Conference Session

Bringing Biology into Engineering

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

John Kaplan; Kathleen Kaplan

have some type of structure for legal strings; this is called a grammar.For a grammar to include structure, terminals and nonterminals must be defined. Aterminal is any member of the alphabet, Σ. A nonterminal, on the other hand, is not anelement of the alphabet, Σ, but is instead a set of strings in Σ*; the set of nonterminals isdefined at a capital N.GrammarThe grammar is a set of structural rules that define the legal contexts of tokens in thelanguage’s sentences. A grammar type is defined by its production rules, or productions.In general, a production is of the form: x→ywhere x and y are strings of tokens. There are four classes of grammars: Type 0,unrestricted; Type 1, context-sensitive; Type

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Doug Schmucker, Trine University

“capacity-to-weight ratio”are not calculated since this is not a measure used in actual bridge practice.Project 1: West Point Bridge DesignerUsing the West Point Bridge Designer Software4, students designed a truss-style bridge that metspecific budgetary and strength criteria. This software was originally developed for use in anannual nation-wide K-12 internet-based design contest. Key features include integrated design,analysis, animation, and cost calculations that provide real-time performance feedback with asingle mouse button click. One lesson was provided as basic instruction to the software, a smallportion of a second lesson answered questions of their works-in-progress, and a third lesson wasused for the students to “present” their

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Women

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Karen Ramsey-Idem; Sally Pardue; Kristine Craven

this is successful, theprogram would be expanded further into a residence camp during the summer. Housing theattendees on the TTU campus for several days will allow for more social interaction and alsoallow the organizers to expand on the length, depth, and type of activity that can beimplemented. Significant support will be necessary to conduct this level of program and as suchit is still in the somewhat distant future. References[1] Wolcott, Barbara, “Role Models Needed,” ASME – Mechanical Engineering, 123 (4), pp. 46-51, 2001.[2] AWSEM, “In Their Nature – Compelling Reasons to Engage Girls in Science,” http://www.AWSEM.org,accessed 1/3.[3] “The path to math: Gender and racial-ethnic

Conference Session

Measuring Perceptions of Engineering

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Stephen Thompson; Jed Lyons

underrepresented minoritystudents. This comparison focuses on changes in student drawings and interview data over timeamongst both groups. This comparison includes a discussion of both groups in terms of theirdeveloping understanding of engineering processes, engineering tools, and engineering fieldsrepresented by the generic term “engineering”. Also included is a discussion of results in termsof implications for future policies and decision-making related to K-12 STEM education.IntroductionDespite efforts to increase student interest in engineering-related fields, the number of U.S.citizens choosing engineering related careers is declining [1]. At the same time, the number offoreign nationals traditionally used to fill voids in U.S. engineering fields is

Conference Session

Graduate Aerospace Systems Engineering Design

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Conrad Newberry

than twelve percent of the total aerospace work force [1]. The squeakywheel comprising airplane and space engineering graduate demands overshadows the missilecommunity needs wheel for specialized expertise in missile system design engineering.The paucity of missile engineering degree programs at universities within the United Statessuggests that the development of a model graduate missile engineering system design curriculumwould be of interest to both academe and industry. Accordingly, a model graduate missileengineering system design curriculum is presented for discussion.A model curriculum can be expected to provide a template for what should be an idealspecification of learning behaviors required in a given field of endeavor. These

Conference Session

ME Education Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Rogers; John Anderson; Corey Jones

energyengineers. The photovoltaic industry has been growing at a rate of 30% annually.1 Inaddition, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Center forPhotovoltaics predicts that within 20 years, the photovoltaic industry will employ more than150,000 Americans in the domestic, high-tech photovoltaic industry.2 Many technology-based schools often overlook educational programs in renewable energy engineering. Thiscan lead to a shortage of appropriately trained engineers in such fields. Implementing arenewable energy-engineering program will give the student a solid foundation infundamental physics and design-installation techniques required to work with renewabletechnologies. The field of study will be considered in many categories

Conference Session

TC2K Issues and Experiences

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Ronald Land

Large Scale Implementation of Outcome-Based Course Assessment Ronald Land Associate Professor, College of Engineering School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs The Pennsylvania State UniversityAbstract Engineering and Engineering Technology programs across the country are implementingnew assessment methods conforming to ABET EC2K and TC2K criteria [1] by developingoutcomes-based assessment strategies to demonstrate program-level compliance. The newABET criteria represent a philosophical shift in accreditation from a facilities-based to anoutcomes-based approach. This paper describes an assessment strategy

Conference Session

Engineering Education Research and Assessment I

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Susan Mosborg; Robin Adams; Rebecca Kim; Monica Cardella; Cynthia Atman; Jennifer Turns

traditionally introduced students to engineering design byway of a block diagram. Although these diagrams vary slightly from one textbook to the next,the iconic diagram encloses each stage of the process in a block and depicts flow through thestages using arrows, typically double-ended to signify iteration between phases. Figure 1 is oneexample of the linear depiction of the engineering design process popularized in textbooks overthe last several decades (Dixon,1 as cited in Bucciarelli,2 p.93). The number of stages in thesediagrams has ranged from a few to several dozen (see, for example, Woodson3), depending onthe detail and complexity with which the design process is rendered. In a content analysis ofseven introductory engineering design textbooks

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Mitch Keil; Pavel Ikonomov; Sam Ramrattan; Jorge Rodriguez; Alamgir Choudhury

onlineexperimentation in a remote laboratory. The laboratory consists of a hydraulicallyactuated beam loading mechanism, sensors, data acquisition system, and web basedapplication programs for the data monitoring and control. Using this system, one canquickly create an experimental setup in a remote laboratory for a theoretical problem,apply the load, and monitor resulting deformation and stress. Close agreement betweenthe analytical and the experimental results establishes the validity of the theoreticalanalysis without the use of a formal laboratory class. Among the students of the class, italso creates awareness on limitations of the theoretical methods predicting behavior ofstructural members in reality.1. Introduction Stress and deformation

Conference Session

IP, Incubation, and Business Plans

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

John Kaplan; Kathleen Kaplan

for profit, of aninvention covered by a valid claim of a patent during the life of the patent. The length of termfor a utility patent is 20 years from application date. To obtain patent protection, an applicationmust be sent to the USPTO. Page 10.1413.5 “Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2005, American Society for Engineering Education” Table 1. Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents in a NutshellCopyright: Denoted: © Infringement: Unauthorized Use Obtaining

Collection

2005 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jason Weiss; Farshad Rajabipour; Thomas Schmit; Sebastian Fait

of the lecture. In addition to encouraging nearly 100% participation and enabling nearlyinstant grading and attendance, the methodology developed enabled problem-based, peer-interactive learning during the large lecture format. This format enabled the students to work onpractical problems by teaching one another, thereby reinforcing important class concepts.This paper will describe: 1) the background of civil engineering materials classes at Purdue, 2)the motivation for investigating how to improve the learning experience in the materials courses,3) the background of interactive classroom technology, 4) methods to incorporate the personalresponse devices in class, and 5) plans for future developments.1. The Background of the Civil

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering by Design II

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul Leiffer

, communication problems,scheduling difficulties, and minor “turf wars” can limit the effectiveness of such teams. A seriesof curriculum “tools” have been initiated to insure that students will have a measure of success inproject teamwork. These methods include (1) multiple and varied opportunities for projects inteams, (2) early involvement in senior project teams, (3) specific training for teamwork, (4)coursework in and application of project management techniques, and (5) the use of multipleitems of feedback to determine the contribution of each team member.IntroductionInterdisciplinary engineering teams have become a standard expectation in industry and arequirement in education. The following paper presents a number of ideas for enhancingteamwork in

Conference Session

Engineering Education Research and Assessment II

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Mary Frances Stewart; Malgorzata Zywno

repositories. Canadian Co-operativeLearning Object Exchange (CLOE)1 is an example of such an initiative. The online interactiveControl Systems Tutorial Module developed by the investigators over the past year incollaboration with the in-house Digital Media Projects Office2 was partly sponsored by CLOE.The Module, intended as an additional learning resource tool for undergraduate engineeringstudents, provides an interactive introduction to Control Systems with a mix of text and graphics,interactive animations and streaming video of real-world control systems (e.g. water tank levelcontrol, helicopter and inverted pendulum position control), followed by a self-scoring quiz totest the student comprehension of the reviewed concepts3

Conference Session

Lab Experiments & Other Initiatives

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Frank Claydon; Betty Barr; David Shattuck; Stuart Long; Jennifer Ruchhoeft; Julie Trenor

pose a financial hardship, we offer a scholarship (currently $150) to active participantswho complete the camp. A typical schedule is shown in Figure 1. Page 10.318.2 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 9:00-9:30 Breakfast --- --- --- 9:30- Discuss Evening

Conference Session

Assessing with Technology

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Wes Hines; Mary Kocak; Kurt Gramoll

, education than traditional delivery methods. Insummary, the online class students performed better on the exams by over a half-grade level.IntroductionThere has been a tremendous interest and need in using technology and computer networks toenhance engineering education and to provide learning opportunities to students at a distance. Ithas been assumed that technology has the potential through 3D animation, simulations, userinteraction, user tracking, video, and audio to increase both the learning efficiency (learn fasteror learn more) of the student and the teaching efficiency of the instructor (teach faster or teachmore). However, it is also known that technology has not had a great track record inimplementation [1]. This could be due to a large

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Women

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

John Glover; Frank Claydon; Stuart Long; Jennifer Ruchhoeft; Julie Trenor

Reaching and Demonstrating Excellence (GRADE)Camps. Our program focuses on recruitment of females into the STEM areas, particularlyengineering. Furthermore, the diversity of our community and campus allows us to reach anumber of historically underrepresented ethnic groups. The program goals of GRADE camps are 1) to help female students make an informedchoice about pursuing an engineering or other STEM career field and 2) to help increase thenumber of female and minority students in engineering careers. The program has grown fromtwo one-week camps in June of 2003 to four camps held in June of 2004. GRADE camps aretargeted towards entering ninth through twelfth grade girls (25 to 30 per camp) with appropriatemath and science background for their

Conference Session

Education Ideas in Software Engineering

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

James Vallino; Michael Lutz

. SWITCH = (on -> off -> SWITCH). LAMP = (on -> ONEON), ONEON = (off -> LAMP | on -> ON), ON = (off -> ONEON). Figure 1 – Finite State Process (FSP) ExamplesFSP models can also be shown graphically. The figures below are graphical representations ofthe two FSP models defined in Figure 1 above. Standard finite state diagramming is used. Thered state node represents the current state of the FSP. All models start in state 0. on on SWITCH on LAMP 0 1 0 1

Conference Session

Pedagogy

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Benson Tongue

was (at leastpotentially) an interactive forum, must perforce become a purely lecture based recital. Thequestion to be addressed is “Can such an alteration be avoided?” Can an indisputably largeclass be approached in such a way as to preserve the feel of a smaller class without drivingthe professor insane at the same time? This question is not a new one [1], [2] and it is hopedthat the current paper may add a bit to the existing knowledge base.A widely adopted strategy to large enrollments is to embrace technology as an aid in the ed-ucational mission. Electronic learning at a distance (separate classes or individual terminalsthat receive a video feed) allows a potentially unlimited number of students to “attend” asmaller class. Assuming

Conference Session

Computing Tools for Engineering Education

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Cuneyt Sert

, integration, and solving ordinarydifferential equations. The user can run typical numerical methods problems and get detailednumerical and visual output of the solution. The software has a graphical user interface for userinteraction. It is an active software that allows to run problems that are designed by the user,instead of running pre-solved problems.1. IntroductionNumerical methods are used to solve algebraic representations of physical problems. They arebased on simple, well-defined algorithms, but contain rigorous algebraic operations, suitable forcomputer implementation. Based on this fact, one can idetify two typical properties of anundergraduate level numerical methods course: 1. Their underlying mathematics is usuallystraightforward. 2

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Malur Srinivasan

processes available for making the product using this material may then beconsidered and the best process chosen based on the technological and economic feasibilities ofthe process. Unfortunately this exercise is seldom simple on account of the enormous progress inthe development of materials and processes in recent times [1]. Fortunately, the monumentalwork done by Ashby and his associates [2] has paved the way for not only making these taskssimpler, but provide unambiguous guidelines for completing these tasks. A course with exampleshighlighting these aspects would be of great benefit to mechanical engineering students inlearning how to apply the knowledge in their profession. This paper was written as a preamblefor this goal.In this paper the

Conference Session

Promoting ET Through K-12 Projects

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Jamie Workman

workfrantically to make sure everything was in order for the visit. The program, now, is muchmore organized, predictable, and simpler to make arrangements for. Session dates arenow set during the summer for the entire academic school year – one Friday per monthwith the same time for all sessions. Therefore, when schools call in, they can set theirtrip schedule based on date and session availability. Timing for the sessions has alsobecome more consistent and organized. The general format for a visit is as follows: Arrival 8:45 - 9:00am Session 1 9:00 – 10:00am Short break/Switch sessions 10:00 – 10:15am Session 2 10

Conference Session

Workshop, Program, and Toolkit Results

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Allen Estes; Ronald Welch

into four or six rectangular panels, each ofwhich represents a segment of chalkboard approximately three feet wide. In general, each panelcorresponds to one topic from the lesson outline.Figure 1 shows one page of board notes for a Statics lesson on dry friction (Ressler et.al. 2004).The page represents exactly what the instructor intends to write on six boards during a classroompresentation. The size of each panel in the notes is calibrated to correspond to what thatinstructor can reasonably fit onto a board in the classroom. The instructor is therefore notfumbling to squeeze an inordinate amount of material onto a single board and does not have toinadvertently break a topic at an illogical point. The entire classroom presentation has

Conference Session

Workshop, Program, and Toolkit Results

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Allen Estes; Ronald Welch

, and previously T4E,uses the six-week instructor-training model from the Department of Civil and MechanicalEngineering (C&ME) at USMA as its foundation3.First, the ETW organization is provided to establish a baseline for the workshop experience thatled to the bulk of the paper – the teaching hints. It is followed by participant assessment of theirexperience not only during the workshop, but after their first semester using the skills learned atthe workshop that then sets the stage for discussion of the benefits of attending a teachingworkshop like the ETW.II. ETW OrganizationHow is ETW organized? ETW is a one-week short course (Figure 1) providing seminars on thebasics of excellent teaching (using Lowman4 and Wankat and Oreovicz5 as

Conference Session

Engaging Upper Level Classes

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Ronald Welch

learning.Assessment will be provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of these pedagogical basics on thestudent learning and professor’s classroom performance.I. IntroductionSo how do you like to learn a new concept? Read a textbook and/or journal article on thesubject? Maybe throw in some type of experiment with technology to simulate the theory? Felderpoints out that in most areas we as faculty learn differently than how students learn best.1 Ourmission is to assist students with varying learning styles to learn new concepts. So how dostudents like to learn? How do they learn best? Considering the 1990 Seymour and Hewitt2 studythat shows 40 percent of engineering undergrads switch from science, mathematics, andengineering disciplines due primarily to poor

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Eugene Perry Deess; Judy Valyo; Kamal Joshi; Vladimir Briller; Raymond Calluori; John Carpinelli

experience has helped NJIT increase student performance and rates of on-time progression to the sophomore year. This paper examines the effects of the freshman designexperience on student performance in an introductory sophomore circuits course taken bystudents majoring in either electrical or computer engineering. Students who took the freshmandesign experience performed significantly better in the circuits course than those who did not.Students who took the electrical and computer engineering module in the freshman designexperience performed slightly better in the circuits course than students who took a differentmodule.1. IntroductionSince the early- to mid-1990’s, incorporating a design experience into the freshman year ofengineering curricula

Conference Session

Retention Issues

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Surendra Gupta

at the same year-level within the same department based on financial needand academic performance. Table 1 summarizes the departmental distribution for each of theacademic years (AY): Table 1: Distribution of Scholars in the Four Participating Departments Academic Departments Total Year Mechanical Computer Computer Mathematics # (AY) Engineering Engineering Science 2002-3 31 19 9 3 62 2003-4 46 28 13 4 91 2004-5 62 39 16 8 125The data in the table above shows

Conference Session

A Renaissance in NRE Programs

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Marc Garland; Abdel Bayoumi; Travis Knight

internet. Asshown in Figure 1, the major instruments in the laboratory include high purity germanium(HPGe), sodium iodide (NaI), low energy germanium (LEGe) and alpha particle detectors, andPCs and control software interconnected via a laboratory network. This network is connected tothe USC LAN which enables access via the internet. Alpha Gamma Gamma Gamma Spec PC Spec PC Spec PC Spec PC Lab LAN USC LAN DSP DSP DSP DSP Alpha

Conference Session

K-12 Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Sherwood; Stacy Klein-Gardner

Gender Equitable Curricula in High School Science and Engineering Stacy S. Klein1, 2, 3,4, Robert D. Sherwood, 4 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN / 2University School, Nashville, TN / 3Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN / 4Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TNAbstractAs part of a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) supplement to the VaNTH EngineeringResearch Center for Bioengineering Educational Technologies (www.vanth.org), aninterdisciplinary group of secondary teachers and college faculty have

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert Throne

compare these estimates to check for consistency.BackgroundEleven ECP-210a spring/mass/damper rectilinear systems were purchased through an NSF CCLIgrant obtained by investigators from both the Electrical and Computer Engineering andMechanical Engineering departments at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. These systemsallow for easy implementation of different standard controller types and are easilyreconfigurable. Figure 1 shows one of the “carts” of the system, connected with two springs. Theposition encoder is shown toward the back of the system. The carts are moved via a motor with arack and pinion mechanism.Faculty from both the Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineeringdepartments have developed weekly 3 hour labs

Conference Session

Communication Skills in Aerospace Engineering

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Patric McElwain; James Helbling; Angela Beck

. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 This programmatic modification was threefold: 1. Instructors of the Technical Report Writing courses at ERAU developed a unified syllabus, set of lesson plans, and assignments that would target the genre-specific language and organizational elements of a technical lab report. 2. These writing instructors entered into various team-teaching ventures with the engineering instructors so that engineering students would have access to supplementary writing instruction in their engineering courses. 3. Both writing and engineering instructors collaborated on the development of a style manual that would provide further supplementary instruction and models of lab reports and technical writing