Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Randall Brouwer, Calvin College; Steven VanderLeest, Calvin College; Paulo Ribeiro, Calvin College; Robert Medema, Calvin College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

out. The learners within thiscontext are often driven by a need to understand the “why” before they can be engaged on the“what” and “how” of engineering. The justification and explanation for technical topics andconcepts are embedded in the broader context provided by a general engineering education.Finally, the paper concludes with an initial assessment of results and plans for expanding thebusiness topics into intermediate engineering courses.I. Introduction: Why is this subject interesting and important?The multidisciplinary approach of general engineering programs (a distinct category ofengineering degrees that ABET accredits without program-specific criteria) provides aparticularly good foundation for entrepreneurial education. First

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kumar Yelamarthi, Central Michigan University; P. Ruby Mawasha, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

theory, and engineering graduates spendtheir time planning, while technology programs focus on application and technology graduatesspend their time making plans work9. An interdisciplinary collaboration of engineering andtechnology students on research and design projects answers some of the challenges in this “flat-world”. Based on this background and the significance of interdisciplinary projects, the RFID-AD platform is designed to update the engineering and technology programs. Additionally, thisplatform is in accordance with the National Academy of Engineers recommendation that,“Engineering schools should introduce the interdisciplinary learning in the undergraduateenvironment, rather than having it as an exclusive feature of the graduate

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Blanchard, Florida Gulf Coast University; Robert O'Neill, Florida Gulf Coast University; James Sweeney, Florida Gulf Coast University; Lisa Zidek, Florida Gulf Coast University; Simeon Komisar, Florida Gulf Coast University; Diana Stoppiello, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, and education. collaborations.Olin used Invention 2000 to develop the entire institution from a blank slate.8, 9 “INVENTION 2000 is a blueprint for developing all academic and operational aspects of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering from a clean slate. The plan outlines an intense two-year project intended to produce innovative educational processes for preparing the next generation of leaders in a technological society and institutional policies which will establish a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. Intense efforts will be focused on (1) a comprehensive re-examination of engineering curricula and educational processes, (2) student life and

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Fred Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gretar Tryggvason, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lance Schacterle, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

toexhibit mastery that is greater than simply knowing some computer science, electrical andmechanical engineering. Assessment of student learning therefore must go beyond measuring themastery of the various knowledge domains contributing to the discipline. Here we discuss ourcurrent assessment results, the tools we have used, and our plans for continuing assessment.There are three measures of success for any new program: 1. The number and quality of students attracted to the program, 2. The extent to which graduates are employed or admitted to graduate school, and 3. The degree to which the program achieves its educational objectives.The first measure, enrollment, is, sine qua non, the most important and straightforward. This hasalready

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Michael Demetriou, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

industry and research in robotics. Page 15.85.2Combined with the existing B.S., planned-for Ph.D., faculty hires, and externally sponsoredresearch, the M.S. in Robotics Engineering is a key component of a full-fledged roboticsinitiative.1.1. MotivationThe development of the M.S. program in Robotics Engineering was motivated by severalconsiderations. Foremost was to appeal to student interest, including B.S./M.S. Educationalinstitutions must continuously understand where student interest lies and offer relevant,academically sound programs. Currently enrolled undergraduates have expressed interest ingraduate studies in robotics. Some have already

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Beach, Western New England College; Michael Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; James Van de Ven, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gretar Tryggvason, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Gregory Fischer, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

theentrepreneurial spirit to transform their creations into viable businesses. Therefore, we havebegun to engage young men and women in Robotics by building a university-based communityof entrepreneurial robotics students nationwide through a Robotics Innovations Competition andConference.The Robotics Innovations Competition and Conference, held Nov. 7-8, 2009, challengedstudents to design and build robots to perform useful and novel tasks through a university-levelcompetition. Entrants were judged primarily on the extent to which they met existing needs orcreated new markets, and secondarily with respect to design and analysis, implementation skill, and business plans. While robotics

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

growth requiresthoughtful planning.” Almost all leading colleges and universities have recognized this fact andcontinuously participating in an ongoing discussion on assessment. Therefore, one recognizesthe fact that any strategic plan for continuous ongoing assessment should have a clear vision ofwhat the university needs to assess and how the process will be implemented. In reality, themethodology used in designing a continuous assessment plan should actually direct and raisequestions about the significance and effectiveness of instructional delivery techniques. Gregorc Page 15.215.2and Ward (1977) are of the opinion that instructors should

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anouk Desjardins, École Polytechnique de Montréal; Louise Millette, École Polytechnique de Montréal; Erik Bélanger, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Montréal’s First Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development.Erik Bélanger, École Polytechnique de Montréal Erik Bélanger has worked on the development of the course Sustainable Development Capstone Project. Since then, he has contributed to the evolution and the teaching of the course. He obtained his engineering bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Sherbrooke in 1999. After graduating he worked in industry as a design engineer before completing a Master’s of Applied Science Montreal at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. Since 2004 he has worked at Ecole Polytechnique as research assistant for sustainable development projects and as a lecturer

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Fleishman, Western Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

committingto purchasing initial production units once the new vehicle has successfully passed Federal TransitAdministration (FTA) certification testing. The project provides exposure to a very real industryapplication which is similar to what many of the students will face when entering their career fields,and will allow for practical application of project planning, design innovation, budgeting, working withindustry standards and government regulations, as well as manufacturing process planning andexecution. An industrial approach is being utilized for the design process which emphasizes use of severalautomotive industry best practices including Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Design FailureMode Effects and Analysis (DFMEA), as well as

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Cramer, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Wendy Crone, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Moira Lafayette, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jeffrey Russell, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Paul Peercy, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Darryl G. Thelen, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Daniel Klingenberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amy Wendt, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Beyond Boundariesrelative to transforming undergraduate engineering education have been in the areas of: • Leading a change management process • Getting broad faculty involvement • Applying research on engineering education innovation from peer institutions and educational research.The work of the Engineering Beyond Boundaries (EB2) Task Force and Roundtable has beenfully supported from the college administrative leadership and increasingly has formed the basisof the college’s strategic plan. Department Chairs and Faculty have been invited to engage in theplanning process as members of the Task Force and/or Roundtable to provide ideas and create

Conference Session

Business Meeting

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and retained the Multidisciplinary degree as well 5. Programs at research universities 6. Programs at liberal arts colleges 7. Programs that merge engineering and management.”A petition to become a Constituent Committee of ASEE, prepared by Dr. Gosink, was edited andthen signed by 17 attendees. The group decided to plan a program, with both a technical sessionand a business meeting, for the 2003 ASEE Annual Conference scheduled for Nashville, TN.Two areas of focus for technical session papers were suggested: multidisciplinary engineeringprogram curricula and multidisciplinary engineering program visibility. Those assembledelected Dr. Gosink as chair, Dr. Jim Farison, Baylor University, as vice chair (and

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lily Laiho, California Polytechnic State University; Richard Savage, California Polytechnic State University; James Widmann, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

feedback. Thelecture and lab topics covered in order during the 30 weeks of the course are as follows:Lecture LabDesign Process and Methodology Background Research/Requirements/SpecificationsTeamwork: Theory, Skills, Practice Team Building ActivitySystems Engineering QFD – House of QualityCreativity and Idea Generation Creative Problem Solving ExperienceConceptual Modeling Shop Orientation/Hand Tools ExperienceIdea Selection/Decision Schemes Teamwork Revisited: Personalities, CommunicationProject Planning Engineering EconomicsSafety and Risk Basic

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Palmer, Louisiana Tech University; Hisham Hegab, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

objectives (controlparticle size and produce a narrow distribution) that they must balance with economics, safety,environmental, and manufacturability concerns. Students are taught literature searchingtechniques of both the patent and scientific literature. The students are shown the commonstructure of literature documents to enable them to extract the information necessary to plan theirown experiments. Students work in teams of three or less in the course and provide weekly peerassessments of both time and impact of their progress. The students begin by justifying aprocess in the literature to focus on by comparing reported particle size performance witheconomics and safety/environmental concerns. The students conduct baseline experimentssimilar to

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanja Magoc, University of Texas at El Paso; Eric Freudenthal, University of Texas, El Paso; Francois Modave, Central Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

impossible to understand using only analytical techniques, thus enabling students to approach real-life problems that they previously could not tackle.Our planned evaluation will examine both the effectiveness of the course in achieving studentlearning objectives, and student interest in continuing multi-disciplinary studies that includecomputation and programming.Computation for Science and EngineeringThe new curriculum of the CompSE will be offered for the first time in the Spring of 2010. Bythis curriculum, rather than focusing on syntax, CompSE will immerse students in problemsolving and incrementally introduce language features in an as-needed manner. Python isselected as the initial programming language due to its simplicity to convey

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Peterson, United States Air Force Academy; Patrick Sweeney, United States Air Force Academy; Delbert Christman, United States Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Systems class earlier in their student career.The team members, however, had no negative personality issues within the group or with thementors and were motivated.Project IntroductionIn addition to student growth and development, a key objective of the project was to create afascinating but recognizable device that could be used to help recruit engineers. The plan was toexhibit a functional R2D2 during Major’s Night, where the academic majors market theirdiscipline to freshmen and undeclared sophomores, and possibly even at home football games.The full-sized, metal replica envisioned by the team was to be a far cry from the 15” plasticmodel with simple voice recognition which can be purchased for slightly over $100. The goalwas to produce a

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rupa Iyer, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

center and its constituent institutions, areauniversities and colleges, non-profit organizations, economic development groups andgovernmental agencies. The University’s College of Technology took the lead to function as acatalyst among cluster stakeholders for the purpose of planning and affecting a visiblecontinuum of education, training and research opportunities. Although the Center was to behoused in the College of Technology its work was to be interdisciplinary involving severalUniversity’s Colleges as well as regional community colleges, other universities, local industry,local agencies, and not-for-profit organizations.There are numerous centers for learning and teaching at universities and colleges around thenation. However very few

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Northrup, Western New England College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

15.896.3During the classes preceding the travel, students studied reading material and the course met foran hour and a half every other week for lectures followed by in-class discussions. During the 7meetings the following topics were covered: Week 1 – Syllabus, course goals, establish teams, assign literature reviews, logistics and immunizations, personal travel after the course, and planning for fundraising. Week 3 – Lecture on history of Guatemala – plantations and land tenure, civil war. Week 5 – Lecture on people, language and culture. Week 7 – Lecture on geology, climate, fuel sources, and deforestation. Week 9 – Lecture on public health related to housing conditions. Week 11 – Lecture on construction

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

review (NGR) ofprograms already accredited can be determined from the ABET public website. Several othervariables that lead to the final number can only be estimated. Nonetheless, a “forecast” isimportant for the planning of ASEE’s PEV workload and therefore the anticipated number ofASEE PEVs needed each year. Further, the roster of multidisciplinary engineering programsitself is an important source of information about this set of engineering degree programs and theinstitutions that provide them.IntroductionOne of the significant distinctions of a substantial number of baccalaureate engineering programsis that they intentionally do not align naturally with the currently established major disciplineslike civil engineering, electrical engineering

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Arturo Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Javier Macossay, The University of Texas-Pan American; Martin Knecht, South Texas College; Robert Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

of power and energy consumption by DC loads4.3 Assessment of LearningA plan has to be created to develop the assessment tools required to collect informationthat allows generating conclusions about student understanding of the targeted concepts.Next is the assessment plan for this example challenge: Page 15.396.9 Formative Assessment: it consists of practice activities, which should not count in a significant way as grades; however, it needs to provide feedback to the students and the professor in order to address any learning problems or difficulties. à Pre-test. à Classroom activities: ″ Study working principle and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mahmoud Quweider, University of Texas, Brownsville; Juan Iglesias, U of Texas at Brownsville; Katherine De La Vega, University of Texas at Brownsville

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and science). Thevision of the department is to allow women full participation and access to a network ofprofessional who could act as mentors and role models.The mentoring program has been implemented for less than a year now. The generation ofmentees who will take the Senior Project will come over the next two years. Although we aregetting positive feedback from the students, we have not conducted an official study about theeffectiveness of MentorNet as an integrated electronic mentoring program; we plan to collect andpresent the data in a future ASEE meeting.Faculty FeedbackThe two projects presented here had one CIS faculty member as advisor to both of them and twoadvisors from the Public Health department. Below is a summary of the

Conference Session

Robotics Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Michalson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Fred Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

for modular design and implementation of decision algorithms and finite state machines. RBE 3001, Unified Robotics III. This is the third course in the four-course sequence. The focus of this course is actuator design, embedded computing and complex response processes. The course includes concepts of dynamic response as related to vibration and motion planning. The principles of operation and interface methods various actuators will be discussed, including Page 15.370.3 pneumatic, magnetic, piezoelectric, linear, stepper, etc. Complex feedback mechanisms will be implemented using software executing in an embedded system. The

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Rabb, United States Military Academy; Joseph Hitt, USMA; Robert Floersheim, US Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

single discipline adviser team would missopportunities to appeal to students of different disciplines working on the same project. Theinstructor team operates more effectively with open collaboration. Since students come fromseveral academic majors, the diversity is advantageous to all concerned and keeps the advisersfrom the different departments engaged in the projects.It is well documented in general literature on multidisciplinary teaching that the greatestdifficulty for the instructors is the time and energy required to work as a team.6-8 In this capstoneproject with requirements and application to computer science, and mechanical and electricalengineering, the advisers agree that careful time management and planning are vital

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shekar Viswanathan, National University, San Diego; Howard Evans, National University, San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

related to not only energy from conventional sources but also renewable. Special focus on energy conservation will be discussed. Various techniques to lower energy use will be discussed.SEM 606 Comprehensive overview of applicable air pollution, waterEnvironmental pollution, drinking water and toxics environmental laws andManagement regulations in the U.S. In addition, various pollution sources, and their impact are presented. Specific strategies to develop and implement environmental management practices are presented.SEM 607 Watershed Overview of the watershed management and planning process.Management Relate

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Huanmei Wu, IUPUI

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

are planning to go to graduate school with the confidenceobtained from the projects.For example, the author also designed six multidisciplinary projects in the last five years and theresults are wonderful. About 20 students from 6 different disciplines were involved. The studentsare at different stages of their undergraduate study, including freshman, juniors and seniors. Fourpresentations have been accepted by peer-reviewed high-respected national conferences. Twoconference papers have published and two manuscripts are under revision. The students alsoproduced many posters (more than 15) at the local symposiums and workshops. In addition, allfive graduated students from three disciplines are admitted to graduate school across the

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexandra Coso, University of Virginia; Reid Bailey, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering