Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Green, LeTourneau University; Paul Leiffer, LeTourneau University; Thomas Hellmuth, LeTourneau University; Roger Gonzalez, LeTourneau University; Stephen Ayers, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

must demonstrate that their students attain…an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams.”1 This requirement can be met in a numberof ways, including a structured simulated experience or by an actual capstone project thatrequires the involvement of several disciplines.Our university offers a bachelor of science degree in engineering (general engineering) withconcentrations in biomedical (BME), computer (CE), electrical (EE), mechanical (ME), andmaterials joining engineering (MJE). Much of the curriculum is interdisciplinary. All engineerstake core courses including Statics, Dynamics, Circuits, Mechatronics, and Thermodynamics.Design projects have been included in several of these courses. In parallel, the Department ofEngineering

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

P. Ruby Mawasha, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Wright State University; J. Mitch Wolff, Wright State University; Joseph Slater, Wright State University; Zhiqiang Wu, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

interdisciplinary collaboration of electrical and mechanicalengineering students on a senior capstone design of an integrated technology High AltitudeBalloon (HAB) system. This project involves the design of a system with a smart high altitudeballoon that would reach an altitude of 100,000 feet and return safely to earth. Major challengesin this project were the efficient design of wireless communication modules, and radiation heattransfer analysis on the payload system. The electrical and computer engineering studentsfocused on wireless communication technology, control system design, and data analysis. Themechanical engineering students focused on the design aspects of payload, balloon fillingmechanism, flight path prediction based on the study of wind

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Walter, Rochester Institute of Technology; Jeffrey Webb, Rochester Institute of Technology; Mark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology; Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology; Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; George Slack, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

serving a large and diverse constituency with limitedresources.IntroductionProject-based “capstone” design has become an integral component of the undergraduateengineering experience. Howe and Wilbarger1 surveyed over 400 programs in the 2005 NationalSurvey of Engineering Capstone Design Courses, a follow-up to a comprehensive surveyconducted by Todd in 19942. Last year’s ASEE conference contained a number of papers oncapstone design programs3-9, with many of them focusing on assessment practices and lessonslearned. Important benefits associated with collaborative design projects include: innovativeproblem solving, improved handling of complexity and ambiguity, enhanced communicationsskills and self-confidence, and improvements in team building

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Smith, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Tracy N Schierenbeck, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Linda McCloskey, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

began taking a course called Introduction toEngineering Design during the sophomore or junior year. One credit of that four-credit coursewould be entitled Professional Development I and would be taught by the Archer Center. Inaddition, the Archer Center would teach a culminating course, Professional Development III,for students who were simultaneously enrolled in the Capstone Design Course. Theresponsibility for a third course, Professional Development II, was assumed by the School ofHumanities and Social Science; it was organized to be completely independent of the ArcherCenter sequence. All three of these experiences are described below in greater detail.The addition of these curricular components to the School of Engineering did not occur

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Waldron, Grand Valley State University; Pramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State University; Shabbir Choudhuri, Grand Valley State University; John Farris, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

to faculty, faculty to students,and students to students. Comparisons can be made between integrated and non-integratedteams.IntroductionA lot of progress has been made in recent years in improving engineering education, e.g.,emphasizing communication skills, working in teams, integration of computer-aided engineering(CAE), and capstone/senior design projects. Previous work by the authors has focused onimproving the integration of CAE1,2,3,4 into mechanical engineering programs. The goal of thispaper is to document efforts to improve the experiences of students working in project designteams. The strategy is to create integrated project teams from machine design, product design,and manufacturing courses to design and build a wide variety of

Conference Session

Capstone Design & Project Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Darryl Morrell, Arizona State University; Robert Hinks, Arizona State University; Mark Henderson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

believe this structure could be extended to multi-disciplinary teams (e.g. ajoint capstone project between engineering and business), in which the modules provide flexibilityto structure different content for different groups and individuals participating on the teams.1 AppendixThe questions on the student survey were the following: 1. The module topics were important for the project. 2. The material covered in the modules was used in the project. 3. The project helped me understand the need for the material covered in the modules. 4. The module topics fit well together. 5. Covering several different topics together helped me understand the material for each topic better. 6. Covering several different topics

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

responsible for the same material and arestill required to participate in team meetings.Attracting and Retaining Other MajorsIt is relatively easy to attract senior engineering students to IMPaCT. These students have beenworking in teams throughout most of their college classes and are required to complete some sortof year-long capstone project. However, other students are not as accustomed to working onteams and are not required to complete a course like IMPaCT. Business students do have anatural connection to IMPaCT through the entrepreneurial aspect of IMPaCT, though it stillremains difficult to retain business students for the entire year. These problems are beingaddressed through increased publication across campus though flyers, webpages

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marcos Esterman, Rochester Institute of Technology; Dorin Patru, Rochester Institute of Technology; Vincent Amuso, Rochester Institute of Technology; Edward Hensel, Rochester Institute of Technology; Mark Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

of the Aerospace Systems and Technology Track, with particularemphasis on the Microsystems Engineering and Technology for the Future Exploration of OuterSpace Regions (METEOR) family of projects will be used as a case example to illustrate theprocess.IntroductionProject-based “capstone” design has become an integral component of the undergraduateengineering experience. As noted by Dym, et al.1, this has been the standard academic responseto address the need to produce engineering graduates able to practice in industry. TheMultidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) program at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)arose from departmental capstone design experiences within Mechanical, Industrial, andElectrical Engineering2. Since its inception

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mahmoud Quweider, University of Texas-Brownsville; Juan Iglesias, University of Texas-Brownsville; Amajd Zaim, University of Texas-Brownsville

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

game requirements are introduced to the students in their sophomore year with preliminarywork done on different pieces; however, the final game is actually implemented during the senioryear as a capstone project for the Computer Graphics (COSC-4330) course. Our intention, oncewe have a good pool of completed projects, is to distribute, either in hand or though an on-lineportal/website, the best project from the previous offering as an exemplary project to learn fromand replicate in terms of best practices. This will serve two purposes: firstly, it will allow thejunior student to see how the end product should look like; and secondly, it will allow him torelate the preliminary work done before the capstone project to where it meshes in the

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yusuf Mehta, Rowan University; Peter Mark Jansson, Rowan University; Dianne Dorland, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Multidisciplinary Design 16-Week Multidisciplinary Modules Design Project Junior Product Development Process Development Senior Multidisciplinary Capstone Multidisciplinary Capstone Design/Research Project Design/Research ProjectEWB –Service Learning ProjectsThe majority of the SL-related projects that our students have worked on have been throughEngineers Without Borders™-USA. The US affiliate of EWB has as its mission “to helpdisadvantaged communities improve their quality of life through implementation ofenvironmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Durward Sobek, Montana State University; Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

traditionis a capstone design experience within each program in the senior year. Each program hasevolved its own senior design course over the years to suit its particular curricular needs.Typically projects have been team-based with representation from within the disciplineexclusively.A few years ago, the College of Engineering initiated a program to offer a multi-disciplinarydesign opportunity for the senior design project. The “No Walls” program had students takean engineering design course (ENGR 401) offered through the general engineering programas a substitute for their discipline’s capstone course(s). The faculty coordinator identified theappropriate disciplines as dictated by the project requirements, and recruited students (largelythrough

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Grondin, Arizona State University; Darryl Morrell, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. The projects during the thirdor junior year will be specific to the electrical engineering systems concentration and willbe used by us to relay certain topics to the student. The year-long capstone project isintended to be multi-disciplinary on the other hand and will not be further considered inthis paper. The last semester of the column of electrical engineering systems courses isanother set of modules. We again use this both to match up topical coverage against thecapstone experience and additionally to provide some elective content to the students.Certain of these modules will be developed with an eye towards our two sisterconcentrations: mechanical engineering systems and civil engineering land development.Immediately to the right of the

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

RIT’s Women in Engineering Program (WE@RIT); ME Department Advocate for Engineering Honors Program; and Member of Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Leadership Team.Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology ELIZABETH A. DEBARTOLO is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She earned her BSE at Duke University in 1994 and her MSME and Ph.D. at Purdue University in 1996 and 2000, respectively. She works with several students on predicting and enhancing fatigue life in aircraft materials and structures. Dr. DeBartolo serves on her college's leadership teams for both multi-disciplinary capstone design and

Conference Session

Experiential and Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Bucks, Purdue University; William Oakes, Purdue University; Carla Zoltowski, Purdue University; Frank DeRego, Purdue University; Silvia Mah, University of California-San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

core requirement. Students in electrical,computer and interdisciplinary engineering, computer science, and audiology may also take thecourse in their senior year to fulfill their capstone requirements. This is a strong selling point inthe recruitment process.Technical SupportIn addition to the recruitment opportunities the advisors present, if a student knows that a facultymember from their discipline is a part of the program, they will be more likely to join becausethat faculty member will be able to provide support for the student. Many students do not feelthat they are capable of doing the work necessary for many of the projects undertaken, soknowing that there is a faculty member available who can help with the technical work is a

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David LaGraffe, Air Force Institute of Technology; James Petrosky, Air Force Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, the research project is coordinated with customer organizations like theDefense Threat Reduction Agency, Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Air Force NuclearWeapons and Counterproliferation Agency to provide relevance and insight into the currenttechnical problems being addressed. Many of the skills and abilities gained in the program, suchas the ability to conduct advanced research, use of the scientific method and a host ofexperimental, mathematical, and laboratory skills are applicable in all three areas. This furtherreinforces the multidisciplinary approach of the program. Finally, during their sixth and last quarter, all students complete a capstone course. Thecontent of the capstone course is based loosely on the Department of

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Sullivan, East Carolina University; Rick Williams, East Carolina University; William Howard, East Carolina University; Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Paul Kauffmann, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-2773: IDENTIFYING THE CONTENT OF A GENERAL ENGINEERINGPROGRAM USING BENCHMARKING AND THE FUNDAMENTALS OFENGINEERING EXAMINATIONStephanie Sullivan, East Carolina University Stephanie Sullivan is a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Engineering at East Carolina University. Sullivan has fourteen years of industrial experience in project engineering, quality operations, and operations planning roles. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University. Sullivan has earned the American Production & Inventory Control Society (APICS) Certification in Production and Inventory

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary and Liberal Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fernando Tovia, Philadelphia University; Muthu Govindaraj, Philadelphia University; David Brookstein, Philadelphia University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

such as Engineering Drawing, Introduction to Computing, Statics andEngineering Statistics. All of these freshman and sophomore courses require that the students Page 12.80.8work in teams, have a capstone hands-on final project, and are offered at the student-centered,state-of-the-art engineering classroom (Figure 1). Figure 1. Fundamentals of Engineering Lab/Classroom.IV. Preparing the Students to be Life-Long LearnersConsidering the pace at which technology change nowadays, it is essentially impossible to teachthe students all they will need during their career span. However, enlightened engineeringeducators can teach them

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University; Durward Sobek, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

AC 2007-803: MEASURING STUDENT ABILITY TO WORK ONMULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS: BUILDING AND TESTING A RUBRICCarolyn Plumb, Montana State University Carolyn Plumb is the Director of Educational Innovation and Strategic Projects in the College of Engineering at Montana State University. She works on various curriculum and instruction projects including instructional development for faculty and graduate students, assessment of student learning, and program evaluation. Prior to coming to MSU, Plumb was at the University of Washington, where she directed the Engineering Communication Program. While at the UW, Plumb also worked as an Instructional Development and Assessment Specialist for the School of

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Blair McDonald, SUU Integrated Engineering; William Pratt, SUU Integrated Engineering; Nicholas Winowich, SUU Integrated Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

* Chemistry* Thermodynamics Engineering Design & Management Physics I* & II* Heat Transfer Circuits* & Electronics* Engineering Design I, II, III, IV Material Science* Capstone Design V & VI System Dynamics Facilities Engineering Economics Project Management Manufacturing 131 Credit Hrs

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harvey Palmer, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

student on theteam is exposed to the best practices of managing a project. Finally, each team of students ismentored by a multidisciplinary team of faculty members who not only provide the full range oftechnical expertise needed for the design project but also model the way in which amultidisciplinary team should function. In its fourth year, this multidisciplinary capstone designinitiative has expanded to embrace programs in other colleges as well, including programs suchas industrial design and business.As stated above, all accredited engineering programs must meet or exceed expectationsregarding the inclusion of these outcomes in their program. The issue isn’t “can these outcomesbe achieved,” but rather “can engineering programs evolve to a

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Howard Evans, National University; Shekar Viswanathan, National University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

student programs. He has published and presented widely in areas of surface science, electronic materials and processes, project management, and industry/university relations. He holds 4 patents and has received awards for excellence in technical innovation (IBM), technical authorship (IBM), teaching (University of Colorado), and scholarship (National Science Foundation).Shekar Viswanathan, National University Dr. Viswanathan is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Engineering and Lead Faculty for Engineering Management and Homeland Security and Safety Engineering. He is the Lead for six full time and fifty two adjunct faculty members. His department offers three

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Loren Limberis, East Carolina University; Paul Kauffmann, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

forimprovement. II. BACKGROUNDThe General Engineering program at East Carolina University started in 2004 and theDepartment of Engineering was founded in 2006. The philosophy governing the program is tointroduce the students to key engineering concepts and applications in the first semester of theirfreshmen year; these concepts are then integrated throughout the courses in the core curriculumand extend into the respective concentrations leading up to the capstone design project. Thesubsequent courses build upon these concepts allowing the students to make insightfulconnections at each phase and follow the development of these concepts to a professional level.The program is established with the following mission statement and educational objectives [3

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Terrance Boult, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs; Jeremy Haefner, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

- Page 12.306.3 English speaking country. A one-semester study abroad will be facilitated and strongly encouraged. While abroad, involvements in the Innovation team projects will be “virtual”, but will be required. The Creative Communication Core (for any BI major) will provide coverage of a variety of communication mechanisms including both traditional (e.g., oral communication) and non-traditional (e.g., visual arts) communication approaches.1.1 Why innovation?In its report, Innovate America, the National Innovation Initiative (NII) calls for an "innovationinfrastructure" as the foundation for the nation’s future