Conference Session

Mathematics in Transition

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bella Klass-Tsirulnikov, Sami Shamoon College of Engineering (formerly Negev Academic College of; Sharlene Katz, California State University-Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

ASEE study, pinpoints a peculiar inconsistency in grasping thenature of the profession of engineering. Engineers are perceived as smart, wise, knowledgeableprofessionals who work with tangible objects to solve practical problems. In their work,engineers are engaged in a prolific intellectual activity that demands a great deal of self-imposeddiscipline and concentration. As a result, they are stereotyped as isolated abstract thinkers withprofound insights, often single-minded, awkward, weird and socially inept. In other words, theabstract thinking engineer is often perceived as a "nerd" or "geek", logically contradicting theimage of a practical engineer with "hands-on" ideas and the ultimate goal of designing, creating,and developing products

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; Greg Pearson, National Academy of Engineering; David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

gauging the impact of efforts to enhance technological literacy and to planning future efforts. This is troubling, since substantial federal as well as private monies and expectations are being invested in such things as curriculum, instructional materials, museum exhibits, and television programming that are meant in part or whole to boost understanding of technological issues. With this problem in mind and with funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council embarked in 2003 on a major study of assessment for technological literacy. The goal of the project was to determine the most viable approach or approaches for assessing technological literacy in

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexa Rihana-Abdallah, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

2006-2544: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING,CHEMISTRY, AND BIOLOGYAlexa Rihana-Abdallah, University of Detroit Mercy The Author has written a number of articles published in the ASEE Annual Conference proceedings over the years. The Author teaches at the University of Detroit Mercy in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Page 11.285.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Bridging the Gap between Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, and BiologyAbstractRecognizing the intellectual merit of interdisciplinary studies to

Conference Session

Biology in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Coppinger, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Shannon Sexton, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

my perceptions about the 3.88 3.39 importance of genetics in approaching biological problems”Most biomedical engineering students found the placement of this course in the curriculumappropriate (Table 2). However, several biomedical engineering students reported that theywould have preferred that this course occur earlier in the curriculum, as evidenced by thefollowing selected comments: “[Genetics] should be taken closer to when biology is required in the curriculum.” “[Genetics] might be beneficial to be after biology, so our minds are still on that track…” “I think that [genetics] would have been more beneficial if it was

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James E. Kilduff, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Jong-In Han, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

. Page 11.592.5ProjectStudents enrolling in the present course will be divided into teams with each teamworking on a different project. Even though two or three students will be encouraged as ateam, students, in particular graduate students and/or undergraduates with researchexperiences, can also do individual projects. Teams will be provided with a list ofpossible project topics. Since hands-on experiences encourage development of curiosity,analytical proficiency, and manual dexterity, which are three desirable characteristics ofan engineer, students are encouraged to take apart and explore each of the experimentalprojects as deeply as desired, keeping in mind any safety considerations appropriate forthese activities (i.e., safety glasses worn

Conference Session

Professional Development/Scholarship & Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Hall, Northwestern State University; Steve Schneiderman, Murray State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

members. And so in thepromotion evaluation process without excruciating and unlikely effort unless the ETapplicant looks just like science faculty, engineers and liberal artists regarding research, Page 11.1030.3the promotion application can be snubbed.Observe Figure 2.9Nearly all observers see either a young or an old woman. And seeing either makes itdifficult to see the other. “The human mind has difficulty coping with complicatedprobabilistic relationships, so people tend to employ simple rules of thumb that reducethe burden of processing such information.”10 Clearly, the mind-set of traditional liberalarts promotion criteria cannot be easily amended

Conference Session

FPD9 -- Technology & Textbooks

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Kosky, Union College; William Keat, Union College; George Wise, Union College; Robert Balmer, Union College

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

of computational fracture mechanics. Page 11.429.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Developing a Freshman Introduction to Engineering TextbookAbstract What should a freshman introduction to engineering course achieve and how will anappropriate textbook help meet the course goals? In this paper, we summarize our experiencessearching for a text and ultimately how and why we decided to write our own book. It can be said that the primary purpose of a first year introduction to an engineeringcourse is to win the hearts and minds of first year college students who are considering anengineering

Conference Session

Biology in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark McConkie, Utah State University; Timothy Taylor, Utah State University; David Britt, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

whatour curriculum will be from a macro level perspective, we are in a good position to createcourses across and the breadth and depth of biological engineering content in a balanced,integrated manner. Even though discipline standards, department curriculum, and individualcourses may develop at different rates, and not in a linear fashion, our goal is to explicitly definethe relationships between each level early so that as the discipline standards take shape we canensure that our curriculum is updated, and focus our efforts in a continuous improvement processover time. Keeping the principle of alignment in mind, the next few sections of this paper willconsider some of the profits and pitfalls associated with our efforts at discipline, curriculum

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leroy Cox, University of Missouri-Rolla; Cassandra Elrod, University of Missouri-Rolla

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

demographic section which asked the students to ratetheir overall knowledge of the engineering profession and whether or not they knew someonethat was an engineer or held an engineering degree. In the event that they did know someone, weasked the nature of the relationship, in terms of whether that person was a close or distantrelative or a friend. This was followed by a survey that asked them to rate, on a scale of 1 – 5,with ‘1’ being “not familiar” and ‘5’ being “extremely familiar,” their knowledge of variousengineering degree programs. Also, a qualitative measure was used to understand their thinkingwith regard to the previously-rated degree programs. Respondents were asked to respond withthe first word or phrase that came to mind when presented

Conference Session

Curricula of the Past, Present, and Future

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cristina Pomales-Garcia, University of Michigan; Yili Liu, University of Michigan; Virginia Soto, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

) educational technology, (3) the student’s rolein the engineering college, and (4) the professor’s role in the engineering college. Theparticipants were instructed to write 10 words or phrases that come to their mind when they thinkabout each of the questions and rank their answers in the order of importance. Following theindividual questions, ten questions were discussed in a focus group. The results of the studyshowed that when it comes to evaluation of education and teaching methods, students would liketo see more opportunities to give input in the system and be more involved as part of the creationin all levels and steps. Current literature on Excellence in Engineering Education stresses theimportance of skills and knowledge but leaves out two

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heidi Loshbaugh, Colorado School of Mines; Tawni Hoeglund, Colorado School of Mines; Ruth Streveler, Colorado School of Mines; Kimberley Breaux

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

becoming smart.” maleOther students reflect on their experiences with peers at MT and the sort of students theyencounter on the campus. “Oh there’s just not that big of a variety of people here, and that’s just what it comes down to….It’s not that big of a deal….You could say that the kids who go here, their minds are logic based, and other people’s aren’t.” male “Sometimes in a place like this it’s harder [to have right-brained interests] because you meet a lot of left-brained people.” female “There aren’t any non-engineering students. Well there’s a couple but they’re mostly upperclassmen and it’s kinda hard, you know because they’re not where

Conference Session

Software and e-learning in the ME curriculum

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benson Tongue, University of California-Berkeley; Eric Lew, University of California-Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

in each field and the academic subjects the field encompasses.Using these field descriptions, students will be able to determine the field within which theirinterest falls and navigate to the appropriate field page using links on the interests page.It is worth mentioning that although the interests/fields page will be similar to the MEOP(they both describe mechanical engineering), they will not be identical. MEOP is directedmore toward users who have very little knowledge of mechanical engineering, whereas theinterests/fields page is directed more toward users who already know enough about mechan-ical engineering to have a goal in mind. MEOP will be more focused on grabbing attentionwith the particularly interesting parts of mechanical

Conference Session

Faculty Involvement in International Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Henderson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

International

in global engineering education (GEE). By GEE, we meaneducating engineers with a global mindset to improve their Global Competency. This can bedone in many ways and many conference papers explain how a given university has createdprograms to help engineers be exposed to global technology, culture, communication andcollaboration. Typical programs offer study abroad for engineering students, but some also offermulti-national teaming on projects with common objectives.Conferences and symposia have their place, but sometimes the participants need extended timefor goal-directed discussion. With this purpose in mind, faculty who were known to be involvedin GEE programs gathered for a workshop held at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Methods in IE Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Durward Sobek, Montana State University; Susan Freeman, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Industrial Engineering

aspects of the course. The questions that apply here are listedbelow with results from the 24 respondents summarized:“Why have you decided to major in or have an interest in Industrial Engineering?” • 9 indicate that it is the way their mind works, this is how they think, or how they are. • 4 use the word efficiency, as in to study or improve efficiency • 4 like the breadth, the systems approach, seeing and improving the big picture • 2 mention IE’s ties to the business side of engineering • 5 indicated that they had heard about IE at an event designed to expose freshmen to the different majors, or by talking with someone“How do you prefer to be taught (lecture, hands on activity, both, etc.) Please describe and/orgive an example

Conference Session

Innovative Classroom Techniques

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Lee, University of South Florida; Mernet Larson, University of South Florida; Jack Heller, University of South Florida; Douglas Lunsford, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

2006-2042: REPRESENTATION ISSUES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION:ENGINEERING ISSUES AND PARALLELS FROM THE VISUAL &PERFORMING ARTSWilliam Lee, University of South Florida Bill Lee is a Professor of Chemical Engineering with a significant interest in the practical and philosophical aspects of the educational process. He currently has several projects with faculty in the Visual and Performing Arts, exploring issues in the educational process, problem solving, and creativity.Mernet Larson, University of South Florida Mernet Larson is a Professor of Art History who has written and taught in the areas of art history, art theory, art criticism, and educational aspects of art. She is also a professional

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reginald Hobbs, Tufts University; Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Igor Verner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Chris Rogers, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Engineering education. She previously earned her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University in 2005 and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Suffolk University. Nataliia is currently a research assistant at the Center for Engineering Outreach where she is involved in using engineering approaches to teach high school students science and mathematics.Igor Verner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Igor M. Verner received the M.S. degree in Mathematics from the Urals State University and the Ph.D. in computer aided design systems in manufacturing from the Urals Technical University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. He is a Senior Lecturer and a coordinator of teacher-training programs at the

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Sheppard, Stevens Institute of Technology; George Korfiatis, Stevens Institute of Technology; Nikhil Sanghavi, Stevens Institute of Technology

2006-1006: ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES - REPLACING FRESHMANENGINEERING SEMINAR WITH A FLEXIBLE, STUDENT-DRIVEN APPROACHKeith Sheppard, Stevens Institute of Technology KEITH SHEPPARD is a Professor of Materials Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. He earned the B.Sc. from the University of Leeds, England and Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, England, both in Metallurgy. As Associate Dean, Sheppard is primarily responsible for undergraduate programs. He is a member of the Executive Committee and past Chair of the ASEE Design in Engineering Education Division.George Korfiatis, Stevens Institute of Technology GEORGE KORFIATIS is McLean Professor of

Collection

2006 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jason Moore; Mitchell A Thornton; Ronald W. Skeith

Encouraging Computer Engineering Students to Take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Examination Jason Moore, Mitchell A. Thornton Ronald W. Skeith Southern Methodist University University of Arkansas Dallas, Texas Fayetteville, Arkansas ABSTRACT We describe the experience of pursuing EIT registration and in particular sitting for theFE examination from two perspectives; that from a recent computer engineering graduate whosuccessfully passed the examination, and from the viewpoint of educators in encouragingstudents

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Mary Cordova-Wentling, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign; Cristina Camacho, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

science classes in high school, but the physics was a little bit different and it pushed me towards engineering more than anything else.”Still another participant reported, “My freshmen year in high school I took a class called Engineering Exploration and it was then that I decided I was going to be an engineer. From that time forward there never was any questioning or debating whatsoever that I was going to be an engineer. It’s kind of strange, but there was never really any doubt in my mind that it was what I wanted to be”Many of the participants indicated having teachers in high school who were supportive andencouraged them to pursue their interest in math, science, and technology. Some of theseteachers

Conference Session

Industrial Collaboration & Applications in ET

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University; Donald Richter, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

typicallyfollowed by site visits and interviews. It is a tedious process that many institutions simply avoid.Since there are few awards and few possibilities for success additional institutions arediscouraged and simply don’t apply. With this in mind the faculty of the Engineering & DesignDepartment wasn’t discouraged and actually considered their chances quite good.Once again an investigation was undertaken seeking a match between the Department’s needsand the prospect for support. The search revealed a number of potential partners meeting bothcriteria. Then the specifics of the proposal had to be established. Through planning sessions allof the details were discussed and finalized. Proposals were then drafted, revised, and lastlysubmitted. Throughout

Conference Session

Manufacturing Education Innovation and Assessment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Priya Manohar, Robert Morris University

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

tomanufacturing engineers is complex due to the subject matter that spawns acrossdisciplines of physics, chemistry, mathematics and manufacturing engineering. As one Page 11.193.9endeavors to expose the students to the mind-boggling array of conventional and modernmaterials at atomic levels to bulk structural levels, their intrinsic and extrinsic properties,their eco-economic impact, etc., it becomes a juggling act to give justice to the multi-dimensional aspects of materials education. In addition, the expectations of the variousstakeholders in the teaching – learning transaction are different and it is necessary toaddress their needs. Simultaneously, it is

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eugene Rutz, University of Cincinnati; Virginia Westheider, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

across the learning cycle.Because of the more balanced profile of the engineering technology students, this population isexpected to have a greater awareness of and appreciation for diversity in approaches to learningand problem solving. One implication is that a team of engineering technology students workingon a project is more likely than a team of engineering students to identify multiple approaches toa task or problem. Given the profile of the engineering students, they are more likely to be like-minded in problem solving and learning. There is a growing body of literature (see for exampleLeonard and Strauss14) that suggests organizations benefit when individuals are comfortable andcompetent at working with diversity in problem solving

Conference Session

Hurricane Katrina

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Pierce, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

Junior Male 8 Chemical Engineering Junior Female 9 Accounting Senior Male 10 Political Science Sophomore MaleBased on past experiences, Honors College students prefer to be treated like graduate students.These students benefit most from courses that integrate free discussion with flexible approachesto topics. They prefer to be responsible for their own learning and to having instructors that arereceptive to students’ ideas for the course. With this in mind, the course was scheduled to meetonce per week for two and a half hours using a graduate seminar format

Conference Session

New Trends in Engineering Graduate Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Wells, North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

2006-16: ON THE STRUCTURING OF THE GRADUATE ENGINEERINGDISQUISITIONDavid Wells, North Dakota State University David L. Wells has been a manufacturing engineer for over four decades, roughly equally divided between industrial and academic employment. He has been Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at North Dakota State University since January 2000. Prior to this appointment, he served in a manufacturing engineering and education post at Focus: HOPE for six years and on the faculty of University of Cincinnati for fifteen years. His early career included some twenty years in research and development, manufacturing engineering and production management in the power generation

Conference Session

Innovation in Teaching Engineering Economics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmad Sarfaraz, California State University-Northridge; Tarek Shraibati, California State University-Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

2006-2182: INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN ENGINEERINGECONOMY CLASSAhmad Sarfaraz, California State University-NorthridgeTarek Shraibati, California State University-Northridge Page 11.750.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN ENGINEERING ECONOMY CLASSESAbstractThere are many strategies that can be used to encourage student engagement for an engineeringeconomy class. Two engagement strategies including weekly quizzes and group problem-solvingactivities are considered in this paper. Our goal was to experiment with the selected strategies todetermine which strategy worked best to promote deeper

Conference Session

Design Methods and Concepts

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Voltmer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Bruce Ferguson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

practice and profession built upon a number of foundational blocks. Anengineering student needs to prepare a strong mind, collect a number of tools for problemsolving, and master a number of professional skills in a surprisingly short four-year degreeprogram1. A program focusing solely on science and engineering is simply not capable ofpreparing today’s students to be educated professionals in the engineering world.At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT), we have added extra emphases to help ourgraduates excel after graduation, including a design sequence emphasizing professional practicein a design environment. This experience is grounded not only in an academic study ofprofessional practice, but also in the industrial experience of the

Conference Session

EM in a Global Environment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Bramhall, Sheffield Hallam University; Steve Lawson, Leeds Metropolitan University; Ian Robinson, Sheffield Hallam University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

financial, social and political implications of decisions taken’ 5.In short, engineering graduates were required to be business-minded for the first time.By 1988, the Engineering Council was becoming more outspoken, observing that ‘educationfor working life rather than first job should...be the aim’. The engineer in industry must be ‘anauthority on technology, a leader of others, a communicator’ and engineering courses must‘improve working habits’ 6. The council was itself beginning to warm to the theme ofintervention in the undergraduate curriculum, and would indeed be funding and influencingnew engineering degree courses using Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) finance. Thelinks to industry and the world of work were clearly being re

Conference Session

Preparing Engr Students for International Practice

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Juan Lucena, Colorado School of Mines; Gary Downey, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

International

ofengaging people from different cultures. Downey et al.[1] point out that an important caution torecognize and keep in mind is that a key characteristic of globalization is that it is now difficultto characterize people as members of single cultures.1 The key point has to do with countries.Statements about the benefits of global learning for engineering students typically locate thosebenefits in encountering and coming to understand engineers and other potential co-workers whoare raised, educated, and living in countries other than their own. Their special educationalstatus is an indicator of the key, defining element in the goal of working productively withdifferent cultures, i.e., learning to engage effectively ways of thinking about and

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Esteban Rodriguez-Marek, Eastern Washington University; Min-Sung Koh, Eastern Washington University; Claudio Talarico, Eastern Washington University; William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University; Thomas Griffith, North Seattle Community College; Michael Brzoska, Eastern Washington University

contemporary engineering practices and the needs of the nation. Further,globalization of the world’s economy must be addressed in changes in engineering education,since engineers will now be working under a worldwide framework4, 11. To retain and engagestudents, teachers must provide an avenue for innovation and creativity. Traditional lectures inscience and engineering education result in a passive form of learning and may not be the mostefficient for student education7, 8. Constructivists assert that learning is “constructed” in thelearner’s mind through experiences11. The reference goes on to assert that this is particularly truefor women and minorities. Practical/industrial projects elevate student interest. Thus, focusingmore on increasing active

Conference Session

EM in a Global Environment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

2006-302: ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT IN A COMPETITIVE GLOBALENVIRONMENTWilliam Loendorf, Eastern Washington University WILLIAM R. LOENDORF obtained his B.Sc. in Engineering Science at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside, M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Colorado State University, and M.B.A. at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He holds a Professional Engineer certification and was previously an Engineering Manager at Motorola. His interests include engineering management, real-time embedded systems, and digital signal processing. Page 11.571.1© American Society for Engineering