Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Innovations in ECE

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Brown; Michael Flynn; Gordon Carichner; Dennis Sylvester; David Blaauw; Catharine June

Session 2632 VLSI Design Curriculum Richard B. Brown, Dennis Sylvester, David Blaauw, Michael Flynn, Gordon Carichner and Catharine June Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2122Abstract—The Intel Foundation has funded a project at the University of Michigan to develop,document, and disseminate a world-class VLSI curriculum. This paper, which is the first presen-tation of the project, describes the overall curriculum at a high level

Conference Session

Outreach: Future Women in Engineering II

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Sherion Jackson; Andrew Jackson; Bob Wilkins

the GEAR-UP program were from area middleschools including Sulphur Springs, Greenville, and Commerce, Texas, an area of roughly 250square miles. Transportation, snacks, and the mid-day lunch were provided to the students whoattended class for three consecutive weeks (Monday through Thursday) between 9:00 AM and12:00 noon. Students participated in an engineering project to design, build, test, market, andcompete in a paper airplane competition. The program resulted in 36 classroom contact hoursbetween the faculty and the students in the program. Three full-time engineering, technology, and educational administration faculty membersfrom TAMUC were involved in daily events that included project management, cost engineering,design

Conference Session

Educational Research Initiatives at NSF

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Krishna Vedula

, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) -This program seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents)receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Two types of proposals are solicited: Type 1proposals provide for full implementation efforts at academic institutions, and Type 2 proposalssupport educational research projects on associate or baccalaureate degree attainment in STEM.Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) - The CCLI program seeks toimprove the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education forall students, based on research concerning the needs and

Conference Session

Introduction to Engineering and More

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Craig Gunn

the senior students and carefully evaluate theactivity. Students were allowed to practice their teaming skills through the planning andimplementation aspects of the assignment and their communication skills through the reportingphase. This paper provides the relevant assignments and student feedback on the experience.The ProgramIn the week before classes began in fall 2003, careful planning went into the pairing of incomingfreshmen mechanical engineering students with senior capstone design teams in the Departmentof Mechanical Engineering. The projects in the capstone design course ranged from automotive Page 9.1031.1 “Proceedings of

Conference Session

Visualization and Computer Graphics

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Jianping Yue

and a fundamental skill for engineeringand technology students. These developments have revitalized educators’ interest in spatialvisualization 1, 2.Spatial visualization skills may be tested by various formats 3, 4, such as surfacefolding/unfolding, symmetry, revolution, projection, section, and rotation. Among these formats,rotation of a 3D object about one or more axes is a popular method.Psychologists have studied spatial visualization from the perspective of cognition and perception.Shepard and Metzler 5 designed an experiment to investigate the reaction time of visualizingrotated 3D objects. The objects were composed of ten face-to-face connected cubes with threeright-angled bends and two free ends, and distinct by the number of cubes

Conference Session

Teaching about New Materials

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Rita Caso; Ibrahim Karaman; Jeff Froyd; Terry Creasy; Winfried Teizer

Session 1464 Undergraduate Educational Components for Nanoscale Issues in Manufacturing Jeff Froyd, Terry Creasy, Ibrahim Karaman, Winfried Teizer, Rita Caso Texas A&M UniversityAbstractEngineering designers during the next fifty years will work intimately with tools and applicationsmade feasible by nanotechnology. Therefore, engineering undergraduates must be able tointegrate concepts and principles of nanotechnology into their knowledge bases as soon aspossible. The project “Nanoscale Issues in Manufacturing” will transfer knowledge gainedthrough nanoscale

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mya Poe; Dennis Freeman

designed and implemented in acollaboration of technical and writing professionals at MIT, which led to a tight integration of thewriting process with two research projects: an experimental project in a wet lab and a theoreticalstudy using computer simulation. For both projects, students worked in pairs to develop a formalproposal and draft a 10-page scientific paper. After receiving substantial feedback from thetechnical staff, writing staff, and peers, students revised their manuscripts. Comparisons acrossdrafts suggest that peer-review, staff critiques, and the opportunity for revision are all critical tothe educational process. Although written feedback is staff intensive, we have found thatteaching assistants can be taught to provide excellent

Conference Session

Computer-Based Measurements

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Stephen Williams; Hadi Saadat

digital computers in the loop, one can readily generate C code from graphical simulation tools such as Simulink block diagrams for real-time controller implementation. This has provided the impetus for establishment of a real-time instructional control laboratory at Milwaukee School of Engineering. In this paper the development of this innovative integrated real-time control system laboratory will be described. Next modeling, simulation, controller design and implementation of a few typical laboratory experiments and projects of different complexity are presented. This paper also reports on Simulink modeling of the nonlinear inverted pendulum with some research results for different swing-up

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Maria M. Larrondo Petrie

and measurable, and the most significant causes of poorquality and productivity are controlled or eliminated.The first CMM model developed was the Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM).Its use enhances the capabilities of the software development organization to deliver software ontime, within cost, and meeting the objectives of the system and the customer. This documentedsuccess resulted in the proliferation of CMM-based models to improve engineering processes, Page 9.1316.1which in 1998, prompted industry, the US government, and the SEI to begin the CapabilityMaturity Model Integration6 (CMMI) project to provide a single

Conference Session

Teaching Teaming Skills Through Design

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Pei-Fen Chang; Jiunn-Chi Wu

learn todeal with ambiguity and vagueness. This lack of a single right answer required our students todevelop new methods for dealing with problems because most of their previous experienceinvolved textbook-type problems with a single right answer. Furthermore, engineering studentsin Taiwan tend to be especially anxious about making mistakes. Page 9.508.1Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for EngineeringEducation Annual Conference & ExpositionCopyright 2004, American Society for Engineering Education Project design, however, is concerned with whether students are approachingproblem-solving in a logical way, and whether they can

Conference Session

Unique Courses & Services for Freshmen

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Audeen Fentiman; John Demel; Richard Freuler

creationof an Engineering Education Coalitions program by the National Science Foundation. TheGateway schools agreed to adopt or adapt Drexel's E4 program9-12 for freshmen and sophomoreswhich put engineering "up-front" and specifically included hands-on labs and incorporateddesign projects. Introducing design in the freshman year13-17 of engineering course work was amark of change for a number of engineering programs in the last decade. Page 9.271.1 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering EducationPutting

Conference Session

Attracting Young MINDs

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Diana Muldrow; Rosa Cano; Deran Hanesian; Henry McCloud; Angelo Perna; Howard Kimmel

, mentoring activitiesand peer support, we have systematically organized the Center’s programs into severalcomplementary categories.• Teaching, curriculum reform and standards• Science and math for access for children with disabilities• Access to college curriculum through the Pre-college Academy• Urban outreach• Women in Engineering and Technology Initiatives• The Trio Programs• The Bridge to Engineering ProgramElementary Science Outreach ProgramInitiated in 1987, The Elementary Science Outreach Program was developed in collaborationwith the Newark Public Schools.1 STEM graduate students assist teachers with hands-oninquiry science activities in their classrooms once a week. The project has succeeded in helpingteachers to change some of their in

Conference Session

Support and Partnership Opportunities

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

John Ochs

and Management,Integrated Business and Engineering, Integrated Computer Science and Business, and acampus-wide, year-long experiential program in Integrated Product Development.Entrepreneurship teaching – graduate: Historically, entrepreneurship education atLehigh has focused on the graduate MBA program in the College of Business andEconomics. This program has recently implemented an entrepreneurial track led by anexperienced and successful entrepreneur. The graduate MBA has been augmented by acombined MBA and Engineering Masters program, where students earn dual degrees inbusiness and engineering. Also at the graduate level, one of the authors, Professor Ochshas offered a new product development course with industry-sponsored projects

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Bill Ray

Carbondale/3Graduate Assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Southern Illinois University at CarbondaleAbstractThe purpose of this project is to develop a web site to provide environmental engineeringfaculty with digital images of water and wastewater processes in order to enhance theclassroom learning experience. In addition, a CD-ROM of the same material will soon beavailable. As this project nears completion, the number of images is increasing rapidly.We have quality digital images of water and wastewater processes. This currentlyincludes approximately 100 different still images and 10 video clips. There are alsoapproximately 150 images of various water resources and hydrologic processes. The stillimages are

Conference Session

Advances in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Neil S. Grigg; Darrell G. Fontane; Marvin Criswell; Thomas Siller

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2004, American Society for Engineering Educationthe ABET Accreditation Criteria, the first describing the usual role of the master’s degree and thelast three addressing profession practice topics: 12. An ability to apply knowledge in a specialized area related to civil engineering, 13. An understanding of the elements of project management, construction, and asset management, 14. An understanding of business and public policy and administration fundamentals, and 15. An understanding of the role of the leader and leadership principles and

Conference Session

Exploring New Frontiers in Manufacturing Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Sunday Faseyitan; Robert Myers; Pearley Cunningham; Winston Erevelles

program as juniors. All programs were developed in closepartnership with industry and are designed to meet accreditation standards.The National Science Foundation awarded PRIME a three-year Advanced TechnologicalEducation (ATE) grant (Division of Undergraduate Education - DUE # 0101637) towards theimplementation of a comprehensive approach to manufacturing education. The goal of the ATEproject is to support the implementation of an industry-driven regional network formanufacturing education at different levels, at times and locations best suited to new andincumbent technicians and engineers. Highlights of the ATE project include:• The implementation of an active learning model consisting of Exploration, Dialog, and Application steps for

Conference Session

Motivating Students to Achieve

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Craig Turner; Keith Johnson; W. Andrew Clark

avoided by reading literature written to assist with theteam dynamics5.One possible solution is to allow teams to select a group member from their discipline, butleaving the balance of the selection to the instructor, or insist upon selection of different sub-discipline categories. This problem is an issue primarily in the broad based disciplines such asbusiness. In technological oriented projects, teams typically are comprised of those students thathave expertise in and around the focal technology and while this may result in a rapid solution tothe problem the solutions typically have a narrow focus and do not evaluate “out of the box”solution sets. Insertion of team members with diverse educational background and experiencemay result in

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Fabio Urbani; Juan Iglesias

of commercial analysis packages are currently available, they are ratherexpensive, and the source code is not available. The latter prevents students from understandingthe logic behind the simulation.In this paper we describe an ongoing project being developed at the University of Texas atBrownsville (UTB) that intends to overcome these limitations by implementing, based on aconsolidated frequency domain technique, a novel electromagnetic structure simulator using apre-existent 94-node Beowulf machine.The merit and innovation of this project is how it integrates disperse tools and techniques into asingle coherent framework that can be utilized with minimal effort and high confidence by thecommunity interested in the research, teaching

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Edward Hensel; Elizabeth DeBartolo

Grad Math II 5 Grad Elective #1 Grad Elective #2 Grad Elective #3When BS/MS students successfully complete the entire program, they leave RIT with valuableindependent research experience, a thesis project completed, and possibly a publication withtheir name on it. They graduate in the same time as the rest of their entering freshman class,with no additional college loans to pay off in exchange for their advanced degree. Otherinstitutions have active undergraduate research programs, where students participate in semester-long or year-long research projects individually or as part of a team1,2. The general opinion isthat the students involved gain valuable experience and learn important new skills, whether ornot the

Conference Session

Teaching Design

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Bannerot

theresults are presented in the paper. Both studies produced similar conclusions.Evaluation of Team Produced Artifacts in an Innovative Design EnvironmentAn experiment was conducted in fall 2002 in the sophomore design class in theDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston to assess the skillsof young engineering students in evaluating the artifacts that resulted from the majorclass project for the semester. The 41 students self-selected into 13 teams. All teams hadfour members except for one three-member team. These artifacts resulted from a two-month long, team project: design, build and test. This project was the major componentof the course grade (50%). The “value” (or quality) of the artifact itself represented 20%of the

Conference Session

TC2K and Assessment

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Kenneth Reid; Elaine Cooney

assessment options have advantages and disadvantages, so that the “ideal”methods to measure any one objective should offer the best balance between the program needs,validity, and affordability (in time, effort, and money). She goes on to say that it is “crucial touse multi-method/multi-source approach to maximize validity and reduce bias of any oneapproach.” Of the many assessment methods Rogers recommends, the two methods that areused in this project are behavioral observations and performance appraisals. The crux of thematter is to take the behavioral observations or performance appraisals and get hard data that canbe recorded and tracked.Rubrics can be used to translate observations to objective data. A rubric is a scaled set of criteriathat

Conference Session

Computers in Education Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mahmoud Quweider

approach allows students, who are enrolled in the senior projectcourse, to simulate a digital logic project of their choosing and implement it both in softwareand hardware. The approach was found to be enriching and very effective in enforcingconcepts taught in the class as well as in drawing the students’ attention to issues of cost andreal world implementation by using a hardware-based kit for the projects realization;additionally, students where asked to run a component and cost analysis of their projects aswell. The success of the approach will be departmentalized for students who wish to conducttheir research in the digital logic design area.IntroductionThe University of Texas at Brownsville is a minority based university with almost 85

Conference Session

ETD Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

George Westrom

scientists to ensure that students will beentering the “Engineering pipeline” for future generations. The lack of motivating experienceand hands-on projects in the early K-12 grades in the American public school system turnsstudents away from careers in engineering. The paper presents a national award winning, after-school program where students 4th grade through high school become engineers and scientists,by building robots, bridges, boats, cars, airplanes, towers and scores of other hands-on projects.The Future Scientists and Engineers of America (FSEA) curriculum consists of over 50 hands-onprojects. Engineers, companies, universities and communities, team with teachers and schools tomotivate and excite students with hands-on science, mathematics

Conference Session

Engineering/Education Collaborators

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Norma Velasquez-Bryant; Gokhan Pekhan; Ahmad Itani; Pamela Cantrell

2004-3130 Nevada Teachers Integrating Engineering into Science Pamela Cantrell, Norma Velasquez-Bryant, Gokhan Pekcan, Ahmad Itani University of Nevada, RenoIntroductionThe Teachers Integrating Engineering into Science (TIES) Program is a collaborative projectamong faculty from the College of Education and the College of Engineering at the University ofNevada, Reno and teachers and administrators from four Nevada school districts. The TIESpartnership presents opportunities for both university professors and middle school scienceteachers to work collaboratively for the development and implementation of best practices inscience and mathematics education. This paper describes our project

Conference Session

Innovative Ideas for Energy Labs

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul Duesing; David McDonald

is being created with grants from industry and the National ScienceFoundation. The development has included extensive student participation. The paper discussesthe project background and educational need for this laboratory. The paper also discusses thelaboratory development process along with information on unique instructional equipment thathas been designed in the areas of machine control and energy conversion.IntroductionThere is a national need for engineering graduates who are prepared to enter the energy-relatedindustries. This is especially important with increased dependency upon sophisticated computer-based systems, deregulation and the resulting “rolling blackouts” in recent years, and thepossibility of major blackouts. National

Conference Session

Design in Freshman Year

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Philip Parker; Max Anderson

of civil engineering projects. For example, students in ageotechnical engineering course can obtain soil characteristics data from the program and usethat information to design a building foundation. In a structural engineering class following this,students design the structure that will be supported by this foundation.Our adaptation of the Sooner City concept was to take the design across the curriculum conceptand apply it to the first-semester introductory engineering course. Rather than an entire city,freshmen would complete five design projects centered on a park on campus.The goals of the project are: GOAL 1: Stimulate interest in engineering among freshmen; GOAL 2: Ensure that freshmen find the revised course “fun” yet challenging

Conference Session

Minorities in Research

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Michel Reece; Carl White

in engineering. Currently, minorities have the lowest percentageof graduates who receive advanced degrees in engineering. By embedding advancedtechnical training during a student’s freshmen and sophomore years of an undergraduatecurriculum, students are not only motivated, but also have the skill sets needed toparticipate in research. After training, the student applies technical skills learned to anadvanced research project provided by collaborative relationships with industry, theuniversity, or faculty members. The integration of research and training increases thestudent’s confidence to compete academically among fellow peers, improves graduateretention, and improves a student’s academic performance. Because of the demands ofthese added

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Philip Parker; Max Anderson

variety of civil engineering projects. For example, students in ageotechnical engineering course can obtain soil characteristics data from the program and usethat information to design a building foundation. In a structural engineering class following this,students design the structure that will be supported by this foundation.Our adaptation of the Sooner City concept was to take the design across the curriculum conceptand apply it to the first-semester introductory engineering course. Rather than an entire city,freshmen would complete five design projects centered on a park on campus.The goals of the project are: GOAL 1: Stimulate interest in engineering among freshmen; GOAL 2: Ensure that freshmen find the revised course “fun” yet

Conference Session

Teaching Innovations in Architectural Engineering

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Don Bury; Bruce Mutter

forms. Classdiscussions, conferencing, forums and real-time project reviews will utilize current “chat-room”technology and newly emerging conference software applications. Testing opportunities will bedevised through models similarly employed by Sylvan Learning Centers and NCARB, allowingonline vignettes and projects. The research will determine the extent and volume that portfoliomaterials will be allowed to be used as submissions for program requirements.The research will analyze the hardware needs required the institution for the delivery of theprogram and by students taking the individual courses. Cost analysis will include the cost ofdelivery of the program, individual courses, and impacts on faculty resources. Research willexamine

Conference Session

Curriculum Development in MFG ET

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Jacob Chen; Joseph Chen

U.S., and particularly in the Midwest.As part of a three-year Advanced Technical Education (ATE) project granted by theNational Science Foundation (NSF), this project focuses on improving the way that theaforementioned topics are taught in community college manufacturing educationprograms. It also focuses on increasing the pool of qualified applicants to these programs.Four flexible course modules and instructor-training materials were developed forintegration into a wide range of existing curricula. These modules integrate design formanufacturability (DFM), teamwork skills (including communication skills) andparametric solid modeling (PSM) content to improve the efficiency and effectiveness ofinstruction in these areas.The modules were