Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Johnson

Session 1532 “Smart Pallet” Design using Optoelectronics and Programmable Microcontrollers Richard T Johnson Ball State University Muncie, IndianaIntroduction:The project goal was to design and implement a cost effective and autonomous product transportdevice capable of functioning in an automated assembly line manufacturing environment. Allthe information necessary for the automated assembly of a finished product accompanies theproduct through the manufacturing process. Specific assembly

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Marcus O. Durham; Robert A. Durham; Rosemary Durham

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT: A Course for SurvivalMarcus O. Durham, PhD, PE, Robert A. Durham, PE, PhD candidate 2004, Rosemary Durham University of Tulsa / D2 Tech Solutions / THEWAY Corp.Abstract: Engineering survival and success depends on many skills in addition to technicalexcellence. The class looks at topics from professionalism to ethics, from presentation to peopleskills, from project management to international cultures. These issues are more important thanever in an engineering environment that is very dynamic and involves frequent transitionsbetween employers and job functions. Numerous assessments of personality styles are addressedalong with needs and motivation assessments. Because of the changing

Conference Session

ABET Criterion 4 and Liberal Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Gary Gabriele

is given equal consideration with the issues of how our society haschanged as a result of the introduction of this form of communication.After these short exercises, the major project is undertaken, typically involving the design ofprototypes for a real community project. An example from one semester was the design ofstructures to aid farmers in the display and marketing of their products at the local farmers’market. The purpose of this project was to develop an expandable, collapsible, portable systemof display, shelter, attachment, layout, etc. that could display, carry, or protect the farmer’sproduce, fliers, etc. and could be secured to the site (walls, ground, cars, bodies, etc.). Here,through exercises in observation, students studied

Conference Session

Minorities in Research

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Gbekeloluwa Oguntimein

technological advances to achieve nationalobjectives. Analyses have shown that there may be a significant shortage in the entry-level science and engineering labor pool, and that scientific and technical fields could besignificantly affected. Demographic data show a future with proportionately fewer youngpeople and a work force comprised of growing numbers of minorities and theeconomically disadvantaged. These groups, which the economy must increasingly rely,have been historically underrepresented in science, engineering and related fields. Theadded dimension of a projected shortage of qualified science and mathematics instructorsat the pre-college and undergraduate levels could have serious consequences for thenation’s scientific and technological

Conference Session

Opportunities in Environmental Engineering Curriculum

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Butkus

perceived by students as reinforcing rather than redundant. Examplesof such experiences include field trips, hands-on laboratory exercises, modeling, technicaldesigns, experimental designs, independent laboratory research projects, and research papers.This paper links the U.S. Military Academy Environmental Engineering curriculum, ABEToutcomes a-k, and ABET Environmental Engineering Program Criteria to selected noteworthyexperiences. Assessment results are presented, which attempt to evaluate the effectiveness ofsignificant experiences. The drawbacks associated with omission of several desired experiencesfrom the curriculum are also addressed.Introduction Besides providing a discipline-specific undergraduate education, the United

Conference Session

Curriculum Development in Computer Engineering Technology

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Dwight Egbert; Dave Williams

likelihood of theirsuccess in a conventional programming class in a future semester. Equally significant, the coursemaintains student participation in the technical curriculum and will therefore be likely toimprove student retention. Other students seeking Matlab instruction, additional problem-solvingdevelopment, or an introduction to elementary game programming are also invited to enroll. Thecourse has also been accepted as a technical elective for non-engineering majors but is notapplicable toward the college’s Engineering Technology or Engineering Science degrees.The structure, curriculum, and class project used in the initial offering of the course are presentedin this paper. The real centerpiece of the course was a collaborative class project

Conference Session

Graduate Education in ET

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Warren Koontz

unripe MTS had to complete a series of “Bell SystemTechnology” courses before he or she was considered ready to work effectively ontelecommunications projects. That is, Bell Labs used its own resources to fill what it perceived tobe a gap in the engineering curricula.Bell Labs was in a unique position to offer telecommunications education to its employees. Itwas part of a regulated monopoly and faced no significant competition. All of this changedaround the time of the break-up of the Bell System in 1984. Bell Labs, which was now part ofthe new AT&T Corporation, became one of many telecommunications companies competing forpeople who could become productive quickly without elaborate company-provided training.Thus the advent of competition in

Conference Session

Entrepreneurism in BME

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Peter Mente; Marian McCord; Elizabeth Loboa; Susan Blanchard

in a major team project that allows them to put some of the theory they learn intopractice. For their project, students are split into teams of 3 or 4 individuals. After beingintroduced to the major principles associated with the mechanobiology of mesenchymal tissuedifferentiation, the students are asked to perform research to determine the optimal tensile strain,duration of strain, and other factors to best promote the differentiation of mesenchymal stemcells down an osteogenic (bone forming) pathway. They provide a preliminary report in theform of an “Introduction” for a major peer-reviewed journal article that provides a thoroughbackground and analysis of why they chose the mechanical loading protocol they did. They thendiscuss their team

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Asad Azemi

computer-programming course for engineers is usually taught using the C++programming language. This work describes our current effort to introduce a pilot project,which can be used in an evaluation process by those departments that would like to substituteMatlab for C++. Those who would like to continue the current practice, but are looking for morechallenging problems/projects involving Matlab can also use the project outcome. The project,at this time, is not calling for elimination of C++, but merely a reversal of our on-going practiceat Penn State; namely, twelve weeks of Matlab and two weeks of C++. A discussion of theadvantages and disadvantages of conducting a computer-programming course in this format areincluded.I. IntroductionComputer

Collection

2004 ASEE North Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Arron Pabst; Stephen Williams

Instrumentation Control for Pulse EPR Spectroscopy Arron Pabst Stephen WilliamsMedical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee, WIAbstractA collaborative project is described involving the Milwaukee School of Engineering and theMedical College of Wisconsin, and the National Institutes for Health. The purpose of this projectis to design and implement a computer-based instrumentation control system for an electronparamagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer utilizing pulse excitation. Background informationon the application of EPR spectroscopy in the context of this project is provided. The

Conference Session

Portable/Embedded Computing II

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Cameron Wright; Michael Morrow; Thad Welch

Abstract In recent years, more and more students have been designing and implementing small sys- tems using real-time DSP hardware. Given the decreasing cost and the increasing capability of DSP starter kits (DSKs) and evaluation modules (EVMs), these projects are being used by greater numbers of educators as a valuable pedagogical tool. Currently, the ability to easily control a number of electrical loads totaling several hundred watts using DSKs or EVMs does not readily exist. Yet DSP control of significant electrical loads can add depth and interest to many student projects. This paper will discuss the design, construction, and use of a very compact, dual-tone multiple-frequency (DTMF) based decoder and power

Conference Session

Topics in Mechanical ET

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Lobaugh

machining practices book (Kibbe)3 and a lab manual created at Penn state.The lab manual specifically detailed the student’s assignment(s) within each module. Withineach module, the students were required to read the appropriate textbook material (Degarmo andKibbe) pertaining to the module they were assigned, complete the homework assignments, andfamiliarize themselves with the components for each machine. The lab instructor would thendemonstrate the proper operation of the machines to each group of 3 students. Each module wasperformed by a group of 3 students during which they would each manufacture small pre-designed projects as a demonstration of their understanding of each process. This class wasnever intended to train students to be proficient

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Robi Polikar; Maria Tahamont; Ravi Ramachandran; Linda Head

two specific objectives: (1) to provide ECE students with fundamental and contempo-rary BME knowledge for future career and graduate study opportunities; and (2) to improve stu-dents’ interest in and comprehension of ECE concepts by acquainting them with engineering so-lutions to real world problems in medicine. These objectives are achieved by integrating a set ofexperiments – designed to demonstrate a wide spectrum of BME concepts – into core ECEcourses, along with a new elective providing a comprehensive BME overview. Expected outcome of this project is a learning paradigm, serving as a model for integratingnovel content into core engineering curriculum. If proven successful, the full development of thisapproach can serve as a building

Conference Session

Recruiting/Retention Lower Division

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Malika Moutawakkil; Lisa Hunter; J.D., Christine Andrews; Leslie Wilkins

students a basis for further work in STEM fields at some later date, therebyexpanding student options rather than closing them off.4Other recommendations for reform of the undergraduate STEM curriculum focus oninvestigative learning, technology, laboratory experience, and collaborative work. Programs thathave provided students an opportunity to engage in hands-on, real-world projects have beensuccessful in increasing female enrollment and retention.1 Establishing the relevance and socialvalue of these fields is another effective retention strategy. Smith College, Rensselaer Page 9.294.4 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for

Conference Session

Manufacturing Laboratory Experience

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Can Saygin

learning within the scope of integrated manufacturing concept and theirlaboratory requirements are discussed. A sample project is described in order to highlight theoverall approach.IntroductionThe rapid growth of information technologies that has provided public access to a vast assemblyof educational resources and learning opportunities has transformed the capacity of highereducation to deliver educational and training programs to learners of different age groups. Page 9.56.1Increased enrollment of adult learners who demand an education using these new information “Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education

Conference Session

International Engineering Education II

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Eck Doerry

partner university. An important side benefit in this age of dwindlingeducational resources is that students will have access to the full array of specialized electivetopics, laboratory equipment and practical experiences available at any partner university.From a practical perspective, the Global Engineering College (GEC) model consists of four keyelements that interact in complementary fashion to provide a wide range of internationalexperience and training opportunities: Curriculum Internationalization. International perspectives can be integrated into existing engineering course curricula by replacing generic, context-free assignments and projects with “scenario-based” challenges, in which the same pedagogic exercises are situated

Conference Session

Innovative Classroom Techniques

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

James Newell

-endedresearch and design projects through the Junior/Senior Engineering Clinic. The Learning Combination Inventory (LCI) is a survey instrument developed byJohnston and Dainton. The theoretical basis for the LCI is the Interactive LearningModel, which posits that learning processes occur through four distinct learning patterns:sequential, precise, technical, and confluent. The LCI was used to profile the learningstyle of each student in the Rowan Chemical Engineering department. During the fall2003 semester, teams of students reviewed their LCI profiles with faculty, wrote teamcharters and used biweekly written status reports to reflect on their progress throughoutthe semester. These activities were intended to further each student’s awareness ofhis

Conference Session

Computer Literacy Among Minority Students

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Marilyn Smith

go through school, and giving GIT the largest optional Proceedings of the 2004 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Copyright ©2004 by the American Society of Engineering Education.engineering Co-op program in the United States. One issue of interest to the CSEMS program isto make students aware of these opportunities early and to provide experienced guidance on howand when to pursue given opportunities.Project TeamThe CSEMS project at GIT is known as “Financial Aid for Success in Technology” (FAST). TheCSEMS program specified that very little of the project funds were to go into administrativecosts. Realizing this, a simple project management structure was set up, with team

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Elisa Linsky; Gunter Georgi

selected aspects of the history, philosophy, methodology, tools,and contemporary topics in engineering. Basic engineering experimentation anddata analysis. Team design project. Analysis and presentation of engineering data anddesigns.The course is composed of a weekly three hour lab, a two hour recitation and a one hour lecture.The teaching team for each section (there are usually between 13 and 15 sections each semesterwith 16-18 students per section) is composed of an instructor, who manages the recitation eachweek and is responsible for the semester-long design project, a writing consultant, who attendsthe second hour of recitation and delivers a 10-minute mini-lesson and then circulates among thestudents as they work on their independent

Conference Session

Engineering Education Research

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Kimberly Barron; Sang Ha Lee; John Wise; Robert Pangborn; Thomas Litzinger

Apply Engineering Skills Manage People Write Clearly Deal with Conflicts Design Lab Experiments Manage a Project

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Tom Mancine; Scott Harper; Ryan Scott; Hassan Rajaei

Session 2420 SimPlus: An Experimental Simulation Tool Hassan Rajaei, Scott Harper, Tom Mancine, Ryan Scott Department of Computer Science Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 email: rajaei@cs.bgsu.eduAbstractSimPlus is a simulation toolkit in C++. It has evolved from a final class project for a computerscience course on Simulation Techniques to its current release as a UNIX static library. A keyobjective of the final class project was to provide students

Conference Session

Advances in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Carsten Ahrens

with their practical placement - to get to know people and language - andthen have their two theoretical semesters as table 1 shows it. 1. sem. 2. sem. 3. sem. 4. sem. 5. sem. 6. sem. 7. sem. 8. sem. WS SS WS SS WS SS WS SS basic studies main studies civil and construction engineering managerial skills 2. two foreign languages 1. law, construction management, site practical practical management, project management, placement

Conference Session

Lab Experiments in Materials Science

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

John Marshall

Session 3264 Reinforcing Induction Motor Principles Via Material Technology Experiments Dr. John Marshall University of Southern MaineIntroductionThis is an excellent design and fabrication project that can be used in introductoryengineering classes to teach motor principles as well as material selection. The basicconcept of this activity was originally developed by Beakman’s World, and I haveimproved it over the past ten years while teaching motor principles at the university level.Standard Radio Shack materials

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Innovations in ECE

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Yingzi Du; Robert Ives; Delores Etter; Thad Welch

commercial equipment, including iris scan, fingerprint and facialrecognition hardware and software. The course was comprised of three lecture hours and two labhours each week. We discuss the topics that were covered, the equipment in the lab thatsupported each topic, the projects that the students performed, field trips, guest lecturers andrelated senior design projects.I. Backgr ound The United States Naval Academy is a unique undergraduate institution in many ways. Inaddition to spending their summers flying jet fighters, driving navy ships and submarines orspending some time as a Marine, the students at the Naval Academy have the opportunity towork closely with many government agencies concerned with national defense, including theNaval

Conference Session

Interdisciplinary Approaches

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Dunn; John Brauer

taught in an elective two coursesequence to all disciplines of undergraduate engineers. The objective of the curriculum is toenhance the effectiveness of the engineering graduates through an understanding of the dynamicsof corporate processes.The first course in the sequence, Fundamentals of Integrated Engineering & Business, introducesthe students to corporate financial reporting including balance sheets, income and expense andcash flows. Human resources processes, management fundamentals, project management, stage-gate development processes, supply chain management and quality topics are also covered. Thecourse incorporates at least four guest speakers to close out the major topics and a breakfastopportunity with a corporate

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Virgil Cox; Stephen Kuyath

high schools in the region is coordinating an outreach project, usingcommunity college faculty who will focus on mentoring, tutoring, and encouragingunderrepresented groups in engineering and engineering technology. Community college facultywill assist in developing hands-on activities, provide lectures, provide guidance in projects, tutorhigh school students in the preparation of competitions, talk with parents about the rewards ofengineering technology careers, and provide information about community college programs andfinancial aid.This year, two competitions will be held for high school engineering technology clubs. The firstwill be an academic and robotic competition between high schools near Gaston College. Thesecond competition will be

Conference Session

Assessment & Evaluation of Graphics Programs

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Stewart; David Elrod

for Engineering Educationtext. Student performance was assessed by grading homework, the student’s notebook, two teamCAD projects, 2 major exams, a number of laboratory quizzes, and a final exam. All studentwork was evaluated summatively, as part of the final grade for the course. The grade a studentreceived for the course included evaluations of the student’s initial understanding of each newconcept.Prior to the 2002 summer semester, ME/CEE 1770 was revised using the “backward design”approach of Wiggins and McTighe1. The approach is a three stage curriculum planning sequencefor educators. In the first stage, educators identify the enduring understandings to be learned andretained by students. In the second stage, educators determine what

Conference Session

Writing and Communication I

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Lisa McNair; Garlie Forehand; Beverly Sutley-Fish; Michael Laughter; Judith Norback

identified through theinterviews into evaluation rubrics used for the students and the instructor of the course.The project includes four kinds of activities. First, curriculum is created that incorporatesdocuments and communication skills identified through interviews with practicing professionals.Second, students practice their workplace communication skills with personal feedback fromtheir instructor and lab staff. Third, students complete assignments requiring the production ofworkplace documents such as emails and executive summaries. Fourth, for evaluation purposes,students provide before- and after- examples. For instance, students’ presentations arevideotaped before and after they receive instruction in presenting.In this paper, seven topics

Conference Session

Technology-Based Entrepreneurship Courses

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael Muhlbaier; Peter Jansson

universities. Marketstudies completed by the students as part of this internal grant award show that the concept'spotential for success would be sufficient to justify the development investment in prototypes anddo further test marketing research. The project was undertaken as part of Rowan's InnovativeEngineering Clinic which all junior and senior engineers must participate in. The student teamcompeted in order to receive the award of $2,500. Funding for the award is made possible fromthe National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Rowan and NCIIA hascreated a Venture Capital Fund, specifically ear-marked for the development of originalinventions by multidisciplinary student teams within the Junior and Senior Engineering

Conference Session

IE Accreditation and Program Issues

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mary Besterfield-Sacre; Jayant Rajgopal; Bryan Norman; Bopaya Bidanda; Kim Needy

have a muchmore critical need for general skills related to (a) communication and teamwork, (b) uncertaintyand costs, and (c) recognizing local and global implications of their decisions. Moreimportantly, they need the ability to synthesize these with the technical skills taught in theircurricula. Students also often fail to see that when one looks at a particular real-world problem,different IE concepts and methods could apply (albeit in varying degrees), and that the essence ofIE lies in the synthesis of all these methods within a systems-level approach. While mostprograms have a senior design project of some sort there are very few curricula that go beyondthis to explicitly address the issue of synthesis.Localization/Globalization. As noted