Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Haridas Kumarakuru, Wentworth Institute of Technology; James G. O'Brien, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

Paper ID #22899A Preliminary Classroom Survey Explains the Students’ Reflections on Engi-neering Physics I (Mechanics) in Their Freshman YearDr. Haridas Kumarakuru, Wentworth Institute of Technology Department of Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA 02115 Email: kumarakuruh@wit.eduDr. James G. O’Brien, Wentworth Institute of Technology James G. O’Brien is currently Chair of the department of Sciences and Associate professor of Physics at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. James is currently pursuing educational pedagogies in engineering education through game

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Yukio Yoritomo, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Nicole Turnipseed, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Maxx Joseph Villotti, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Aric Tate, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Kelly Searsmith, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Matthias Grosse Perdekamp, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Paul Prior, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Julie L. Zilles, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

run of a faculty development program called WritingAcross Engineering (WAE). The program draws heavily on the Writing Across the Curriculum(WAC) and Writing in the Disciplines (WID) literature [2], [4]–[9], but differs in three key ways.First, WAE is grounded in a sustained interdisciplinary collaboration designed and led by a teamthat spans Physics, Engineering, and Writing Studies. Second, rather than the typical one-offintensive workshop model, WAE organized weekly meetings of a small cohort over a semester,similar to a faculty learning community. Meetings introduced technical faculty to best practicesfrom Writing Studies and promoted reflection and discussion about how those practices could beadapted most effectively for each faculty

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arun Kumar Saha, Albany State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

withelectromagnetic plane wave, (4) measurethe reflectance and transmittance toextract ε and μ, (5) observe the frequencydependence of ε and μ, (6) observe the εand μ dependence on constituent particlesize and shape. This approach is acombination of cookbook and studentcentric exploration.Simulation Design3-D electromagnetic simulation softwareHFSS (High Frequency StructureSimulation) is used for simulation work.The artificial material whose parametersare to be determined is shown in Fig. 2.The material is composed of metallicspheres arranged in a host material in aregular fashion. The host material isconsidered as air. As the constituentparticles are arranged in periodic fashion,it is suffice to analyze only one unit cellwhich contains one air-box

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Benjamin Crilly, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

knowledge, students will better understand radio propagation and explain why everydayAM broadcast, and FM radio signals coverage is local only, but each exhibit different properties.Furthermore, students will better appreciate the necessity of frequency diversity to achieve morereliable wireless communication.IntroductionRadio waves, like other light waves, unless deflected, normally travel in a straight line. The meansof deflection include diffraction, refraction, reflection and scattering. These enable radio waves totravel beyond the curve of the earth and under certain conditions, achieve intercontinental wirelesscommunication. When radio was first developed, intercontinental wireless communication wasdone at the medium, low and very low

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Fritz, Stanford University ; Carl E. Wieman, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

to gather it, and substantial reflection on bothexpected and unexpected results. These problem-solving decisions are similar to the overarchingthemes identified by Polya: understanding the problem, devising a plan, carrying out the plan andlooking back [8]. The results also agree with work on design problem solving by Jonassen,which emphasizes the importance of determining design requirements and creating constraints[9]. A detailed analysis of the interviews with unified terminology across the fields for the expertproblem-solving decisions is currently being developed and will be published elsewhere.The rest of this work described here focuses on the specific optics black box assessment, whichwas created based on common problem-solving

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Paul Benjamin Crilly, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

frequencies greater than 1 MHz, the ground losses are suchthat the signal will be severely attenuated. The amount of loss depends on the earth’sconductivity along that path. The surface wave is illustrated in Figure 1. (c) Troposphericbending, where dense air masses in the earth’s troposphere will cause refraction of radio waves.Occurance of tropospheric bending is a transient phenomenona, but sometimes enablescommunication distances of hundreds of mile at frequencies above 50 MHz [2]. (d) Reflectionand diffraction - the earth’s terrain or man-made objects can sometimes enable waves to travelbeyond the normal line of sight distances via diffraction or reflection[1,2].Ionosphere layers – Gas ionization is a process whereby a gas atom or molecule

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danielle Roslyn Montecalvo, American University; Teresa L. Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

because these individuals will one day be the policymakers and technological innovators of the future.It is reasonable to assume that a bachelor’s degree reflects the coursework and skills acquiredduring a student’s undergraduate education. As a result, scientific knowledge and understandingcan perhaps be directly correlated to the number of undergraduate STEM courses that a studentcompletes. According to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science and EngineeringIndicators 2016 [3], the number of science courses taken in college effects a student’s scientificliteracy. Included in the 2016 report, results from 2014 indicate that students who had taken threeor more science and/or mathematics courses in college answered 81.4% of the scientific

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jessica R. Hoehn, University of Colorado, Boulder; Noah D. Finkelstein, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

a small effect of the intervention but note that the quantitativemeasures were high to begin with and thus they need to find alternative approaches to evaluatingthe impact of these activities. In this paper, we present examples of how we have attended tothese topics in our Modern Physics for Engineers class, and provide both qualitative andquantitative data as evidence of impact on individuals and the class as a whole.Daane, Decker, and Sawtelle [2] implemented a four-day equity unit in an introductory physicsclass to help students reflect on racial (in)equity in physics. Their course materials were designedspecifically for use in predominantly white settings. We draw on these materials in order toincorporate discussions about

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Itzel H. Armenta, Tecnologico de Monterrey; Jorge Eugenio de la Garza Becerra, Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM); Angeles Dominguez, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico and Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

mathematics and physics and theresulting consequences is the primary objective of this study. This work was motivated by anauthentic concern to facilitate the learning and comprehension of these subjects by students.Accordingly, the authors issue a call for action for a transformation in the teaching and learningof physics and mathematics through reflection on better use of terminology in these fields, sothat the terms are negotiated between the disciplines, which results in precise descriptions ofwhat is being taught, free of inconsistencies, confusion, and conflict.Keywords: Physics and math integration, educational innovation, words and meaning, conflictsin physics and math terminologies, interdisciplinary negotiation, language of math and

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Genaro Zavala, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico and Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile; Carlos Eduardo Martinez-Torteya, Tecnologico de Monterrey

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

understand how to model the equation but also have to solve the equation. Cui,Rebello, and Bennett [31] mentioned that students need prompting and scaffolding to connect thecalculus knowledge with physics problems, so we did it with some success, reflected in thequantitative results shown in Figure 2.Figure 2 shows that there is a large percentage of students with a high score in the qualitativeindicator (44% of students had a score greater than 80%). From those, the spread in scores forthe quantitative part is large. On the other hand, all students who have a high score in thequantitative part (i.e., greater than 80%) also have a high score in the conceptual part. It seemsthat it is required to have a strong conceptual understanding, but this is

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Calvin S. Kalman, Concordia University; Franco La Braca, Concordia University; Mandana Sobhanzadeh, Mount Royal University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

discussing alternative ideas. The major goals of using labatorials in introductory physics labs are to improve theoverall student experience in the lab and to help students: (1) gain a better understanding ofphysics concepts; (2) investigate applications of physics principles in real life; (3) evaluate theirpreconceptions and compare them with their observation; and (4) interact with their peers and thelab instructor in a collaborative learning environment. The impact of labatorials in conjunction with reflective writing [11], an activity thatallows students to metacognitively examine textual material, on students’ epistemological beliefswas also explored by Author [12], and it was found that such a combination of interventions

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Geraldine L. Cochran, Rutgers University; Bryce Troncone, Rutgers University; Bianca R. Evangelista, Rutgers University; Pablo J. Cueva Vera, Rutgers University; Gafar O. Tajudeen, Rutgers University; Nazeer Mosley, Rutgers University; Russell Thomas Soto, Rutgers University; Nathaniel Debebe Asefa, Rutgers University; Nkenna Opara, Rutgers University; Corey Ptak, Rutgers University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

intervieweessaid “Be patient.” Understanding that students personal lives and home situation impact theirability to perform academically is probably the first step. Then, implementing policies andpractices in the course that reflects this understanding would be an obvious next step. This maymean providing more flexibility when it comes to deadlines, allowing and responding to studentcommunication regarding a need for accommodations – temporary or permanent (through thefull term of the course), and rethinking assessment practices.Racial Injustice. We found that racial injustice impacted the experiences of Learning Assistantsand the students they supported. The crisis of continued racialized violence against Black peoplehas an impact on students. Following

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa L. Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

the time it took for the eggsto stop, thus decreasing the possibly damaging impact force. These topics were eventually moreformally assessed on a subsequent hour exam.In addition to responding to the activity showcased in Figure 2, the students were also asked torate their confidence levels in terms of the responses they had written to the question posed.Students were asked to rate their confidence levels on a scale from 1 – 5. A confidence levelrating of 1 reflected that the students had very little confidence in their response. A 5 ratingindicated that they were very confident in their response. Providing a confidence level ratingwas the second new twist to the free-writing activities.The next section will begin with an analysis showcasing

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University; Haridas Kumarakuru, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

appendix 4, andmainly reflects their expectation. Based on the responses to questions 10 to 12 in figure 4, one ofthe key concerns such as diverse views and inclusiveness during the virtual teaching environmentwere addressed and handled well by our teaching approach. In figure 4, over ninety percent of thesurvey participants satisfied by the way we handle the situations. Since this is pioneering work ofthis type of teaching, no prior data is available to compare the improvement in students'interactions and experiential learning; this aspect needs to be assessed in the future. The approachcertainly helped them to understand the importance of interactive and experiential learning. Thisstudy is only a sample; additional studies are needed to reach

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Yumin Zhang, Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

add more hidden layers, which is also reflected in biological evolution. For example, thecortex of turtles has three layers of neurons, but the human brain has six layers in the neocortex.The architecture with many hidden layers is called a deep neural network, and its operation iscorrespondingly called deep learning [5-6].One of the major applications of ML is on image recognition, where the data is in the two-dimensional (2D) format. If a traditional neural network is used, the 2D matrix needs to beflattened into a one-dimensional (1D) vector. In the 2D format, there are strong correlationsamong the neighboring pixels, but this important information becomes intricate in the 1D format.Therefore, a new approach was developed, which is called

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Todd Zimmerman, University of Wisconsin

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

activity. With a traditional homework problem studentswould go on to manipulate equations to get the correct result, then evaluate the validity of theiranswer. With computational modeling, the only difference is during the manipulation ofequations the student should let the computer do most of the work. Students write out the firstpart of the problem before they start modifying code. Students are encouraged to transition from amathematical description to a code model by rewriting the equations in terms of variable namesas pseudo-code before typing anything into the computer. The questions that make up the activitythen ask students to reflect on their results, which takes the place of the evaluation step whenworking homework problems.Great pains

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jessica Patricia Conry, Arkansas Tech University; Amber Harrington, Arkansas Tech University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

, rather than reflect more sounds outwards.Of the thirty-two students assigned the speaker project, only one did not “meet expectations” onthe three performance indicators assessed.Feedback from studentsOn the day students tested their speakers they were asked to complete an anonymous survey. Thesurvey was administered to assess the level of connection students made between the coursematerial and the speaker project. Additionally, it served to determine student ownership of andinterest in the project. On the survey, students self-reported to have spent between 1 and 27 hoursworking on the project and the majority of the students spent about 5 hours total working on theproject.On the survey, students were asked to rank their level of effort on

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathaniel Raymond Nunez, University of Detroit Mercy; E. Prasad Venugopal, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

second experiment inwhich the bratwurst was left to cool in air as would be expected for a human corpse in a real-world situation.A similar experimental procedure was followed, except that the temperature of the air wasmeasured to remain constant at approximately 24 °C. Figure 3 shows the results of a log-linearplot of the temperature difference between the bratwurst and ambient air as a function of time,which is tracked very well by a linear-regression fit. The slope value equals to 0.031 min-1,corresponding to a value of k = 0.07 min-1, which is about a third of the rate in the waterexperiment, reflecting both, the smaller temperature differential as well as the differingconductivities of the water versus air pockets adjacent to the

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angeles Dominguez, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico and Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile; Genaro Zavala, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico and Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

changes in teaching and learning have transformed the foundationof education. Over time, the role of the teacher has evolved, from the transmitter of knowledge(traditional education) to facilitator [1]–[3]. Dewey [4] argued that people learn by doing,students should be exposed to experiential activities that promote reflection. Students are nowplaced in the center playing the main role as they are the ones who actively construct their ownknowledge through the tools that the teacher provides and social interactions [5].Active learning has been defined in different ways, Bonwell & Eison [6] provided a practicaldefinition as "any activity that involves students doing things and thinking about what they aredoing." It has been documented that

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kosta Popovic, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Janie Szabo, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

-enhanced courses understanding topics covered understanding the topics to traditional courses”; and learning the course covered and preparing me for N=94, 35% agree/strongly material”; N=94, 77% the lab”; N=94, 71% agree, but 23.5% agree/strongly agree (test cohort agree/strongly agree (test disagree/strongly disagree during one academic year). cohort during one academic (test cohort during one year). academic year). The result from figure 6 (answers to “I prefer web-enhanced courses to traditionalcourses”) reflects experience seen elsewhere [11], in that students prefer traditional instructionformats

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Alexander Kaiser, Utah Valley University; Reza Kamali, Utah Valley University; Paul Weber, Utah Valley University; Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics and Physics

connectionbetween parts one and two.The quantum dot data collection went very smoothly, and all three students were able tobuild a spreadsheet with their data and results without issues. It is possible that afreshman or sophomore may experience more difficulties when reading the theory andcollecting data due to less experience in a laboratory setting.6 AcknowledgementsThis project is supported by the National Science Foundation through the ATE program,Award No. ATE 1700695. Any opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed in thispaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.References [1] Klaus D. Sattler, Ed., Handbook of Nanophysics: Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots - Google Books. Boca