Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Experiments and Labs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glen Thorncroft, California Polytechnic State University; J. Scott Patton, California Polytechnic State University; Raymond Gordon, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

loweroutside pressure (such as atmosphere) through a small opening. The goal of this experiment is topredict either the time required to discharge the tank, or the pressure inside the tank, after aspecified time. The exercise is useful to students because it is a rather straightforwardapplication of conservation of mass, and introduces the concepts of choked and subsonic flows.Further, the solution integrates aspects of thermodynamics and heat transfer, making for anexcellent capstone experiment in thermal sciences. The most comprehensive solution to the problem is presented by Bober et al.1 Theyapplied conservation of energy to a discharging tank of air to predict the temperature andpressure inside the tank as a function of time. They analyzed

Conference Session

Effective Tools for Teaching Engineering Economy

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kailash Bafna, Western Michigan University; Betsy Aller, Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Engineering at Western Michigan University. She teaches the capstone senior design sequence and the College-wide engineering design courses. She is a member of ASEE, ASEM, and SME, for which she is the student chapter advisor. Page 12.676.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Enhancing the Learning of Engineering Economy with Innovative Technology and TeachingAbstractAs one migrates from the traditional classroom instruction using black or white boards to the useof computers, many other forms of technology have become available—both as hardware andsoftware—that can

Conference Session

Best Zone Paper Competition

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Doug Tougaw, Valparaiso University; Michael McCuddy, Valparaiso University

consequently would expectsmaller changes. In contrast, we would expect to find a much greater pretest/posttest differenceamong groups of students with a lower level of sophistication regarding technology and itimplications. On balance, reasonable evidence exists regarding the efficacy of the ethics education Page 12.837.9approach we have developed.The impact of the training for the engineering students may have been mitigated  ironically  bytechnology. The PowerPoint projection system in the classroom in which the engineering studentsmet was less than fully functional given poor in-room lighting. Thus, the engineering students didnot have the

Conference Session

How to Effectively Teach Using Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ricardo Jacquez, New Mexico State University; Veera Gnaneswar Gude, New Mexico State University; Adrian Hanson, New Mexico State University; Michele Auzenne, New Mexico State University; Sarah Williamson, New Mexico State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Page 12.664.2knowledge acquired in two pre-requisite courses, “Environmental Science” and“Introduction to Fluid Mechanics,” and develops new skills which are specifically 2applicable to the department’s capstone design classes. The general objective of applyingskills used by successful practicing professional engineers, critical (reflective) thinking, isaddressed throughout the course and is the primary focus of the process of supplementalinstruction (SI).SI has been conducted for this class since Spring 2003. The purpose of the SI is to guidethe student’s development of critical thinking skills through: • Identifying confusion or lack of

Conference Session

Design of Lab Experiments II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gerald Recktenwald, Portland State University; Robert Edwards, Pennsylvania State University-Erie

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

. Page 12.1562.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Using Simple Experiments to Teach Core Concepts in the Thermal and Fluid SciencesIntroductionThis paper documents the start of a research project involving laboratory exercises for coreundergraduate classes in the thermal and fluid sciences. Students perform experiments oneveryday technology such as a hair dryer, a bicycle pump, a blender, a computer power supply,and a toaster, or very simple hardware such as a tank of water with a hole in it, or a pipe sectionwith a change of area. The equipment is chosen because it is familiar to students, or at least thatthe physical principles of operation are easy to understand. The laboratory

Conference Session

IE Program Design I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Manuel Morales, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Alexandra Medina-Borja, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

Industrial Engineering

students).After the arrangement of these features twelve types of homogeneous groups were formed: • Public Spanish high school, • Transfer, • Private English high school • Private high school • Rural high school • Pre-basic • Academic difficulties, • Graduate in five years, • Coop, • Private English freshmen, • Public Spanish freshmen, and • Pre-basic freshmen.Fifty five students participated in this project. Twenty three were females and twenty two males,all of them were undergraduate students ranging from the freshmen to the fifth-plus year.Students’ were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding demographic and high school relatedfactors, such as the type of high school they attended, the language of instruction (English orSpanish or

Conference Session

Our Future in Manufacturing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Danielson, Arizona State University; Trian Georgeou, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Llewellyn Mann, University of Queensland; David Radcliffe, University of Queensland; Gloria Dall'Alba, University of Queensland

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

, alternately, that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products; • Transportation that improves the quality of life while delivering goods and services; • A world of abundance, not one of limits, pollution, and waste.Building on this, McLennan2 puts forward the following definition of sustainable design:“Sustainable Design is a design philosophy that seeks to maximize the quality of the builtenvironment, while minimizing or eliminating negative impact to the natural environment.”Sustainable design is seen as a philosophy, an approach to design that can be applied to anyobject or project. It tries to enhance quality which as McLennan (p5) argues is about “creatingbetter buildings for people, better

Conference Session

The Impact of Curriculum on the Retention of Women Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia Backer, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

a particulartheme of inquiry, as well as the Senior Capstone project.”2 The freshmen inquiry course onDesign & Society is one of nine themes offered.In Fall 2002, SJSU began their MUSE program for incoming freshmen. MUSE was designed tobridge the gap from high school to college. MUSE includes academic seminars on a variety ofsubjects that help the freshmen students gain skills that are necessary to academic success. Inaddition, all MUSE classes are certified in one of SJSU’s General Education areas. Therefore,students taking the MUSE seminars receive three units of General Education credit. Theseminars qualify in one of the following areas: B1 (physical science), B2 (life science), C1(arts), C2 (letters), D1 (human behavior), or E

Conference Session

Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lari Garrison, University of Washington; Reed Stevens, University of Washington; Portia Sabin, University of Washington; Andrew Jocuns, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

research projects and jobs inthe field (both on campus and off) as being factors in one’s chance of being admitted. Of all ofthese, however, grades seemed to be what most students thought was given the greatest weight inthe decision about their futures in engineering. This is not surprising, given that much of the Page 12.428.9assessments given by advisors relied heavily upon GPA. The other things, like activities played asupporting role. They were things used to bolster or prop up one’s chances, if one’s GPA was notbelieved to be strong enough.The students who were most confident in their chances, like Joe and Renee, talked very little, ifat all