2006-2524: LABORATORY FOR DIGITAL ELECTRONICSJanos Grantner, Western Michigan University Janos L. Grantner is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western Michigan University. Dr. Grantner received the Ph.D. degree from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, in Computer Engineering, and the advanced doctoral degree Candidate of Technical Science from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in Computer Engineering, respectively.Ramakrishna Gottipati, Western Michigan University Ramakrishna Gottipati is Doctoral Student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western Michigan University. Mr. Gottipati received the MS degree from Western Michigan
LaboratoryIntroductionTraditional undergraduate communications courses have focused on analog transmissionschemes such as amplitude (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). Given the comparativelysimple design of analog modulation circuitry, offering a laboratory component to the course isstraightforward. In a typical laboratory session, students could construct and investigate theperformance of AM or FM transmitters or receivers.With the emergence of technology such as digital cellular telephony and wireline and wirelessdata communications, the emphasis has shifted from analog to digital modulation. Because ofthis shift, digital communications has become an important component to all levels ofcommunications instruction. Due to the complexity of equipment that can emulate
often have students apply control strategies on systems (plants) thathave been given to them in the problem statement. However, this often leaves the students withthe belief that the system models in these assignments are exact, and easily obtainable. Utilizingour Education Control Products (ECP) systems, as well as Matlab’s Simulink, we developed asequence of laboratories to emphasize the difference between the model of a system and a realsystem in our undergraduate controls classes.All of the electrical engineering students at Rose-Hulman are required to take ECE-320: LinearControl Systems. This is a junior level class offered in the first and third quarter each year. Thecurrent prerequisites for the class are ES-205: Analysis and Design of
, Illinois where he is currently an Associate Professor. He teaches the undergraduate control theory courses, a graduate course in neural networks, and a senior design laboratory. Page 11.1432.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Virtual Control Workstation Design Using Simulink, SimMechanics, and the Virtual Reality ToolboxAbstract Control workstations are used in education to teach control theory principles as well asa test station for control algorithm development. Two workstations from Quanser Consulting arebeing used in our electrical and computer engineering program in student
2006-797: REAL TIME SYSTEMS LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT:EXPERIMENTS FOCUSING ON A DUAL CORE PROCESSORMukul Shirvaikar, University of Texas-Tyler MUKUL SHIRVAIKAR received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1993. He is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Tyler. He has also held positions at Texas Instruments and the University of West Florida. His research interests include real-time imaging, embedded systems and pattern recognition.Mark Humphries, University of Texas-Tyler MARK HUMPHRIES received his Master’s in Electrical Engineering in 2005 from the University of Texas at Tyler, and is a
2006-1313: DSP ON GENERIC MACHINESDick Blandford, University of Evansville Dr. Dick K. Blandford is the Chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Evansville. Page 11.499.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 DSP on Generic MachinesAbstractMany electrical engineering classes which introduce digital signal processing at theundergraduate level include a laboratory component in which students implement systems ondedicated DSP boards. Many such boards are programmed in an unfamiliar assembly languageor they require cumbersome I/O drivers
UNIVERSITIESAbstract - This collaborative effort involves five universities, namely, Arizona StateUniversity, the University of Washington-Bothell , the University of Texas at Dallas, theUniversity of Rhode Island, and the University of Central Florida. The paper describeseducational technology innovations and software extensions that enable the on-linesoftware Java-DSP to be used in three courses at five different universities. Assessmentfrom use at ASU is presented in this paper. Preliminary assessment from the otherinstitutions is also available. A new concept for concurrent collaborative laboratories isalso presented. INTRODUCTIONJava-DSP (J-DSP) (http://jdsp.asu.edu) is an educational program that enables on
networking laboratory (CNL)1. Built around a 24-nodedistributed Beowulf2,3 supercomputer, the main goal of CNL is to enhance the understanding ofparallel computing principles in key courses of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science(BS-CS) degree, the two-year Associate in Applied Science in Computer Information Systems(AAS-CIS), and the four-year Bachelor of Applied Technology in Computer InformationSystems Technology (BAT-CIST).The strategy has been to use this supercomputer as the main instrument to infuse concepts andprinciples into targeted courses by creating a set of laboratory modules and capstone projects.Such project framework in CS education is strongly emphasized in the ACM/IEEE-CS curriculamodel4. CNL has aided in motivating the
2006-1777: DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION OF A DIGITAL CONTROLLABORATORY WITH A DIGITAL SYSTEM LABORATORY AT YOUNGSTOWNSTATE UNIVERSITYBen Shaw, Youngstown State UniversityFaramarz Mossayebi, Youngstown State University Page 11.452.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 FlexARM1: An ARM Based IP Core for the UP3 Education KitIntroduction Today’s embedded solutions require a rapid product development time to meet strictmarket demands1. It is essential for system design engineers to verify complex designs inhardware before final implementation. In order for upper level undergraduate students to gainexposure to this verification process, a system level
reduce the number of problems that can appearduring laboratory sessions. The students are exposed to digital circuit design using discrete 74xx seriescomponents during the first four weeks of the semester. For the rest of the semester, all designs aretargeted at FPGA. The use of 74xx series components has been kept in the laboratory for two reasons.First, a 74xx series component might be all that is needed for a simple design. Second, the concept ofputting together a design utilizing multiple components (system-level design) can be introduced.Potentially, this encourages the students to optimize their designs so that wiring the digital circuit iseasier.Our findings through this introduction have all been positive. Students are eager to learn the
2006-1373: A NOVEL INTRODUCTORY COURSE FOR TEACHING THEFUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERINGLisa Huettel, Duke University LISA G. HUETTEL, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of the Practice and Director of Undergraduate Laboratories in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. She is interested in engineering education and the application of statistical signal processing to remote sensing. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University.April Brown, Duke University APRIL S. BROWN, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. Her research is focused
computer architectures, cluster computing and parallel processing; ubiquitous computing. He received his D.Phil in 1986 from Oxford University.Joseph Holmes, AcuityEdge, Inc. Mr. Holmes has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Materials Engineering from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in Materials Engineering from North Carolina State University, and an M.B.A. from Duke University. He is the CEO of AcuityEdge, Inc., a consulting firm, and is also an adjunct faculty member in the Masters of Engineering Management Program at Duke University.Kip Coonley, Duke University KIP D. COONLEY, M.S., is the Undergraduate Laboratory Manager in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
component reviewing different ECE specializations while providing key fundamentalconcepts. It was decided to devote approximately one third of the course to introductory materialfollowed by eight weeks on different specialization areas. According to the initial plan, two 75minute lectures per week would be used to cover the theoretical material necessary to performthe experiments in laboratory, which would meet almost every week for three hours. Thespecializations to be included in the course were decided on based on the strengths of ourdepartment. The list included circuits, electric power, communication, digital signal processing,solid state electronics, logic design, computer architecture and computer networking..One of the great challenges of
. After presenting an overview of the “powerengineering option” at CSM, this paper discusses the course outline, the scope, and themethodology that was adopted to design a very successful and effective advanced power systemslaboratory. Our advanced undergraduate energy systems laboratory promotes power engineeringeducation by showcasing the modern simulation tools used by the utility sector. Working closelywith industrial representatives helps to prepare the students for the real world problems they willeventually be asked to evaluate.IntroductionEstablished in 1874, Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is one of the oldest institutions of highereducation in the State of Colorado.[1] It is known both nationally and internationally for itseducation and
) facultyto improve the teaching and learning effectiveness in ECE3183. The ME department wasselected because they provide the largest student population to ECE3183 (40% of the class).Based on the experience and lessons learned from this initial effort, this concept will be extendedto other departments in the near future.II. Current ECE3183 at MSUECE3183 at MSU consists of three hours of lecture with no supporting laboratory. The loss of atraditionally dedicated laboratory results from the reduction in credit hours to obtain abaccalaureate degree in the various engineering disciplines. Student population in ECE3183includes, approximately, 40% Mechanical Engineering, 30% Chemical Engineering, 10%Aerospace Engineering, 10% Civil Engineering, and 10
11.614.1 presently he is a Professor. During sabbaticals he has worked as a visiting faculty member at Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA, Vitesse Semiconductors, and Atmel Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO. His research interests are design and processing of GaAs devices and circuits, ferroelectric memories, radio frequency integrated circuits based ferroelectric based tunable devices, and micromachining. He has published over 200 research papers in journals and© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 tunable devices, and micromachining. He has published over 200 research papers in journals and conferences.Mark Wickert, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
and software (developed by Rensselaer) which, when connected to the PC via aUSB port, provides similar functionality to an oscilloscope (with a full 50KHzbandwidth), 2 function generators, a multimeter and bipolar power supplies (for less thanthe cost of a typical textbook – approximately $80). With the advent of this mobileinstrumentation studio PC-based laboratory, many instrumentation-based course offeringscan now be held in normal classrooms rather than in specially outfitted facilities. Inaddition, students are asked to perform hands-on experiments outside of the classroomanywhere/anytime, thus facilitating new opportunities for them to “tinker,” to gainvaluable insight through practical experience and to rekindle the passion for
engineering faculty/student partnership involved exposing theundergraduate to a small scale research project designed to reflect typical activities experiencedby graduate students. The student went through the entire cycle of design, simulation,fabrication, and test of a working device prototype. Through this approach, the studentexperienced a microcosm of graduate school while interacting with graduate students,experiencing the difference between laboratory and simulation work, and developing technicalwriting skills through the development of the electronic portfolio.IntroductionA program referred to as "Research on Research" has been developed to expose undergraduatestudents to academic research. The program is instituted through the Technology
2006-652: A BLUETOOTH-BASED HANDSET WIRELESS DATA ACQUISITIONSYSTEMDavid Border, Bowling Green State University Page 11.8.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 A BluetoothTM-based Handset Wireless Data Acquisition SystemAbstractAn innovative data acquisition system that is suitable for laboratory work in electricalengineering/computer engineering communication coursework is detailed in this paper. Thework makes use of currently available technologies including a BluetoothTM module in thecommunication path, and a Windows Mobile 2003 PDA as the system handset. Such itemsillustrate important data acquisition and data communication elements that are being
supplemental hardware laboratory without significant variability1 (for example, jitter).An undergraduate curriculum in digital communications has been developed that couplesthe traditional analytical approach and text with the simulation of the system asinterconnected models (tokens) for design and analysis.One illustration of this concept is that the requisite analytical expressions provide anearly automatic solution to the spectrum of a modulated signal, but are these spectrareally what occurs? Another illustration is that the relative bit error rate (BER)performance of the simple single point sampler and the more complex matched filter orcorrelation receiver in baseband rectangular pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) withadditive white Gaussian noise
. Inaddition, students must take a systems approach to designing the overall SDR transceiver, whichprovides them with exposure to this important aspect of project development. In this paper, we discuss the impetus for the course, the course’s goals and outcomes, thematerial covered, and the integration of the material with a hands-on laboratory component ofthe course. We finish with some recommendations for others seeking to develop and deliver ahands-on SDR course.2. Course Impetus An SDR is a communications system comprised of general-purpose reconfigurablecomponents that are programmed to define its operational characteristics [Mitola, 1995;Buracchini, 2000]. For instance, bandwidth and modulation (SSB, CW, AM, FM, FSK, PSK,QPSK, etc
achieved by the students taking the course. Thesimple rubric is as follows: 1 = competency increased somewhat 2 = competency increased significantly 3 = complete Outcome statement is fulfilledFor example, consider the Program Outcome related to the ability to communicateeffectively. Because the capstone design experience in the final year requires formal oralpresentations and an extensive written report, the design course sequence is assigned atarget of “3”. A laboratory course that has a focus on written reports might be assigned atarget of “2” or “3”, depending on the emphasis placed on writing or presentations. Atheory course with perhaps one project report or an otherwise reduced
Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). He has over 29 years experience as a safety professional, the past 12 years as the Senior Industrial Safety Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. Page 11.1301.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 The Importance of Electrical Safety Training in Undergraduate Power Engineering EducationAbstractAt Colorado School of Mines (CSM) there is a unique opportunity to educate the future electricalengineers about the vital topic of electrical
, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Bruce A. Black (S’63-M’65-SM’89) completed his B.S. at Columbia University, his S.M. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley, all in electrical engineering. Since 1983 he has been on the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he is also advisor to Tau Beta Pi and to the Amateur Radio club (W9NAA). His interests are in communications, wireless systems, and signal processing. He has developed a variety of courses and laboratories in the signal processing and communications areas, including a
presentations from the faculty members that teach the courses. Thefaculty created power point presentations that were included in a notebook that was given toevery participant. We also included in the notebook a course syllabus and copies of labsexperiments for each course.The workshop schedule for the 2005 workshop is shown below. The focus of the 2005workshop is lab exercises for computer security courses. The first morning starts withintroductions and a survey from the participants gathering information about their programs.The remainder of the day focuses on eight of our security courses and the laboratory exercises.Intermixed with the course presentations are discussions of the high school computer securitysummer camp and the cyber defense
2006-2058: INTEGRATING FEEDBACK TECHNOLOGY INTO THEELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING CLASSROOMCordelia Brown, Purdue University Cordelia M. Brown is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering Education. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, her M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, and her B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Tuskegee University. Her research interests include assessment of instructional methods, laboratory design, collaborative learning, and retention and recruitment issues in engineering education.Monica Cox, Purdue University Monica Farmer Cox is an Assistant Professor
at the University of Utah. Current research interests include communication in nonprofit organizations, social support, communication across the curriculum, speaking and writing in the disciplines, and interdisciplinary collaboration.Bryan Stenquist, University of Utah Bryan Stenquist received his BSEE degree from the university of Utah in 2005 and is currently a Research Engineer at the University of Utah in charge of implementing hands-on project-based laboratories across the ECE curriculum. Page 11.777.2© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006Integrated System-Level Design
tocontemporary problems and technology solutions than strictly didactic instruction orcontrived laboratory problem approaches. Not surprising, students’ motivation increasesin these settings and their confidence in problem definition, option development andsolution grows. As with active learning approaches, the instructor role changes in clinicand project courses from one of talking head to facilitator, guide and resource [2,6]. Thestructure of an engineering clinic based ECE program is one that requires students tooperate at higher orders of abstraction earlier in their education while still requiring aconcrete “hands-on, minds-on” engineering solution to the real world problem at hand.These transformative changes are discussed as desirable in most of
. Van B. Weigel1To address the pedagogical and laboratory needs of students, advanced simulation-based e-learning software, “Active Learning Suite” (ALSuite) has been developed. It uses real-lifeprocesses and objects, such as those related to fiber optics, wireless and wired communicationsas the context for science and technology investigations. This enables students to: (a) learn therelationship between the scientific theory and its practical applications in technology, and (b)explore the processes occurring in the system and constraints between its parts and parameters,and (c) observe system limitations and bottlenecks. ALSuite is based on a proven pedagogicalassumption that students learn effectively and master science and technical concepts
2006-1904: SYSTEM DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING ANDIMPLEMENTATION OF A MIXED SIGNAL BROADBAND CHIP-TO-CHIPDIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMCajetan Akujuobi, Prairie View A&M University Dr. Akujuobi is the founding Director of the Broadband Access Technologies Program and Laboratory at Prairie View A&M University. He is also the founding Director of the Center of Excellence for Communication Systems Technology Research (CECSTR). Key areas of his research interests are in High-Speed (Broadband) Communication Systems, mixed signal systems and communication systems. He is also the founding Director of the Mixed Signal Systems Research Program at Prairie View A&M University. He has been