polytechnic State University; Lynne Slivovsky, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

electronics manufacturing.Layering upon the above noted educational deficiencies in engineering curricula, programsgenerally do not present an integrated approach to engineering education that includes practicalapplication of theoretical knowledge. Students often master the course and laboratory workassociated with courses in the curriculum, but they do not gain a “systems” level engineeringexperience that requires them to synthesize what they have learned in their curriculum andextend their knowledge through independent learning that reaches outside their field of study.The need for “systems” level design and multidisciplinary experiences has been echoed by theCal Poly computer and electrical engineering Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) and

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Harris, California Polytechnic State University; Dominic Dalbello, Allan Hancock College; Jianbiao Pan, California Polytechnic State University; Albert Liddicoat, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

skills necessary to make immediate contributions. A review of thatimperative identified a gap in the engineering curricula: there is a lack of “systems” level designexperience that requires engineering students to synthesize what they have learned in theircurriculum and extend their knowledge outside their field of study through independent learning.In an attempt to address this issue in the computer engineering curriculum at Cal Poly, we arebuilding a pipeline in the curriculum to properly prepare and engage students in project-basedlearning activities. More specifically, we are developing a new electronics design andmanufacturing course, a new introduction to systems design course, and incorporating a scalablesolution to project-based learning

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Meyer, Purdue University; Mark Johnson, Purdue University School of ECE; Cordelia Brown, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Laboratories with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Purdue University since July 1999. He received his PhD in 1998 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He teaches Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design, advises senior design project teams, supervises teaching assistants in several laboratories, develops computer engineering laboratory curricula, manages design automation software for instruction and research, and is chair of an ECE committee for instructional innovation. Dr. Johnson served as proceedings chair for Microelectronic Systems Education 2003, program chair for Microelectronic Systems

Conference Session

Project-Based Learning in ECE Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arif Uluagac; Douglas Williams, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Huettel, “Integration of a DSP Hardware-Based Laboratory into an Introductory Signals and Systems Course,” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Annual Conference of Composition and Exhibition, 200616. Asif, A. “Multimedia learning objects for digital signal processing in communications,” Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Multimedia and Expo - Volume 1 (July 06 - 09, 2003), 157-130.17. Spanias, A. Berisha, V. Ho Min Kwon, Chih-Wei Huang, Natarajan A., Ferzli, R., “Using the Java-DSP Real- Time Hardware Interface in Undergraduate Classes,” Proc. of the 36th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference, 200618. Yoder, M.A. Black, B.A., Work in Progress: A Study of

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew O'Fallon, Washington State University; Jack R Hagemeister, Washington State University; Clint Cole, Washington State University, Pullman; Joseph Harris, Digilent Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 13.738.5Figure 2. Peripheral modules. Some of the modules available. They vary in cost from 8 to 20dollars.Software Development Tools:In the past we had difficulty finding usable development and debugging tools that allowedstudents to focus on the task at hand, instead of the intricacies of an overly complex tool. Atmelprovides AVR Studio [9], which is a free integrated development environment (IDE) that supportscompiling of AVR assembly or C (with gcc-avr), and debugging. The debugger allows forviewing program, data, I/O, and register memories as each instruction is executed. The IDE isvery similar to Microsoft’s Visual Studio IDE which all of our students have used in a previousprogramming course. This greatly reduced their learning

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce Krogh, Carnegie Mellon University; Tsuhan Chen, Carnegie Mellon University; Tuviah Schlesinger, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

traditional Figure 1. A traditional view of EE vs. CE.courses (circuits, devices, communication, control,signal processing, power, electromagnetics, etc.). Italso became clear that CE is something separate from computer science (CS) and could notsimply be absorbed into the CS curriculum. Nevertheless, the close relationship between CE andcertain traditional sub-disciplines in EE (not to mention the often non-intellectual reasons fordefining academic boundaries) made it natural at many universities for CE to become a programin the EE department.The reasons for EE departments turning into ECE departments are clear. The question iswhether maintaining ECE as simply an umbrella for two distinct

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suk Kim Chin, Australian Catholic University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Forassessment to be formative, facilitating feedback to students to nurture improvement such thatstudents will perform better in the future, the assessment tasks would have to be progressive /continuous. These tasks can be weekly short WebCT quizzes, fortnightly short reports, and shortwritten tests. Figure 2: Aligning Curriculum Objectives, Teaching and Learning Activities, and Assessment Tasks“If the curriculum is reflected in the assessment, …, the teaching activities of the teacher and the Page 13.111.7learning activities of the learner are both directed towards the same goal” [7]. To this end, wehave designed a system for teaching an

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dale Buechler, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

as feedback. Lecture notes andreadings are posted in advance to allow efficient coverage of the theory and more time for in-class examples and assessment. In-class “board-work” using the document camera is scannedand placed on the class webpage. Electronic submission of homework and projects isencouraged, allowing students to make fewer trips to campus. Fourth, flexibility should beincorporated into the course syllabus. Most non-traditional students have outside commitmentssuch as work and family which require missing at least 1 class per semester. Allowing studentsto drop their worst exam, quiz, homework, etc., helps students overcome such absences. Finally,assessment needs to be an integral part of each course. Instructors need to

Conference Session

ECE Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Yang, Western Carolina University; Yeqin Huang, Western Carolina University; Robert Adams, Western Carolina University; James Zhang, Western Carolina University; Kenneth Burbank, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

(TM)modes in planar waveguide designs. This teaching method improves teaching effectiveness ofE&M field and wave theory by helping the students better understand mathematical complexitiesthrough this readily available and reliable software tool. In addition to the theory, the studentsalso gain the design capability using these industry standard software packages, and thereforebridging the gap between theory and practice. .IntroductionThe vector property of E&M fields is at the heart of optics and E&M wave theories. At the sametime, it is also often a difficult knowledge point in an engineering curriculum. This in a majorway is because the vector nature of the fields is abstract. First of all, an E&M field is not

Conference Session

Embedded System Design

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alex Doboli, State University of New York-Stony Brook; Eddie Currie, Resonance Publications, Inc.; Patrick Kane, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; Dave Van Ess, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

). a. System performance modeling. b. Trade-off curves. c. Trade-off analysis (cost – speed – power/energy consumption – number of pins). d. System optimization.Laboratory Material.The laboratory is scheduled as 12 lab sessions of 3 hours each. Lab activities are based on thePSoC development board (Eval 1) from Cypress Semiconductor. (PSoC is a mixed-signal SoCwith an integral 8-bit microcontroller, on-chip flash/RAM memory, reconfigurable analog/digitalarray, and a variety of other blocks commonly used in embedded applications1.)Each of the 12 lab sessions focuses on a particular concept, but all are tied together with theunderlining theme of constructing a temperature-compensated, fan controller.The lab sessions topics are: Lab 1