INTEGRATION OF INDUSTRY INTO COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION Ali Sekmen Department of Computer Science Tennessee State University Nashville, TN AbstractThe Department of Computer Science (DoCS) at Tennessee State University (TSU) has activelybeen involved in integrating industry into computer science education. Our main goal is tostrengthen partnership among businesses and our department through participation in project-based learning and teaching experiences with real-life business problems. In this process,business
effective user-friendly electrical powersystems virtual laboratory. The LabVIEW class exercises are designed to concurrentlyfamiliarize the students with the use of LabVIEW and with electrical power systems.Innovative laboratory projects to design automatic motors control systems, automationpower factor correction, automatic load wire sizing, and related applications all have beencompleted by the students using LabVIEW.The electrical power systems laboratory at first uses the basics of LabVIEW and then as thecourse progresses the more advanced LabVIEW features. Students create practical designsof motor control panels and systems. Final course student project designs use LabVIEW
Introduction to Product Design and Innovation: A Cross-Disciplinary MiniCurriculum Patricia Ryaby Backer and Seth Bates San Jose State UniversityAbstractFor the past two years, faculty at San Jose State University (SJSU) have implemented a three-semester minicurriculum in Product Design and Manufacturing. The project follows the Project-Based Learning (PBL) model and is central to the Certificate Program in Product Design in theMechanical Engineering Department, the Manufacturing Systems concentration in theDepartment of Aviation and Technology, and the Industrial Design Program in the School of Artand Design. Students in the three courses in
use of detection, signalingand suppression systems. The course laboratory has both software and hardware. LabVIEWcomputer software is being used to develop new standalone software projects, and newproject designs that interact with hardware.Many of the fire alarm system class students are often fire and safety personnel that work invarious related professions. Additionally, the class students have varied technical experiencelevel and background in academics. The LabVIEW software is being used to develop alaboratory that is suitable for a class with students that have different backgrounds.Newly developed laboratory exercises are used to acquaint the safety and fire students withLabVIEW and fire alarm systems.Original LabVIEW exercises have
, isdescribed along with students’ assessment in the context of their reflections.IntroductionThe integration of community service projects in undergraduate engineering curricula, to provideexperiential learning, has created a great deal of interest among educators in recent years. Tsang(2000) stipulates that the notion of combining service with engineering design projects is notnew considering that many senior design projects have provided assistive technology to meet theneeds of people with disabilities. Tsang (2000) further discusses the many benefits of service-learning, coupled with design-across-the-curriculum, and the significance of integrating design atall stages of a student’s academic development in a meaningful context. Evidently
Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education”for senior cadets and provides the basis for maintaining the link between the workplace and theclassroom. The course offers cadets an opportunity to apply a three-year comprehensive set ofskills and concepts learned in the classroom to an industry related project. Academic liaisonswork with industry to develop problem topics of relevance to the Army and the Academy, whileensuring projects are scoped to capabilities of project teams.The purpose of this paper is to introduce and describe one department’s, at USMA, attempt atincorporating elements of engineering practice into its’ engineering curriculum. That departmentis the Department of
Successfully Building Bridges Between Education and Engineering Programs at a 4-year Comprehensive University Jason Thrun and Philip Parker University of Wisconsin-PlattevilleAbstractSix faculty members (three from engineering, one from mathematics, and two from education)teamed up to plan and implement an innovative project. During the fall semester of 2004, ninepre-service teachers in secondary- and middle-level mathematics education enrolled in anexperimental section of GE 1030 – Introduction to Engineering Projects, an existing 1-credithour class that is required for all engineering majors, and is typically taken in the freshman year.The project
Kentucky. The program graduated the first cohort of students in the SpringSemester of the 2003-04 academic year. The paper briefly discusses how the program wasdeveloped in the context of ABET’s EC2000, how it compares to ASCE’s BOK, and theperformance of students. In particular, the authors explore to what degree the joint program atWKU accomplishes the major objectives of ASCE’s BOK in a project-based, 4-year program.Program Background1,2The joint engineering programs at Western Kentucky University (WKU) utilize project-orientedcourse delivery with emphasis placed on student engagement. Courses are facilitated by facultywho practice engineering via the scholarship of application. Student involvement follows theeducational paradigm of learner
Session 3438 Hands-On Graphics Communications – Designing Commercial Properties in an Introductory Course: Innovative Teaching Strategies for Success David S. Cottrell Pennsylvania State University at HarrisburgIntroduction This paper describes the integration of design projects during the Fall Semester, 2004,into the curriculum of an introductory graphics communications course at Penn StateUniversity at Harrisburg. These projects served a double purpose of reinforcing topicstaught in the classroom as well as introducing students to the engineering design
capstone classes for the last three years in theDepartment of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University. The paper presented difficultiesand problems encountered in completing these projects from the viewpoints of both instructorand students. Each project and the problems associated with it were discussed in details. Theexperiences and lessons learned from these projects are applicable to most capstone designprojects and thus, the paper will be beneficial to other instructors teaching capstone designclasses.Introduction Senior capstone design classes represent the penultimate experience for undergraduatestudents in completing their bachelor degree. These classes require higher learning skillsinvolving analysis and synthesis of knowledge and
Structuring Senior Design for Entrepreneurs Ken Ports Florida Institute of TechnologyAbstractThe Senior Design course taken near the end of an engineer’s undergraduate tenure isincreasingly recognized as a “capstone” activity, enabling these future professionals to applytheir collegiate education and experience in a team environment to solving real world problemsor to creating new capabilities. Ideally, Senior Design teams are also cross-functional, tobroaden the projects and better replicate the professional world. In addition, there is a growinginterest in linking Senior Design with entrepreneurial activities, even to the point ofcommercializing
Teacher QuestionnairePrior to the beginning of the 2004 Fall semester, teachers, university fellows, administrators, andproject staff met for a project meeting during which the goals of the project were described,surveys were administered, and inquiry-based mathematics lessons were presented anddiscussed. One of the surveys that was administered was a mathematics teacher questionnairethat was modified from the 2000 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Educationmathematics teacher instrument1 developed and administered by Horizons Research,Incorporated (http://2000survey.horizon-research.com/). The survey focused on teachers’preparation in mathematics content and pedagogy, their goals for mathematics instruction andthe activities they
-person design teams that design, build and test weekly projects involvingLEGO® parts, sensors, and the Robotic Command eXplorer (RCX). Control of the automatedsystems requires programming in both RoboLab (a LabViewTM derivative) and in the “Not Quite C”(NQC) environments. The course develops in the semester to finally encompass larger design teamsof fourteen students, with each team designing a complex, autonomous, robotic-styled system. Animportant part of this course development is the integration of assessment procedures that record thestudents’ perception of learning and enthusiasm. We present an overview of the courseenhancements and objectives. Assessment categories include the students’ self-efficacy in theirability to design/build/test
were not implementing these practices into their projects. To help reinforce basicconcepts and get students to realize that in the real world, more than one person may work on adesign file, it was decided to introduce a LEGO modeling project into the course. This projectrequired the students to model three or four parts of a LEGO® backhoe. The individual fileswere collected by the instructor and redistributed to the students so they could each assemble thecomplete model. If a part did not fit properly into the assembly and needed editing, each studentmade a decision to either fix the part or recreate it if editing was not feasible. The students wererequired to keep track of which parts worked, and which needed editing in order to complete
collaboration are presented. Students'reflections on their learning practices are discussed.1. IntroductionA robotics course at the introductory level of engineering education involves students inhands-on practice through which they can learn many engineering subjects and applications.The robotics course can be especially effective if it meets two goals:1. Practical-technical -- designing and producing a working robot prototype capable of performing the given assignment through a project-team effort.2. Instructional -- providing systematic learning of science and engineering subjects by all the students in the robotics course.An experiential learning approach which organizes learning-by-doing processes so that thelearner can acquire both
1 The Income Tax Return: A Framework for Engineering Economics Kathy Vratil Brockway Kansas State University at SalinaAbstract StatementThis paper will explore the use of the income tax return as a capstone project in an EngineeringEconomics course.IntroductionAs educators, we are faced with the task of connecting textbook theory to real-world application.In Engineering Economics courses, the income tax return is the ideal way to tie together all‘engineering economics’ topics while, at the same time, demonstrating the practicality of thecourse topics
endeavor, combined with the lack of faculty expertise in aircraftfabrication that may exist in the department. Traditional projects and grades are also aproblem, since failure or sub-standard work to meet any standard for flight is not acceptable.Adequate lab space, resources, specialty tools, and expertise in blueprint analysis are alsodifficult challenges to meet, especially for the large number of inexperienced students whocome into this course at every offering.The way that Cal Poly has been meeting the above challenges is both unique and risky. Therecruiting and inclusion of resources from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), from industry,from the university, and from local hobbyists to help establish these special lab courses ispresented
two full lecture courses. The first was a course in project management taught tothe senior class of the Civil Engineering Department. Unfortunately, the textbook was a smallhandbook of lists. There were no real expectations given to me and I created a course based onmy dealings with project managers in both private and public sector arenas. I divided the courseinto three parts. The first part covered overall management concepts such as organizationalstructure, chain of command, project teams, and personality profiles. I included interactiveexercises such as team building using a spaghetti and marshmallow tower building exercise that I Page
Session xxxx Engineering Design in Five Weeks – Designing a Wind Chime S. Scott Moor Indiana University-Purdue University Fort WayneAbstractProviding first-year students with a realistic engineering design experience is both difficult anddesirable. The benefits of hands-on projects to student learning and to student interest are welldocumented. However, it is a challenge to pose simple design problems that include bothengineering analysis and engineering synthesis. The construction of a wind chime provides anexcellent and yet quick engineering design problem for first-year
non-engineering clients to define the technicalrequirements of their projects. In parallel, individuals from other disciplines can benefit fromexposure to engineering problem solving techniques. In this paper the authors present the resultsof an ongoing effort to integrate the benefits of both student-faculty collaborations and real-world design by incorporating undergraduate engineering students into physics research projects.Over the course of several years, engineering students at the University of St. Thomas have beenincorporated into physics department research laboratories, working side by side with physicsstudents and faculty. These students design, build and test instrumentation and other equipmentused in all aspects of the physics
Redesigning Senior Process Design David C. Miller* and Atanas Serbezov Department of Chemical Engineering Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyIntroductionSenior design is widely regarded as an important capstone experience for undergraduateengineering students. By integrating material from previous courses, it provides a conceptualframework for tackling a wide variety of open-ended, real-world engineering problems.Traditionally, senior design consists of the following common elements: process economics,capital costing, simulation and a grass-roots design project. As the nature of the chemicalengineering profession has evolved
Designing and Implementing an Embedded Microcontroller System: Tetris Game Tyler W. Gilbert, Barry E. Mullins, and Daniel J. Pack Department of Electrical Engineering US Air Force AcademyAbstractIn this paper we present the software and hardware design experience of a junior cadetmajoring in electrical engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy as he completed anembedded system project in a second microcontroller course. The paper also includesthe corresponding observations made by his instructors. Some of the topics of thissemester-long course are programming microcontrollers using C, software and hardwaredesign techniques
be able to design parts, systems,processes and products which are cost effective. The course is also very important forengineering students, because the underlying fundamental principles of engineering economymay be used in both their personal and professional lives.Students taking the course come from a wide spectrum of engineering disciplines. The use of realworld projects is one approach that can address the teaching of fundamental principles ofengineering economy to students from this wide range of disciplines. Students take the course atan upper-division level which enables them to take advantage of life experiences and knowledgeacquired from their earlier studies. It primarily focuses on how to make decisions regardingcompeting
application equipment for seed, fertilizers,and pesticides; irrigation; yield monitors; sensors for detecting soil fertility and weedpopulations; and remote sensing imagery.This paper will report efforts to initiate “precision farming” implementation and researchat University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).UMES is an 1890 land granthistorically black university and it’s mission is consistent with the goals of the endeavorwhich includes (i) integration of advanced technologies in agricultural practices at UMESwith a view to improve productivity with due emphasis on research, education andoutreach; (ii) environmental stewardship and (iii) remote observation and analysis. Whileall aspects of “Precision Agriculture” will be integrated with the project
that design projects must followto help students build tighter connections among the three subjects. A comprehensiveassessment and evaluation plan has also been designed and implemented. This paper willdescribe the integration mechanisms, project specifications, and systems to address study skills,as well as data that has been collected and analyzed to date. Future assessment plans andstrategies for expanding the program for more students and extending it to two additional first-year engineering tracks will also be described.IntroductionFirst-year engineering curricula have been identified as significant opportunities to improve four-year engineering curricula, and many institutions have addressed the opportunity in differentways. At Texas A
outreach projects and the impact that these projectsare having on the educational community.IntroductionBased on the results of standards tests1,2, a number of well respected groups (e.g., NationalCouncil of Teachers of Mathematics, National Education Knowledge Industry Association,National Science Teachers Association, and the U.S. Department of Education) have raisedconcerns regarding the low-level of performance in mathematics and science that has beenwitnessed in the U.S. Students from low-income families are at an even greater risk of displayingweak mathematical and scientific knowledge when compared with their middle class peers.These findings and concerns that they have raised have resulted in a broad range of reformactivities, including
engineering education, is the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) programat Purdue University (http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu) that partners undergraduate students and localcommunity not-for-profit organizations to solve engineering-based problems in the communityService-learning is a type of experiential education where the students learn through "real-world"experiences that meet a community’s needs4. In the engineering curriculum, other forms ofexperiential learning include projects, clinics, internships, laboratory classes, field trips.Moreover, service-learning promotes student understanding of the impact of engineeringsolutions in a global/societal context, a requirement in the Accreditation Board of Engineeringand Technology (ABET
Global Enterprise Perspective Initiative in a Production Systems CourseK. Jo Min, John Jackman, Patrick Patterson, Shantha Daniel, PiyamartKumsaikaew, Jie Li, and Somchan VuthipadadonIndustrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department, Iowa State UniversityAbstractIn this paper, we describe a course and curriculum improvement initiative centered on aproduction systems course project. This initiative addresses strategic production planningof a global supply chain of a food product subject to local cultural, health regulatory, andtrade constraints. The problems are to be formulated and solved by student teamsconsisting of students from Iowa and Scotland via Internet. For formative delivery ofinput and output of the project, Internet
general agreement includes student and faculty exchanges, research opportunitiesand collaborations in the development and exchange of teaching methods. It is a great benefit tostudents and faculty in both universities. The agreement can serve as a template for internationalcollaborations between institutions in the United States and Latin America.A research project involving supercritical fluid extraction of a salmon food additive from microalgae is currently underway. The additive, astaxanthin, is a natural pigment and antioxidant.Chile is the second largest exporter of salmon in the world, second only to Norway. Ajunior/senior level engineering clinic has been jointly developed for the Control and Dynamicscourse in the Mechanical Engineering
scientific advances are being made atthe interfaces of traditional disciplines and approaches to science are becoming more integrative.(2003, p. 2) As such, an interdisciplinary engineering education is a realistic model for trainingfuture leaders in the engineering sciences for the purpose of advancing the research abilities ofengineering graduates. The National Science Foundation funded Project Kaleidoscope in 1990, a study toidentify best practices in the teaching of undergraduate math and science. In “The Women’sCollege Difference,” Sebrechts (1999, p. 47) discusses the report generated at the conclusion ofthis project. This report recommended that “mathematics and science education be driven bycollaboration among students and faculty