Conference Session

Student Diversity: attracting and retaining a diverse population of students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University; Galen Turner, Louisiana Tech University; Alicia Boudreaux, Louisiana Tech University; James Nelson, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

singleadministrative unit provides significant advantages for implementing strategies to improveretention and graduation. This also helps us provide students with an unbiased perspective on theopportunities in all programs within the College and will ensure that we do not increasegraduation numbers in one area at the expense of another.The Recruiting Component – High School Partnerships and Discovery WeekendsThe thrust of the recruiting component of TechSTEP is the development of partnerships with keyfeeder high schools in our area. These partnerships are developed through a series of TeacherWorkshops leading to Discovery Weekends for students as shown in Figure 2. The workshopsand weekends are designed around a common engineering or science theme for the

Conference Session

Multimedia Tutorials and Web Development

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne Donnelly, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

into graduate STEM fields,• Develop an evaluation model to investigate the effectiveness of partnershipsThe SEAGEP strategic plan was guided by the eight design principles to expand highereducation capacity described by BEST 14: institutional leadership, targeted recruitment, engagedfaculty, personal attention, peer support, enriched research experience, bridging to the next level,and continuous evaluation. With regard to institutional leadership, it has been shown thatsupport from top officials is crucial for the initiative to be successful. 1,15 With this in mind,commitment to the goals of the alliance was secured from top officials at each of the partnerinstitutions, providing the foundation upon which the collaboration has been built. A

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers – I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kimberly Ogden, University of Arizona; Gregory Ogden, University of Arizona

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

waste. After the general course, the teachers receivehands-on safety training in the individual laboratories. The PIs and graduate students provide thelaboratory specific training as a team.One specific example of a research project and how this was incorporated into the classroom ishighlighted here. The teacher team from a middle school consisting of two science and one mathteacher designed and built a water recycle system for a research-scale hydroponics green houseused to grow tomatoes. The teachers designed a model of the system using a 3-D software and arapid prototype machine, purchased the materials, installed and tested the system

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Eduaction - Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rahul Rai, Virginia Tech; Asli Sahin, Virginia Tech; Ashley Studd, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

. Through a National Science Foundation sponsored REU (ResearchExperience for Undergraduates) supplement, 6 undergraduate students were given theopportunity to work closely with a faculty, a post-doctoral researcher, and graduate students inthe realm of engineering design. This paper presents an overview of the research conducted bythe REU students in the area of engineering design, the structure of the REU program, and thestudents’ overall experience including the effects on student interest in graduate school.Research OverviewThe research projects for the undergraduate students (here after referred as REUs) are mainlyconcentrated in the areas of product family and product obsolescence. These areas representemerging fields in engineering design

Collection

2007 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Lawrence Whitman; Zulma Toro-Ramos; Steven Skinner

variety ofoptions available to them to acquire practical experience. Therefore, this diversityof experiences is encouraged for the engineer of 2020 at WSU.3. Global Learning/Study Abroad: Many have presented the need for engineersto be more aware of global issues, cultural concerns, and even global constraintsin design. In fact, Shuman, et al. [9] state that future engineering graduates need“to become highly innovative global ‘problem solvers.’” Downey, et al.[10]present the required competencies for an engineer to be “globally competent.”Global learning may even impact the lifelong learning of graduates. As studentsbecome more aware of differences in clusters, even in engineering design, theyrealize their need to learn throughout their lives[11

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Showkat Chowdhury, Alabama A&M University; Abdul Jalloh, Alabama A&M University; Ruben Rojas-Oviedo, Alabama A&M University; Mohamed Seif, Alabama A&M University; Amir Mobasher, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

have some expectation from the new graduating engineers, known as “BestPractices”. The ME Capstone Design Course utilizes the knowledge learned by the studentsin different courses for solving practical engineering problems, and prepare them for the realengineering job. A survey tool was developed in order to determine how successful theCapstone Design Course (ME470 and ME475) were in preparing the new graduatingengineers. The graduating students were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 4, the impact theybelieve the Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Project had in preparing them for someof the “Best Practices” expected from New Graduating Mechanical Engineers, by theindustry. The survey results were compiled and averaged, and are plotted in

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hillary Hart, University of Texas-Austin; Christy Moore, University of Texas-Austin

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

research for a client. Page 12.493.6From that cover page students can begin their navigation of the lesson by clicking on the word“Challenge” at the top of the cycle. Each lesson begins with a Challenge that presents a casestudy or a scenario prompting students to consider some difficulty or dilemma in engineering orprofessional behavior. For instance, in Introduction to Professional Ethics, a module designed tomake students aware of the impact engineers can have on society and the codes of ethics thatguide professionals, the Challenge (see Figure 2) involves an historical

Conference Session

Mathematics in Transition

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sandra Linder, Math Out of the Box; Donna Gunderson, Math Out of the Box/Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

AC 2007-557: IMPACTING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE THROUGH THEIMPLEMENTATION OF AN INQUIRY-BASED ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICSPROGRAM: A SINGLE-SITE COLLECTIVE CASE STUDYSandra Linder, Math Out of the Box Sandra Linder is a graduate student at Clemson University working on her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. Her research focuses on the pedegogical practices of early childhood and elementary educators.Donna Gunderson, Math Out of the Box/Clemson University Donna Gunderson is currently a research associate and curriculum developer at Clemson University for Math Out of the Box, a standards-based K-5 math curriculum

Conference Session

Women, Minorities and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington; Sharon Jones, Lafayette College; Jaime Hernandez, Texas State University-San Marcos; Rebecca Bates, Minnesota State University-Mankato; Robin Adams, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Engineering Education (ISEE) is one element of the NationalScience Foundation funded Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE). Theprimary goal of ISEE is to cultivate a diverse community of engineering education researcherswho can think and work across disciplines with the ultimate aim of improving the engineeringstudent experience. A secondary goal is to formulate principles and models for advancing thisscholarship community. To fulfill these goals, the ISEE team designed three year-long Instituteshosted by the University of Washington (2004), Stanford University (2005) and HowardUniversity (2006). At each of these Institutes, engineering faculty and graduate students havelearned research methods, designed and conducted research

Conference Session

Preparing Engineering Students for International Practice

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Reese, Mississippi State University; Allen Greenwood, Mississippi State University; Mary Emplaincourt, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

International

, language requirements, etc. The college currently offers studyabroad opportunities of varying durations from a three week intersession or a six week summersession, up to a full semester or year. New courses and programs are being developed to expandthe offerings during each of these time periods.This paper discusses: (1) the current options available to the students as well as those that arebeing considered or developed, (2) the research we have conducted to better understand theissues, and (3) the evolving strategy the college is using to get as many engineering students aspossible some international experience before they graduate. We view the purpose of this paperas a vehicle to share our experiences, as well as a basis for discussion to learn

Conference Session

Graduate Education and Undergraduate Research in ET

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Arbuckle, Western Kentucky University; Dale McDaniel, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

a Master of Business Administration (MBA). The survey asked how likely are you to hire agraduate of each of the following master’s programs. The Likert scale ranged from 1 – not at all Page 12.526.3likely to 5- very likely. The HRMs were then asked to identify how many graduates for thesethree programs the organizations where likely to hire in the next five years.The second section of the survey was designed to determine how many employees eachorganization would like to enroll in a master’s program. The same three programs listed abovewere listed as options. However, this section provides the choice of traditional face-to-faceinstruction and

Conference Session

FPD12 -- Novel Approaches to First Year Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cecelia Wigal, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga; Ignatius Fomunung, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga; Edwin Foster, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga; Ronald Goulet, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

technical writing to effectively communicate major ideasThe IED Culminating ProjectThe goal of the IED team project is to design a device for a specific customer. Since the fallof 2005 the projects consist of opportunities from (1) a grant from the Tennessee Departmentof Education and (2) UTC faculty needing small devices to support research or upper levelcourses or projects. Early in the semester a request for project proposals is sent to the grantparticipants and the faculty of the UTC CECS. The course instructors select those proposalsthat best meet the needs of the course and the abilities of the freshman students (many ofthese students have yet to take an engineering course). The projects must include a threedimensional application as well as

Conference Session

Service Learning Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cher Cornett, East Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

at State Technical Institute at Memphis where she built one of the first interactive multimedia programs in a 2-year college; and owned and operated CC Design, a design and multimedia studio in Tallahassee, FL. Her research interests include computer-based interactive instruction for K-12, digital storytelling, curriculum design in digital media, and interactive multimedia art. Cornett has won numerous awards for design, illustration and interactive media, including Best of Show honors in the ADDY competitions. She is a registered Judge for the American Advertising Federation, and serves as a curriculum auditor for the Tennessee Board of Regents

Conference Session

Best Practices in Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Birmingham, Grove City College; Blair Allison, Grove City College; James Dupree, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

have strongentrepreneurial interests. These students want to develop their design projects into commercialproducts. One venue for commercializing design at our institution, Grove City College (GCC), isthe annual on-campus business plan competition. For the last four years, business andentrepreneurship students often partner in writing a business plan. Students received writtenfeedback from practicing technology entrepreneurs on their plans. That students report thecompetition as a favorable experience fostered the idea for what we called the High TechVenture Start-up course.The business plan competition, however, lacked several essential elements to be a fullyintegrated and maximally valuable educational experience. As important as business

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amjad Zaim, University of Texas-Brownsville; Mahmoud Quweider, University of Texas-Brownsville

science department, we have a need to demonstrate this computer-basedtechnology to our new graduate and undergraduate students as a means to enhance theirlearning experience and motivate them to utilize their computer knowledge and skills insolving real-life problems. Aside from the scientific algorithm involved, the projectaddresses several practical considerations involved in the design and development of iris-based recognition systems such as system functionalities as well as the flexibility and theacceptability for the user interface. Two computer science students were assigned the taskof designing, building and implementing a prototype using software development toolsand scientific computing methods. In this paper, we provide general

Conference Session

Retention Programs for Women Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kimberly Douglas, Kansas State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

, Reyes, &Hart, 2004). The program has tripled in size since 2002 and currently has over 160women participating. The average participating rate of members for monthly eventsroughly doubled after the transition to a group mentoring structure. Finally, the retentionrate of freshmen participating in the program after their third semester is just over 80%,well above retention rates for the college. This paper will detail the changes that weremade to the organizational structure of WMW, will report impact these changes had onparticipation levels, and will describe best practices and lessons learned.WMW’s Organizational StructureWomen Mentoring Women at Kansas State University was originally designed to be aone-on-one mentoring program linking

Conference Session

Innovative K-12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Summer Dann Johnson; Warren Waggenspack, Louisiana State University; Brenda Nixon, Louisiana State University; Daivon Craft, Louisiana State University; Cheryle Peters, Louisiana State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

math students. This program is similar to the REHAMS and BIOS inthat high school students are exposed to university activities and research, attend academicworkshops and reside on campus. Preliminary data on the impact of this program has not beenreleased.SEHS Program Details Based on current and historical trends, the need to be proactive to recruit and retainstudents into traditional science and engineering fields has substantially increased. The SEHSpilot program was designed to provide hands-on learning experiences in research and advancedtechnologies for high school students and teachers. Training the teachers in this unique way alsoprovided a support system for students and a resource at the school. These

Conference Session

Practice/Partnership/Program Issues

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mahmoud Alahmad, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Matthew Pfannenstiel, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Douglas Alvine, Alvine Engineering; Clarence Waters, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

More than that, it connects students directly to business and industry.This business and industrial alliance includes partners in all aspects of industry. In the buildingsystems design aspect it includes: HDR, DLR, Alvine Associates, Peter Kiewit and Sons,Kirkham Michael, and various other engineering-based firms. These members provide studentsand faculty with resources that include in-class lectures on practical applications of designslearned in the classroom, internship opportunities to students, and funding for research andstudent support to pursue advanced degrees. Working closely with these partners contributes tothe further development of the students’ abilities to function effectively in their chosen

Conference Session

Educational Research and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malcolm Drewery, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering; Stefani A. Bjorklund

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Fortenberry assertthat while researchers and educators have developed a number of classroom and college-wideassessments – oftentimes in preparation for an ABET accreditation visit – no national assessmentexist to measure engineering student learning outcomes and the instructional practices thatsupport those outcomes[2].In response, CASEE has developed two surveys to assess the extent to which engineeringstudents are engaging in identified “best instructional practices” and are achieving certainlearning outcomes desired of engineering graduates. This paper describes the validation processof the E-FSSE survey and provides some preliminary analysis of that validation process.RationaleThe CASEE questionnaires were developed in a systematic and rigorous

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers – I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leyla Conrad, Georgia Institute of Technology; Edward Conrad, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jill Auerbach, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

with theirengineering research experience. It provides the teachers with an overview of microelectronicspackaging issues and technologies and prepares them for their research experience. Mostimportantly, by covering subjects from electrical design, materials, substrate fabrication toassembly, thermal management and testing, this module provides the teachers a system-levelview of microelectronics packaging.Before starting the research experience component, teachers spend half a day learning basic labsafety rules. Only then they are admitted into the labs, where they are trained in techniques,tools and special equipment they’ll use for their summer research. Each teacher works closelywith a faculty member and a graduate student on an

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Forouzan Golshani, Wright State University; Michele Wheatly, Wright State University; Mary Ellen Bargerhuff, Wright State University; John Flach, Wright State University; Jeffrey Vernooy, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

his/her graduate research project, each student willstudy, design, or create experiences for people with disabilities that will empower them toovercome existing obstacles or barriers in their lives and learning. The findings are expected tobroadly impact learning among students.Overall Program StructureLWD was initially created as a concentration among four of WSU’s existing Ph.D. programs:BioMedical Sciences (BMS), Engineering (Eng), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), andHuman Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology (HF/IO). While these programs reflectdifferent methodological and theoretical traditions, there are many potential points ofoverlapping interest and intersection that favor an interdisciplinary approach. For example

Conference Session

Intersdisciplinary Courses and Environmental Undergraduate Research

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helene Hilger, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Francis De Los Reyes, North Carolina State University; Warren DiBiase, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Len Holmes, University of North Carolina - Pembroke; Stephanie Luster-Teasley, North Carolina A&T State University; Siva Mandjiny, University of North Carolina - Pembroke; Todd Steck, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Keith Schimmel, North Carolina A&T State University; Chuang Wang, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Professor of Educational Research at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. Dr. Wang teaches educational research and statistics courses. Dr. Wang received a master of applied statistics degree and a PhD degree in educational research from The Ohio State University. Page 12.1083.2© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 MULTI-CAMPUS DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROBLEM-BASED-LEARNING COURSES IN ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY WITH INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNINGIntroductionThe project described here began with a civil engineering and biology laboratory

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fadi Kurdahi, University of California, Irvine; Judy Shoemaker, University of California, Irvine; John LaRue, University of California-Irvine

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

AC 2007-814: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROGRAM OUTCOMEASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR AN ABET-ACCREDITED COMPUTERENGINEERING PROGRAMFadi Kurdahi, University of California, Irvine Fadi Kurdahi has been a professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of California, Irvine since 1987. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Southern California in Computer Engineering. From 2004 till 2006 he was the ABET lead person for the Computer Engineering degree program in the EECS Department.Judy Shoemaker, University of California, Irvine JUDY SHOEMAKER is Director of Research and Evaluation for the Division of Undergraduate Education at UC Irvine. Dr. Shoemaker

Conference Session

Design Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frederick Berry, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; William Eccles, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Bruce Ferguson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Daniel Moore, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Mihaela Radu, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Terry Schumacher, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; David Voltmer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Mark Yoder, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Edward Wheeler, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Technology Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Dr. Dan Moore is the associate dean of the faculty and professor in the Electrical and Engineering Department at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He received his PhD in Electrical Page 12.235.1 Engineering from N. C. State University in 1989 in the area of compound semiconductors. He directed the departmental senior design program for several years and now oversees externally sponsored multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate projects. His current research interests include engineering design methodologies

Conference Session

Electrical Technology Projects and Applications

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farid Farahmand, farahmandfar@ccsu.edu

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2007-2976: A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO INTEGRATE TEACHINGVOICE-OVER-IP TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMFarid Farahmand, farahmandfar@ccsu.edu Page 12.91.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007A Practical Approach to Integrate Teaching Voice-over-IP Technology in the Classroom1 IntroductionVoice-Over-IP (VoIP), also called IP telephony, Internet Telephony, and Digital Phone,is simply transporting voice traffic using the Internet Protocol (IP). The Internet Protocolhas become the de facto standard for data transactions and its ubiquitous presence hasmade it a suitable choice for transporting voice and video. VoIP technology offers manyattractive

Conference Session

Collaboration Provides the Best Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cheryl Cates, University of Cincinnati; Anita Todd, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

. This is the case at Alverno College. Faculty at Alverno College Page 12.1124.3have developed a curriculum designed to help each student develop to his/her fullpotential and will not allow any student to graduate who has not demonstratedeffectiveness in eight specified abilities. Even before assessment was widelyunderstood and practiced in higher education, the faculty at Alverno College wasassessing their graduates as a pre-requisite for graduation. An independent Officeof Research and Evaluation validates these performance assessment techniquesdesigned by the faculty in addition to investigating how curricular elements causelearning, how college learning

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers – II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daphne Duncan, Purdue University; Euridice Oware, Purdue University; Monica Cox, Purdue University; Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

educational research methods. Her research interests include assessment and evaluation of the educational environment. She worked as a researcher for four years as a member of the Assessment and Evaluation team within the National Science Foundation-funded VaNTH Engineering Research Center, developed a two-year mentoring-based curriculum for underrepresented undergraduate students at Vanderbilt University, and co-facilitated training workshops for first-time biomedical engineering graduate teaching assistants at Vanderbilt University. She most recently completed a research project examining the validation of the VaNTH Observation System, a classroom observation instrument used exclusively to

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elise Amel, University of Saint Thomas; Camille George, University of St. Thomas; Yvonne Ng, College of St. Catherine

, she co-edited a book on Princeton women engineers’ reflections about their education and their identity as engineers. She served as the faculty co-leader for the college’s Center of Excellence for Women, Science and Technology from 2002-2005. Page 12.277.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Assessing the Impact of Innovative ME Courses: Creating and Validating ToolsAbstractThe goal of this research was to devise three measurement tools to assess the effectiveness oflaboratory innovations for undergraduate engineering courses. The first tool was devised

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gina Montgomery, Auburn University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

AC 2007-656: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A CASE STUDY ANDMULTIMEDIA COURSEWARE FOR THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY CLASSROOMGina Montgomery, Auburn University Gina Montgomery is a doctoral student at Auburn University studying the Management of Information Technology and Innovation. She received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University and holds various industry certifications. Mrs. Montgomery's research interests include innovations in the classroom, data security concerns, and risk management. She expects to complete her graduate studies in 2010.Chetan Sankar, Auburn UniversityP.K. Raju, Auburn University

Conference Session

Capstone Design III

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karim Muci-Küchler, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Jonathan Weaver, University of Detroit Mercy; Daniel Dolan, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

development course, asenior capstone design course sequence, and a graduate level course in product development. Inall cases, the students started the task of setting functional requirements and target specificationsfor the product after following a structured methodology to identify the customer needs. In thispaper, the process followed, an assessment of the results obtained and suggestions for futureimprovement are discussed presenting examples taken from different projects carried out bystudents.IntroductionAt the present time many undergraduate engineering programs in the US include one or moredesign courses aimed at better preparing students for the “real world” practice of the profession.In addition to the traditional Senior Design Project or