, because the graphical nature of theprogram will help to make the structures easier to comprehend. The potential to enhance first-year student learning motivated a pilot approach at a large university’s introductory engineeringclass to use graphical programming as the dominant computer tool within the class. Design wastaught through the use of a graphical programming language that culminated in a service-learning project in which students developed computer programs designed to excite middleschool students about math and science. This paper will discuss the curricular structure, theimplementation of the graphical programming language, examples from the class and initialassessments from the experience.IntroductionComputers are an integral part of
mediated discussions of historical and emerging water engineeringissues and projects in the western United States. Within the context of the case studies, studentswere exposed to philosophical and legal concepts, hydrologic principles, water resourcesengineering design and management techniques, water management modeling and analysis tools,social and behavioral science theories, water law, and more. One unique aspect of the course wasthe use of position papers with random assignment of position that forced students to analyze andargue points from perspectives outside of their discipline and sometimes against their personalbeliefs. The outcomes of the course were assessed through a written survey, informal studentdiscussions, and end-of-course
AC 2010-584: IMPACT AND MERIT OF THE VSU HBCU-UP ON THEUNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATIONAli Ansari, Virginia State UniversityJahangir Ansari, Virginia State University Associate Professor of Manufacturing EngineeringKrishan Agrawal, Virginia State University Professor of MathematicsArthur Fridrich, Virginia State University Page 15.666.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010AbstractThe article presents the overall impact of a NSF grant under the Historically Black Universitiesand Colleges Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP). The alignment between the goals of theUniversity’s Strategic Plan and then objectives of the HBCU-UP project is analyzed. The
AC 2010-1951: INSPIRING INNOVATIONSinead Mac Namara, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITYClare Olsen, Syracuse UniversityLaura Steinberg, Syracuse UniversitySamuel Clemence, Syracuse University Page 15.746.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Inspiring Innovation1. IntroductionThis paper describes a course at Syracuse University that brings together architecture andstructural engineering students for a joint architecture and engineering design seminar.This course forms part of a larger NSF funded project aimed at increasing innovation andcreativity in engineering curricula. The principal aim of the overall project is to findstrategies to foster and reward
simulation skillsare covered. Emphasis is on the design and simulation of proportional, derivative, and integralcontrollers for improving the dynamic responses of feedback control systems.There is a laboratory component for this course. The lab experiments include characteristics ofDC motors, tachometers, brake loading, signal conditioning circuits, implementation ofproportional, integral, and derivative controllers as C programs running on microcontrollers withapplications to position and speed controls.The students are also required to complete embedded control projects in this course. The projectsgive the students the opportunities to solve practical control problems and to be creativeindependently
information, the basis for a price quote,equipment specifications, company profiles, standards compliance and a myriad of other types ofinformation. Throw in issues of ethics and determining the validity and reliability of sourcesamong the millions on the internet, information literacy becomes a critical instrument in thepractitioners toolbox. Yet few classes address practitioner's needs for broad informationresearch literacy skills.This paper details strategies for a student research project that new faculty may use to enhanceundergraduate technical research experiences in an information literacy context within anyengineering or engineering technology discipline. It leverages the internet plus the resources ofa well-endowed, or even a modestly
. degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. He teaches courses in engineering design, and is interested in integrating the use of design projects and active learning throughout the curriculum to improve engineering education. Page 15.778.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Integration and Reinforcement of Engineering Skills Beginning in the First-Year Design ExperienceAbstractAs the first step in implementing a Student-driven Pedagogy of Integrated, Reinforced, ActiveLearning (SPIRAL) throughout our Mechanical
Engineering Education, 2010 Undergraduate Engineering Design Course on Prospective of PhD Student AEZEDEN MOHAMED AND RON BRITTON Engineering and Information Technology Complex (EITC), 75A Chancellors Circle University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 5V6AbstractENG 1430, Design in Engineering, is a one term required course that forms part of the common first yearEngineering program at the University of Manitoba. It has been structured to assist students develop teamskills such as decision making, project management, communication and collaboration while experiencingthe use of fundamental engineering design skills. This paper describes the components and operation of
AC 2010-583: R2D2 AS A MOTIVATOR IN ENGINEERING EDUCATIONBrian Peterson, United States Air Force AcademyPatrick Sweeney, United States Air Force AcademyDelbert Christman, United States Air Force Academy Page 15.1010.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 R2D2 as a Motivator in Engineering EducationThe use of robotic system applications continues to grow as a learning tool in electrical andcomputer engineering, but basic designs and projects have been well investigated and advancesin the field are becoming increasingly complex. Many new and interesting systems are beyondthe scope of what undergraduates can tackle as a capstone project. As a result
research labs. Student response to this approach to teaching Bioelectricityat the senior level of our undergraduate curriculum was very favorable in a first offering lastyear. This paper provides a summary of the course structure, content, projects and evaluation ofassessment results from the first offering of this course with discussion also of additional projecttopics incorporated into the second offering.BackgroundCourses in Bioelectricity or Bioelectric Phenomena can be taught as early as the freshman orsophomore years in some undergraduate curricula. More commonly, such courses areconsidered specialized subject matter at the junior or senior level, or are delivered as graduateclasses. A survey of the now archived on-line Biomedical
laboratory facilities development for the program. Dr. Looft’s research interests have evolved from the analysis and modeling of tactile neural responses to now being focused on student capstone projects, systems engineering programs, and global education. Outside of the academic world, Dr. Looft is an avid sailplane enthusiast, pilot and flight instructor, and is a lifelong fitness enthusiast. Page 15.370.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Designing Robotic Systems: Preparation for an Interdisciplinary Capstone ExperienceAbstractThe Robotics Engineering (RBE
TechnologiesAbstract The focus of the Arizona–Texas Consortium for Alternative and Renewable EnergyTechnologies (ATCARET) was to meet the workforce needs of our national energy,transportation, and electronic industries. The project established an educational consortiumthrough collaboration between high schools and community colleges in Arizona and Texas alongwith Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus. The project leveraged existing teachingand research expertise and facilities in the field of alternative and renewable energy foraccomplishing the project goals. The project strategy was to meet the workforce needs by increasing the number ofgraduates, including underprivileged groups, with Associate of Applied Science degrees (AAS
AC 2010-2032: THE COACH'S GUIDE: BEST PRACTICES FORFACULTY-MENTORED MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRODUCT DESIGN TEAMSR. Keith Stanfill, University of FloridaArif Mohsin, University of FloridaOscar Crisalle, University of FloridaSuleyman Tufekci, University of FloridaCarl Crane, University of Florida Page 15.1213.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 The Coach’s Guide: Best Practices for Faculty-mentored Multidisciplinary Product Design TeamsAbstractFaculty mentors, also known as coaches, have two overarching roles when mentoringindustrially sponsored capstone design projects: (1) ensure the team achieves the academic goalsof the course, and (2) keep
AC 2010-2310: EMPHASIZING MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMWORK ANDENHANCING COMMUNICATION SKILLS THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF ACONCEPTUAL BUSINESS PLANMohamad Ahmadian, Eastern New Mexico University Mohamad H. Ahmadian, Eastern New Mexico University Mohamad H. Ahmadian is a professor of Electronics Engineering Technology at Eastern New Mexico University. He also serves as ABET/TAC program evaluator for electronics and computer engineering technology programs. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before starting Ph.D. work, he worked three years as a project engineer.Tom Brown, Eastern New Mexico University Tom Brown, Eastern New Mexico University Tom
work teams operating around the world. Schools, students,and companies benefit from opportunities to apply these to actual manufacturingproblems in industrial environments.The technology program at our university has historically included several classes insolid modeling and CAD software. For the past ten years computer simulations have beenincluded to more effectively prepare students for use and application of thesetechnologies. More recently numerous class projects with local manufacturing companieshave been incorporated, and currently a three quarter sequence of courses is required forstudents in our Manufacturing Technology major. The initial course, DigitalManufacturing and Simulation (DMS) introduces students to these advanced design
feature of the new coursesequence is requiring students to work in a team environment on design projects of increasingcomplexity as they move through the program, to ensure that students develop the skills,knowledge, and attitudes required to be successful design engineers in industry. Development ofan effective assessment plan is critical for measuring the benefits of this new course sequence.Since the courses in the design sequence are taught by a large number of faculty, and asignificant number of part-time faculty, a uniform set of evaluation tools was developed whichwill be used for every course in the sequence. This paper describes the rubrics developed, andsome preliminary evaluation data which was collected to test and calibrate the
─ AbstractThis is the third of four invited panel papers prepared specifically for the National Collaborative TaskForce Engineer-Leaders Project. The Project concerns the deliberate advancement of professionalgraduate engineering education relevant to the needs of creative engineering practice in industry toenhance U.S. technological innovation and competitiveness. The strength of the innovation and leadershipcapacity of America’s professional engineering base in our civilian, aerospace, and defense industries is acritical asset in our global economic recovery. As with other learned professions, there are progressiveskill-sets and actions that must be learned or developed at the advanced levels of the practice ofengineering. This series of papers
example, this year each studentgroup developed a robot arm system controlled by a biopotential signal, such as an EMG orEOG, that they acquire from their own body and process. For the fourth design course, eachgroup works on a different project, chosen from a wide variety of project ideas that change fromyear to year.This design program has many benefits. By the time students start their final design project inthe spring of senior year, they already have a number of hands-on experiences in design. Thiselevates the level of what they can accomplish for this project. In addition, since our studentsstart getting experience with equipment in the machine shop in their sophomore year, they are anattractive asset for many research laboratories. Feedback
Engineering Capstone Design Education Program and co-directs the 'Empowering Malawians with Disabilities' project that is aimed at the design and development of rehabilitative engineered devices to assist the disabled and under served in Malawi, Africa. His education interests are in innovative education in engineering and engineering outreach that include K-12 outreach programs, interdisciplinary undergraduate (REU) and graduate training and outreach programs (NSF IGERT & GK-12), women in science and engineering programs (WISE), and innovative nanoscience and engineering asynchronous distance learning initiatives. He is currently working on an NSF supported IEECI grant developing
Wallace is an undergraduate student in Nanosystems Engineering at Louisiana Tech University.Michael Swanbom, Louisiana Tech University Michael Swanbom is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University. Page 15.95.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 A Student-Run Help Desk to Facilitate a Robotics-Based Course SequenceAbstractMany engineering programs have implemented project-based, first-year experiences to foster thedevelopment of skills and attitudes that improve student retention and better prepare students foran increasingly dynamic and global workplace
) programs at the university level. Teachersfrom regional high schools and university faculty from STEM disciplines work together throughmultiple collaborative projects. Collaborators (including the authors) come from a broad range ofdisciplines: engineering, education, mathematics, and the liberal arts, as well as K12 teachers andadministrators.The collaborative partnerships developed between area high schools and Louisiana TechUniversity ensure that the curriculum and education programs are challenging but appropriatelytargeted for high school students. These projects reach schools which have differing economicand social demographics. Thus the partnerships provide for the development of a robust programthat can be implemented in schools regardless
this program have apositive effect on the communication abilities of the graduate students. In particular, thestudents’ ability to take their current research and effectively communicate it to high schoolstudents with limited technical knowledge and experiences will be showcased. The focus of thispaper will be on the previous engineering graduate students, each assigned to a different schoolwith diverse culture and economic backgrounds and each working with four different teachers inthat school.Project STEP OverviewOur project is currently in its ninth year of funding. Bringing well communicated engineeringconcepts, based on a city theme and graduate student research, into high school classrooms is themain focus of the project. The graduate
virtual component and virtualassembly are introduced in this paper for effectively teaching engineering design for mechanicalmajor. In our class design projects, students were guided to use SolidWorks for creating virtualcomponents and further building virtual assemblies in the digital forms. The applications ofvirtual component and virtual assembly helped students to solve the problems mentioned above.From our direct observations on several classes, students through class design projects bycreating virtual component and virtual assembly had better understanding of engineering designand gained hands-on experiences which could be directly implemented in real industries.1. Introduction One of the main activities of engineers is to provide
AC 2010-603: INCORPORATING THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERDISCIPLINARYUNDERSTANDING IN K-12 ENGINEERING OUTREACH PROGRAMS USING ABIOMIMETIC DEVICEStanley Hunley, Michigan State UniversityJoshua Whitman, Michigan State UniversitySeungik Baek, Michigan State UniversityXiaobo Tan, Michigan State UniversityDrew Kim, Michigan State University Page 15.715.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Incorporating the Importance of Interdisciplinary Understanding in K-12 Engineering Outreach Programs using a Biomimetic DeviceAbstractThe project presented in this paper is designed to motivate interest in the engineeringfield for K-12 students, especially those who have previously
COMPLICATIONS, THIS IS THE REVIEW VERSION OF THE PAPER. EMAIL THIS AUTHOR FOR THE SIGNIFICANTLY UPDATED FINAL VERSION. Page 15.1161.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Systems Design of a Hydro-Kinetic Technology for Rural Areas of Developing Countries AbstractThis paper presents a case study of a global service-learning project leading towards theimplementation of renewable energy technology for remote electricity generation. A studentteam designed, prototyped, and tested a hydro-kinetic device as part of a project ultimatelyintended to provide 100 continuous watts
education. At Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech),we had three different groups (faculty, graduate students and upper level undergraduate students)develop design activities. These activities were developed for the ENG1001/1100 coursesequence for first-year students who were enrolled in pre-calculus as their first math course atMichigan Tech as part of an NSF CCLI Phase 1 grant (DUE: 0836861). All groups developedengineering activities that included a: Design/Model/Build sequence, Matlab mathematicalmodel, spreadsheet analyses, and technical communication of their activities. For thecomponents listed previously, lectures and class activities, project description and deliverablesand example Matlab codes were developed for the
AC 2010-1903: A SPIRAL LEARNING CURRICULUM IN MECHANICALENGINEERINGRobert Roemer, University of Utah Robert B. Roemer is currently a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. He teaches courses in engineering design, and is interested in integrating the use of design projects and active learning throughout the curriculum to improve engineering education.Stacy Bamberg, University of Utah Stacy J. Morris Bamberg is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. She received her S.B. and S.M. in Mechanical Engineering
AC 2010-1457: ASSESSMENT-DRIVEN EVOLUTION OF A FIRST-YEARPROGRAMRick Williams, East Carolina UniversityWilliam Howard, East Carolina University Page 15.210.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Assessment Driven Evolution of a First year ProgramAbstractThe general engineering program at East Carolina University (ECU) was established in 2004. Inthe fall of 2007, a major curriculum change was initiated that introduced three new courses intothe first year. These courses are Engineering Graphics, Introduction to Engineering, andComputer Applications in Engineering. Each of these courses contains projects or assignmentsthat directly assess the achievement of
Helps Engineering Technologists Hit the Job Market!IntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the “laboratory/design based problemsolving learning environment” that has been developed with financial and technicalassistance from local industries. The discussion will also identify how the “need” for thistype of project based curriculum became obvious. Four prerequisite courses are brieflydescribed before focusing on the project based capstone course. These four coursesprovide the students with the technical skill sets needed to succeed in the senior levelcapstone course. Accomplishments and outcomes from the student perspective, theUniversity perspective, and the industry perspective will also be shared.Our advancing world
tend to reject any inquiry that strays outside of a strictly positivist or perhaps post-positivist paradigm. This paper outlines our vision and understanding of engineeringdesign and communicates the approach we have taken to defining a Master of EngineeringDesign degree that at the same time is acceptable to the scholarly sensibilities ofengineering faculty and pushes the boundaries of the practice of engineering design. Todevelop the program, we believe that engineering scholarship must extend beyondproblem-solving to include inquiry approaches from the arts and humanities2.The Nature of Engineering DesignMany of the early projects performed by students in the Master of Engineering Designdegree resembled in every way a research Master s