Conference Session

Engineering Economics New Frontiers

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hector E. Medina, Liberty University; Kyle Michael Ceffaratti, Liberty University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

on a 2-dimensional, 3-axis diagram: two parallel and oneperpendicular coordinates. The best alternative is selected by the maximum vertical orperpendicular distance from the points to the incline BCR=1. Results and analysis ofexperiments carried out to compare students’ preference and performance using the traditionalverbal approach versus our novel visual algorithm are presented. The proposed algorithm hasbeen preferred by a cohort of engineering economic analysis freshmen students. Furtherexperiments are currently being carried out to assess retention and ratify present results.IntroductionThe impetus of this study is at least two fold: (1) visual pedagogical materials are more effectiveamong engineering students, and (2) the benefit-to

Conference Session

Curricula Innovations in Engineering Economics

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul J. Kauffmann P.E., East Carolina University; Joseph Wilck, East Carolina University; Paul C. Lynch, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

able to determine what type of students we had relative to intelligence belief6,we focused on the results of Kunh and Rundle-Thiel11 to assure our various course sectionsconformed as much as possible to the concept of constructive alignment. Consequently, thecourse material was organized based on identification of a set of common learning objectives Page 26.378.3contained in Table 1 and a common set of test questions, coupled with a shared student survey.A common rubric and project assignment was used to evaluate the first objective. Objectives 2-8had an exam question which was assessed using a common 1-4 point rubric / scoring system

Conference Session

Curricula Innovations in Engineering Economics

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Letitia M. Pohl, University of Arkansas; Shelly Walters, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

viewing information. Our evaluation of student response to thevideos is therefore based on student feedback from all four course offerings and video viewingdata from one course offering.Related WorkThe transfer of knowledge in an educational setting has been the subject of research since thenineteenth century. However, according to Richard Mayer, a leading researcher in the area ofeducational psychology, and in particular multimedia learning, we know more about verballearning (words) than we do about visual learning (pictures). We also know more about whatmakes a good live lecture than what makes a good video lecture.1 Mayer defines the multimediaprinciple as the idea that “people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from wordsalone.”2

Conference Session

Using a Real-Options Analysis Tutorial in Teaching Undergraduate Students

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John A. White Jr., University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

course wasCapital Investment Analysis for Engineering and Management, 3rd edition, by Canada, Sullivan,White, and Kulonda.After teaching AdvEngEcon in 2014, I decided to provide an enhanced treatment of real options in2015. Toward that end, I developed a tutorial, targeting undergraduate students enrolled inAdvEngEcon. The tutorial has been revised numerous times in an attempt to increase its value tostudents taking the course. A copy of the tutorial for the 2016 spring semester is provided in theAppendix.My purposes in preparing this paper are twofold: 1) encourage engineering economy educators toincorporate real-options analysis in their engineering economy courses and 2) share lessons learnedin teaching the subject of real-options analysis to

Conference Session

Engineering Economics Teaching Tools

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jerome P. Lavelle, North Carolina State University; Matthew T. Stimpson, North Carolina State University; E. Downey Brill, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Page 26.701.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 Evolution of a Flipped Engineering Economy Course AbstractThis paper describes the evolution of a flipped engineering economy course over the last fivesemesters. Included is a description of changes made to the structure and pedagogy used in thecourse. Data and observations on student learning and perceptions are included.IntroductionThe flipped classroom, also referred to as the inverted/backward classroom and blendedlearning, is growing in use in K-12 and higher education settings, entering the “mainstream” ofpedagogical approaches.1 As a classroom model construct, it “flips” traditional in

Conference Session

Engineering Economics New Frontiers

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Simon Thomas Ghanat P.E., The Citadel; Kenneth Brannan, The Citadel; Ronald W. Welch, The Citadel; Kevin C Bower P.E., The Citadel

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

1999, respectively. He became the Dean of Engineering at The Citadel on 1 July 2011. Prior to his current position, he was the Department Head of Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Tyler from Jan 2007 to June 2011 as well as served in the Corps of Engineers for over 24 years including eleven years on the faculty at the United States Military Academy.Dr. Kevin C Bower P.E., The Citadel Dr. Kevin Bower is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Bower’s teaching research interests are in improving active learning environments and the development of classroom pedagogy to improve moral development in engineering

Conference Session

Curricula Innovations in Engineering Economics

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gloria Margarita Fragoso-Diaz, Tarleton State University; Billy Gray, Tarleton State University; Erick Jones, University of Texas, Arlington

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

because“students can get involved and can learn by doing.”Methodology and ResultsDecision analysis theory is covered during an engineering economic analysis course. The courseis offered to students in their second academic year and for this study, 20 students were involved.The typical course content for a one semester is listed in Table 1. Page 26.665.3 Table 1 List of Topic Covered in the Engineering Economy Course Topic Intro to Making Economic Decisions Engineering Costs and Cost Estimation Interest and

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Corey Kiassat, PhD, MBA, PE P.E., Quinnipiac University; Xiaoyue Jiang, Quinnipiac University

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

-grid and renewable integration, platform system design and optimization, performance guarantees for service and supply-chain systems, and reliability and maintenance optimization. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Systematic Team Formation Leading to Peer Support and Leadership Skills Development1. IntroductionWithin a typical university environment, there are many courses that are taught in multiple sectionsand are multi-disciplinary. Within such settings, this paper aims to examine the role of teamformation on the following: 1) the learning of students, as measured by end-of-term grades,especially the weaker students; and 2) the quality of team leaders

Conference Session

Engineering Economics New Frontiers

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul C. Lynch, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Cynthia Bober, Penn State University; Joseph Wilck, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

industrialengineering students to study and propose changes to their current regional distribution centerrecycling program.The engineering economy course at Penn State University Park is 15 weeks in length. Thecourse is 3 credits and it meets for 150 lecture minutes per week. During fall 2014, the class mettwice per week for 75 minutes each class period. The detailed engineering economy course Page 26.191.5outline can be found in Appendix A.1. 116 students were enrolled in the course during the fall2014 semester. 29 groups of 4 students each competed in the case study competition. Acompany kickoff event was held in class during week 8 of the course. An 8-page

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ted Eschenbach P.E., TGE Consulting; Neal A Lewis, University of Bridgeport

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

examples in each category, as shown in Table 1. Percentagesfor each category are also shown. The TVM categories include examples where how the TVMwas calculated could be determined and that would demonstrate that approach to students. Asdetailed in Table 1, spreadsheets and formulas can be applied to other types of examples wherecalculating the TVM is not the focus. Note that the percentages for each text sum to more than100%, because many examples are solved more than one way. Table 1. Tabulated Factors, Spreadsheets, Formulas, and Words for All Examples Book TVM not TVM Book # Exp. Factors SSht Formulas SSht Formulas Words # Exp. B&T 7th

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hector E. Medina, Liberty University; Benjamin T. Scoville, Liberty University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

, and marine aquaculture. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016Implementation and Evaluation of Visual Algorithm to Teach Benefit-to-Cost Ratio AnalysisIn the recent past, we developed a novel, visual, simple algorithm to teach incremental benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) analysis to first- and second-year engineering students. The impetus behindthat endeavor was twofold: (a) BCR analysis is the most used technique for economic analysisand decision making in the public sector, and (b) to accommodate to the visual learning stylethat dominates in the engineering student demographics. In the present follow-up work, we: (1)carried out statistical analysis to assess the reception and

Conference Session

Engineering Economics New Frontiers

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zia A. Yamayee, University of Portland; Mojtaba B. Takallou P.E., University of Portland; Robert J. Albright P.E., University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

technologies with power systems, probabilistic production simulations, and integrated resource planning. In recent years, he has authored a number of ar- ticles and has given numerous presentations on outcomes-based engineering curriculum development and the implementation of the ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs. He has authored and/or co-authored over 45 articles, a textbook which has been translated into Chinese, 22 technical reports, 12 summary papers, and 15 discussions and reviews. His professional experience includes: (1) over 32 years of university administration, teaching, consulting and research, and (2) five years of full-time work in industry.Dr. Mojtaba B. Takallou P.E., University of Portland

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jingjing Tong, Southeast Missouri State University; Heather Nachtmann, University of Arkansas

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

utilize engineering economy, decision, and data analysistools on a real world engineering problem related to the maritime transportation system.Case Study IntroductionThe Mississippi River, including its main channels and tributaries, is a vital component ofcommodity transport in the United States. It flows 2,350 miles from Minnesota through thecenter of the United States to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico[1]. It is estimatedthat approximately 600 million tons of commodities transported via the Mississippi River eachyear, including 125 million tons from the Upper Mississippi River (Minneapolis, Minnesota toCairo, Illinois) and 470 million tons from the Lower Mississippi River (Cairo, Illinois to the Gulfof Mexico)[2]. Multiple

Conference Session

Engineering Economics Teaching Tools

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ted Eschenbach P.E., University of Alaska Anchorage; Neal A Lewis, University of Bridgeport

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

engineers take—should cover this. Fortunately, a short discussion of a powerful real-world model for investingalso helps support understanding of (1) the relationship between risk and return, and (2) the valueof diversification. Increasing a course’s relevancy to the student’s life has been shown toincrease both motivation and understanding.Keywords: risk, return, diversification, investingIntroductionEngineering economy and finance courses and texts overlap but they focus on different topics.Risk coverage in finance focuses on the value of diversification in reducing risk, the CapitalAsset Pricing Model, and the relationship between risk and return. In contrast, risk coverage inengineering economy typically focuses on calculating the standard

Conference Session

Engineering Economics New Frontiers

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Oscar M. Bonilla, Baruch College of the City University of New York; Donald N. Merino P.E., Stevens Institute of Technology (SES)

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

components directly addresses the key factors for commercializationidentified per domain.Finally, there is a discussion on the importance of including the DFC model as part of an Page 26.462.3engineering program as well as the importance of improving this model.Key factors for success or failure in technology commercializationTechnology commercialization is inherently an innovation-based discipline (Balachandra, 2010)1.By understanding the factors that influence the success or failure in commercializing newtechnology, a holistic model for the commercialization of renewable energy technologies (RETs)can be developed. Such model may provide a

Conference Session

Engineering Economics Teaching Tools

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kailash M. Bafna, Western Michigan University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

students who are nowin college—better known as the millennial students. These students have some uniquecharacteristics which make it difficult for them to derive maximum benefits from the traditionalclassroom lectures of 50 to 75 minutes duration. Research suggests Millennials prefer a varietyof active learning methods. When they are not interested in something, their attention quicklyshifts elsewhere. Interestingly, many of the components of their ideal learning environment—less lecture, use of multimedia, collaborating with peers—are some of the same techniquesresearch has shown to be effective.1 This indicates that the typical “chapter” format of lecturesshould be modified into smaller “learning units”, each unit being a small topic related to

Conference Session

Curricula Innovations in Engineering Economics

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Weihang Zhu, Lamar University; Alberto Marquez P.E., Lamar University; Julia Yoo

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

the E-book and use the calculatorand interest tables to help themselves. This app has been developed for both Apple iOS andGoogle Android platforms, and they have been released in the Google Play and Apple App Store.The cross-platform app development allows easy deployment to multiple mobile platforms. Thisapp is intended to give students more opportunity to learn and practice concepts of EngineeringEconomics whenever and where they want using their mobile devices.* Acknowledgment: This project is partially supported by a grant from the National ScienceFoundation DUE-1140457 to Lamar University. Page 26.541.2 1. Introduction Engineering

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

) HVAC control Upgrade: This project involves the recommendation to change the controls throughout the 20+ story building from 50-year old pneumatic thermostats to wireless controls. Previously, consultants recommended changing the controls but this was many years ago before wireless controls were popular. Also, the previous data was collected when utility prices were significantly different than today, so it makes sense that this project is worth evaluating. Below are photos from the tour given by the building staff. Figure 1: First picture from tour of mechanical Figure 2: Second picture from tour of mechanical room current controls room – condensate pumps• Geothermal Well Expansion

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Deborah Ann Pedraza, Texas Tech University; Mario G. Beruvides P.E., Texas Tech University

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Latin III grades predicted the college English grades. This same study, further,stated that performance in a college English course may be predicted by using a high schoolEnglish course, any high school secondary language score, general high school grade pointaverage, or the Cooperative English Examination. They also noted that, regarding gender andprediction, vocabulary scores are extremely important in predicting the success of boys inCollege English. However, general information scores are more important for girls in theprediction of success in College English.[46] In Table 1, entitled “Zero-Order Correlation Coefficients Between College English andVarious Measures,” shows that the coefficients of prediction used in the study

Conference Session

Engineering Economics Teaching Tools

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shervin Zoghi, California State University, Fresno

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

able to understand. A survey by Lavelle, et al.1 displayed that fewerthan half of participants used effective educational practices (i.e. collaborative grouping) whenteaching engineering economics. By promoting a more engaging and holistic learning approach,students can have the opportunity to become better problem solvers.Accordingly, ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) has published strictcourse outcome requirements for accredited programs. It is the intent of this paper to highlightvarious methods of teaching engineering economics to students in ways that maximize learning,as well as emphasize its importance for the modern engineer. Through the vigilantimplementation of various teaching styles, experiential learning

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul C. Lynch, Penn State University Erie, The Behrend College; James F. Kimpel, University of Pittsburgh; Karen M. Bursic, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

needs are met is through the “Race to the Case”competition.The Swanson School of Engineering at Pitt also recognizes the critical need to provide studentswith experienced-based learning opportunities. The instructor for the engineering economycourse (housed in the department of industrial engineering (IE)) has incorporated numerousactive learning pedagogies, including case studies and model-eliciting activities, within thecourse over many years. The instructor saw the “Race to the Case” competition as an additionalopportunity to provide IE students with an opportunity to apply engineering economy and otherindustrial engineering skills to a real world problem.The Race to the Case, represented by Figure 1, is an annual case competition, sponsored

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paulina Z. Sidwell, McLennan Community College

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee, Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

—some which required the Engineering Economics course forprogram completion. The Texas Board of Higher Education added Engineering Economics to theLower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) during the fall semester of 2011 and,although the course is generally included within the schedule of an undergraduate’s junior year(within a four-year program), our college offers the course during the students’ sophomore year.The course’s learning outcomes were also provided in the ACGM, which are the following: 1. Apply different methods to calculate the time value of money. 2. Construct cash flow diagrams for a given problem. 3. Estimate total revenue, total cost, and break even points. 4. Calculate the uniform series payment