Conference Session

Innovation in Teaching Engineering Economics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Bursic, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

curriculum.11MethodIn both the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006, students were required to choose one of thefollowing two contemporary problems: 1) Implementing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology - In this case, students were to assume the role of Vice President of Operations or owner of a business that supplies products to a retailer such as Wal-Mart. Their company is being asked to comply with standards that force them to include RFID on all of their products. 2) Outsourcing production operations overseas - In this case, students were to assume the role of Vice President of Operations or owner of a large U.S. based manufacturing company. The company must decide whether to outsource some or all

Conference Session

ECET Curriculum

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gene Harding, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

interestedreader can download a sample lesson outline and associated PowerPoint slides.IntroductionFor the purpose of this paper, timing jitter is defined as “the phenomenon seen when a digitalwaveform’s transition appears before or after the expected time.”1 When jitter displaces thesignal’s transition so much that it happens in an adjacent clock cycle, the result is a data error onthe bus. Because of the high speeds and compact designs of today’s systems, jitter that used tobe negligible is now very significant, and can prevent a system from working correctly.1Today’s designers need the ability to analyze jitter, trace its root cause(s), and mitigate oreliminate the cause(s).In order to effectively analyze jitter, one must understand its nature, the

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Barrett, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

background information on a variety of SWEPT andRET programs around the country, including a discussion of their evaluation plans, introduceliterature and research that supports the effectiveness of SWEPT and RET programs as a teacherprofessional development model, and discuss the issues surrounding the development ofevaluation tools to assess teacher and student impacts of these programs. The GIFT program andits current evaluation plan will then be discussed as a case study. This case study evaluationincludes 1) the results of a multi-site SWEPT study in which GIFT participated, 2) a recentalumni survey sent to all current and former program participants, and 3) Pre & Post Summer,School Year Follow and Mentor Surveys administered during the

Conference Session

FPD4 -- Real-World Case Studies & Projects

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Gene Dixon, East Carolina University; William Howard, East Carolina University; Ric Williams; Keith Williamson, East Carolina University; Geoffrey Dieck, East Carolina University; Steve McLawhorn, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

attractingand retaining engineering talent with a range of specialties in narrowly defined fields. “Instead ofthe traditional engineering disciplines, these operations require engineering generalists with astrong theoretical background, broad knowledge in a range of areas, and specific skills inproblem solving to give them a sound but flexible base for managing and implementingtechnology change and operations.”1 East Carolina University initiated a bachelor’s degreeprogram in general engineering (BSE) to fill this requirement. The BSE curriculum isimplemented “through a concept and program identified as the Integrated CollaborativeEngineering Educational Environment, or ICE3 (pronounced “ice cube”). The ICE3 program…emphasizes a broad but highly

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Voss, Smith College; Borjana Mikic, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

includemechanical dissections and/or design challenges, as well as a final team-based design project inwhich they are asked to design an approach to the problem of technology literacy on the Smithcampus. In addition, each student completes a thirty hour machine shop module in which shelearns how to use all major tools in the shop in the fabrication of her own hand-held tool (acombination hammer and screwdriver). Accompanying these design activities and relateddiscussions on teamwork and creativity are a set of readings and discussions on the philosophicalaspects of engineering as a profession in service to humanity and the impact of technology onsociety [1-5]. Each student writes and revises (twice) a narrative essay in which she explores herevolving sense

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Terrance Lovell, Pennsylvania State University-Berks; Dale Litwhiler, Pennsylvania State University-Berks

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

was used to capture images of various electrical meter displays for the purpose ofextracting the displayed readings. Both digital (LCD) and analog (dials) were used. The LCD ofa handheld digital voltmeter was used for the digital display tests. A typical residential Watt-hour meter was used for the analog display tests. The webcam was controlled by and the imageswere analyzed by LabVIEW VISION software.Hardware Overview Figure 1. RSR 926 Digital MultimeterFor this undergraduate research project, common, readily available meters were used. Figure 1shows the RSR 926 DMM that was used for the digital display work. This meter is regularlyused in the laboratories at Penn State Berks. The CL200 General Electric watt-hour

Conference Session

Capstone Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Janna, University of Memphis; John Hochstein, University of Memphis

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

entire semester. (See the text listed in the Bibliography Page 11.328.2for information on the bidding process.) Design teams function like companies and as such, eachgroup chooses a company name and designs a company logo. Titles of projects worked on in Fall2004 are provided in Table 1. Some groups developed web sites for their companies. Moredetailed project descriptions are provided in the Appendix of this paper. Page 11.328.3Table 1. Project titles and company logos. Title # of Engrs Student Designed

Conference Session

Program Delivery Methods and Real World Concepts

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raghvinder Sangwan, Pennsylvania State University; Kathryn Jablokow, Pennsylvania State University-Great Valley; Matt Bass, Siemens Corporate Research; Dan Paulish, Siemens Corporate Research

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

beyond the first 100 metersAbstractMotivated by a real-world example from the domain of software product development, wediscuss some of the key factors that impact shared understanding among collaborating teams ingeneral, along with specific implications of those factors for asynchronous collaboration inparticular. Shared understanding is viewed through the lens of Kirton’s Adaption-Innovationtheory, a powerful framework for understanding problem solving that provides insights on thecreative behavior of individuals and the convergence and divergence of collaborating teams.Proposed research directions are suggested for the future, and implications of this work forengineering education are discussed as well.1. IntroductionIt is well known that

Conference Session

Recruiting and Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janice Girouard, University of Hartford; Ivana Milanovic, University of Hartford; Natalie Segal, University of Hartford; Dr. Sallie 'Lee' Townsend

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

student population in the threesmallest majors in the College.IntroductionEngineering and technology educators and administrators have written about retention issuesextensively.1-9 An important factor in retention is the first-year experience.1 The body of workfor increasing retention is differentiated by two types of instruction, one that offers lecture style,passive learning environments and the other that provides experiential learning with hands-onexperience. Each institution should reflect and examine it’s own internal dynamics and reasonswhy students leave engineering technology programs as suggested by the study.5 This impetuswas the motivation for the assessment of retention issues in the smaller technology programs inthe College of

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Marie Lynch, Illinois Valley Community College; Dorene Perez, Illinois Valley Community College; James Gibson, Illinois Valley Community College

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Conference Session

EM Program Trend and Development

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yesim Sireli, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; S. Gary Teng, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Ertunga Ozelkan, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

meet therequirements of the future department. They consist of the following sub-categories: 1. Activities related to student recruitment/retention and teaching 2. Activities related to faculty recruitment/retention and research 3. Activities related to the recognition of the department 4. Activities related to establishing and maintaining close relations with the industryOur QFD approach utilizes only one QFD matrix instead of implementing separate matrices foreach sub-category listed above, because some activities belong to more than one category.Therefore, 25 potentially significant activities were chosen, which relate to all four sub-categories. A letter is assigned to each activity for ease of use in the QFD matrix (Table

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maura Borrego, Virginia Tech

education degree programs and the advising of engineering education students?To answer these questions and triangulate the results, two different data sources were used.Position vacancies were tracked to estimate the number and type of positions available, whileengineering academic deans were surveyed regarding their perceptions of how competitiveengineering education graduates might be for these positions.MethodThere were two main sources of data in this study. The first was position vacancies posted tovarious listservs: 1. Wepan-l, the announcement email list for WEPAN, Women in Engineering Programs Page 11.1296.2 and Advocates Network

Conference Session

New Topics in Engineering Economics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Nippert, Widener University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

, theclass was told the average grades of students using laptops and of students using calculators.From the test averages students knew there was no incentive from the standpoint of grades forthe use of either tool. Laptop availability was not a problem because there were a number oflaptops available from the university and, many students borrowed laptops from friends. Allstudents who used laptops used the Excel spreadsheet so in this paper I use “computer solution”and “spreadsheet solution” interchangeably.Allowing both the use of laptops AND calculators in the same test required some revision of thetest procedures. Some important considerations regarding the nature of the test questions are:1. All tests (hour quizzes and the Final Exam) were

Conference Session

Emerging EM Areas

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Peterson, Old Dominion University; Morgan Henrie, University of Alaska Anchorage; Shannon Bowling, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

by Hicks, Utley, and Westbrook6and focus on either: (1) classical concepts of management, (2) mathematical concepts, or (3)behavioral management. In developing its standards for certification, ASEM made twosignificant (to this paper) curriculum requirements7: (1) a balance between qualitative and Page 11.1449.2quantitative courses and (2) a requirement that at least one third of the coursework bemanagement and management-related. Thus, whether the student desires to acquire a master’sdegree to better qualify for or perform better in a managerial position or is looking to acquireskills to function as a better engineer in a technology driven firm

Conference Session

Capstone Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Wesner, Carnegie Mellon University; Richard Hoff, Carnegie MellonUniversity; Cristina Amon, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

sponsor a project.AcknowledgmentThe authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the industrial sponsors, students andfaculty coaches over the years this course has been offered as well as the financial support by thePennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance, a partnership of Carnegie Mellon, LehighUniversity, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Economic and CommunityDevelopment. Page 11.712.10References 1. Wesner, J.W., Amon, C.H., Garrett, J., Subrahmanian, E. and Westerberg, A.W., “Carnegie Mellon’s Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Projects Course Serves a Variety of Students and Project Sponsors

Conference Session

Successful Grant Proposals

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dorene Perez, Illinois Valley Community College; James Gibson, Illinois Valley Community College; Rose Marie Lynch, Illinois Valley Community College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

the student teams decided on a product, they submitted aproposal. The engineering and electronics instructors evaluated the feasibility, design intent,functions, specifications and capability for manufacturing and assembly on campus. Thebusiness instructor evaluated marketability and cost factors. Approval from all threeinstructors was required before the teams could proceed with prototyping and then production.Typical products included security devices, desktop water fountains, electronic games, lamps,clocks and lighted picture frames. The desktop water fountain, Figure 1 at left, is a student

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland; Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington; Richard Ladner, University of Washington; Annemarie Poginy, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

disseminate the workshop model and key properties to other colleges and Page 11.1293.2universities so that engineering and computer science may attract a more diverse population. Weprovide evidence regarding the success of the workshop through students’ work, a case study,and analysis of program evaluation data.1. IntroductionEngineers and computer scientists build products for use by a diverse population; therefore, it issensible and necessary that engineers form a diverse population. Unfortunately, thedemographics of US students earning engineering degrees and those practicing as professionalengineers do not reflect the US population1. Among the

Conference Session

Technical Issues in Architectural Engineering II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suining Ding, Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne (Eng)

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

are highlighted asfollowings: • Chinese Palace Architecture & Ancient Western Temples and Churches In the history of world architecture, politics and religion are always the main forces in developing grand architecture. The example used for Chinese Palace Architecture is Forbidden City in Beijing, China (Figure 2). The example used for Ancient Western Churches is The Vatican City and St. Peter’s in Rome, Italy (Figure 1). Both were built in the period of early Renaissance. China has about five thousand years history and Rome has been an ancient city for three thousand years. There are some similarities for these two building complexes, such as central axis

Conference Session

Program Delivery Methods and Real World Concepts

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leroy Cox, University of Missouri-Rolla; Susan Murray, University of Missouri-Rolla; David Spurlock, University of Missouri-Rolla (ENG)

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

, and telephone calls were most often used to share information. The mean scores foreach technology are shown in Table 1 below. Table 1. Mean Ratings of Frequency of Use of Communication Medium Communication Mode Mean Email 3.96 Telephone Conference 2.65 Personal telephone call 2.22 Shared Databases 1.91 Voice Mail 1.35 Standard Mail Delivery 1.35 Video Conference 1.13

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Carpinelli, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Raymond Calluori, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Vladimir Briller, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Eugene Deess, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Kamal Joshi, New Jersey Institute of Technology

learning education and to apply them to courses inthe Newark College of Engineering. The engineering college has lagged behind other collegeswithin the university in developing and implementing distance learning courses, and concernsabout the quality of distance learning courses are one of the main reasons for this. The Office ofInstitutional Research and Planning at NJIT has undertaken a study of distance learning coursesoffered during the 2003-2004 academic year. The study examines a total of 150 courses, 3,491students and 7,701 course enrollments; approximately 1/5 of the enrollments are in distancelearning courses and the remaining students enrolled in traditional face-to-face courses andserved as a control group. The study examines a wide

Conference Session

Engineering Without Borders Programs Involving Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evan Thomas, University of Colorado-Boulder; Robyn Sandekian, University of Colorado-Boulder; Andrew Azman, University of Colorado-Boulder; Bernard Amadei, University of Colorado-Boulder

Tagged Divisions

International

our planet who are poor. It also challenges engineering students to identifyvital non-technical issues which may be the greatest roadblocks to poverty alleviation throughsustainable community development.One-fifth of human beings on our planet are unable to read, and “more than 1 billion people lackaccess to safe water and 2.6 billion lack access to improved sanitation.”1 In a world where theseproblems seem practically beyond comprehension, it’s sometimes difficult to envision howindividuals can make a difference. Many of the huge infrastructure projects in the developingworld over the past half-century have failed within two years because the necessary educationand revenue to maintain them was not available. The United Nations has identified

Conference Session

Design Projects in Wind and Solar Energy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Hazel, Rowan University; Peter Mark Jansson

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

relationship linking the twois based on your location and on the time of year. This angle will change as the Sun passesthrough its equinox from solstice to solstice. The variation from June to December is +/-23.45°from equinox (see figure 1). During equinox, if a PV panel is tilted at your local area’s latitudethe sunlight will be normal to the module and strike the collector perpendicular to its face (seefigure 2). This scenario will not hold for the rest of the year, nevertheless, it provides the optimalangle for daily average throughout the year. However, this does not factor in climate. Forexample, with NJ latitude of 40° one would assume that this would be the best angle for apotential system. In actuality, NJ receives more cloud cover during the

Conference Session

NEW Lab Experiments in Materials Science

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine

Tagged Divisions

Materials

“alloy actuator wirethat expands and contracts, roughly emulating the operation of a muscle. The applicationof heat (provided by a controlled pulse of electricity) causes a crystalline structure changein the wire.” 3Needed Equipment include: Nitinol wire; mounting board; two AA batteries with holderand connecting wires; elastic band; two push pins; empty plastic milk jug. 1. Cut a strip of plastic from the milk jug that measures three- quarters of an inch by three and one-half inches to form the lever arm and make two holes in it with the pushpin. The first hole should be three-eighths of an inch from the end, and a second hole three-quarters of an inch from the same end. 2

Conference Session

Diversity, Recruiting, and Retention in ET

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ranjeet Agarwala, East Carolina University; Merwan Mehta, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

student bodies. Also, the model shouldserve well as a starting point for a university’s recruiting efforts, which can then befurther enhanced through interactions with current students and alumni.IntroductionAs educational systems are developing rapidly in many parts of the world, worldwidecompetition for international students has increased and become fierce. Figure 1 isderived from excerpts of the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Opendoors 2005Report.1 These statistics show that the total enrollment of international students in U.Suniversities reduced by 1.3% between academic year 2003-2004 and academic year2004-2005. International enrollment in the fields of engineering during the same timeperiod reduced by 2.4%.2 However, the

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Creamer, Virginia Tech; Soyoung Lee, Virginia Tech; Peggy Meszaros

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

in the final statistical analysis were: (a) parents’opinions or views about the importance of a career and how to pursue information about careeroptions, (b) information orientation features (decision orientation, receptivity, informationsources, and information credibility), (c) stereotypical and positive attitudes about the attributesof toward IT workers (such as that they are hardworking, smart, and creative, or anti-socialloners, geeks, and males), (d) frequency and type of computer use, and (e) IT career interest andchoice. Response options were: disagree (1), slightly disagree (2), slightly agree (3), and agree(4). All measures were coded such that the higher the value, the more positive the interpretation.Items about general

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katie Sullivan, University of Utah; April Kedrowicz, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

enhances the numerical ranking of satisfaction with multiplecourse attributes. A deeper understanding of students’ experiences gives educators theopportunity to make important curricular changes. This research speaks to issues of multi-method assessment tools in engineering, as well as the broader implications of students’experiences with writing, speaking and teamwork instruction.IntroductionWith the advent of ABET’s EC 2000, much focus has been placed on equipping engineeringstudents with the necessary professional skills to be effective in the workplace.1-3 As such,engineering educators highlight unique approaches to teaching students how to write (and speak)effectively. 4-6 A few key themes characterize this research. First, most attempts to

Conference Session

A Serving Profession: Service Learning in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathan Gartner, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; John TIng, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Oguz Gunes, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Xiaoqi Zhang, University of Massachusetts-Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

curriculumreform.Initially, three service-learning projects of various content, workload, and community partneringwere identified and implemented in two core and one elective undergraduate courses in CEE in2005. Over 80 undergraduate students ranging from freshmen to seniors participated in thesecommunity-based projects: (1) Davidson Street Parking Lot Redesign for the City of Lowell; (2)Intersection Analysis – Traffic Signal Control for the City of Lowell; and (3) PreliminaryBuilding Structural Evaluation for the Architectural Heritage Foundation (AHF) In Lowell, MA.Service-learning was found to be an effective approach to help meet several of the well-knownABET EC2000 educational outcomes. At the completion of these service-learning projects, thestudents not only

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohan Krishnan, University of Detroit Mercy; Shuvra Das, University of Detroit Mercy; Sandra Yost, University of Detroit Mercy; Kathleen Zimmerman-Oster, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

2006-617: ADVANCED MECHATRONICS: DEVELOPMENT OF A COURSE ONSENSORS & ACTUATORS FOR MECHATRONIC SYSTEMSMohan Krishnan, University of Detroit Mercy Mohan Krishnan is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Detroit Mercy. His area of expertise is in applications of Digital Signal Processing, including Pattern Recognition problems involving both 1-D and 2-D signals such as signature verification and identification of shape contours of objects; problems involving the use of Computational Intelligence techniques such as Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks in intelligent control and autonomous vehicle navigation; modeling of mechatronic systems; and engineering education. He

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Christie, Loyola Marymount University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

clear these obstacles by providing supplemental education withexperienced teachers, state-of-the-art classroom facilities and supportive college students whoact as counselors and mentors. Additional attention in advanced math and science courses suchas calculus and physics before students enter college is an effective means of ensuringpreparedness for science and engineering degrees. While low income minority high schoolstudents from Title 1 Institutions statistically take less advanced mathematics and sciencecourses such as physics, SECOP encourages all of our participants to take a fourth year of mathand physics in high school to be prepared for Freshman engineering courses. This extra

Conference Session

Installing & Assessing Technology Literacy Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University; John Krupczak, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

range ofissues (historical, economic, technical, social) inherent in design instruction and problemsolving. In consequence, we propose instruction in technological literacy as a newopportunity for design faculty. Through this activity, these faculty will be among the firstto be viewed by non-engineering students, not just the last instructors to be encounteredby undergraduate engineers. This situation could provide design instructors with a newand professionally rewarding territory for representation of both the design process anddesigners themselves.Introduction More than ten years ago, Edward W. Ernst 1 discussed the technological literacyof students in non-technical majors: “Within the past decade (approx. 1985-1995