Conference Session

Unique Courses & Services for Freshmen

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Catherine Blat

credibility and support, as evidenced bythe fact that it is fully institutionalized within the College of Engineering. The latter isparticularly important as 2001-02 was the last year of NSF SUCCEED funding.MAPS offers peer mentoring, Supplemental Instruction (SI) for gateway courses, tutoring, studygroups, skill development workshops, professional development activities, and a technical andprofessional development resource library. MAPS is also intricately integrated with academicadvising, the freshman engineering curriculum, and the junior/senior professional developmentcourses. Continuous improvement is driven by assessment results including, but not limited to,demographics, academic performance, percent of students earning a D or an F or

Conference Session

Recruiting, Retention & Advising

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

William Jordan; Cheryl Sundberg

American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education”Figure 1 Example fatigue lifetime graphFor most students, graphing the fatigue data was the hardest task of all the engineeringexploration activities. However, this also illustrated an important point about the variability ofdata. Some students seemed surprised that we did not get the same results on every test. Thispoint was also made when we analyzed the Charpy impact test results described in anothersection.DesignDesign is an integral component of engineering. Students in cooperative groups were asked todesign a structure with 3 packages of drinking straws and one roll of masking

Conference Session

CE Body of Knowledge

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Stuart Walesh

to today’s basic undergraduate civilengineering programs, the outcomes prescribe significantly more technical and professionalpractice content. The 21st Century civil engineer must demonstrate:1. an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering. (ABET a) Commentary: A technical core of knowledge and breadth of coverage in mathematics, science and civil engineering topics is stressed in this outcome. Underlying the professional role of the civil engineer as the master integrator and technical leader are most of the following: mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, biology, chemistry, ecology

Conference Session

Sustainability and the Environment

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Leirad Carrasco; Charles Turner

. D.candidate in the Environmental Science and Engineering program provide two perspectives onthe challenges and outcomes of this effort. This paper is of interest to faculty members involvedin the integration of sustainable design concepts into the curriculum. The contest provided acooperative learning experience for both students and faculty, and consequently, madesignificant contributions to the student’s engineering education.BackgroundUTEP initiated green engineering and science efforts in 1997. UTEP joined forces with VirginiaTech (VT) to submit a proposal to a large energy corporation for the development of a studentand faculty exchange that would initiate a greening program in the Colleges of Engineering andScience at UTEP. UTEP would build on

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

George DeSain; Farid Tranjan; Ken Burbank

two universities are already linked through grant activity in the Carolinas MicroOptics Triangle. The new program will have an emphasis on optical communications andphotonics. Graduates are expected to be the process and test engineers for the photonicsindustry.Intr oduction:The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte) has a strong Electrical andComputer Engineering (ECE) Department, with close ties to the Department of Physics andOptical Sciences. Western Carolina University (WCU) has a Department of EngineeringTechnology with programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) andTelecommunications Engineering Technology. To reflect the addition of the new engineeringprogram, the Department will now become

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Julie Sharp, Vanderbilt University

activities student post-assessment with a written assessment form after the final opportunity to meet alumni alumni post-assessmentThis project will be refined and continued in Spring 2004. Additional alumni assessmentthrough a questionnaire is being collected now to get further input and to determine if a post-course mentoring relationship has been established. The author’s personal assessment is that thisproject, although time-consuming for the professor, was enjoyable and rewarding for allconcerned.References1. Dyrud, M.A., " Communication and Civil Engineering: An Integrated Approach to Senior Projects," American Society for Engineering Education 2002 Conference Proceedings, CD ROM, 7 pp. Available online at

Conference Session

International Case Studies, Interactive Learning, Student Design

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Vaz

supply will be anominal 12 Volts from either a typical automotive battery or a 12 Volt battery pack. The circuitmust be as efficient as possible to extend battery life. In addition, the circuit should indicatewhen battery voltage is low and shut itself down if the voltage drops below a certain level. Thecircuit must be integrated into the Kinkajou Projector and not add more than 10% to theproduction cost. Prototype cost should not exceed $50.Each design challenge was taken on by nine teams of three students each. The DtM staff playedan active role as members of the teaching team. They visited an initial meeting of the ECEDesign course to describe the underlying problems in Mali, discuss the work done to date on theKinkajou Portable Library and

Conference Session

Learning & Teaching Issues

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Emilia Hodge; Chang-Yu Wu; Anne Donnelly

in St. Louis, Environmental Engineering Science Program, St. Louis, MO 63130/4University of Florida, Office of Academic Technology, Gainesville, FL 32611AbstractA comprehensive evaluation program was developed as part of an NSF Course Curriculum, andLaboratory Improvement grant to develop three undergraduate computer simulation modules.Aerosol science and technology is generally taught at the graduate level and the goal of thisprogram was to develop materials that would bring this subject to the undergraduate level. Toachieve this goal, an evaluation plan was developed that included formative and summative, andcognitive and affective measures. This was a collaboration between content and

Collection

2004 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

George D. Gray; Raju Dandu

twoexcellent regional universities, Kansas State University at Salina and Pittsburg State Universitythat offer bachelor degrees in Engineering Technology. Wichita State University offers aMechanical Engineering program that could also provide areas of collaboration between thesimilar disciplines.Therefore, the leadership at Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) proposed to initiatetransferable engineering technology programs within their curriculum structure. In developingthese programs, the curricula will provide the overall hands-on workforce skills required byindustry while maintaining an educational level conducive to upper- level degree transferability.The proposed curricula will serve to enhance and elevate the knowledge base, thereby

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Programs: Look Ahead

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Jean-Pierre Delplanque; Joan Gosink

number of engineering students that enter internships in community or international service. As a result of the newly established agreements with sponsoring organizations such as the US Department of Health and Human Services, Engineers Without Borders, the Namlo Foundation, Golden Independent School, and the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil, we anticipate an increase in students participating in these endeavors. Furthermore, we plan to establish additional agreements with similar agencies during the course of the project.2. Program Implementation2.1. Curriculum Development and EnhancementsSenior Design/Service MissionsSenior design is a linchpin of the program, through which some students engage in designprojects

Conference Session

TIME 5: Solid Mechanics

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Wendy Reffeor; David Blekhman

using actual machineddimensions.One difficulty in this type of experience is the students’ inability to account for interactionsbetween stress risers. This could be resolved somewhat by allowing students to use an FEAprogram to verify their predictions. One difficulty with this approach is giving students a falsesense of their ability to use FEA software. In addition, the extra workload introduced for studentsto learn a new software program was deemed unnecessary.A definite advantage of this project is its relationship to other courses in the curriculum. Studentsuse their CAD/CAM skills acquired in their freshman CAD/CAM course and are exposed totensile testing which is more fully covered in their Materials Science Course. In addition,students

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade: The Tenure Process

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Robin Gill; William Haering

recognizing the integration of outstanding active andcollaborative learning and innovation. She is a member of AAHE and holds a B.S. in Communication and an M.S.in Communication Instructional Systems Design from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Page 9.1164.11 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2004, American Society for Engineering Education

Conference Session

TIME 8: Materials, MEMS, and Nano

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mohammad Elahinia

most of the students have had no experience with shape memory alloys before. Another contributing factor is the way that the experiment was conducted; the students had to design their own lab procedures. Also the communication of the results in the form of reports and presentations played a major role in making the lab more attractive and a better learning experience.References[1] Moini, Hossein, “Active Materials & Microcontroller Applications in Design ofIntelligent Systems,” 1998 Annual Conference (Seattle: ASEE, June1998).[2] Penrod, Luke, Talley, Diana, Froyd, Jeff, Caso, Rita, Lagoudas, Dimitris, andKohutek, Terry, “Integrating smart materials into a first-year engineering curriculum: Acase study

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Renato Pacheco; Renato Carlson; Lucia Helena Martins-Pacheco

or curriculum, in a continuous feedback andreevaluation procedure. At first, it was thought and developed having in mind an electricalengineering course, but it can be used in other engineering courses or even adapted to otherundergraduate and graduate courses. It can be used to evaluate aspects such as: How doteachers understand their courses? Which are their beliefs about several aspects of theteaching/learning process? How are students developing the desired creative abilities, whichare very important for the modern engineer? And also: Which is the degree of satisfaction ofstudents and teachers involved in a considered course?Educational assessment, a critical aspect in the teaching/learning environment, has beenstudied by several

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

James Hanson; Julia Williams

keeping the evaluation load reasonable while giving students anactivity that would be totally integrated with their technical work. For these reasons, the authorsconsidered the homework problem context and decided that was the best area for development.Using writing in the engineering classroom can help students discover what they do and do notknow, help them visualize the problems on which they are working, and generally assist them inreflecting on their work in the classroom.The course selected for assignment development is Engineering Statics. The students enrolled inthe course are predominantly civil, mechanical and biomedical engineering majors in thefreshman or sophomore year. The course lasts ten weeks and is an introductory

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Howard Smolleck

across the curriculum and providing an early introduction to the relevanthardware. We believe the latter is important to increasing student interest and involvement,which directly impacts recruitment and retention. Of particular benefit will be the inclusion Page 9.1044.31 We have a separate computer laboratory for simulation-based studies. Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Educationof laboratory experiments in the Electrical Engineering service course for non-majors and,perhaps, in Mechanical

Conference Session

Industrial Collaborations

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Jerry Visser; Carrie Steinlicht; Teresa Hall

productdevelopment themes into the curriculum in a variety of ways. First year students in theintroductory processes course are brought into the consortium center and given an overview ofRP technology and its capabilities.Second year and third year MNET majors take a minimum of three courses that utilize theGPRPC for learning opportunities. In the safety class, workplace hazards are addressedincluding: hazardous materials handling, ergonomic analysis of workstations and personalprotective equipment requirements are covered. At this point in their academic career, studentsmay be hired as employees of the consortium. For those with paid positions, students maintain

Conference Session

Issues for ET Administrators

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

John Stratton; Maureen Valentine; Carol Richardson

satisfied). Two of these questions were asked on the RIT 1997 survey. Page 9.8.8 “Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright c 2004, American Society for Engineering Education”Both of the RIT surveys also requested information on the favorite/least favorite course and theprogram emphasis that was most important to the graduate. Engineering Economics, Ethics, andTechnical Writing and Presentation were listed as the most important courses in the 2002 surveywhich should be included in the curriculum. No courses were really the least.RIT graduates felt that

Conference Session

ECE Education and Engineering Mathematics

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Roland Thomas; Albert Rosa

circuit element early and fully integrate it throughout thecourse. DC circuits are designed using voltage and current dividers to deliver specified currents,voltages or power; interface circuits are designed when neither the source circuit nor the loadcircuit is alterable; and instrumentation systems are created to interface transducers to aparticular output device. A major departure from most circuits courses occurs in our approach todynamic circuits. We begin by introducing a separate block on signal waveforms includingsingularity functions, exponentials, sinusoids and their combinations. This better prepares thestudent for finding solutions of first- and second-order circuits using the classical differentialequation approach. The most

Conference Session

TYCD 2004 Lower Division Initatives

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Gary Mullett

Session #2586 The Formation of a National Telecommunications Collaboration: Critical Issues in the Development of Partnerships By Gary J. Mullett NCTT Co-Director, Springfield Technical Community College Springfield, Massachusetts1. OverviewThe National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT), an NSF sponsoredAdvanced Technical Education (ATE) National Resource Center located at SpringfieldTechnical Community College in Springfield, MA has entered into a new phase of its evolution.As a national resource center, NCTT is undertaking the

Conference Session

ECE Capstone and Engineering Practice

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Kishore Kotteri; Joan Carletta; Amy Bell

, and canonical signed digitrepresentation of coefficients.Intr oductionThe typical electrical and computer engineering curriculum includes courses in both digitalsignal processing and digital design, but treats the two subjects completely separately. Studentsin a digital signal processing (DSP) course learn various techniques, such as windowing and theequiripple Park-McClellan methods, for the design of finite and infinite impulse response (FIR,IIR) filters subject to specifications such as passband ripple, stopband attenuation andpassband/stopband edge frequencies. A typical DSP filter design project uses MATLAB,MathCAD, or C to create a floating-point design as the end product. The design is consideredhigh quality if it meets the frequency

Conference Session

The Fundamentals of Fun

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Matthew Morris; Dawn Conniff; J. Ledlie Klosky

Session # Lights, Camera, Engineering: Energizing and Motivating Students to Enhance Learning Dawn E. Conniff, Matthew R. Morris, J. Ledlie Klosky United States Military AcademyAbstractEngineering classrooms are an ideal setting for the dramatic presentation of material. Dramaticpresentation can include using multimedia content, employing surprise, humor, dramatic voice,exciting physical models, and other non-traditional, highly engaging presentation techniques.These techniques seize the attention of the students and are phenomenal tools in increasingstudent

Conference Session

Introduction to Engineering and More

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Craig Gunn

Session 2653 Providing Connections Between Freshmen and Senior Engineers Through a Design Experience Craig J. Gunn, Craig W. Somerton, Brian Thompson Department of Mechanical Engineering Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824IntroductionThe typical engineering curriculum in most programs revolves around math, physics, andchemistry components. Students prepare for future engineering activities by building afoundation that will allow them to function at the upper levels of their majors. Little or

Conference Session

Computer-Based Measurements

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Keith Koenig; Viva Austin; Bryan Gassaway; Thomas Hannigan

medium-scale, closed-circuit subsonicwind tunnel facility used for undergraduate aerospace engineering laboratoryexperimentation and research represents a substantial investment in resources. Thelaboratory building housing a wind tunnel is often constructed around such a facility, andsupport facilities are sized and located accordingly. The facility housed in Patterson Hallat Mississippi State University (MSU) was moved into the building upon completion ofconstruction in the 1960s. Wood and machine shop facilities were located adjacent tothe tunnel to provide research and educational support. The tunnel has an octagonal Page 9.924.1

Conference Session

Teaching Teaming Skills Through Design

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Pei-Fen Chang; Jiunn-Chi Wu

group learning process of an open-endedcreative mechanical design course for technological creativity cultivation. Surveys andsemi-structured interviews were collected and analyzed to evaluate the curriculum, and tounderstand students’ learning difficulties to determine directions of improvement. Overall, thetop three abilities students gained were: (1) Efficient use of time to reach consensus; (2) Growthof problem-solving ability; and (3) Development of teamwork strategies. Finally, lessons learnedfrom this study are presented to help develop a cooperative classroom atmosphere and toimprove the effectiveness of this course in following years.I. Introduction In this study, we follow the principles of Seat and Poppen [1] that students must

Conference Session

Life Sciences and ChE

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Vyas Harinath; Pfumai Kuzviwanza; Jianzhong Lou; Leonard Uitenham; Keith Schimmel

Session #3613 Biodegradable Polymer Characterization Laboratory Unit Keith A. Schimmel, Jianzhong Lou, Pfumai Kuzviwanza, Arvind Vyas Harinath, Leonard Uitenham North Carolina A&T State UniversityAbstractA current research area of significant environmental, economic, and scientific importance isbiodegradable polymers.1-4 Biodegradable polymers is also an area that has great promise forbeing used to integrate life science into the chemical engineering curriculum. To this point,however, high quality laboratory manuals on biodegradable polymers have not been developed.Therefore

Conference Session

Academic Standards and Academic Issues

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Brian Manhire

Session 2560 Grade Inflation, Ethics and Engineering Education Brian Manhire Ohio UniversityAbstractAn overview of grade inflation in American higher education is presented and its ethical implica-tions are examined and found to be troubling. A synopsis of the ethical ethos of engineering isprovided and an account is given of corresponding expectations regarding ethics instruction inengineering education. Because it is unethical, grade inflation is contrary to the ideals and goalsof engineering education; and recommendations are

Conference Session

DEED Poster Session

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

John Farris

Session 1725 Marketing Enhances Engineering Product Innovation John Farris, Paul Lane Padnos School of Engineering / Seidman School of Business Grand Valley State UniversityAbstractProduct innovation is increasingly a multi-disciplinary undertaking. In an effort to prepareleaders for this interdisciplinary effort, the authors are developing a methodology and a guidingmodel to teach the product innovation process to graduate engineering and marketing students.In this innovative program, two parallel courses are offered in one semester. The

Conference Session

Energy Projects and Laboratory Ideas

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

David Kukulka

academic programs. The Mechanical Program uses theABET's Technology Accreditation Commission's (TAC) criteria to help assess student learningin our courses. TAC/ABET learning objectives help students understand what general skills andknowledge they are expected to have demonstrated upon completion of the course. Prior toentering the senior design course at BSC, students will demonstrate their basic mechanicalengineering technology skills by presenting a portfolio of work and passing a comprehensivetest. This paper examines the process for students in the energy areas.Once in the course, students use their skills to propose an applied thermal sciences project to aboard consisting of their professor, industry sponsor and student representatives

Conference Session

TIME 7: ABET Issues and Capstone Courses

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Karim Nasr; Raghu Echempati; Arnaldo Mazzei

theireducational focus, examine teaching and learning styles, experiment with new and innovativeapproaches to assess students’ learning, and above all put in place an improvement process[1].Kettering University, like all accredited engineering schools, has adapted and responded toABET EC 2000[2,3]. A formal curriculum reform process occurred over 1999-2001, and produceda curriculum that embodied EC 2000 criteria. Trial assessment practices began on Fall 2000,both for core courses and capstone design courses as well, and a formal multi-tier, multi-methodassessment process began on July 2001. In relation to ABET EC 2000’s Criterion 3, ProgramOutcomes and Assessment, assessment and demonstration of outcomes achievement are not onlya part of the improvement