Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jian Peng, Southeast Missouri State University; Santaneel Ghosh, Southeast Missouri State University; Ken Surendran, Southeast Missouri State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

AC 2012-5262: REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING A CONSOLIDATED CAP-STONE DESIGN COURSE TO A MIXED STUDENT BODYDr. Jian Peng, Southeast Missouri State University Jian Peng is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics at Southeast Missouri State University. He received his B.E. degree from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1992, his M.S. degree from Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Engineering, Hangzhou, China in 1995, and his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2004. His research focuses on intelligent robotics, computer vision, and characterization of nano-material. He is a member of ASEE and IEEE.Prof. Santaneel Ghosh, Southeast Missouri

Conference Session

Community Engagement in Engineering Education: Program Models

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shoba Krishnan, Santa Clara University; Tonya Lynn Nilsson P.E., Santa Clara University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

AC 2012-3801: ENGINEERING SERVICE LEARNING: CASE STUDY ONPREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE GLOBAL COMMUNITYDr. Shoba Krishnan, Santa Clara University Shoba Krishnan received her B. ech. degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India, in 1987, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Michigan State University, East Lansing, in 1990 and 1993, re- spectively. From 1995 to 1999, she was with the Mixed-Signal Design Group at LSI Logic Corporation, Milpitas, Calif., where she worked on high-speed data communication IC design and testing. She is an As- sociate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif. Her research interests include analog and mixed-signal integrated

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations in College-Industry Partnerships

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kai Jin, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Hua Li, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Stephan J. Nix, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

Tagged Divisions

College Industry Partnerships

interesting them in specific sub-fields ofengineering.Project Description: The project is motivated by the following problem: How to increase theretention rate of engineering majors by increasing engineering related knowledge and projectsinto their first two years curriculum courses.Retention of students in colleges of engineering is an issue of current concern, since engineeringgraduates provide a high percentage of tomorrow’s technical workforce. Some argue thatretention is so important it should be used as a college outcomes assessment parameter and that itbe considered a measure of our abilities as faculty and professional engineers to design programsof study that meet market and customer expectations [5]. Historically, engineering enrollmenthas

Conference Session

Capstone Design and Innovations in ECE

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven F. Barrett, University of Wyoming; Scott A. Morton, University of Wyoming; Jeffrey R. Anderson, University of Wyoming; Sandra Root-Elledge, University of Wyoming; Cameron H. G. Wright P.E., University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2012-3187: SERVICE LEARNING: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY UN-DERGRADUATE DESIGN PROJECTSDr. Steven F. Barrett, University of Wyoming Steven F. Barrett, Ph.D., P.E., received a B.S. in electronic engineering technology from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, in 1979, a M.E.E.E. from the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1986, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1993. He was formally an active duty faculty member at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, and is now professor of electrical and computer engineering and Associate Dean for Academic Programs, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Wyoming. He is a member of IEEE (senior) and Tau Beta Pi (Chief Faculty Advisor). His research

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William R. Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

. Initiallythe teaching methods included lectures, discussions, videos, exams, and written projects(Loendorf6, 2004). Over time the teaching methods have been expanded to include recreatedartifacts (Loendorf & Geyer9, 2008), demonstrations (Loendorf & Geyer10, 2009), othercollections of technologies (Loendorf & Geyer11, 2010), and innovative visual content(Loendorf8, 2011).An additional teaching method was incorporated right from the very beginnings of the course butwas so tightly integrated into the course that it was almost overlooked. That method wasstorytelling. Stories with a historical perspective as well as personal experiences abouttechnology are intertwined throughout the entire course. These stories, in many ways, help thestudent

Conference Session

Community Engagement in Engineering Education: Program Models

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Light, Lewis-Clark College

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

things that make service-learning projects difficult to find and develop. Despite these difficulties, engineering educatorshave incorporated service learning in their curriculums. Examples of service-learning in thefreshmen and junior/senior years of an engineering program can be found with a search throughthe National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.1 However, there are few project-specific service-learning opportunities for sophomore-level foundational engineering courses. This paper seeksto fill this gap by providing a description of a service-learning project developed specifically fora statics and dynamics class. It should be noted this case study is limited in scope in that theemphasis is on program evaluation rather than academic research

Collection

2012 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Ethan Danahy; Morgan Hynes; Leslie Schneider; Danielle Dowling

The Aggregation Tool: Toward Collaborative Inquiry in Design-Based Science and Engineering Projects Ethan Danahy, Ph.D.1 [Morgan Hynes, Ph.D.,2 Leslie Schneider, Ph.D., Danielle Dowling]Abstract – A growing body of research has shown two things: (1) collaborative design-based inquiry activitiesshow remarkable gains in students’ understanding of science and (2) such activities are largely absent in theclassroom because they can be challenging to implement. In order to rectify the current situation, the InteractiveLearning and Collaboration Environment, or InterLACE, project seeks to design a suite of technological tools thatfacilitates class-wide collaborative sense-making. To that end, we have created an idea aggregation tool that

Conference Session

Global and Cultural Issues in Construction

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carla Lopez Del Puerto, Colorado State University; Jonathan Weston Elliott, Colorado State University; María de Jesús Torres, Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana

Tagged Divisions

Construction

humanitarian goals, this partnership simultaneously meets the secondarygoals of increasing human an institutional capacity and providing a global perspective forstudents at the participating educational institutions.ConclusionsThis partnership model can be used to promote integrated learning in many disciplines. Throughthis program, faculty members from US and foreign country institutions can forge partnershipswith one another to strengthen academic programs at both institutions by promoting faculty,curriculum development and international cooperation. Through research and teaching, facultyshare their diversity experience and global awareness with their students. Diverse and globally-minded students, with relevant job skills, and an understanding of

Conference Session

Contextual Competencies

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christel Heylen, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven; Jos Vander Sloten, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

christel.heylen@mirw.kuleuven.be 2 Jos Vander Sloten, Faculty of Engineering, Division of Biomechanics and Engineering Design, K.U.Leuven, Belgium Technical communication and technical writing are important skills for the daily work- life of every engineer. In the first year engineering program at KU Leuven, a technical writing program is implemented within the project based course ‘Problem Solving and Engineering Design’. The program consists of subsequent cycles of instructions, learning by doing and reflection on received feedback. In addition a peer review assignment, together with an interactive lecture using clicking devices, are incorporated within the assignments of the

Conference Session

Study Abroad, International Exchange Programs, and Student Engagements

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wilhelm Alex Friess, Rochester Institute of Technology, Dubai; Ivan E. Esparragoza, Pennsylvania State University, Brandywine; Dylan Connole

Tagged Divisions

International

approach beyond the lecture in the classroom and thetraditional assignments10. There is a need of building cross-cultural skills by facilitatinglearning experiences that complement the engineering curriculum. International experiencesare a mechanism to start building cross-cultural awareness. These international experiencesrange from online interaction (courses, seminars, short collaborative projects, etc.) to travelabroad experiences (short trips, semester long or yearlong study, research or internshipexperiences); however, merely travelling abroad, while ensuring an international experience,does not guarantee the development of global competencies. It is necessary to get immersedin another culture to develop a deep understanding of cultural

Conference Session

Global and Cultural Issues in Construction

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daphene C. Koch Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Construction

AC 2012-3163: CONSTRUCT COSTA RICA: INTERNATIONAL SERVICELEARNINGProf. Daphene C. Koch Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette Daphene Cyr Koch, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Purdue University in the Department of Building Construction Management. She has more than 10 years of industry experience and has research interests in service learning, diversity, supervisory training, and mechanical systems for buildings. Page 25.341.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Service Learning Experiences as Real World ExperiencesMuch of the research concludes that service

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Potpourri

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Irina Nicoleta Ciobanescu Husanu, Drexel University; Michael G. Mauk, Drexel University; Patrick lee Kirby, Drexel University; Bailu Xu

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

space and budget became less available. Therefore, the“lab-on-a-chip” approach seeks to overcome these difficulties, and yet to provide students with Page 25.843.4meaningful experiential activities that support and enhance the topics lectured, that are based onemerging technologies and may be easily adapted to emulate real-industrial settings.Broader objectives in microfluidics education, of which this course is an important component,stem from a two-year awarded NSF TUES project. The primary goal is to integrate microfluidicstechnology and applications into Engineering Technology (ET) curriculum, mainly for the“Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Baha Jassemnejad, University of Central Oklahoma; Wei Siang Pee, University of Central Oklahoma; Kevin Rada, University of Central Oklahoma; Devon Kelley Keith, University of Central Oklahoma; Dylan Bradley Miller; Evan C. Lemley, University of Central Oklahoma; Adam Dorety, University of Central Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

Engineering Group in the Summer Bridge 2011Program designed and built an underwater ROV (remotely-operated vehicle) to performunderwater exploration of, for example, local ponds and lakes. The duration for the project wasfour weeks in July and the first part of the Fall semester. The students were given instruction in thebasic electrical and mechanical principles associated with the project, and introduced to a set ofcomponents that would be available in the completion of the project, through a sequence learningactivities that included lectures and laboratory exercises. Students were also given instruction onthe engineering design process paradigm. The separate elements of the course were integrated asthe students designed, constructed, tested, and

Conference Session

Collaborative Projects in Architectural Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James B Guthrie P.E., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

integrated designs and collaborateeffectively with their structural engineering consultants and therefore lead more successfulprojects.The benefits of understanding structural principles apply to both ARCH and CM students.Architects typically take a lead role in building design and so an understanding of structuralprinciples can enhance their ability to produce design concepts that are coordinated with anefficient, well thought out structural system. Understanding structural concepts andnomenclature allows the architect to more effectively communicate with their structuralconsultants and better develop the structural system. In addition, the architect, as team leader

Conference Session

Hey You: Effectively Engaging Students in the Classroom

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey A. Laman, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Mary Lynn Brannon, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Irene B. Mena, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

curriculum, an increased responsibility for self-directed learning is highly desirable. Students about to embark on a career must independently beable to meet professional development demands in a rapidly changing engineering environment.Students who arrive in class with assigned reading completed, notes reviewed, and prepared forclassroom activities are developing the ability to be self-directed learners. Limited classroomcontact time can be much more effectively utilized by focusing on concepts and applicationsidentified by students as needing further review and explanation. This paper describes changesimplemented to a Civil Engineering “Structural Design of Foundations” course at a Penn StateUniversity’s College of Engineering. These included

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Justeen Olinger; Michael Hutton; Christopher Gretsch Covington; Kathleen Meehan, Virginia Tech; Richard Lee Clark Jr., Virginia Western Community College; Branden McKagen, Virginia Tech; John Harris, Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

AC 2012-3442: LAB-IN-A-BOX: TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIESTO MANAGE LARGE AND NOT SO LARGE LABORATORY COURSESMs. Justeen OlingerMichael HuttonMr. Christopher Gretsch CovingtonDr. Kathleen Meehan, Virginia Tech Kathleen Meehan is an Associate Professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engi- neering at Virginia Tech. She joined Virginia Tech in 2002 after having taught at the University of Denver (1997-1999) and West Virginia University (1999-2002). Her areas of research include optoelectronic materials and devices, optical spectroscopy, packaging for power electronic applications, and electrical engineering pedagogy.Dr. Richard Lee Clark Jr., Virginia Western Community CollegeMr. Branden McKagen

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and Technological Policy

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Boz Bowles, Louisiana State University; Paige Davis, Louisiana State University; Warren N. Waggenspack Jr., Louisiana State University; Barbara A. Heifferon, Louisiana State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

IE 4785 andENGL 2000, detailing the advanced preparation required and the methods used to teach thesecourses and a description of the global aspects of this study-abroad program, as well aspreliminary assessments of the collaborative program.Advanced Preparation:The bulk of the planning took place around the engineering course, IE 4785. The course wascertified as a Communication-Intensive (C-I) course through our university’s campus-wideCommunications across the Curriculum (CxC) program. This program improves studentcommunication skills by integrating communication based assignments in the disciplines. TheCxC program recognizes four modes of communication: writing, speaking, visual, andtechnological communication.9One of the difficulties in

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mircea Alexandru Dabacan, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca; Clint S. Cole, Digilent, Inc.; Mihaela Radu, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Joe Harris, Digilent, Inc.; Alex DUPE Wong; Monica Bot

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

liberal arts and business, due to a very packedtechnical curriculum and sometimes the high cost of education.In the electrical and computer engineering, as the complexity of microelectronic systems issteadily increasing, universities must update their curricula to cope with the increased demandsof research and development required in industry. By integrating Digital Design competitionsinto the undergraduate and graduate education, students are better prepared to enter the field ofengineering and make more meaningful contributions to their firms at an earlier rate. Accordingto published reports, looking at particular skills and attributes needed for engineers, top prioritiesin terms of future skills will be: practical applications, theoretical

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention Matters in Engineering Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph A. Morgan, Texas A&M University; Jay R. Porter, Texas A&M University; Douglas William Twigge; John Block, Texas A&M University; Mickie Byrd

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2012-3434: E-CLOCK: A WIKI-BASED OUTREACH AND RECRUIT-MENT TOOLDr. Joseph A. Morgan, Texas A&M University Joseph A. Morgan is a Full Professor in the Electronics Engineering Technology program at Texas A&M University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. His major areas of interest include wireless networking and embedded microcontroller-based data acquisition, instrumentation and control systems. Morgan has also served as Director of engineering and as a Senior Consultant to the private sector where he has been involved in several design, development and system integration projects sponsored by the FAA, USAF, and major airport authorities. As a Texas A&M faculty member, he

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Isabel Huff, Smith College; Glenn W. Ellis, Smith College; Lucy McAuliffe, Smith College; Sonia K. Ellis, Smith College; Beth McGinnis-Cavanaugh, Springfield Technical Community College

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

indicated a strong interest in using Talk to Me as a tool to promoteliteracy (including ESL learners) and integrate technology throughout the curriculum. Tosupport that effort an audio book is currently being developed and plans are being made totranslate Talk to Me into Spanish. We also recognize that while some of the concepts exploredin Talk to Me will be familiar to teachers, many of the concepts (such as AI) will be new. Toaddress this concern a teacher’s guide is being developed that will include an introduction to IE,tips for how Talk to Me can be used most effectively in a variety of informal and formal learningenvironments, and content readings that will give teachers the background and confidenceneeded to integrate Talk to Me in their

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vincent Capece, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

CourseAbstractEngineering students typically encounter formal engineering report writing in their laboratorycourses. These courses normally occur in the curriculum well after the required Englishcomposition courses. Besides the increased demands of being able to write an engineering report,many students at this point are rusty in the grammar department. To help overcome thesedifficulties a two week technical writing component (writing workshop) was added to the juniorlevel mechanical engineering experimentation course in spring 2010. In this paper the writingworkshop is presented in detail. Quizzes and the final paper submitted by the students were usedfor assessment of the students’ writing.MotivationEngineers must not only be technically competent, they must

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Allan T. Kirkpatrick P.E., Colorado State University; Scott Danielson P.E., Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Thomas Perry P.E., American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

partnership between industry, professional societies, government, and academia is needed tosuccessfully implement these recommendations to develop the full potential of engineeringeducation and engineering leadership. For example, ASME could facilitate faculty-practitionerexchange programs, and practice-based endowed faculty chairs. To enable curriculum changeand encourage more flexibility, ASME should seek modifications to the ABET general criteriaand program criteria for mechanical engineering as noted above. To help programs at researchintensive institutions with growing programs argue for such faculty, the ME Program Criteriacould address a minimum faculty size/student ratio to ensure program quality in design andencouraged an increase in the

Conference Session

Lessons learned

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ibrahim F. Zeid, Northeastern University; William L. DUPE Chan, Josiah Quincy High School; Kristina Buenafe, Josiah Quincy High School; Jessica Chin, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

understanding of and the appropriate use of mathematical modeling breadth and depth of study.As a result of JQUS’ acceptance as an IB school, math teachers felt the need toincorporate projects that teach these skills, emphasizing critical thinking andinternational-mindedness in keeping with the IB learner profile and Common Corestandards [5-7]. Adjusting to a new curriculum while meeting district and staterequirements, the adherence of all standards poses considerable challenges to JQUS forteaching project-based learning, writing, mathematical content and technology content.EBL via the CAPSULE program was chosen as an approach for transitioning the school’sSTEM curriculum into the IB Diploma Programme.With every teacher limited by physical and

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention Matters in Engineering Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P. DeJong, Central Michigan University; Dru M. Wilson Wilson, Central Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

andeducation of an engineer is now compared to that of an engineering technologist and othertechnologists (e.g., in terms of math/theory in the education, in terms of ability to work hands-on,and in terms of job roles in a interdisciplinary team). Students are now better exposed totechnology-related degree options other than engineering.Second, a technology professor joined the EGR120 teaching team. The course has since beenbroken into four curriculum blocks, taught “round-robin” by four professors: an EE section, anME section, a general engineering profession and projects section, and a hands-on/laboratory(technology-professor) section. The hope is that students who are dissatisfied with engineeringwill now have a contact and familiarity elsewhere in

Conference Session

Capstone and Design Projects in Engineering Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Biswajit Ray, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

program lack problem solving skill requiring integration ofknowledge gained in various high school mathematics courses (e.g., algebra, geometry, andtrigonometry). And for many of them, lack of maturity in mathematics is the root cause ofacademic problems encountered in math, science, and engineering technology courses. In orderto alleviate this weakness, students are introduced to engineering problem solving strategy earlyon in this course. A couple of classes are used to review the key concepts of algebra, geometry,and trigonometry. It is followed by engineering-oriented problem solving including optimizationof single-variable design without using calculus concepts. An example single-variable designoptimization problem7, considered difficult by

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth A. Connor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Dianna L. Newman, University at Albany/SUNY; Meghan Morris Deyoe, University at Albany/SUNY; Craig J. Scott, Morgan State University; Mohamed F. Chouikha, Howard University; Yacob Astatke, Morgan State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

by continual integral use and by an increasein instructor experience in Mobile Studio implementation and an increased awareness of student Page 25.942.9expectations for learning. Student background knowledge is also important to take into accountas a facilitator for the adoption of Mobile Studio education.3.b. Supporting ResourcesAnother barrier noted during adoption of the mobile studio approach across multiple courses andsemesters was the lack of use and access to resources that support the use of the I/O boards.Students’ perceptions of supplementary materials were markedly lower than their

Conference Session

Creative and Cross-disciplinary Methods Part II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah E. Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Melissa Marshall, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Enrique D. Gomez, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Esther Gomez, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Angela D. Lueking, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

AC 2012-3009: USING STUDENT AMBASSADORS TO RELAY THEMESFROM CHANGING THE CONVERSATION IN ENGINEERING FIRST-YEAR SEMINARSDr. Sarah E. Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Sarah Zappe is the Director of Assessment and Instructional Support in the College of Engineering at Penn State University. In this role, she provides support to faculty in trying innovative ideas in the classroom. Her background is in educational psychology with an emphasis in applied testing and measurement. Her current research interests include integrating creativity into the engineering curriculum, developing in- struments to measure the engineering professional skills, and using qualitative data to enhance response process

Conference Session

Mechanics Concepts II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiaobin Le P.E., Wentworth Institute of Technology ; Richard L. Roberts, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Ali Reza Moazed, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Anthony William Duva, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Materials, many students have ahard time understanding the stress concentration phenomena and some assumptions for stressformulas under different loadings. Some students are puzzled about the purpose and theapproach of the Mohr’s circle so they only sketch the Mohr’s circle for visualization purposesbut still use stress transformations to calculate the stresses at different orientations. Since 2010we have introduced the idea of using the sketch tools in SolidWorks to run vector operations forstatics and to draw Mohr’s circle for determining the stresses at a given orientation. We alsohave used SolidWorks Simulation as a virtual lab and an alternative approach to visualize thestress distributions to facilitate student’s understanding of stress

Conference Session

Research Informing Teaching Practice I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Venters, Virginia Tech; Lisa D. McNair, Virginia Tech; Marie C. Paretti, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

an Associate Professor of engineering education at Virginia Tech, where she co-directs the Virginia Tech Engineering Communications Center (VTECC). Her research focuses on communi- cation in engineering design, interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, design education, and gender in engineering. She was awarded a CAREER grant from NSF to study expert teaching practices in capstone design courses nationwide, and is Co-PI on several NSF grants to explore design education. Her work includes studies on the teaching and learning of communication in capstone courses, the effects of curriculum on design cognition, the effects of differing design pedagogies on retention and motivation, and the dynamics of cross

Conference Session

Projects in Alternative Energy: Wind and Solar

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leonel Aguilera, University of Texas, Pan American; Jaime Ramos-Salas P.E., University of Texas, Pan American; Sanjeev Kumar, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

AC 2012-3376: UTPA SOLAR SYSTEM EFFICIENCYMr. Leonel Aguilera, University of Texas, Pan American Leonel Aguilera earned his his B.S degree in electrical engineering from the Technology Institute of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico in 2006. He is currently a M.S. in electrical engineering student at the Univer- sity of Texas, Pan American, in Edinburg, Texas. He is an active researcher with interests in networking and renewable energy.Dr. Jaime Ramos P.E., University of Texas, Pan American Jaime Ramos, Assistant Professor, has been at The University of Texas Pan American since 2005, in the Department of Electrical Engineering. His research activities are directed towards the integration of renewable energy sources to