Conference Session

Technology, Communication, & Ethics

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul Ross

Communication Certificate Program (TCC) at UW-Madison resembles a“minor” degree program, requiring 24-credit hours of work to complete the program.Besides work in general technical communication, editing, and oral presentations, electivecourses include web design, teams, electronic publishing and user manuals. Other coursesoutside technical communication are selected from approved course in communication,computer science, math/statistics, and management/business/economics.Students may also work in all phases of the production of Wisconsin Engineer, the award-winning college engineering magazine; and, as a capstone project, TCC students completea practical internship which requires substantial “real” technical communication work “on-the-job.”About half

Conference Session

Aerospace Technical Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michele Dischino, Central Connecticut State University; Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University; Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Viatcheslav Naoumov, Central Connecticut State University; Zdzislaw Kremens, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

improve the outcome of tendon injuries through engineering. As a graduate student, Dr. Dischino became heavily involved in educational outreach work with inner-city public school students in Philadelphia. It was through this work that she realized her passion for teaching technology and engineering concepts at all levels and encouraging students to achieve their full potential in these fields. She is currently a member of the American Society of Engineering Education, the International Technology Education Association and the Association for Science Teacher Education, as well as a Champion Board Member of the Connecticut branch of the National Girls Collaborative Project and Board

Conference Session

Teaching Teaming Skills Through Design

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

William Ziegler

often been avoided. With a heavy emphasis on teamwork via industry and accreditationstandards, group projects are a high priority.There are two primary problems to resolve when students work on teams. The first problem isthat students are rarely taught how to work on teams. The second problem is the need to assesseach individual’s contributions (or lack thereof) to the team.Assessing teamwork, by its very nature, is usually deemed as a subjective process. Thus, theapproach employed to perform the assessment must be structured in a manner that can beobjectively and quantitatively measured via a methodology emphasizing the teaching of teamworkand the evaluation of individual contributions to a team. The individual assessments areaccomplished

Conference Session

Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 9

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phuong Truong, University of California, San Diego; Truong Nguyen, University of California, San Diego; James Friend, University of California, San Diego; Alex M. Phan, University of California, San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Faculty Development Division (FDD)

hands-on projects, laboratorycourses, capstone design projects, internships, participation in student organizations, andstudent-led competitions. Such experiences enable students to actively engage inproblem-solving and critical thinking in an environment approximating their likely role in societyafter completing their degree, enriching their understanding of the field and the value of theesoteric theory they learn in the program. The recent proliferation of Makerspaces and rapidprototyping facilities at educational institutions [43-44] underscores the growing value placed onexperiential learning within engineering education [46-47], indicating a significant shift towardsmore immersive and practical learning methodologies. Consequently, the

Conference Session

NSF Grantees’ Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael G. Mauk, Drexel University; Richard Chiou, Drexel University (Eng. & Eng. Tech.); M. Eric Carr, Drexel University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

technologies to enhance Drexel’s Engineering Tech- nology course offerings. Eric is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Computer Engineering at Drexel, and is an author of several technical papers in the field of Engineering Technology Education. Page 24.1091.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014Imaging of Solar Cells:A Gateway to Teaching STEM DisciplinesAbstractIn this project, we are using image processing (both visible, near infrared, and farinfrared) to study various aspects of solar cells including their materials, deviceoperation, defects, variability, and reliability. Laboratory projects

Conference Session

Track 2: Technical Session 5: From Barriers to Bridges: The GEES Program's Impact on Low-Income Master's Students' Success and Professional Development

Collection

2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Authors

Ximing Li, University of Pittsburgh; Sylvanus N. Wosu, University of Pittsburgh; Keith Trahan, University of Pittsburgh; Tagbo Herman Roland Niepa, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Topics

2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions, Diversity

includes a three-semester MS track (30credits) or a two-semester certificate track (15 credits), both of which are infused with career-focused learning. Within their programs, GEES scholars engage in real-world projects,industry-based internships, and networking with professionals. This structure is designed toequip them not only with technical skills but also with the ability to navigate complexworkplace environments.GEES goes beyond classroom education by integrating co-curricular activities that fosterprofessional skills. For example, students participate in workshops on job search strategies,interview techniques, and negotiation skills, helping them navigate the professional worldwith confidence. Each student is also matched with an industry

Conference Session

Internship, Co-Op, and Professional Development Programs

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Austin Barnes, Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators; Tamara Ball, University of California, Santa Cruz; Christine R. Starr, University of California, Santa Cruz; Scott Seagroves, The College of Saint Scholastica; Kauahi Perez, University of Hawaii, Manoa; Lisa Hunter, University of California, Santa Cruz

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative and Experiential Education

learning to usethe practices that engineers use to solve problems. Undergraduate engineering programs all haveintended learning outcomes aimed at these practices, such as “an ability to design and conductexperiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data” and “an ability to design a system,component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints” [10]. As noted above,these practices are highly valued by employers, who note that recent college graduates often lackproficiency with these practices [11]. The ideal place to learn these practices is in the real world,making capstone projects, internships, and other activities that require students to work onauthentic problems highly valued experiences. However, putting students in the

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Thompson

as a source of information for improving team performance 2,3and accounting for individual contributions to a group project 4. Peer evaluations as a source ofinformation for small self-directed group work have an appeal because the team members are inthe best position to observe the team skills of their fellow team members. Despite thisadvantage, concerns have been levied against the use of peer evaluations. Abson 5, for example,suggested that peer evaluations can be abused and have undesirable effects on individuals in thegroup. Mathews 6 studied peer assessment of small group work in a management studiesprogram. He noted patterns of response included giving all group members the same score,collusion between group members, and potential

Conference Session

Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division (ELOS) Technical Session 2: Manurfacturing, Simulation, Safety, and Technical Writing

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Audrey Erin Concepcion; Ryan Hekker; Ean H. Ng, Oregon State University; Chukwudiebube Atagbuzia; Thomas L Doyle, Oregon State University; Jenette K Paul, Oregon State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division (DELOS)

student societies’ activities.This study was conducted as a senior capstone project by a team of four industrial engineeringand one mechanical engineering senior students. The capstone senior project spanned twoquarters, for a total of 22 weeks, and was sponsored by the OSU Department of EH&S, advisedby an industrial engineering faculty, and assisted by a PhD student in industrial engineering. Thecapstone senior project focused on identifying the root cause of the lack of near-miss reportingamong student societies within the COE through the development of research instruments andpreliminary data collection and analysis.Qualitative Approach of Current StudyExisting studies on academic laboratory safety either focus on formal learning settings

Conference Session

Working Together: Approaches to Inclusivity and Interdisciplinarity

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kenya Z Mejia, University of Washington; Yen-Lin Han, Seattle University; Jennifer A. Turns, University of Washington

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

change anapproach is identified.Here we present the narrative of an educator implementing a weekly reflection activity, theInclusivity Meter (IM), that allows students in a senior capstone course to communicate howincluded they felt in their teams or in the overall class that week. Through the narrative, wehighlight the conversations that happened as the educator reflected on the work in her classroomwith the two other authors. The conversation themes highlighted include the motivation fortrying this new activity, concerns throughout the quarter about student response rates, and twocases that surfaced issues of inclusion, prompting further discussion.After recounting this narrative, we dive into a discussion on how the engineering

Conference Session

TELPhE Division Technical Session 1: Expanding Technological and Engineering Literacies

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Alan Cheville, Bucknell University; John Heywood, Trinity College Dublin

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

share much in common with engineering, particularly in terms ofjob functions following graduation [21] such as project management; in both degree programsgraduates are trained to work with contingent problems. Two other degree programs are worthmentioning in terms of their need to deal with contingent problems and in which practitionersoften operate on heuristics rather than rules: teaching and nursing. Until fairly recently thesewere considered primarily occupations that women went into which associated them with lowerstatus than engineering or management given historical belief systems. However, the wayscontingent knowledge is used to manage highly contextualized problems is similar.An in-depth comparison of the educational methods used by

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jingfeng Wu, University of Michigan; Shannon M. Clancy, University of Michigan; Erika Mosyjowski, University of Michigan; Shanna R. Daly, University of Michigan; Lisa R. Lattuca, University of Michigan; Joi-Lynn Mondisa, University of Michigan

Tagged Topics

Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

capstone course predicted students’ success working as early engineerprofessionals, including broader social and technical practices impact students’ pursuit ofengineering because the practices enrich students’ learning experience, and potentially encouragestudents’ interest in engineering [19].MethodsGoal: This study focused on first-year engineering students’ perceptions of the engineeringpractices they perceived as important in their choice to study mechanical engineering. Theresearch question that guided our work was: What types of engineering practices do first year students describe as motivating their interests in the field of mechanical engineering?Participants: The study presented here included data from interviews of three

Conference Session

Design Methodologies 1

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Alexander R. Murphy, Georgia Institute of Technology; Henry David Banks, James Madison University; Matt Robert Bohm, Florida Polytechnic University; Robert L. Nagel, James Madison University; Julie S. Linsey, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

optimization, trade-off analysis, and failure mode analysis between the two points ofdata collection. Homework assignments consisted of developing and assessing proof-of-conceptsfor their overall capstone project. For juniors, lecture content focused mostly on Labview (asoftware used by systems engineers for testing, measurements, and control of hardware [43]) andhow to interface with and interpret data from physical hardware. Homework assignmentsfocused on Labview to interface and record data from existing physical systems. While thiscontent is related to engineering design, the authors do not believe any of this material wouldhave an effect on their mental model scores.In summary, seniors with knowledge of functional modelling were given the

Conference Session

Career Development in Engineering: From Higher Education to Industry

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ben David Lutz, Virginia Tech; Marie C. Paretti, Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

as exploring students’ conceptions of diversity and its importance within engineering fields.Dr. Marie C Paretti, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Marie C. Paretti is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she co-directs the Vir- ginia Tech Engineering Communications Center (VTECC). Her research focuses on communication in engineering design, interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, design education, and gender in engineering. She was awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to study expert teaching in capstone design courses, and is co-PI on numerous NSF grants exploring communication, design, and identity in engineering. Drawing on theories of

Conference Session

Student Division Diversity and Persistence Related Technical Session

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeannie Marie Purchase, Virginia Tech ; Denise Rutledge Simmons P.E., Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Student

infrastructure projects, sustainability education, and increasing diversity in STEM fields.Dr. Denise Rutledge Simmons P.E., Virginia Tech Denise R. Simmons, Ph.D., PE, LEED-AP, is an assistant professor in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction and in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, and an affiliate faculty of the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in civil engineering and a graduate certificate in engineering education – all from Clemson University. She is the 2016 recipient of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Outstanding New Assistant Professor and the Black Graduate Student

Conference Session

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division Technical Session 7

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Caitlin Donahue Wylie, University of Virginia; Ian Linville, University of Virginia; Angielyn Campo, University of Virginia; Suk Jun Kim, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

’ strategies in action as the basis for future studies and educational interventions. Wylieobserved and interviewed pairs of graduate and undergraduate students who worked together infour engineering research laboratories at a mid-sized public research university in the UnitedStates in 2017-2018. The labs were in the disciplines of electrical engineering, materials science(two labs), and systems engineering. The overall project compares the labs across disciplines,numbers of people in a lab, and levels of representation of students from marginalized groups inengineering (Table 1). Pseudonym Field # of group Women Underrepresented members

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey C. Evans P.E., Bucknell University; Michelle Oswald Beiler P.E., Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

included:3. an ability to design a system, component or process to meet desired needs8. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of solutions in a global and societalcontext10. a knowledge of contemporary issues13. an understanding of the elements of project management, construction and assetmanagement14. an understanding of business and public policy and administration fundamentals15. an understanding of the leader and leadership principles and attitudesAn analysis of these outcomes reveals that, while some understanding of various aspects of thehumanities and social sciences are needed to meet the outcome, there are no direct outcomes inthe humanities and social sciences.Humanities and Social Sciences in BOK2Building on BOK1, those

Conference Session

Engineering Management Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul J. Kauffmann P.E., East Carolina University; John Vail Farr P.E., West Point; Elizabeth W Schott, USMA, Department of Systems Engineering; David A. Wyrick PE, PEM, American Society for Engineering Management

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

) Operations Research Probability & Statistics Ergonomics, Human Factors, Work Design Operations & Production Management Production Planning, Inventory Control, Scheduling Marketing Systems Analysis Total Quality Management Senior Design or Project Project Management Automation, Simulation, or Manufacturing Processes Senior Seminar & Internship or Senior Design Statistical Process Control & Quality Methods 18 hours in emphasis area Facilities Design, Material Handling, & Plant LayoutA study by Zander14 demonstrated this program content diversity found by Elrod et al13

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rosalyn W. Berne, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

’ understanding of the ethics of assisted reproduction, within a social-technicalcontext of multiple human and non-human actors. ANT has also been a very helpful toolfor teaching UVA’s STS 4600: “Engineering Ethics.” Through that course students aresupported in writing their Undergraduate Thesis, from a design project based largely onthe capstone project within their majors. The STS 4600 engineering ethics course guidesstudents to identify a research question related to their capstone project, to incorporatesocial and ethical considerations. For example, as one student wrote, in synthesizing hercapstone project and STS 4600 research [9]: Many of the technologies schools are incorporating in the classroom are merely being used for

Conference Session

Writing and Communication I: Innovative Models for Curriculum and Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie Paretti, Virginia Tech; Lisa McNair, Virginia Tech; Diana George, Virginia Tech; kelly belanger, Virginia Tech; Lisa Norris, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

classroom is student learning anddevelopment. The desired outcome of an engineering design project in the workplace, in contrast,is a product or process the supports the company’s overall profitability and mission. Thus Page 12.1135.3teachers read student writing not because they need to act on the information a given reportincludes, but because they need to determine whether or not the student has mastered the contentand skills the course attempts to teach. In the workplace, managers, clients, and coworkers readreports or listen to presentations to extract information they need in order to perform their jobs.Data from a workplace test becomes the

Conference Session

Innovative Curriculum Development in BAE

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

David Fisher; Anthony Ellertson; Steven Mickelson; Thomas Brumm

Non-Professional Activities 50% Engineering Workplace Professional Activities 40% Co-op / Internship Capstone Design 30

Conference Session

Curricular Change Issues

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Linda Katehi; Leah Jamieson; Katherine Banks; Kamyar Haghighi; John Gaunt; Heidi Diefes-Dux; Robert Montgomery; William Oakes; P.K. Imbrie; Deborah Follman; Phillip Wankat

faculty’s skepticism of engineering education as a scholarly activity has created anenvironment at many institutions that make the pursuit of deeply focused and productiveengineering education research program anywhere from difficult to impossible. In someinstances, engineering faculty with a high level of interest in engineering education carry aboveaverage teaching loads and are advised to develop and maintain traditional engineering researchprograms to ensure tenure. These faculty pursue engineering education projects as a sidelineactivity that often must be accomplished with little resources (e.g. time, funding, or graduatestudents). Alternatively, engineering faculty pursuing engineering education are relegated tonon-tenure track positions

Conference Session

Engineering Design in Pedagogy

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathan Mentzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Kyungsuk Park, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

development, this research project will have implications forhigh school curriculum development, learning, and teaching methodologies.Design problems in these previous studies are ill-structured and open-ended. These kinds ofproblems have many potential solution paths stemming from an ambiguous identification of aneed. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has prepared a series ofstudies including a focus on educating engineers 14. Sheppard’s research identified reflectivejudgment as an appropriate framework for understanding the cognitive development of designthinking. “As individuals develop mature reflective judgment, their epistemological assumptionsand their ability to evaluate knowledge claims and evidence and to justify their

Conference Session

Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Poster Session

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Perkins Coppola, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Beomjin Kim; Guoping Wang, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Michelle Rene Parker; Thomas John Bolinger, Purdue University, Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)

were themed to each of the three computing disciplines, informing them about thecoursework and careers before immersing them in the field through hands-on activities. On thefifth and final day, campers applied their knowledge to a Capstone project involving Internet ofThings (IoT) within a home. Appendix A summarizes the SCC daily activities.The research questions for this study include: RQ1: How does participation in a summer computing camp influence students’ understanding of the differences between computing disciplines? RQ2: How does participation in a summer computing camp influence students’ understanding of potential career trajectories in computing disciplines? RQ3: Which elements of the camp curriculum

Collection

2013 GSW

Authors

Ronald E. Barr

with alumni and students. The PEV then returns to the program andcontinues interviews with faculty and student groups, often senior capstone design teams. TheABET team then re-assembles for Monday evening dinner, discussions, and report writing.By Tuesday morning, most PEVs have a good draft of their final report, which is called theprogram audit form (PAF). On Tuesday morning, the PEV has a brief meeting with the programchair to discuss the findings of the visit. If any shortcomings will be cited, the PEV usuallywants the program chair to know about it here, rather than to hear it for the first time in front ofthe university president later that day. The Tuesday lunch is a closed working lunch for theABET team, in which the final PAFs are

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL) Technical Session - Professional Practice 1

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sydney Donohue Jobe, University of New Mexico; Madalyn Wilson-Fetrow, University of New Mexico; Ruben D. Lopez-Parra, Purdue University; Paris Eisenman, University of New Mexico; Ethan Kapp, University of New Mexico; Carl Lyle Abadam, University of New Mexico; Vanessa Svihla, University of Texas at Austin; Anjali Mulchandani, University of New Mexico

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)

approach different fields of civiland construction management is overall beneficial for a mixed class of students from bothmajors. Civil engineering students are able to learn about concepts that construction managerswill cover in further depth in their future courses, while construction managers are able toappreciate how civil engineers seek design solutions. While these students will only overlap in afew courses over their undergraduate degree (e.g., Engineering Economics), they are pairedtogether again in their final senior capstone design course. In that course, the students work witha project mentor from a local engineering firm to design a civil engineering system (e.g.,wastewater treatment plant, new transportation corridor, bridge

Conference Session

Sociotechnical Thinking II: Interpretation, Curricular Practices, and Structural Change

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jenn Stroud Rossmann, Lafayette College; Kristen L. Sanford P.E., Lafayette College; Benjamin Cohen, Lafayette College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

better equipped to make informed decisions on project alternatives. This ability to understand the subtle nuances of complex technical problems makes EGRS majors the intermediary between traditionally trained engineers and society.” 2Engineering Studies graduates are more diverse in terms of gender than are the College’sgraduates with BS degrees in engineering, and they are more diverse in terms of ethnicity thanboth those with BS Engineering degrees and students with degrees in disciplines other thanengineering [3]. Clearly, the Engineering Studies Program is a place where women and studentsof color feel

Conference Session

Potpurri Design in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Daniel Jensen

methodology is thenimplemented in the context of an example that compares the use of original design andredesign projects in a senior capstone design course.2. Reference Design MethodologyWe have chosen a product design methodology as a basis or starting point for formulatingour methodology for designing hands-on activities. There are two reasons why we believethis is a good choice. First, development of both products and hands-on activities can beconsidered an “ill defined problem” in the sense that there is not an optimal uniquesolution. As the product design methodology shown below is based on a generic stencilfor solving ill-defined problems, it qualifies as a reasonable starting point for formulating anew design methodology for hands-on activity

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

* Denotes work in progress Proceedings of the 2010 American Society for Engineering Education Zone IV Conference Copyright © 2010, American Society for Engineering EducationCONCURRENT SESSIONS, 10:15 A.M.-12:00 P.M.Session GE1: General Engineering Education“An Applied Mathematics/Software Engineering Co-Development Project to Dynamically Predict High- Altitude Balloon Position Using Quasi Real-Time Data”* Jim Fischer & Claude Kansaku.................................................................................................................. 74“An Overview of Engineering Education in the US under a Globalization Environment” Wangping Sun

Conference Session

Technical Session 11: Topics related to Computer Science

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farzana Rahman, Florida International University; Samy El-Tawab, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

] describe upper-level courses that center on Android development.There are a variety of courses that teach mobile development as the context, including CS1courses [31, 32, 33], CS2 [34] and courses on topics ranging from HCI [35], softwareengineering [36] to games [37] to security [38]. Iskandarova et al. [41, 42, 43] used mobiledevelopment as a learning tools for kids in a children museum. Other researchers [44, 45] useproject-based classes to teach mobile development or part of a senior capstone project [46].While some of the above-mentioned courses cover almost similar mobile technology relatedtechnical contents that we have covered in our course, our focus was also to inform our studentshow they can continue to do socially conscious computing