Conference Session

Learning Needs and Educational Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Linda Vanasupa, California Polytechnic State University; Victor Granados, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

AC 2008-2943: A NEED FOR SYSTEMS-ORIENTED OUTREACH: LESSONSFROM A FAILED, 1-DIMENSIONAL APPROACHLinda Vanasupa, California Polytechnic State UniversityVictor Granados, California Polytechnic State University Page 13.69.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 A Need for Systems-Oriented Outreach: Lessons from a failed, 1-dimensional approachAbstractTo increase the probability of college-level academic resilience of Hispanic high-school students,we initiated an in-school tutoring and mentoring program. We provided 15 classroom laptopsand free access to a multi-lingual web-based math tutoring site to two test cohorts of high

Conference Session

Foster Excellence

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ardie Walser, City College of the City University of New York

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

Chemistry I 3 Soc 1232 Introduction to Sociology 3LectureCHE 4102 General Chemistry I Lab 1 MAT 1698 Modern Programming 3Psychology 1032 General Psych 3 Liberal Arts Elective† 1 ENGR 10100 Engineering Design I WaivedTotal 14 Total 14Second Year – Fall Credits Spring CreditsMAT 1646 Calculus III 4 MAT 1742 Ordinary Differential 3

Conference Session

Foster Excellence

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Gonzalez-Barreto, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Antonio Gonzalez-Quevedo, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Sonia Bartolomei-Suarez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

a systemcan be develop to relate SAP with the high school of origin of our students. This system willhelp us identify the high schools that do a good job in preparing their students for our universityand those that require improving the teaching methods. This system will permit theidentification of the high schools on a regional and island wide basis.It should be noted that other input variables and their predictive capabilities for universitysuccess have been examined by several authors These include studies of students’ high schoolrank and a measure of the quality of his/her high school (1), pre-college preparation, recruitmentprograms, admissions policies, financial assistance, academic intervention programs (2), amongothers.Preliminary

Conference Session

Creative Engagement and Developmental Tutoring Method

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Virgilio Gonzalez, University of Texas-El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

step identifies dependencies among the tasks creating the critical path where thetwo major constraints are time and resources required. For more than half a century, engineershave used the Critical Path Method (CPM) to identify the vital chain of events to finish a project.The critical path is the main sequence in a series of tasks where delays in any of them willholdup the entire project. For example the critical sequence is identified for a set of severalcourses in Figure 1, with the required times for completion and the PERT times. Critical Path

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rafic Bachnak, Texas A&M International University; jack esparza, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

presentation, “Space Exploration-AnAstronaut’s Perspective,” was held on November 16, 2006 and was attended by morethan 100 people. The guest speaker also visited the Early Child Development Center(ECDC) on November 17 where he talked to students and answered their questions. Fig.1 shows two pictures taken at these events. Fig. 1 (a) The audience at the presentation (b) The speaker addressing ECDC studentsThe second presentation, “NASA Careers and the Future of the Space Program,” washeld on April 16, 2007. More than 100 people attended this presentation. The speakeralso participated in evaluating a presentation on April 17th by students preparing tocompete in the “Students Today, NASA Tomorrow

Conference Session

Impact Student Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Frempong, State University of New York

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

hours to complete the cycle around the earth. The interesting part of it is that, the earth also rotates about the same period. As such, if one is able to see the satellite at 23,000miles from any location on earth, it will appear to be a standstill object. Types of Satellites: There are three basic types of satellites:1 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) Satellite2 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Satellite3 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite The GEO satellite is the furthest from Earth, located at 35,786 km or 22,300 miles in orbit. A GEO satellite is geostationary in that it rotates at the same speed as the Earth. At that elevation, only a few GEOs are needed to scan the entire globe. Because of their high altitudes

Conference Session

MIND: Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S.K. Sen, Florida Institute of Technology; Gholam Ali Shaykhian, NASA

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

AC 2008-1079: MATLAB PROGRAMMING FOR VISUALIZING NUMERICALITERATIVE DYNAMICSS.K. Sen, Florida Institute of TechnologyGholam Ali Shaykhian, NASA Page 13.871.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 MATLAB PROGRAMMING FOR VISUALIZING NUMERICAL ITERATIVE DYNAMICSAbstract Presented here are the fundamental principles of discrete dynamical system andchaos from the point of view of numerical iterative algorithms. Also included is thevisualization of some of such dynamical systems using Matlab programs. Such avisualization has a profound impact on our conceptual clarity and knowledge of the realworld scientific and engineering problems.1. IntroductionThe

Conference Session

Foster Excellence

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goang-Shin Liaw, Alabama A&M University; Pabitra Saha, Alabama A&M University; James Foreman, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

, taking the exam just to satisfy the requirement andlacking the determination to pass the exam since the program does not require the student to doso.To correct this misconception among the students and to stimulate their awareness of theimportance of engineering licensure in their profession, the faculty of the department has beenundertaking a series of actions that could help students prepare for the FE exam and couldimprove the pass rate of the FE exam in the future. In this paper, the authors would like to sharetheir experiences and outline the processes that could help minority engineering students pass theFE exam.1. Fundamentals of Engineering Examination BackgroundThe Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination is the first of two (2

Conference Session

Learning Needs and Educational Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas; Thomas Carter, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas; Shannon Davis, University of Arkansas; Bryan Hill, University of Arkansas; Patricia Kirkwood, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

unaware of STEM careerpossibilities, highlighting the exciting possibilities of life as an engineer. Cornerstones of theretention program are: 1) A 3-week summer in-residence engineering bridge program for ECAPstudents to engage in engineering/teambuilding activities, make friends, and transition to campuslife; 2) Renewable scholarships to supplement scholarships and federal grants to bring thestudents’ total award to the University of Arkansas cost of attendance, thereby removingfinancial barriers and increasing retention for those who could not otherwise attend college; 3)Yearly paid summer co-op or research opportunities after the freshman year; 4) A peermentoring program where the freshmen and sophomores are mentored by juniors and seniorswho

Conference Session

Research Infrastructure in STEM Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline Fairley, Georgia Institute of Tehnology; Jill Auerbach, Georgia Institute of Technology; Adrianne Prysock, Georgia Institute of Technology; Leyla Conrad, Georgia Institute of Technology; Gary May, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

incorporating weeklyresearch skills workshops into a summer undergraduate research experience and arepresented in this study. Page 13.1173.2Introduction The organizational structure of the summer undergraduate research program isoutlined by Fairley[1] and will be presented in this section. The SURE (SummerUndergraduate Research in Engineering/Science) program was established in 1992 at theGeorgia Institute of Technology to expose minority students to research in engineering,applied science, and electronics packaging, and to increase their interest in graduatestudy. The program is conducted in cooperation with the Colleges of Engineering,Sciences, and

Conference Session

NAFP Panel Discussion: NASA Administrator's Fellowship Program (NAFP); Panel Discussion and Fellow Presentations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohammad Alim, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

AC 2008-2015: THE NASA ADMINISTRATOR'S FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM(NAFP): BENEFITS TO THE HBCUS/MISMohammad Alim, Alabama A&M University Page 13.1247.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 The NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program (NAFP): Benefits to the HBCUs/MIs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities / Minority Institutions) Mohammad A. Alim,*,1,3 M. D. Aggarwal,2 Benjamin G. Penn,3 and Ashok K. Batra2 1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Alabama A & M University P. O. Box 297, Huntsville, Alabama 35762, U.S.A. 2 Department of Physics, Alabama A

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Salil Desai, North Carolina A&T State University; Leotis Parrish, North Carolina A&T State University; Marcia Williams, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

semesters bridged by continuingsupport from federal programs including the NSF NC-LSAMP. In this paper we discuss theexperiences and insights drawn via qualitative assessments. Program monitoring via monthlymeetings, presentations, faculty assessment and research reports provide consistent feedback onthe progress of the students. We propose to present findings from this preliminary study withongoing evaluation using longitudinal data analysis. Introduction of undergraduate researchprograms with symbiotic support from corporate and federal agencies have positive implicationsfor student retention and continuing education.1. IntroductionRetention of undergraduate students in BS degree programs within minority engineering schoolsis important towards

Conference Session

Factors Affecting Minority Engineering Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pedro Leite, Kansas State University-Salina; Jung Oh, Kansas State University-Salina

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

students.IntroductionThe explosion of information technology has brought the concern of workforce preparation andskills shortage in the United States. Most notably is the shortage of females in fields such asengineering, engineering technology, and computer science. Some believe that this gender gap isso serious “that the United States risks losing its economic and intellectual preeminence” (1).During the past decade, investigators have advanced various accounts for the critical decline infemales’ interest in engineering and computer science fields. These studies reported on attitudestoward computers and technology (2,3,4), differences in learning styles (5), perceptions oftechnology (6), and recruitment and retention (7).Nevertheless, the number of female

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Northern, Prairie View A&M University; Brandon Green, Prairie View A&M University; John Attia, Prairie View A&M University; Teasa Northern, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

-esteem within the program participants.Program ScheduleThe ExCEL Summer Program schedule was centered on life and test preparation skills,hands-on projects and engineering field trips, as shown in Figure 1. Also built into eachweek is a full, structured evening activity schedule designed to enhance the campusexperience and allow students to meet new friends from all over the country who havesimilar academic and career interests. Time Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat 8 - 8:50a Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Math and

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Don Sweat, Prairie View A&M University; Teasa Northern, Prairie View A&M University; Brandon Green, Prairie View A&M University; James Northern, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

students, (b) Progressingstudents, (c) advanced student. Table 2 shows the gender and ethnic breakdown of students inthe Electrical and Computer Engineering programs for the Fall 2004 semester. Table 1 Enrollment of Electrical and Computer Engineering students Year Entering Students Progressing Students Advanced Students Total (Fall) EE CompE EE CompE EE CompE 2005 65 35 98 21 80 5 304 2004 92 30 82 18 85 0 307 2003 87 10 99 5 60 0

Conference Session

Factors Affecting Minority Engineering Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Christie, Loyola Marymount University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

the day-to-day work of engineers and scientists. Students are housed on campus in Rains Dormitory and eat their meals in the LairDining Hall. In the evening and on weekends students utilize the Fritz Burns RecreationCenter for basketball, working out, tennis and swimming. The summer school program has five (5) components that enable young scholars(and their families) to visualize themselves as college students studying mathematics,science or engineering. 1) Academic Preparation for Engineering and Science Degrees Component The results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)show that, as a nation, we are not adequately preparing our high school students forcollege science and math courses. High

Conference Session

Research Infrastructure in STEM Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Liu, California State University-Los Angeles; Jianyu Dong, California State University-Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

education andmultidisciplinary researches. The main activities of the partnership program have been conductedin the Synergetic Education and Research in Enabling NASA-Centered Academic Developmentof Engineers and Space-scientists (SERENADES) Laboratory 1 sponsored from 2004 to 2007under the NASA’s Minority University and College Education and Research PartnershipInitiative (MUCERPI).One of the primary objectives is to use the excitement of NASA’s mission and the MUCERPIprogram to inspire more minority/underrepresented students to pursue education and research,and ultimately to choose careers in the areas of electrical, computer, or astronomical engineering.During the entire funding period, the SERENADES Laboratory endeavored to the preparation

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University; Callie Ruben, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

purpose of the funding was to increase the number of underrepresented minoritystudents (African American, Hispanic, and Native American) enrolled in engineering and toincrease their retention and graduation rates to that comparable for non-minority students. Anadditional goal of the ASU Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering NACME Program is to have theNACME students go on to graduate school.There have been many targeted efforts to increase the recruitment and retention ofunderrepresented minority engineering students.1 Effective retention models for minorityfreshmen include: summer bridge programs,2 year-long bridge programs,3 minority engineeringprograms,4,5 and academic scholarship programs6. The NACME program at ASU builds on asummer bridge

Conference Session

Factors Affecting Minority Engineering Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sherri Frizell, Prairie View A&M University; Felecia Nave, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

13.83.3are undergraduate students enrolled at PVAMU and 40% (n=52) are pursuing engineering ortechnology degrees at other U.S. institutions. Fifty-one percent of the participants were males(n=66) and 49% (n=64) were females. Table 1 shows the gender distribution and enrollmentamong participants. Survey participants were from all the core engineering and technologydisciplines with the largest percentages from Chemical Engineering (16.9%) and ElectricalEngineering (16.2%). The average self reported grade point average was 3.1/4.0 (SD= 0.41) and2.9/4.0 (SD=0.39) for females and males respectively.Table 1: Survey Participants Gender Totals Males Females PVAMU 48 30

Conference Session

Impact Student Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tokunbo Ogunfunmi, Santa Clara University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

engineering, the numbers are even fewer in graduate school, typically less than 1%.The reality of low minority enrollment numbers in engineering and in electrical engineering inparticular is unacceptable. Therefore, it is important to offer minority undergraduate and graduatestudents in engineering mentoring on the issues of retention, graduation and career advancement.Recently, we began a program at our university to improve these statistics. This program is initiallyfunded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation. The preliminary results and the impact of ourmulti-faceted grant activities are presented in this paper.IntroductionIt is a well-known problem that the number of minority students in engineering in the United Statesis very small. In [1

Conference Session

Creative Engagement and Developmental Tutoring Method

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cecil Shy, Prairie View A&M University; James Northern, Prairie View A&M University; Veda Brown, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

professorsserve as the underlying factors for our concept reasoning. The Cognitive Developmental Methodexposes students to both the conceptual and the practical applications of science, technology,engineering and mathematics. Our overall goal is to enhance the STEM student’s performanceby isolating the various components in the delivery/retrieval processes of mathematical theoriesvia concept discussions, highly enforced problem application, peer-peer subgroups, andconstructive learning-centered activities.I. IntroductionThe STEM Summer Bridge Program is part of a National Science Foundation HBCU-UP [1]grant awarded to Prairie View A&M University. The Summer Bridge Program is an excellentway for incoming freshmen to transition into college life. The

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qiang Le, Hampton University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

has indicated that compared to traditional instructionalmethods, student-oriented instructional methods such as multi-media case studies that encouragestudent participation and active involvement in learning are better ways to accomplish theseobjectives [1]. Many of the new skills needed to succeed in the innovation age can be achievedthrough the case study pedagogy. This pedagogy may be particularly effective for African-American students, who prefer team-based interactive environments and whose learning styles Page 13.1320.2might be different than those of traditional engineering students [2]. The Laboratory forInnovative Technology and

Conference Session

Learning Needs and Educational Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brenda Hart, University of Louisville; Veronica Hinton-Hudson, University of Louisville; James Lewis, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

to a recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), locatedwithin the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S.population has become more diverse over the past two decades as the minority population groups(African-Americans, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Asians/ PacificIslanders) have increased more rapidly than the White population. As projected for 2005,minorities made up approximately 33 percent of the U.S. population. These same minoritygroups are expected to represent nearly 39 percent of the total population by the year 2020.Furthermore, according to the latest population projections revealed by the US Census Bureauand depicted in Figure 1, these minority

Conference Session

Research Infrastructure in STEM Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Miguel Labrador, University of South Florida; Cesar Guerrero, University of South Florida; Rafael Perez, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

toaddress these concerns and some other initiatives that can bring additional benefits at low costare also described. For each of these aspects, successful strategies or best practices are included.Finally, the effectiveness of the program is demonstrated with the results of the programevaluation.1. IntroductionOver the last several years, the United States has witnessed alarming statistics and trends ingraduate and undergraduate enrollment, graduation rates, and participation of minority groups inScience and Engineering (S&E) fields, and in Computer Science in particular. For example,according to the National Science Foundation’s Science and Engineering indicators 2006,underrepresented minorities did not enroll in or completed college at the

Conference Session

Special Resources and Activities for Minorities

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria M. Larrondo Petrie, Florida Atlantic University; Ivan Esparragoza, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

lifecycle of their career, and provides links to internet sites containing furtherdetails. An analysis is done of possible areas of need not covered adequately by existingresources.Engineering Professional Societies and Engineering Education Related SitesProfessional societies for engineers provide scholarships, fellowships, awards, conferences,competitions, publications, and resources for students, parents, educators and professionalengineers. Table 1 shows a listing of engineering professional societies. The computer scienceand engineering technologies societies are included in this table because the computer scienceand engineering technology programs are often housed in the college of engineering. The tablealso includes architecture, because

Conference Session

MIND: Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Mehrabian, University of Central Florida; Tarig Ali, University of Central Florida; Alireza Rahrooh, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

. However, the inability of granting partial credit in an onlineexamination environment may indicate false assessment measures of the students’ progress in thecourse. Nevertheless, we find that the following concerns challenge the faculty on numerousoccasions and are more common in crafting online examinations for the engineering andtechnology-related courses:1. Examination Security: In an online “open book, open mind” examination environment wherethere is no in-person or remote visual examination monitoring, the exams shall be crafted as suchto prevent any kind of plagiarism or illegal use of the available materials. Several such cases arereported by Colwell and Jenks in 20056. Due to the difficulty of controlling the onlineexamination environment

Conference Session

Influences on Female Interest in Pursuit of STEM Fields

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diala Gammoh, University of Central FLorida; Ali Mehrabian, University of Central Florida; Alfred Ducharme, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

present some of the empirical observationshere: 1. Inherent Social Constraints: The Jordanian women were affected with all the inherited social constraints that may deviate their thinking from getting involved in certain activities. Some of these activities do not welcome women. For instance, attitude tests in the 1970’s demonstrated that social implications and social responsibility issues have a significant effect on girls’ choices, but little on boys’1. This is in spite of the fact that studies indicated that men and women are attracted to the engineering profession for similar reasons, including ability in mathematics and science, career opportunities, challenge, and good salary prospects. 2. Cultural

Conference Session

MIND: Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Mehrabian, University of Central Florida; Diala Gammoh, University of Central FLorida; Alfred Ducharme, University of Central Florida; Ahmad Elshennawy, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

BenefitsThe quality of the human resources and human knowledge is one of the crucial parameters to anysociety in which the amount of available knowledge can be determined. It is more likely that themore knowledgeable the human resources, the more applications for this knowledge will bediscovered and developed. This will help with the vital task of having a high quality ofresearchers and students to improve the nation’s innovation and economic development amongthese highly competitive environments 1.The American academics and professional community are aware of this, and they started to getmore internationals involved in the academic and the economic life cycle in the United States.This is particularly applicable in science and engineering fields due

Conference Session

Creative Engagement and Developmental Tutoring Method

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Walden, University of Oklahoma; Cindy Foor, University of Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

students from various ethnicities and backgrounds. To this end, non-majority undergraduate engineering students were interviewed using a protocol inspired byGandara [1], Seymour and Hewitt [2], and Margolis & Fisher [3]. In the early stages of analysisof data from this project, we discovered an unexpected strategy used by our students: credittransferred from other institutions towards their engineering degrees. This report describes,compares, and contrasts the different types of transfer credit and their varying extent among andwithin the different non-majority populations in our study. Where possible we exploremotivations for acquiring transfer credits from the students’ perspectives and inferredmotivations from demographic characterizations