Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Schaffer, Purdue University; Daniel Gandara, Illinois Institute of Technology; Xiaojun Chen, Purdue University; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology; Jill May, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the basis identifyingmeasurement of these objectives across the four partner institutions. Section II represents apartial replication of research validating the CDTL framework. The emphasis in this study is onidentifying and measuring broad competencies as a function of doing cross-disciplinary teamwork. Thus, "cross-disciplinary" is defined in terms of team composition as in teams comprisedof multiple disciplines. The logic is then that measurement of such teams is a reflection of theteam's cross-disciplinarity.I. Development of cross-disciplinary team learning objectives and related self-efficacymeasuresMultiple theoretical perspectives are required to better understand how cross-disciplinary teamslearn and what interventions will support

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Josef Rojter, Victoria University of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

disciplines at VU had the lowest entrance of any university in Melbourne. Such poor intake often translated into high attrition rates combined with unacceptable graduation rates, which reflected poorly on the university as a whole. It was hoped that the adoption of a new educational paradigm would differentiate engineering education at VU from those at other universities and make it a more attractive alternative for senior secondary students in choosing as a course of study at a university; Page 15.453.2• Engage students with their course of study, and as a consequence reduce the prevailing high attrition rates; and

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

). Instead of focusing on just how tointegrate the knowledge and methods of each discipline, the students reflected on the importanceof determining how tasks would be delegated. The Division of Labor Tier 1 category was derivedfrom these reflections, and the three Tier 2 categories describe the differences of opinion amongthe students. Some students preferred to “have subgroups working within their specialty and thencollaborating and communicating with other subgroups of different specialties”, while otherswould “generalize tasks more so that everyone in the group would be able to work with each[sic] other”. Table 5: Coding Scheme for Integration Across Disciplines

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

a Photovoltaic cell manufacturer • Energy consultant of a center focused on sustainable energy practicesIt is clear that to achieve the above mentioned PLOs, the curricula should be trans-disciplinary. It can be achieved through the integration of basic fundamental conceptsalong with application concepts. It was felt that such an appropriate mix of trans-disciplinary content can be accomplished by bringing together viewpoints fromexperienced academics and also from expert practitioners from outside academia. Thetrans-disciplinary result is reflected in the nature of the program courses listed below.SEM 601. Introduction to SustainabilitySEM 602. Enterprise ExcellenceSEM 603. Sustainable InnovationSEM 604. Life Cycle and Risk

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eli Patten, University of California at Berkeley; Sara Atwood, University of California, Berkeley; Lisa Pruitt, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

identified these skills as criteria 3d and3g. Particularly in multidisciplinary fields, engineers have different motivations, technicalbackgrounds, and ways of learning. In the undergraduate classroom, students can develop skillsto communicate with their multidisciplinary team members and other audiences by taking intoaccount the variety of learning styles and backgrounds. Felder et. al.1 developed a classificationof learning styles in which individuals’ natural tendencies fall on a continuum in four categories:visual-verbal, sensing-intuitive, global-sequential, and active-reflective. We used this learningstyle classification as a framework to incorporate teamwork and professional development into amultidisciplinary course.Structural Aspects of

Conference Session

Understanding and Measuring the Impact of Multidisciplinarity

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

problems related tolearning most frequently are not related to the complexity of the subject matter. Problemspertaining to learning may actually be a reflection on the level of cognitive process that isabsolutely essential to master the material at the appropriate level. In this presentation, theauthor outlines how he has successfully designed, created and implemented instructional andlearning modules that can probably help address certain important criteria specified byaccreditation agencies.Introduction Instructional Systems Design (ISD) was made popular by Walter Dick and Lou Careywhose famous quote is: “You can’t provide a solution until you know what the problem is.” Inother words, first and foremost, instructors should select a few

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glen Dudevoir, United States Air Force Academy; Andrew Laffely, United States Air Force Academy; Alan J. Mundy, United States Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. Once we finallyagreed on a schedule, a set of common products and what design reviews ought to look like, wehad to consider how to develop grades for individuals on the team that reflected more than justthe team success. Initially, some programs were reluctant to have their students evaluated bystudents in other majors (from other departments), but we eventually decided to continue thesame peer evaluation technique described above.We typically scheduled peer evaluations surrounding three events each semester. In the fall,students evaluated each other at the conclusion of requirements definition (system requirementsreview), after completion of a preliminary design (PDR) near the middle of the fall semester andat the completion of detailed

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

capable of occupying more demanding positions than B.S.graduates, such as working more at the “systems” level than at the “component” level.Ultimately, we settled on preparation for leadership as a key concept for the M.S. program. Asmaster engineers, graduates should be able to lead projects and teams, demonstrating bothtechnical and managerial competence. As potential Ph.D. candidates, graduates should be readyto conduct state-of-the-art research. This lead naturally to the program goal: • The goal of the Master of Science program in Robotics Engineering is to prepare men and women for technical leadership in the robotics industry and research in robotics.2.2. Task 5: ObjectivesThe program’s objectives reflect the depth and breadth

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rupa Iyer, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

development certificate courses to help them stay current and upgrade theirskills. The Center provides access to space, expertise and equipment to local biotech companiesand serves as a platform for innovation and institutional collaboration.IntroductionThe U. S Department of Labor has identified Biotechnology as one of the high profile growthindustries in the nation. The state of Texas has also identified Biotechnology as one of the sixprimary clusters for Texas. However, despite significant strengths Texas has comparatively fewcompanies working in these areas. This is reflected in the relatively small workforce in Texas, Page 15.268.2about 10,000

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

of theirfirst accreditation. Clearly, that number is growing quite steadily.Expanding on the historical data in Table 1, Table 2 gives considerable data about each of theinstitutions: the institutional name used by ABET, the multidisciplinary engineering program(s)offered, the year of their first accreditation, the number of other ABET-accredited engineeringprograms at the institution, and the date of the next general accreditation review. Table 3provides a numerical summary of the more detailed data in Table 2, highlighting the anticipatedvisit workload over the next six-year cycle that would be predicted from Table 2, by year andprogram area. Clearly, there is a wide variation reflected by those data in the anticipatedworkload from year to

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

: Students test their mettle through quizzes, post-test, lab reports, exams, and/or demonstrations of the hands-on activity results, all of which could be summative assessment tools used to compute student grades. Students need to look ahead and reflect back and provide solutions to the challenge. Go Public: Finally, students go public with their findings by presenting and defending their solutions to the challenge. These presentations also allow each student to see other solutions to the same problem to find out that there might be multiple ways to solve the challenges [16].3.2 Challenges in Introduction to STEMThe challenges developed for the Introduction to STEM course are presented in Figure 1;the ones with the

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

computerscience. This course aims at attracting more students to engage in multi-disciplinary study,research, and career by providing a problem-oriented approach to learning programming andunderstanding dynamic systems.AcknowledgementThis report is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation through the grantIIS-0829683. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thepaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.Bibliography1. M. Joshi, The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance. Cambridge, 2003.2. S. L. Spencer, M. J. Berryman, J. A. Garcia, and D. Abbott, “An ordinary differential equation model for themultistep transformation to cancer,” Journal of Theoretical

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

field. The two projectspresented in this paper, and the current pool of projects created, show the great impact such Page 15.1379.9projects can have on one’s life. While still in its infancy, CCS-WC-SP can grow to become agreat way to recruit, retain, and graduate female students in a way that reflects the true face ofAmerica, at least at a local level.Future WorkEnhancements for the Collaborative Computer Science Women-centric Senior Projects (CCS-WC-SP) are under way. The vision is to have a two-semester cycle, one for each semester, toreplenish the current set of projects used. The projects will come from not only the university’sacademic

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

exercise in whicheach team member prepared feedback for each of the other individuals on the team, delivered thefeedback, and wrote a personal development plan so that the students could conduct peer andself-assessment of their teaming skills and practice. Each quarter the students received feedbackon their effectiveness in a group. The students were also instructed on the ideas of Social Styles4and how perceptions of personality can impact team function.3) Develop, analyze and maintain an engineering project scheduleStudents were required to create Gantt charts detailing their project schedules. The Gantt chartswere updated periodically to reflect the true state of the project. In addition, teams conductedweekly meetings with their faculty

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

features andtechnologies. The result was mixed, and clear conclusions cannot be drawn from theirperformance.The students were clearly motivated at the design reviews and in discussions with mentors. Theyhad grand visions of what they were going to create. However, when it came to actually doingthe work, several of them put in the minimum expected time or less. Being a three-hour classwith forty meeting periods, it was expected the student would put in at least 120 hours over thecourse of a semester. Realistically, with an eager group, 160-200 hours is common. In the firstsemester, the time invested ranged from 90 hours to 162 hours. The results reflected thisinvestment as those who put in 150+ hours made great strides toward completing

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

,teamwork and crisis management. The purpose of this reflection is to show students that theyhave not just gained technical knowledge but also learned skills in adjacent fields, such asteamwork, multidisciplinary work, team dynamics and crisis management, which are allimportant for their future careers as practicing engineers. Page 15.1211.7Several interesting results emerged from this exercise. The students found that it was better towork as a team than individually and that team management was easier if they closely followedthe project schedule from the beginning. The teachers made these suggestions throughout theentire term, but the students

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

, and societal context, • a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning, • a knowledge of contemporary issues, and • an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.These outcomes correspond to ABET/EAC outcomes (a) through (k).3.4. Assessment InstrumentsBased on the Objectives and Outcomes the RBE program faculty uses a variety of methods ofmeasurement to collect data. We analyze, evaluate, present, discuss, and try to make adjustmentsthat reduce perceived weaknesses while maintaining perceived strengths. Some methodsgenerate little analyzable data, but instead provide an opportunity for reflection about the state ofthe program.We can

Conference Session

Project-based Learning and Other Pedagogical Innovations

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Fleishman, Western Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

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

) emphasis that engineering occurs in a broader societal context, and 3) creating afoundation for life-long skill and knowledge development. These elements were reflected in thefollowing goal: Page 15.13.5The College of Engineering will provide a contemporary engineering education that fosters anunderstanding of the societal context of engineering and a passion for life-long learning.Achieving this goal requires that faculty and staff guide students in shaping their undergraduateexperiences to: • build disciplinary excellence with multidisciplinary perspective, • nurture critical thinking • develop multicultural competence, • cultivate

Conference Session

Business Meeting

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

heads of „non-traditional programs.‟” Similarly, an April 2002 email announcementfor the second meeting reflected this theme with the statement, “Currently, each of the major societies … has active department heads groups that forward the interests of their respective programs. Our objective is to create a similar supportive Page 15.41.3 activity. For example, at the first meeting, we discussed the benefits of having ASEE serve as the 'parent' organization for ABET evaluators of non-traditional degree programs. It was widely felt that ASEE's participation in the selection of ABET evaluators for our programs could be helpful. In