Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Scott A. Stefanov; Daniel J. Pack

Session 3520Fire-Fighting Robot: The United States Air Force Academy Experience D. J. Pack and S. A. Stefanov Department of Electrical Engineering United States Air Force Academy USAFA, CO 80840-6236 ABSTRACTIn this paper we present an overview of the ongoing study on fire-fighting robot projectsat the United States Air Force Academy. The main objectives of this paper are: 1) todemonstrate the usefulness of a fire-fighting robot project as a tool for students tointegrate their undergraduate knowledge and 2) to present the

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Joan F. Brennecke; Joseph A. Shaeiwitz; Mark A. Stadtherr; Ph.D., Richard H. Turpin; Mark J. McCready; Roger A. Schmitz; Wallace B. Whiting

/ † University of Nevada, RenoIntroduction Knowledge of technologies and strategies for pollution prevention and the remediation ofhazardous pollutants, as well as the environmental impact of pollutants that are released into theenvironment, is an increasingly important part of the average Chemical Engineer's jobresponsibilities. Therefore, in the Departments of Chemical Engineering at the University ofNotre Dame, West Virginia University and the University of Nevada at Reno, we areimplementing through courseware, research and design projects a program to 1) develop thestudents' appreciation of the impact of pollutant release from chemical processes and of theenvironmental, ecological and long-term economic benefits of pollutant minimization

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael W. Jennings; Jamal A. Ghorieshi

. The Vibrations and Dynamics course—offered in the third year ofthe mechanical engineering program at Wilkes University—was drastically revised fromthe traditional lecture, homework and paper design project. These changes include:developing, designing, prototype construction, data acquisition and processing, andtesting along with oral presentation and demonstration. The main goal is for students tolearn and practice engineering in a manner that is a continuing habit. In this process,students learn: (i) What is in a machine shop? (ii) what tools are necessary? (iii) how tocome up with practical and useful solutions? (iv) decision making and generatingalternatives in the light of incomplete and often contradictory conditions. (v) illustrateand

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

James E. Fuller

consolidate the written and graphic information into a coherent whole,Only then can the project be reviewed for compliance with the client’s needs and the buildingofficial’s requirements and, the ultimate goal, be built.As the profession engages the use of software in ever increasing ways we must be certain thatstudents are not left behind. Applications routinely used by architects in practice include: Page 3.496.1 • Word Processing • Spreadsheets • Scheduling • Presentation • Computer Aided Documentation (CAD) • DatabasePart I: Professional Practice

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Jack Zecher; Kenneth Rennels; Douglas Acheson

Manufacturing Technology, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, hasundertaken a project to make use of modern marketing technology by developing an interactiveCD-ROM aimed specifically at recruitment. The development of this recruiting tool is beingpartially funded by a grant from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation.The objective of this project is to develop an interactive CD-ROM. This tool will allow theviewer to: learn about engineering technology careers; learn about IUPUI’s campus; investigatedegree programs and curricula; tour the department’s laboratories; meet the department facultyand students; and have frequently asked questions answered. The obvious benefit to thedevelopment of this CD-ROM will be the

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Yvan Champoux

first time in the fall of 1997 to a class of 120 sopho-mores. The purpose of the course is threefold. First, it covers the basic knowledge associated toexperimentation. Second, several laboratories are used to enhance the understanding of thecourses content and to develop the students skills. Finally, the course is closely linked to a majorsemester experimental project. This paper presents a short description of the course content andhow the course was designed. It also demonstrates that the course is an excellent “integrator”that allows the students to link the knowledge covered in various courses. I. IntroductionA new mechanical engineering curriculum was introduced in 1996. This innovative curriculumis

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Marybeth Lima

Session 1308 Principles of living systems and engineering design for freshmen level students in biological engineering: design of a tiger habitat Marybeth Lima Louisiana State UniversityAbstractThe design of a tiger habitat for LSU mascot Mike the Tiger was assigned as a class project forBE 1252: Biology in Engineering, a required freshmen level course in the BiologicalEngineering Curriculum. This project was chosen because of its relevance in illustrating theboundary between living systems (animal, human and plant) and the environment, because of itsproximity to and

Conference Session

Impact of Information Technology on Engineering Education (3215)

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Tahar El-Korchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Paul P. Mathisen, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Frederick L. Hart, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering (CE)

Session 3215 Incorporation of Distance Engineering into an Introductory Freshman Undergraduate Course in Civil Engineering Paul P. Mathisen, Frederick L. Hart, and Tahar El-Korchi Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609 AbstractThis paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted by the Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering (CEE) Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to investigate theimpact of distance communication on student project work. An introductory

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert M. Koretsky

, Proceedings of the NSFSymposium on Modernization of the Engineering Design Curriculum, 1990, MechanicalEngineering Department, University of Texas at Austin, and uses the Barr/Juricic model of thecurriculum. Electrical, Civil, and Mechanical Engineering freshman develop a “sketch-as-plan”approach to their creation of images that vitalize design ideas. Image content is manipulated andre-worked in pencil and with AutoCAD Release 13 or MicroSim PSpice. A common final projectfor Civil and Mechanical Engineering revolves around solid model construction. An ElectricalEngineering project involves designing, building, analyzing and testing a milled printed circuitboard for a regulated power supply chip. The paper describes the history of the content

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Hossein Moini

mechanical engineering students on the integrated design andmanufacturing of intelligent systems. Specifically, students become familiar withmicroprocessors/microcontrollers and active materials as smart sensors/actuators that can be furtherinterfaced with conventional mechanical systems. Experiments cover software and hardwaredevelopment, interfacing electronic devices and mechanical mechanisms, and investigation of theadaptive capabilities of smart/active materials. In addition to the structured experiments, a designproject is also part of the lab activities. The design project involves design,manufacturing/assembly, and testing of integrated microprocessor-based systems composed ofanalog sensors & actuators, digital electronic devices, and

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Edward C. Roche; David B. Van Dongen

unit operations laboratory deals with mass transfer and kinetics-reactoroperation. Here the communications effort has a different approach. Four managerial positionsare created using a four-student group module. With four experiments, each student can rotatethrough each of the following positions: Project Manager; Research and Development Manager;Operations Manager; and Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs Manager. Here the emphasisis on the development of individual written communication skills.The Traditional Unit-Operations Laboratory CoursesThe chemical engineering laboratory course sequence continues to be structured to interface withthe curriculum and course scheduling. The laboratory course sequence has as its initial focus

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Devon; Wayne Hager; Dhushy Sathianathan; Dominique Saintive; Michel Nowé; Jacques Lesenne

Session 2544 Alliance by Design: International Student Design Teams Richard Devon, Wayne Hager, Dhushy Sathianathan The Pennsylvania State University Dominique Saintive, Michel Nowé, Jacques Lesenne The Université d'Artois at BethuneAbstractA French and an American University collaborated in the Fall of 1997 to run a design projectusing teams of French and American Students. The project was carried out using many differentforms of information technology, including A-V conferencing. The students in the winning teamwere given the airfare to visit

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

James Rehg; Sohail Anwar

this model in the EET 117course at Penn State Altoona is described next. The results of implementation of case-basedinstructional method in the EET 117 course are discussed and the conclusions are presented. Inthe second part of this paper the technique used to convert the traditional digital laboratory to ateam based design process is described. INTRODUCTIONThe project described in the first half of this paper is the development and implementation ofcase study method for helping students develop real-world engineering skills. Like its law andbusiness school counterparts, the engineering case presents a scenario that practicing engineersare likely to encounter in the workplace. The engineering cases

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Wayne Hager; Jacques Lesenne; Dominique Saintive; Richard Devon

-facetedcollaboration to generate relevant, diverse, and cost effective experiences for faculty andstudents. And, while many opportunities exist for engineering students, only a few are currentlyavailable for technology students and faculty. We have built a collaboration that providesopportunities for both. Further, we will even report on a project that was both international andbetween engineering and technology students.Over the past five years, a collaboration has developed between the Penn State School ofEngineering Technology and Commonwealth Engineering (SETCE) and the Institut UniversitaireTechnologie (IUT) on the Béthune campus of the Université d’Artois in northern France. It nowincludes faculty exchanges, student exchanges, short term student

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Carol Fulton; Barbara L. Licklider

sea changeof re-engineering efforts, however, is the vast amount of knowledge now needed by faculty tobring about the complex outcomes now desired for students. Hence, realizing the hopes ofcurrent restructuring efforts hinge on a major investment in faculty development - yet not justmore of what we’ve always done - a different kind of faculty development is needed. This needled to the creation of Project LEA/RN (Learning Enhancement Action/Resource Network), aninnovative faculty development project designed to improve learning and teaching in the Collegeof Engineering at Iowa State.Project LEA/RN traces back to the year 1993 and to the efforts of 18 faculty in the Departmentof Mechanical Engineering. Noticing discrepancies between the

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Sub Ramakrishnan; Mohammad B. Dadfar

procedure calls whichwere established more than a decade ago are being revisited as client-server networks becomepopular. Developers are also scrambling to build Java based applications that can be deployedon any desktop.In the last offering of our data communications course, we did a pilot study and made somechanges to our traditional offering of this course. The focus was more hands-on experience,exposure to modern technology, and less on theory. The classroom setting was informal andprojects were group-oriented. In this paper we describe two projects that were assigned duringthis offering. The first project uses Java to build a client-server application and attempts tocompare the tradeoffs between Java and C++. The second project is an extension

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Matt W. Mutka; Betty H. C. Cheng; Diane Rover

design (capstone course in computer engineering). The approach comprises modular course pack development, suitable for alternative teaching models, such as team teaching and development of multidisciplinary courses; team projects to give students hands-on experience with embedded systems; and incorporation of innovative teaching techniques designed to facilitate and enhance the student’s learning experience. Curriculum developments focus on embedded systems and our courses. In the software engineering course, students are exploring how object-oriented development techniques can be applied to industry-oriented embedded system projects, such as pro- cess controllers for numerous appliances (e.g., washing

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Klaus Wuersig

much like one thatis produced in the market place gives meaning to an exercise and now it is very important tolearn all about the theory associated with the product. Therefore any projects that are assignedshould have as much reality associated with them as possible.Now the instructor becomes acoach , a mentor, a project engineer that guides each individual student to produce within acertain timeframe this product that has his or her name on it. Learning has become an activeprocess, where theory and hands on activity reenforce each other. Page 3.525.1 1

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Kenneth J. Soda

a MOSIS fabrication cycle and process timetable an educator mustmaster to effectively use this wonderful tool.The MOSIS Service Since 1981, the MOSIS has provided a low cost method through which integrated circuitprototyping can be accomplished. Today over 5,000 users from industry, government andacademia choose among the eight MOSIS brokered process technologies offered by fourcommercial vendors. Originally created through a collaboration between the Defense AdvanceResearch Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), MOSIS hasbecome an important vehicle for integrated circuit research and development. The integration of a MOSIS brokered fabrication cycle into undergraduate education ispossible only

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Ganesh V. Kudav

courses, in addition to theconventional experiments during the weekly meetings, I assign one significant developmentproject to student teams of two or three. The special project is assigned in the first week of the10-week course to allow students sufficient time for the completion of their project. Thispaper discusses some of student projects, my philosophy behind the implementation of labdevelopment projects, and the feedback I received from the students.Philosophy Traditional undergraduate labs usually concentrate on demonstrations of physicalphenomena [Ref. 1]. As a result, when it is time to replace a particular equipment, the facultymember in charge of a lab, reviews the catalogs of engineering lab equipment vendors todetermine which

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Stephen R. Fleeman

competency represent asignificant step to achieving global economic competitiveness.This can only serve to complement local industry needs and TAC/ABET accreditation criteria. Page 3.233.2 -2-The EIA Skill Standards versus the AEA Skill StandardsThe AEA project resulted in a publication entitled Setting the Standard – A Handbook on Skill Standardsfor the High-Tech Industry [Ref. 3]. The EIA project produced a publication entitled Raising the Standard– Electronics Technician Skills for Today and Tomorrow [Ref 4]. These two publications provideconsiderable insight into the role and the expectations placed on electronics technicians. Copies of theAEA publication are available to public

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Ronald R. Hosey; R. Gregg Bruce; Lester K. Eigenbrod; Hansjoerg Stern

approach to capstone application of the principles taught in thedesign, materials, mechanics, fluid power, and manufacturing undergraduate course sequences.The course utilized a student teamwork-oriented approach to accomplish three design projects andemployed additional faculty to discuss such topics as inventiveness, concurrent engineering,teamwork & supervision, life cycle design, manufacturing cost, product safety, and professionalethics.2 Course Objectives Several primary objectives were established, following faculty recommendations from curriculumand mechanics subcommittees and from members of the Industrial Advisory Committee. The firstwas to emphasize the fundamental elements of the design process. Faculty members withexpertise in

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Daniel Davis

thinking of industrial experience as what they didwith a company many years ago. Everyone must start seeing both academic education andemployment experience as a project of life-long learning. According to many, the cornerstone of building a strong education curriculum isbalancing practical experience based knowledge with academic inquiry.3 Then why is not thesame required of the faculty, that is, a blending of industrial experience with academicknowledge, thereby fusing practical applications with theory. This would strengthen the ties, andredefine the boundaries between education and practice in the preparation of professionals. Amore professionally involved faculty would also improve the interaction between industry andacademia, and

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Salim A. Elwazani

in 1992 and 1993 offerings. The saved time from shrinking the lighting designproject--and also from shrinking the electrical system design project that year--was devotedto accommodating a laboratory analysis project on building accessibility. Page 3.412.23 Models for Lighting Page 3.412.34 Models for Lighting Page 3.412.45 Models for Lighting Page 3.412.56 Models for Lighting Page 3.412.67 Models for Lighting Page 3.412.7 8 Models for LightingThe

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Joseph A. Shaeiwitz

loop will require a paradigm shift infaculty attitudes and behavior. Faculty must be receptive to results from outcomes measures thatmay suggest students have not achieved the desired outcomes. They must be willing to alter thecurriculum and/or their teaching methods to ensure that students do achieve the desiredoutcomes. In this paper, the experiences at West Virginia University, mostly within the Departmentof Chemical Engineering, are used as examples of how results of outcomes measures have beenused for continuous program improvement. Results from Design Projects In the assessment plan in Chemical Engineering at West Virginia University, the primaryassessment measure is a series of individual

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert L. Avanzato

Session 3520 Collaborative Mobile Robot Design in an Introductory Programming Course for Engineers Robert Avanzato Penn State Abington College Abington, PA 19001A project-centered introductory computer course for freshman and sophomore engineers has beendeveloped at the Penn State Abington College. Students form teams to collaboratively design andimplement algorithms in the C language for autonomous mobile robots. The team projects have beendeveloped to “teach” critical programming

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert H. Mayer

opportunitiessuch as birdwatching, fishing, and hunting. For better or worse, natural wetlands have also beenused for wastewater discharge. Even so, drainage and filling of wetlands, principally foragricultural use, were common practices 2. Fortunately, increased public awareness of wetlandfunctions and values led to the “no net loss of wetlands” policies of the Bush and ClintonAdministrations. Today, engineers will find it useful and often necessary to include wetlandsrestoration and conservation among project objectives.Accordingly, instruction in wetlands function awareness and design procedures has been intro-duced in the ocean engineering curriculum at the U.S. Naval Academy. Also, capstone designprojects have been initiated which include wetlands

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

S. Cem Karacal; John A. Barker; Jacob Van Roekel

and interact with ProtoThinker. The following examples illustrate thetypes of arguments students are expected to evaluate successfully.Categorical Reasoning:Categorical logic deals with inferences involving classes of objects. Example:ARGUMENT: Anyone who is an experienced engineer is a reliable employee, and at least oneperson who is working on the software project is an experienced engineer. Therefore, at leastone person who is a reliable employee is working on the software project.FACTS: No one who is a reliable employee is working on the software project. Everyone whois a reliable employee is an experienced engineer.EVALUATION: The argument is:(A) Valid but not sound(B) Valid but possibly unsound(C) Both invalid and unsound(D

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

J.P. Trudeau; Alan R. Klayton; A.L. Clark; Daniel J. Pack

68HC11 microcontroller is used toteach assembly language programming and to introduce the use of embedded microcontrollers insystem design. One of the most common challenges for educators who teach this type of courseis covering all desirable hardware and software concepts in a single semester. To help remedythis situation, we recently redesigned the course so each student must complete a single mobilerobot project with multiple “subsystem labs” replacing the previously unrelated lab sequence.We believe this more integrated approach improves the course for both educators and studentswhile facilitating the development of a systems design methodology. INTRODUCTIONTypically, a microcomputer assembly language

Collection

1998 Annual Conference

Authors

Daina Briedis

explanation of the relationship of the device(or concept) to the fluid flow and/or heat transfer fundamentals discussed in class, and a technicaland, where possible, quantitative analysis of the parameters of the problem. Commentary on Page 3.384.2safety, environmental or societal impact is required as appropriate for the project. The papers aregraded with typical standards for written work (content, organization, style, grammar).In addition to the above requirements, the oral presentation must also show evidence of goodpreparation: a) smooth flow from one speaker to another and good budgeting of allotted time;b) clear speaking and effective visual