Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Robert Fithen

calculationcan be seen at the web site of Dr. Polik and the text by Holman2.Matlab ApproachUse of Matlab for this calculation is incredibly simple. A listing of the Matlab code is shownbelow, and a description of the code follows. % Written by Dr. Fithen % Arkansas Tech University N=1000000; % Radius Setup x = 5.5:0.01:6.5; %setup x axis on histogram r = 6+.1* randn(N,1); %generate random normal distribution figure(1) hist(r,x) % create histogram title('Radius') mr=mean(r); Sr=std(r); S=sprintf(' R_{mean}=%8.5f\n R_{std}=%8.5f',mr,Sr); text(5.45,N/80,S,'HorizontalAlignment','left') % print results on

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

James G. Steuber

complicated by the traditional assessment tool; i.e., the examination, which usuallyrequires a unique solution leaving little room for design decisions. In the following manuscript: thecurrently most-favored pedagogy for teaching design, project based learning (PBL), is reviewedand discussed; A novel project developed for a machine component design course in an effort tomotivate students and provide practical experience is presented; And, several tools useful for thedesign of machine components and in-class assessment of a students ability to design a machineor machine component are presented.1 BackgroundImproving the design sequence in engineering curricula is the object of intense discussions innearly every engineering department and the topic of

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Robert Fithen

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jeffery S. Thomas; Malcolm E. Hays; Megan J. Meyer

questions have been written and 240 have been processed with the software to create2500 unique exam questions for use on both printed and electronic exams.IntroductionFaculty, staff and students at Missouri University of Science and Technology have spent the lastfive years developing a streamlined evaluation process in the Mechanics of Materials course.The work began as an attempt to manage increasing section sizes and a decreasing number ofinstructors. Since 2002 the number of students per section rose from 30 to 110 and the numberof faculty members teaching the course was cut in half. Table 1 summarizes how one instructorvaried his exam format over this time period attempting to find a more efficient approach. Aftermuch effort, the authors feel

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Sohum Sohoni; David Fritz; Wira Mulia

those decisions are discussed to provide guidance to thosewishing to revamp their „Microprocessors‟ courses to follow this model. Our modified coursewill be first offered in the Fall 2011 semester. The paper also presents metrics and methods thatwill be used to measure the effects that PLP has on student learning and student development.1. IntroductionThe Progressive Learning Platform (PLP)[1] is a system designed to facilitate computerengineering education while decreasing the overhead costs and learning curve associated withexisting solutions. The PLP system is a System on a Chip design with accompanying toolsreflecting a contemporary CPU architecture. It is unique in that it can be used in a number ofcourses (Digital Logic Design

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Michael Reynolds; Nick Huisman

tool to facilitate distance education both in the United States andinternationally. Before the broad adoption of the Internet, distance education was oftenimplemented through satellite feeds or through regular postal mailing of videos. The Internet hasenabled distance education to be both more efficient and effective 1-3. In engineering education,the adoption rate of effective online educational strategies has been lower than in otherdisciplines4. The importance of laboratory and hands-on experiments, as well as ABETaccreditation policies are likely to be part of the reason for this gap. But one part of engineeringeducation has increased much more rapidly online: the Master’s degree. Because the Master’sdegree is typically not accredited

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Heath A. Schluterman; Kellie Schneider; C. Richard Cassady

overview of topics intended to assist them as theytransition from high school seniors to first-year engineering students and ultimately to theirchosen engineering major. These topics include Engineering Problem Solving, the EngineeringDesign Process, Computer Skills, the Major Section Process, and Professional Development 1. Inthis paper, we evaluate gains in student knowledge related to the Engineering Problem Solvingportion of the first semester of the course sequence. Proceedings of the 2011 Midwest Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education 2Engineering Problem SolvingEngineers are problem solvers. Therefore

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Patricia S. Buford

greenwith the use of recycled technology for educational purposes.The two day drive was held the first weekend in February. The results were that two fifty-threefoot tractor trailers and an extra flatbed truck were filled with electronic waste as a result of thisinitial drive. Proceedings of the 2011 Midwest Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education 5 Figure 1 Students prepare to unload e-waster delivered by a local business.The recycling drive that began with this project has been conducted annually since that time andis in itself a service to the Russellville community. Student volunteers from SIFE

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Kenneth J. Fischer; Christopher D. Depcik; Lorin P. Maletsky; Robert M. Sorem; Ronald L. Dougherty

forother disciplines, especially where production of a functional prototype is desired.Primary advantages include 1) students learning the design process and related tools and buildingteamwork skills without the pressure of their capstone project, 2) more time for students to focuson their capstone projects and to fabricate/test a prototype, and 3) reinforcement of the designprocess steps and tools, as they are applied to the capstone project. Primary disadvantages are 1)that it moves the design process course content back into the busy Junior year, and 2) it createsmore work for students using conceptual projects in which they may not be strongly invested.IntroductionThe capstone design curriculum can take many forms to fit a particular

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Douglas R. Carroll

orsoftware are impractical. Faculty time is expensive. Asking faculty to teach in a manner that isdramatically different from their traditional teaching method is also an impractical solution. Inorder to mainstream the use of distance technology in the classroom, faculty must be able toteach in a traditional manner using the same lecture notes they have always used.Proble m State mentThe goal is to mainstream the use of distance education technology in classrooms subject to thefollowing constraints: (1) The solution must use inexpensive equipment so that it is practical toprovide the equipment in most classrooms on campus. (2) The solution must allow faculty toteach using the same lecture notes they have always used, writing on the board and talking

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Marwan Abumahaimed; Joseph J. Rencis

visually oriented insight into the concepts covered in their courses, basic knowledge infinite element theory, and the ability to apply commercial finite element software to typicalengineering problems. Each learning module provides a common step-by-step guide for solvinga problem and also includes solution verification. The learning modules are accessible 24/7/365on the World Wide Web. The target audience of this paper is an instructor who would like tointegrate the four modules into a mechanics of materials course, machine design course, andvibrations course. The modules can also be used in a finite element course.1. IntroductionAssisting students in the learning of imperative analysis tools is especially important with thecurrent techniques

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Julia L. Morse

lifelong learning resources. The exercise requiredstudents to take independent initiative on topics of personal choice or interest and to identifyavailable resources. Specific submission criteria required students to reflect on their activity asa learning experience, comparing it with their goals prior to the activity. The resulting studentsubmissions insure that student-submitted summaries address lifelong-learning outcomes,enabling easy and direct assessment.IntroductionTAC-ABET criteria (h) specifies requires the outcome of “a recognition of the need for, and anability to engage in lifelong learning.” 1 Two components of lifelong learning are to beevaluated: (1) Recognition of the need for lifelong learning (2) Ability to engage in

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

B. Zhang; H. Misak; P.S. Dhanasekaran; D. Kalla; R. Asmatulu

Environmental Impacts of Nanotechnology and Its Products B. Zhang1, H.Misak1, P.S. Dhanasekaran1, D. Kalla2 and R. Asmatulu1 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0133 2 Department of Engineering Technology Metropolitan State College of Denver Denver, CO, 80014, USAAbstractNanotechnology increases the strengths of many materials and devices, as well as enhancesefficiencies of monitoring devices, remediation of

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Steve Menhart

consisted of questions related primarily to theinstructor. Each course now has its own custom evaluation form. Figure 1 shows the new end of Figure 1. The End of Course Evaluation Form for ECET 4407. Proceedings of the 2011 Midwest Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education 3course evaluation form for the Digital Systems Design course (ECET 4407), which is typical of asenior-level digital design course consisting of combinational, sequential, and VHDL design.Students answer each of sixteen questions using a letter scale of “A” through “E”, where “A”means “strongly agree”, “B” means “agree”, “C

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

James L. Huff; Todd A. Patten; Richard L. Wells; Monte Cox

professional and personal skills.1Furthermore, the inevitable engineering problems of the near future dealing with constrainedresources, akin to the NAE‘s Grand Challenges for Engineering, necessitates that engineers beproficient in their societal awareness as well as their ability to integrate such awareness into theirdesigns.2Human-centered design (HCD) is a significant trend that has recently emerged in engineeringdesign education. This paradigm certainly has merit in that it seems to address the professionalskills and societal awareness needed by the twenty-first century engineer.1 HCD has beencharacterized as ―deriv[ing] its criteria from a community of users in whose worlds designedartifacts may have to find a place together with their users

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Thomas R. Marrero

curves as a function of impeller speed, graphing pumpcharacteristic curves, determining the best efficient point (BEP) of operation, and applyingexperimental results to a simple industrial problem. The overall result of this experientiallearning activity was favorable to the students and additional advances in the lab were suggestedby the students. In particular, a relatively higher number of students appreciated the practicalvalue and hands-on learning experience. Suggestions were made to add more features, such asdifferent size pumps.BackgroundThe history of experiential learning (EL) is known to have started about 5,000 years ago. Thisancient mode of education has evolved. The evolution of EL is briefly summarized in Table 1

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Jonathan Cefalu; Timothy Roemer; Pawel Kosakowski; Shankar Krishnan

the leftside of the heart is a major contribution to valve failures.1, 2 One replacement option is anartificial mechanical valve which would mimic the functions of a natural heart valve. Amechanical valve is an effective and frequently used solution, but unfortunately they do havetheir limitations.The aim of this study is to present an available process to teach product design through 3D RPtechniques, including going through the steps of design, prototyping, and simulation testing.Through this study we will be merging many aspects of the Biomedical and MechanicalEngineering fields ranging from biological systems to fluid mechanics. The objectives of thisstudy are: i) to design a mitral valve using 3D RP techniques ii) to prototype a

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Walter W. Buchanan; Robert J. Herrick

the Franklin Institute of Boston) in 1947. [1] Theseprograms very successfully educated engineering technicians and made them a valuable part of theengineering team.After Sputnik was launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union, leaders in the United States became veryconcerned that the Russians were surpassing the U.S.A. in engineering. As a result, moremathematics and science was pumped into the engineering curriculum. Something had to give andthat was experiential learning laboratories with most of the engineering classes. As a personal aside,when one of the authors majored in electrical engineering at Purdue University, only five or six ofhis engineering classes had laboratories with them. Later when he became a faculty memberteaching electrical

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ilan Alpert

the Chesapeake Information Based Aeronautics Consortium (CIBAC), the focus of thepilot study was on implementing Single-Scale Retinex (SSR) in MATLAB, and working onwriting VHDL code to simulate SSR onto an FPGA. The SSR in MATLAB was simulated on anInfrared (IR) image taken from an airplane with a forward-looking infrared camera (FLIR),as depicted in Fig 1. For coding in VHDL, a 5x5 pixel array was used to test the algorithmwritten. 26Fig 1. Original FLIR image of runway MATLAB is a numerical computing environment that can be used with many differentequations and mathematical formulas for simulation. The focus of the present study was onimage enhancement, so the built-in image processing toolbox

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

RUBA A. AMARIN; Issa Batarseh

. Eachsection discusses a new theory and concept that are supported with examples and problems [1].Different topics are presented in discussion text material that provides full understanding of theconcept while maintaining user’s self-remediation and self-paced learning. At the end of eachsection, QuizMe Modules are provided to quiz the students’ understanding of the section [2]. Also,Design Modules (DM) are intended to help students develop their ability to design real life problems,and to link the theories they study in books with real design challenges, while the Practical RelevanceModules (PRM) are set to enhance the student thinking about real life problems and also teachstudents how to relate the theories they have learned with practical

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Raymond Addabbo

evaluate if it will work.7. Future Directions: It is my hope that Matlab will become the primary computing tool atVaughn College. Matlab has many features that are not studied in CSC 215 that can beincorporated into other courses, such as the ODE solvers, symbolic capabilities andSimulink. Currently, Vaughn has a required seminar for freshman that covers informationliteracy. It would be very helpful for freshman to have enough Matlab skills so that they cangraph functions and incorporate them into a document. Finally, as was discussed in theintroduction about computer skills being deemphasized, I would like to see computation tobecome an equal partner in the engineering programs. 22Bibliography 1

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Dennis J. Fallon

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Mir Atiqullah; Norman Russell

drag in automobiles. For an average vehicleabout 50-60% of power is used to overcome the aerodynamic effects to cruise on highway.Of course at low speeds it is the rolling friction of tires that consumes most power. Astreamlined vehicle shape that generates low drag force is very important to get better fueleconomy of vehicles at cruising speeds. The drag force varies directly as the square of therelative speed, given everything constant, such as geometry, orientation,, flow direction,object size, fluid density and viscosity. The equation for drag force Fd is given in equation 1below, (1)Where, ρ is the density of the fluid, v is the

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Frank M. Croft

fundamentals and programming classes in two separate sequences: TheFundamentals of Engineering (FE) format and the Fundamentals of Engineering Honors (FEH)format. Both sequences include hands-on labs, with engineering “up-front” and team baseddesign/build introduced early and often.In the FEH format, the students enrolled had to be admitted to the University Honors Program.This means they had to achieve score of 30 on the ACT, be ranked in the top 10% of their highschool graduating class and have a sustained record of extra-curricular activities and demonstratedleadership. In the FE format, students had to be admitted to the College of Engineering.Historically, the timeline for implementing the First-year Sequences is shown in Figure 1. Planningfor

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Cecelia Wright Brown; Kofi Nyarko; Kevin Peters

ofresearch and anecdotal evidence that suggested girls are not traditionally encouraged to pursuecareers in STEM. The mental image of a “computer geek” is rarely a female. It was anticipatedthat girls could be encouraged to embrace science and mathematics, thus erasing the traditional“geek” image and discouraging girls from associating high achievement with a negative image ora specific gender. According to the “Keys to Math Success,” a report prepared by the MarylandMathematics Commission [1], African American students not only have significantly lowerlevels of performance overall, but their performance declines slightly between fifth and eighthgrade. In Tables 2 and 3 male students in Maryland scored significantly higher than females.Table 1, on

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Sara A. Atwood; Tomas Estrada

downconcerns immediately prior to performing the task. Rather than focusing the person ontheir anxiety, expressive writing is thought to mitigate anxiety by stopping the cycle ofrumination on negative outcomes.6These psychological interventions have been applied to students taking exams in recentstudies. Miyake et al.1 used a values affirmation prompt in a double-blind randomizedstudy of college students in an introductory physics class in an attempt to close thegender achievement gap. Half of the students were asked to select their most importantvalues from a list and write about why they were personally important, while the otherhalf selected their least important values and wrote about why they might be importantto other people. The exercise was

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ramesh K . Agarwal

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

PAUL FAGETTE; SHIH-JIUN CHEN; GEORGE R. BARAN; SOLOMON P. SAMUEL; MOHAMMAD F. KIANI

their understanding of the world. This effort included a wider rangeof classes that would count for general science credit. In the promulgation it was stated “faculty in all schools and colleges are encouragedto think across disciplinary lines about the best ways to convey the kinds of sophisticatedknowledge that will produce Temple graduates able to see connections in seeminglydisparate information.” This new program summed these efforts with the motto "Dare toknow!" In a descending order, a series of general to specific skills and requirements wereoutlined. Accordingly, each course had to accomplish the following required goalsassociated with the general education program: 1. Develop students’ thinking and communication

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Jumoke Ladeji-Osias; Kehinde Abimbola; Yacob Astatke; Craig Scott

Digital Logic is traditionally taught in the sophomore or junior year ofthe electrical engineering curriculum. The conversion from a face-to-face course with alaboratory course to an online course was facilitated by the eight components of The 2008 –2010 Quality MattersTM Rubric. The course has been delivered for three semesters.IntroductionIn 2010, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Morgan State University(MSU) decided to convert some courses to an online format. This was initiated for students whocould not attend courses during the day time, when most undergraduate courses are offered, dueto work or other obligations. The first courses to be converted were Electric Circuits [1] andIntroduction to Digital Logic, a sophomore

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Gaffar Gailani; Sidi Berri; NIEVES ANGULO

about the relative decline in the United States in the science and technology market place andthat the competitive nations had increased public funding for research and development makingsignificant investments in higher education. The report included many statistical studies such as:a Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. NationalAcademy of Science, ISBN 0-309-65442-4, 592 pages (2007).aOffice of Assessment and Institutional Research at City Tech 102 1- The United States graduates more visual arts and performing arts majors than engineering. th 2- We are ranked 27 among developed nations in the