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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Alley

todiscuss general questions or concerns that they had about the engineering curricula. In theseconferences, instructors acted as advisors either supplying the needed information or referring thefemale students to someone who had that information. Perhaps more than anything else, the topics for assignments distinguished BasicCommunication from the other freshman communication courses across the campus. Studentshad the opportunity to write about any topic as long as it met certain criteria: (1) the topicinterested the student, (2) the topic could be quickly researched, (3) the topic was specific enoughthat the student could achieve depth, (4) the topic involved synthesizing a spectrum of sources(not just one or two), and (5) the topic

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

David E. Clough

active-learning classroom that is available inour new Integrated Teaching & Learning Laboratory. This room is ideal for this mode ofinstruction as it is based on a series of round conference tables. In fact, this room will beawkward for traditional lecture.Future DirectionsWe anticipate that the course will improve next year based on the following facts:1) The new classroom suited to active-learning instruction will be used.2) The workshops will be revised and, hopefully, improved.3) The course will now meet from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. (coup!)This author has now incorporated active-learning techniques into a senior-level process controlcourse, and the early reviews are rave. We have bought into this mode of instruction in order toimprove the

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Saleh M. Sbenaty

was used to propel the car. The wheels were 66 cm (26 inches)bicycle wheels, two in the front for steering and one in the back for propelling (Fig. 1). Page 2.351.2 Figure 1. MTSU SOLARAIDER III and the Team MembersTHE PUBLIC PERCEPTION While the car was under construction, several news organizations have contacted MTSU inorder to promote the project to the community and to boost environmental awareness in theMiddle Tennessee area. Team members were interviewed by TV reporters, radio talk hosts, andnews columnists. During interviews, the team members explained to the audience, in simpleterms, the technical aspects of the solar

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Patrick L. Walter

semiconductor physics, piezoelectricity, operational amplifiers, dc and chargeamplifier theory, measurement system theory, and project management. A portion of thisactivity was review for the students.The RFP (RFP TCU001) was comprised of: a two page cover letter providing scoring criteriafor the proposal response, two pages of background information on the flight and itsobjectives, four pages of detailed specifications, and four pages of drawings showing payloadgeometry and providing space allocations. Fifty-six (56) detailed specifications wereprovided in all. The specification categories were: (1) Power Supply, (2) General Electrical,(3) Amplifier, (4) System Performance, (5) Physical, (6) Environmental Requirements,(7) Bridge Excitation Supply

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Charles C. Adams

science, andin clarifying that distinction in the minds of engineering students.Modern engineering is a human cultural activity that involves an interplay between theory,experiment, and imagination, in which human beings form and transform nature, for practicalends and purposes, with the aid of tools and procedures.1 Those “practical ends and purposes”involve human society in all its multifaceted complexity. Thus engineering design requires aholistic and integrated perspective on reality before engineering problems can be properlyformulated and solved. The first two sections of this paper discuss that distinction betweenengineering (or technology) and science, and examine the difficulties that ensue when thatdistinction is not made. To

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John Valasek

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Wayne C. Christensen; Robert B. Roemer; Donald S. Bloswick

1 Session 2625Section 1. Introduction/BackgroundIn a presentation to the American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development 1Conference in 1986, Alphonse Chapanis noted that, "To err is human, to forgive, design."Chapanis’ is suggesting that designers and/or design engineers have a responsibility to designsystems not just to be safe, but to anticipate and “forgive” human error. He also suggests that, 1"The only true human errors are designer errors." Chapanis’ point is that system and

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Susan Montgomery

opportunity for informal interaction.STUDENT JOURNALSI’ve found that one of the most effective ways of getting to know students better is through theuse of student journals [1]. Sample instructions for the writing of journals are: “Every class day briefly write in your journal the most important thing(s) that you learned in class that day. In addition, write anything else you wish, particularly things that you can relate to chemical engineering. The journal does not have to be restricted to classroom issues. Please write freely. The pages will not be graded for grammar, spelling, punctuation, or technical or political correctness.”The journals are due on Friday, which gives me the chance to read them over the week-end

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

James A. Reising

design, validation of the final design, and final presentation of the project results inwritten and oral form. The students work with the faculty project advisor and the industrialadvisor (or problem originator).In addition to projects sponsored by local industry and by the university, other types of projectsinvolve the invention and patent process and preparation of a paper for submission at anundergraduate research conference. IntroductionThe goals of the senior design project sequence are three:1. To examine the concepts of professional responsibility and employer authority and to review the codes of ethics of several professional organizations2. To study the various steps in the engineering design

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

C. Dianne Martin; Edmund Tsang; Rand Decker

creation of the Corporation for National Service (CNS).This paper describes three examples of implementing service learning in engineering curriculathat received direct and indirect funding support from CNS: 1) the Mechanical Engineeringcurriculum at the University of South Alabama, 2) the Electrical Engineering and ComputingScience curriculum at George Washington University, and 3) the Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering Department at University of Utah.THREE CASE STUDIES OF SERVICE LEARNING IN ENGINEERINGIntegrating Service Learning into a First-Year Mechanical Engineering Course Page 2.355.1The faculty of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert M. Henry

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard H. Barnett; Mary A. Eiff; D. Perry Achor; Troy E. Kostek; William J. Hutzel; Bruce Harding

demonstration, tour guides show and explain the differentevents. It is important that students watch and learn the rules that govern each event at this time.A subsequent practice session enables students to complete each task at their own pace andbecome more familiar with the equipment. In the competition mode each event is scored, usuallyby keeping track of the time to complete the assigned task. Teams of students cooperate to earnthe highest number of points while sharpening their pencils.Station 1: Harvesting the Timber In order to produce products, raw materials must first be acquired. In this case, selectiveharvesting of timber is the most basic starting point. Thus the rationale for this station is toinitially gather the raw materials for

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Raymond Yannuzzi; Edward McDonnell; Bradshaw Kinsey; Robert Bowman

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Eric Campbell; Yolanda Guran

1997 Annual Conference Proceedings_____________________________________________ Session 3548 Should We Teach Chip Design in Electronics Engineering Technology Programs? A Senior Project Course in ASIC Design Yolanda Guran, Eric Campbell Oregon Institute of Technology/Analogy Inc. 1. IntroductionTeaching circuit design up to chip layout seemed exotic for Electronics EngineeringTechnology(EET) programs for many years in the recent past. Many educators believed thatcourses like VLSI Design or ASIC Design should be destined only for

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Chong Chen; Walter Buchanan

[1], a popularcircuit simulation software package. With Electronics Workbench, RLC circuit resonance can bedemonstrated very easily. This software package can save both the cost of the circuitcomponents and the time to build and modify the circuit. Using Electronics Workbench, studentscan change the circuit parameters to the values they want and find the voltages and currents ofthe circuit corresponding to these values. Therefore, they may see the conditions of RLC circuitresonance from the circuit simulation for themselves. IntroductionFor circuit analysis courses, RLC circuit resonance is a topic that is not easily accepted bystudents when they are taught in a classroom. RLC circuit resonance can be

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

James E. Cross

wasused. It is given as w = 0.54 + 0.46cos(6.2832*n)/N. The x term is the input from the A/Dconverter. There must be the same number of elements of x as there are elements of h whenperforming the convolution . The signal is sampled and stored in memory as x[0], x[1], x[2], ...,x[N-1]. Performing the convolution is a multiplication and accumulation process. A majordifference between a conventional processor and a The speed and cost of computers are nowsuch that digital methods are rapidly replacing analog methods for the real-time processing ofsignals. A typical real-time digital processing system will first use an analog to digital converterto change the signal to a digital form. An algorithm will be used to manipulate the signal insome desired

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John S. Cundiff; Foster A. Agblevor

name to Biological SystemsEngineering better communicates the range of activities in the Department and in the discipline.A new curriculum was designed, primarily by refocusing on-going activity in the Department.This curriculum allows the student opportunity to choose electives which develop a “limitedspecialization.” The two specializations available are: 1. Land and Water Resource Engineering 2. Biological EngineeringBackgroundLand and Water Resource Engineering builds on a traditional strength in AgriculturalEngineering. This limited specialization focuses on the stewardship of our land and waterresource. Issues are soil conservation, water quality, non-point source pollution, precisionfarming, decision support

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Alexandre Cabral; Rolland Viau; Denis Bédard

motivational tools served as means to create a betterteaching and learning environment in the classroom and in the laboratory. The response of thestudents was constantly monitored. The results show that the various activities strategicallyplanned to motivate the students to become active learners and to situate them in the context ofthe practice of Civil Engineering had a positive effect on several aspects, including theirperception the of the significance of the knowledge being acquired, of the reality of their futureprofession and of the importance of the tools they might need. Another significant increaserelates to the perception the students ended up with of their capacity to transfer the knowledgeacquired to other situations.1. General

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Steven P.K. Sternberg

Session 2513 Small Group, In-Class Problem Solving Exercises. Steven P.K. Sternberg University of North DakotaIntroductionThis paper discusses an informal group cooperative learning exercise. The technique has beenused in two chemical engineering classes, 1) mass transfer and equilibrium staged separations(junior level) and 2) chemical kinetics and reactor design (senior level). The exercises aredesigned to allow students to simultaneously practice their technical and communicationskills. The technique uses informal cooperative group learning to augment traditional

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Mulchand S. Rathod; Joella H. Gipson

]. Page 2.426.1 1 The Southeast Michigan Alliance for Reinvestment in Technological Education (SMARTE) is a consortiumof community colleges, school systems, WSU, and businesses in southeast Michigan formed in September 1993.The alliance exists to promote communication and cooperation among its partners to address mutual needspertaining to education of the technological workforce. Its mission is to work collaboratively in a virtual center thatfocuses its efforts on restructuring of technical curricula and teaching practices in mathematics and science withintegration of authentic activities in an application mode. During the last year, three enrichment programs for middle school

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Vincent Allen; Bruce E. Segee; Scott C. Dunning

in a presentable form to the user. The strength in thistype of architecture is that new servers can be developed and made available to the user throughthe container without any modification to the container code or that servers can be mixed andmatched in order to provide different functionality within the same container. The developmentof servers also provides valuable educational experience for students in terms of programming,software engineering, and also energy efficiency in the industrial and business communities.1. IntroductionSince 1978, the U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored the Industrial Assessment Centerprogram (IAC). This program provides “no-cost” industrial assessments to small and medium-sized manufacturers around the

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Scott Aten; Derek T. Schade; Kurt J. Colella

evaluation planfor the entire vessel. The following presents an outline of the procedures and results of the 1996Solar Splash design team’s test plan, and the details of CGA's 1996 Splash entry.Hull Subgroup The hull design for USCGA's 1996 Solar Splash entry was, for the most part, preservedfrom the 1995 entry. The design is a trimaran-type vessel with a streamline main hull andpontoons for stability. The original reasons for implementing this concept included reducedresistance, adequate stability, ease of constructibility, sufficient internal volume to accommodatea propulsion system, and adequate deck area to support a series of solar cells (figure 1

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

R. E. Rowlands

Session 1668 Some Tutorial Software for Teaching Composites R. E. Rowlands Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Wisconsin-MadisonABSTRACTThe amount of "number-crunching" associated with the mechanics of composite materialsrenders it difficult to assign "what-if", "trial and error" or "design-type" homework or projectswithout computational assistance. Several tutorial-type software programs have been developedtherefore and are demonstrated here. Graphics are used generously, including some animation.1. INTRODUCTIONSome of the

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Roman Z. Morawski; Jerzy Woznicki; Andrzej Krasniewski

last few years, a significant effort has been taken to restructure the system of study atthe Faculty. Students admitted before 1994 have followed the traditional pattern of university-level engineering education in Poland, i.e., they have pursued a five-year program leading to adegree equivalent to the Master of Science (Master of Engineering) in the selected field ofengineering3,4. With the beginning of the academic year 1994/95, a new system of study wasintroduced. In what follows, we briefly describe those features of the system that mostsignificantly contribute to its flexibility. A more detailed description of the system of study at ourFaculty can be found elsewhere8,11,12,13,19,20.The general structure of the studies is shown in Fig. 1

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Jon E. Freckleton

Design for Manufacture(DFM). DFA covers two quantifiable measurements of assembleability; Boothroyd Dewhurst (BDI) manual and software techniques’2’ , and the SEER (3) Technology software technique. DFMcovers: casting, molding, sheet metal, powder metal, extrusion, forging, and machining. TheBDI DFM software (4) I.S used for the five processes that have been developed to date.Homework consists of: 1. Reading from the text 2. Four papers 3. A DFA manual calculation 4. A “Tip-a-Can” design, and working prototype”’ 5. A DFMA project; due in phases, to force timely work, and to make sure the grading workload is almost livable

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Lisa A. Riedle; Jill M. Clough

positive. The quality of reports andpresentations improved, and the percentage of students retained in engineering also improved.Allowing students to start with a familiar object an relate it to engineering may be an excellentopportunity to explain the various disciplines and phases of engineering. The projects alsoimproving retention of freshmen students while building interpersonal, communication, andcreative problem solving skills.I. BackgroundGE 102 Introduction to Engineering is a relatively new course at UW-Platteville. The course is designedto 1) provide a broad overview of the engineering profession, 2) describe the engineering programsavailable at UW-Platteville, 3) familiarize students with campus resources, 4) encourage students

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Anthony J. Muscat; Evan D. H. Green; Emily L Allen; Linda Vanasupa

environment is organizationally intensive but an important element of thecourse. It consists of preparing an employee handbook, fostering team communication skills,demanding excellence of each student, creating a World Wide Web page, and choosing a logo. ASpartan Semiconductor “Employee Handbook” contains most of the documents needed to workfor the “company.” The handbook is divided into five sections: (1) Employee Handbook whichcontains administrative documents such as the syllabus, lab schedules, and lecture schedules; (2)Continuing Education which contains the lecture notes used in class and supplementary readingmaterials not covered in the textbook; (3) Process Handbook which contains the traveler andother supplementary information on safety, etc

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ronald Matusiak; David Andruczyk; D. Steven Barker; Stephanie Goldberg; Ilya Grinberg

applications used in a variety of industries.Stepper motors are a major component of many robotics applications. The complexity of anyengineering system’s structure depends on many factors. Examples of these for the design ofstepper motor (SM) applications are: 1) the level of the technical progress in the particularapplication, 2) manufacturing technology requirements, 3) safety and environmental factors, 4)equipment and machines used in the process, 5) economic considerations. The systems approachis imperative in that it coordinates the elements of a SM application, the elements of otherengineering applications of the project as well as the elements of the involved economicinfrastructure.1 The diagram which illustrates the coordination between these

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Bruce A. Finlayson

each problem requires that the student-generated part beexamined term by term. In this case, evaluating the function for x=1 would detect the error whencompared with a hand calculation (with presumably correct syntax). However, the instructorprefers never to use 1.0, but at least use 1.1, etc., because if the correct term is 2x and one usex=1, the same answer is obtained if the term is 2x or 2. These subtle distinctions and strategiesare important to learn.The next part of the computer tools one needs to learn is when to use which tool. It is easy tosolve a single nonlinear algebraic equation in both MATLAB and EXCEL. Sets of nonlinearequations can be solved in both by developing an optimization function which is to be mini-mized, giving the

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Steven J. Hoffman; Samuel C. Homsy; Kevin M. Morrison; David R. Dowling; Zoran S. Filipi; Dennis N. Assanis

nitric oxide in the exhaust[1]. Electronic injection systems not only give the designer much more control over thecombustion process, but also require the use of novel diagnostic techniques in the context ofmixing and combustion studies. Such experimental investigations often require a multi-disciplinary approach and therefore have very high educational value for participatingengineering students. The tasks include: identification of the parameters that need to bemeasured for the particular study, identification of signals that will allow indirect measurementsof parameters that are difficult or impossible to measure directly; and finally development of