Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Wilson, Western Kentucky University; Michael McIntyre, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, the objective of the capstone sequence in theElectrical Engineering Program is primarily focused on the design and execution of appliedresearch or industrial sponsored projects. Over time, the faculty have assessed that the studentsstruggle with elements of project execution such as planning and meeting intermediate deadlines.In order to improve the student learning, the faculty has revitalized the design sequence byincorporating project management techniques often found in the industrial setting.The new additions to the sequence include a score card rating system and the inclusion of projectmanagement techniques and strategies. Student teams present the current state of their workduring design reviews to faculty. A score card rating has been

Conference Session

Embedded System Design

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Firas Hassan, Ohio Northern University; Srinivasa Vemuru, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, embedded developers are designing their applications using a hybrid approach wherethe configurable components of the design are implemented in software, and the time criticalcomponents are implemented in hardware. Most of the universities, on the other hand, are stillteaching these two design approaches separately. A typical electrical and computer engineering(ECE) program includes a class on embedded software design using microcontrollers and a classon hardware design using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This paper explains ateaching plan to introduce this hybrid design approach at the undergraduate level. The plan wasapplied successfully in an elective class at the University of Akron. A similar approach is used ina required course for

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE III

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Kelnhofer, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

clarity of the tasks to be done.Introduction and PurposeUndergraduate engineering programs are discovering the benefits and costs of continuous [1-10]improvement. Since the 2006-07 accreditation cycle ABET has required programs toimplement a Continuous Improvement Process (CIP). The plan must demonstrate evidence of Page 15.1152.2actions which improve the program based on the assessment and evaluation of a program’sobjectives and outcomes. In the 2009-10 accreditation cycle the ABET Criteria for AccreditingEngineering Programs established Criterion 4 Continuous Improvement as a separate [11]criterion.Long before ABET

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Yang, Western Carolina University; Phillip Sanger, Western Carolina University; Patrick Gardner, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

includesstages of project definition, planning, execution, and completion, would require that existingcompeting products are examined and potential market discriminators for the new productclearly identified. For the research based project this stage would focus on more generalapplications of the technology and describing the limitations of existing technologies. At aPreliminary Design Review (PDR) gate, while a fabrication process would be identified for aproduct development process, methods and a plan for the research effort would be laid out. Theshape of the stages and gates for new product development do not fit well and must be adapted tofit the project management needs of research oriented projects.The paper reports on the challenge of adapting

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Richardson, Purdue University; Leslie Reed, Reed Environmental

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

innovation that, following pilot and field testing during the 2009/2010 schoolyear, will be incorporated into the class.An additional purpose of this project was to expand the content on innovation andentrepreneurship to the existing capstone course, ECET 39600, in an effort to add the course tothe approved course list for the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The improvedversion of ECET 39600 would serve as an approved course selection under the capstonerequirement for the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Students within the ECETdepartment routinely enroll in courses already listed under the “option” courses as part of theirnormal plan of study. Example option courses include COM 31400 Advanced PresentationSpeaking, CE

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Syed Masud Mahmud, Wayne State University; Cheng-Zhong Xu, Wayne State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

experience during the rest of theprogram. The main focus of this paper is to share our experience in various activities such asrecruiting, organizing, mentoring, monitoring and assessing students’ activities with othercurrent and future directors of REU programs so that they can successfully plan for and run theirprograms. In the paper, we present various assessment results of our program. The paper alsopresents the lessons that we have learned from this program. Finally, the paper presentsrecommendations regarding how to organize and run future REU programs by other programdirectors. We believe that our paper will help future REU program directors to plan ahead andavoid any last minute pitfalls in running the program.IntroductionParticipation in

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE III

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Greg Nordstrom, Lipscomb University; John Pettit, David Lipscomb University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

gathering, analysis, and evaluation will the program evaluation be successful.And it is precisely this part of the process—the individual course assessment and evaluationactivities—for which our syllabus-based assessment and evaluation tool was designed.The tool addresses many of the needs described above. It provides an easily navigatedframework to guide faculty though the process of planning and conducting individual courseassessments, it feeds critical, timely information to program evaluation and improvementprocesses, and it produces an archival record of all course assessment activities. It is lightweightand flexible, requiring a minimum of effort to manage, and provides a high level of transparency,showing program evaluators what data was

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, State University of New York, Oswego; Rachid Manseur, SUNY-Oswego; Thomas Doyle, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

revolutionwill occur around a knowledge-based economy, whose intellectual capital will be the measure of itsability to compete in the global marketplace. Given the above issues, the curriculum in general and theengineering curriculum in particular must be examined from a new and dynamic perspective1. To meetincreasing demands for engineering professionals, several higher education institutions that traditionallyoffered degree programs in the liberal arts have started or are planning to offer engineering degreeprograms2.The university enrolls about 8200 students in over 100 programs of study in the Arts, humanities,sciences, and business. A Software Engineering degree has recently received state approval and aprogram in Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Deborah Mechtel, United States Naval Academy; Samara Firebaugh, United States Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

are presented optical exercises on topics such a polarization states areplanned. The course topics include antenna theory, an application of electrodynamicseasily supported by SONNET ™ software that allows students to create patch antennas.The first part of this paper is an overview of the initial course offering with samplelaboratory exercises. The second part of the paper describes the expanded laboratoryexercises planned for future course offerings. The discussion and conclusion presentstudent and instructor assessment of the efficacy of the laboratory exercises and theadded laboratory’s influence on formal course evaluations and exam results.Course OverviewThe electrodynamics course is a junior level second semester course. The

Conference Session

Embedded System Design

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bin Wang, Wright State University; Zhiqiang Wu, Wright State University; Yong Pei, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

defined radio offers one solution. With careful planning and design, devices are taughtusing software to figure out which frequency bands are quiet, negotiate with other devices intheir vicinity, and pick one or more bands over which to transmit and receive data. Cross-layernetworking design offers another solution, which integrates the lower layer knowledge of thewireless medium with higher protocol layers, to devise efficient methods of network resourcesharing and to make applications adaptive to radio channel and network conditions. Thesepotentials make cross-layer design an increasingly important area for future network engineers tograsp. Therefore, future engineers will need to be trained with fundamental principles as well asemerging

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wei Zhang, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

of early fostering of communication and collaboration skills that are seen by industry as paramount and essential for team based software development [27]. With PBL, students will work as a team, which mirrors the professional behavior of software developers. As a result, students’ teamwork and leadership skills will be developed or improved. 4. Life-long learning is a necessity for software developers due to the rapidly and continually changing nature of the IT industry. PBL can develop students’ self- learning capability, which can help them keep abreast of multicore computing and other new technology.4. Apply PBL to the Multicore Programming Course I plan to apply the guided problem-based

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gordon Skelton, Jackson State University; Wei Zheng, Jackson State University; HuiRu Shih, Jackson State University; Evelyn Leggette, Jackson State University; Tzusheng Pei, Jackson State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

support and artifical intelligence, risk assessment and planning, planetary exploration with multiple rovers, software engineering and communications interoperability. Dr. Skelton has published and presented numerous papers on topics related to his research.Wei Zheng, Jackson State UniversityHuiRu Shih, Jackson State UniversityEvelyn Leggette , Jackson State UniversityTzusheng Pei , Jackson State University Page 15.514.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS THROUGH SELF-REGULATED LEARNING ASSESSMENT FOR COMPUTER

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aman Yadav, Purdue University; Mary Lundeberg, Michigan State University; Dipendra Subedi, Michigan State University; Charles Bunting, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

ispresented, discussed, and applied to a real-life format.Bizjak (2008) described the incorporation of PBL in an electrical engineering graduate programin Slovenia. The students were divided into small groups to develop a plan for an electricalpower network for a small village or town. The authors found that students gained moresubstantial knowledge than with traditional methods, as evidenced by higher test scores. PBLalso received positive feedback from a survey questionnaire taken by students and faculty.Specifically, students reported that PBL allowed them to gain confidence in their problem-solving abilities, prepared them for their future careers, and improved their inter-personal andcollaborative skills by working in a group. In another

Conference Session

Web-based Learning in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Manuel Castro, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Gabriel Diaz, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Eugenio Lopez-Aldea, NIEDAX; Nuria Oliva, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Nevena Mileva, Plovdiv Universifty; Catalina Martinez-Mediano, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Mihail Milev, Plovdiv Universifty; Slavka Tzanova, Sofia University; Edmundo Tovar, UPM; Martin Llamas, Universidad de Vigo

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

’ advices. Evaluation plan/strategy and the measurementinstruments are aimed at measuring the effect of the project on knowledge, skills and attitudes ofstudents and trainees. We present the design and implementation of this project for severalcourses that will be used by different students of various matters in several European countries.IntroductionThere is an old adage in distance education research which states ‘It is not technologies withinherent pedagogical advantages which are successful in distance education, but technologieswhich are generally available to citizens’. This is nowadays closely related with mobiletelephony technologies. It is not an outrageous statement to say that every student in everyprogram in every institution possesses

Conference Session

Student Engagement in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Butler, U.S. Air Force Academy; Darren Wilson, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

major.Accordingly, all cadets at the academy are required to take one of two Electrical Engineeringcourses. One course is offered for those cadets pursuing an Engineering or Physics degree andthe other is for those cadets in non-engineering disciplines.Over the past several years, the senior leadership at the academy has developed a forward-looking strategic plan that was used to restructure the core curriculum to achieve a set ofdesirable outcomes for cadets who graduate and join the officer ranks of the US Air Force.These 19 outcomes are grouped under three main categories--responsibilities, skills, andknowledge--and serve a dual purpose of preparing cadets for officership as well as providing aguide for a premier college education.As a result of this

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Randal Abler, Georgia Tech; James Krogmeier, Purdue University; Aaron Ault, Purdue University; Julia Melkers, Georgia Institute of Technology; Tamara Clegg, Georgia Institute of Technology; Edward Coyle, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

The New Generation of R&D Evaluation Methods: A Cross-National Review of Performance Measurement, to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing in 2007. Her Page 15.459.1 publications may be found in journals such as Public Administration Review, Urban Studies Review, Policy Studies Journal, Public Budgeting and Finance, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Journal of Technology Transfer and Evaluation and Program Planning. Dr. Melkers also serves on the editorial boards of Research Evaluation, Evaluation and Program Planning, State and Local Government Review and

Conference Session

Student Engagement in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Freudenthal, University of Texas, El Paso; Rebeca Gonzalez, Chapin High School; Sarah Hug, University of Colorado; Alexandria Ogrey, University of Texas, El Paso; Mary Kay Roy, University of Texas, El Paso; Alan Siegel, NYU

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

ability to understand and apply foundational quantitative analysis skills and interest in pursuingSTEM studies. Our research plans include a longitudinal study of academic progress that examines thesuccess of students who pursue STEM studies after attending MPCT.Pedagogical Approach Our orientation is that programming techniques in early courses should be chosen to minimize cognitiveload while maximizing pedagogical value. The focusing of MPCT to introductory computation included asignificant reevaluation of the programming interfaces used to support coursework. The originalprogramming interface used the rich object oriented (OO) Java AWT toolbox exposed by the programmingframework of [1]. With this approach, even the design of extremely simple

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE III

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

ProjectIn EE Design III, students are assigned to teams. Each team is assigned a unique design projectand must solve and implement a design problem throughout the semester. These projects areoften industrially supported. Recently, some projects have been extended into the senior year.EE300 is taken in the spring semester before the year long senior design sequence and is animportant foundation to the senior project experience.The first course of the senior year experience is EE Design IV. During this course, studentsthoroughly plan their capstone project. At the beginning of the semester, students are placed onteams and are assigned projects. Each of these projects has a sponsor external to the EE faculty.Some of the projects are funded through

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Cotae, University of the District of Columbia; Esther Ososanya, University of the District of Columbia; Lily Kemathe, University of the District of Columbia; Suresh Regmi, University of the District of Columbia; Kamden Patrice Kouam, The University of the District of Columbia

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

develop a sensor placementmethodology for effective fault diagnosis [12],[13],[15],[18]. The proposed framework will bebuilt on the effective independence and sensor computational algorithms that start with allfeasible sensor locations and reach the desired number of locations by eliminating those havingthe least contributions to the fixture faults. The least squares method will be used to identifyfixture faults from measurement data [17]. The proposed project enables the effectiveidentification of multiple fixture faults even in the presence of moderate measurement noise. Thediagnosis of fixture failure in real automotive parts demonstrates the use of the proposedmethodology [14],[16],[20].Experimental plan: The implementation procedure for

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Albert Liddicoat, California Polytechnic State University; Jianbiao Pan, California Polytechnic State University; James Harris, California Polytechnic State University; Gary Perks, California Polytechnic State University; Linda Shepherd, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

inverting amplifier. Instead of constructing all four Op-ampscircuits on a prototype board, students in the modified lab plan design and assemble the DAC OpAmp circuit using a PCB and construct the other three Op-amp circuits on a prototype board.The learning objective of the DAC circuit portion of the experiment is for the students to haveboth a conceptual and mathematical understanding of the transfer function for a digital to analogconverter. Students are expected to be able to derive the transfer function in a pre-lab exerciseand they are also expected to explain the staircase output in a post-lab question. In a post-labquestion, students are expected to explain how to smooth the staircase-like DAC output

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Peterson, United States Air Force Academy; Anne Clark, USAF Academy, CO

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

programs. However, making changes to programs requiredcare to avoid misdirecting the formulas and links. Additionally, the students would haveto manually enter the machine code into the .vhd file which governed the HDL that“loaded” the RAM. A student took the initiative to write a macro to format the machinecode so that it would be pasted into the .vhd file, but this was still an unnecessary hasslefor students. The plan to make an assembler grew into a visual simulation to help displaywhat happened within the PRISM system. The final result of the main screen is shown inFigure 4. Page 15.980.4 Figure 4. PRISM SimulatorOnce a

Conference Session

Student Engagement in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maher Rizkalla, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; MIchael Knieser, ILSI; Mohamed El-Sharkawy, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 15.974.2engineering. For example, circuit analysis, digital and analog electronics, software, CAD/CAM, automation, and production planning are necessary for students to learn the latest microchip and PCB technologies. We believe that the growing electronic manufacturing industry will demand increasingly of this multidisciplinary area. Microchip ASIC and FPGA based components require innovative changes in computer and board design algorithms, testing, and inspection. The sophisticated automation systems of the future will require planners, designers, and operators who possess a higher degree of knowledge and technical skills. This makes it mandatory that institutions develop state-of-the-art programs to equip their graduates with the

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ramakrishnan Sundaram, Gannon University; Qing Zheng, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

learningexperiences. The K-12 students learn to work on teams, acquire the skills to communicatewith team members, lead teams, and work across teams. The students have theopportunity to explore the different career paths and options for higher education inengineering.The Engineering Day is planned to be a regular event for the different engineeringdisciplines at Gannon University to showcase their laboratory facilities and pre-eminentfaculty to students at all levels of the K-12 curriculum. In addition, discipline-specificinteraction between the K-12 STEM students and the engineering faculty are also plannedfor each academic year. Through these events, the partnership between the ABET-accredited engineering programs at Gannon University and the K-12 schools

Conference Session

Pedagogy and Assessment in ECE III

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jianbiao Pan, California Polytechnic State University; Albert Liddicoat, California Polytechnic State University; James Harris, California Polytechnic State University; Linda Shepherd, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

____________ Test matrix with Tested some of the boundary conditions system requirements Tested most of theDesign verification Minor testing and considered; test plan but testing plan was system requirements and testing not design verification included not well conceived and reported results discussed included

Conference Session

Innovations in Power Education in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian Belu, Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

performed, procedures,analysis, report writing requirements and references.II.1 The Virtual InterfacesAs the project outlined in this paper demonstrates, with suitable resources a virtual laboratorycan aid students in their preparation for carrying out the experimental work. The virtualinterface planned to be developed involves creating simulations of the machine experimentson a website. Students log in, configure parameters and then “perform” the experiment.Simulations return results consistent with the machines in the laboratory. It is envisaged thatin this way all students will be able to perform all parts of all experiments in their own time.Students will still attend “hands-on” laboratory sessions to conduct selected parts of theexperiments as

Conference Session

Embedded System Design

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sven Bilen, Pennsylvania State University; Okhtay Azarmanesh, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

maintain a database of public safety emitters in a region,including the emitter location, physical layer parameters such as modulation type and transmitfrequency, and an association to which emergency team is using this frequency and waveform.At least 20 different emergency response teams will be trying to coordinate their activities.4,5The tools the students are using for this Challenge are a combination of what they have used in Page 15.556.5their first two Challenge solutions. They are using MATLAB for the initial design simulationsand later, during the design phase, they plan to implement it in hardware using USRP boards,transferring their codes

Conference Session

Innovations in Power Education in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Lau, Universidad del Turabo; Sastry Kuruganty, Universidad del Turabo

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

the differential equations that describe thebehavior of synchronous machines.Transient stability is very rich in technical and mathematical content. As such it is a challengingtopic for students to grasp and for instructors to present. This paper uses spreadsheets toimplement the step-by-step procedure that is typical in a transient stability study. Unlikecommercially available power system software, spreadsheets expose the solution steps withclarity without obscuring the inner workings of the numerical methods employed.1. IntroductionStability is a major concern in the planning and operation of power systems. Networkdisturbances such as a short circuit in a transmission line, sudden loss of generation, or the lossof a large load may cause

Conference Session

Web-based Learning in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathleen Meehan, Virginia Tech; Joshua Quesenberry, Virginia Tech; Justeen Olinger, Virginia Western Community College; Kevin Diomedi II, Virginia Western Community College; Robert Hendricks, Virginia Tech; Richard Clark, Virginia Western Community College; Peter Doolittle, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Adobe Connect Pro was the best software solution for use in ourdistance learning circuits laboratory course. Unfortunately, the Virginia Techadministration has not made a commitment as of yet to purchase the softwarelicense. Although monthly and pay-for-use plans are available for individual users,it was not clear if there exists a means within the Electrical and ComputerEngineering Department to fund the necessary licenses long-term and, therefore,there was a substantial risk that the investment of the faculty’s and staff’s time andeffort to incorporate Adobe Connect Pro into the distance learning circuitslaboratory course would only be of value for a few semesters. a) b) Figure 3: Examples

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Engelken

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

lives tooptimally handle and limit necessary responsibilities. That is, although capable of doing goodwork in short bursts, it‟s difficult to get them to focus, persevere, innovate, and endure over thelong run, further reducing both quantity and quality of the research. Many just do not considerthe research position a “real” job since it is only part-time within the university, is indirectlyrelated to their formal course education, and is not micromanaged. This allows some torationalize and excuse their tardiness, absenteeism, minimal planning, procrastination (verycommon), and less-than-maximum effort.Related to this is an overall decrease in true intellectualism and scholarly mindset. Very fewmodern students, including research assistants

Conference Session

Laboratory Development in ECE

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

R.F. William Hollender, Montana State University; James Becker, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2010-1521: DEVELOPMENT OF A DOPPLER RADAR EXPERIMENT BOARDFOR USE IN MICROWAVE CIRCUITS AND ELECTRONICS COURSESR.F. William Hollender, Montana State UniversityJames Becker, Montana State University Page 15.399.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Development of A Doppler Radar Experiment Board For Use in Microwave Circuits and Electronics CoursesAbstractThe development of a Doppler radar experiment board and associated course content,observations from their first implementation in the fall 2009 offering of the microwave circuitscourse at Montana State University and plans for their revision and use in an upper divisionanalog electronics