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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Robert A. Marlor

INCORPORATING A TRUSS DESIGN PROJECT INTO A MECHANICS & STATICS COURSE Robert A. Marlor, P.E., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Engineering Technology Northern Michigan UniversityINTRODUCTIONWhen teaching engineering design concepts in engineering technology programs, instructors arechallenged to create realistic, hands on, intuitive design experiences at an early stage in thestudents’ development. This paper describes a balsa wood truss design competition used in aStatics & Mechanics course at NMU to motivate the learning of the concepts of staticequilibrium and truss analysis.Balsa wood bridge projects have been used

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

P. B. Ravikumar

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRY SPONSORED SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT COURSE P. B. Ravikumar Professor, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering University of Wisconsin, Platteville, WIABSTRACTSenior design project courses in mechanical engineering are a challenging and importantclassroom experience for students often in their final semester of undergraduateengineering education. Senior design project courses are often structured to emphasizeteam work on projects initiated and/or sponsored by industry. Faculty involved inteaching such courses need to effectively manage the course offering and lead byexample to students who are learning to manage their own

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michael A. Rother

Industrially Supplied Design Projects at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Michael A. Rother Department of Chemical Engineering University of Minnesota-Duluth For the past three years, the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University ofMinnesota-Duluth has used industrially supplied projects in its senior capstone design sequence.The change was implemented from academic to industrial projects as a result of an ABETrecommendation to increase the multidisciplinary experiences of the students. By ABETdefinition, an industrially supplied project is considered

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Christopher R. Carroll

Test Equipment for High School Digital Electronics Designs under Project Lead the Way Christopher R. Carroll Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Minnesota DuluthAbstractThe University of Minnesota Duluth, collaborating with Duluth high schools, is participating in“Project Lead the Way” (PLTW, http://www.pltw.org), a national program to incorporateengineering topics into high school courses. The PLTW curriculum covers several engineeringareas, one of which is digital electronics. The equipment described here supports the PLTWdigital

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

K. R. Haapala; M. J. Hutchins; J. L. Rivera; V. Kumar; A. R. Clarke; T. D. Eatmon; R. A. Harris; M. H. Durfee; J. R. Mihelcic; D. R. Shonnard; J. W. Sutherland

Education, Research, and Training Aspects of the Sustainable Futures NSF IGERT Project K. R. Haapala 1, M. J. Hutchins 1, J. L. Rivera 1, V. Kumar 1, A. R. Clarke 1, T. D. Eatmon 5, R. A. Harris 6, M. H. Durfee 2, J. R. Mihelcic 3, D. R. Shonnard 4, and J. W. Sutherland 1 1 Dept. of Mechanical Engr.-Engr. Mechanics, 2 Dept. of Social Sciences, 3 Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 4 Dept. of Chemical Engineering Sustainable Futures Institute, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 5 Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Qingli (Barbara) Dai

) tutorials were effectively used to learn NX. Specific parts of eachtutorial are assigned for learning the solid modeling skills. The design projects built theskills of what has been learned in tutorial assignments by modeling real mechanicalsystems.MTU hosted the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education(PACE) Competition in CAD Methods class (MEEM 4403). The course final deignproject that comprises the team competition is the culmination of lab assignmentsperformed throughout the semester. Each team made a formal presentation to the PACEjudges to explain the design objectives, design features, features of the CAD model, andany issues related to working collaboratively on a team. The design itself was presentedusing screen

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Chinweike I. Eseonu

” project with actual industrial clients, project goals and limitations. In other words, the practicum provided managerial experience for MSEM candidates who had little or no prior exposure. In order to fulfill objectives and meet deadlines while achieving specified levels of quality or performance, it is often necessary that companies deviate from traditional organizational structures – in which working relationships are explicitly defined – to form problem specific cross functional project teams. A project is a multitude of activities requiring the performance of tasks geared toward the achievement of set objectives within a well-defined time span and budget (Badawy, 1995.) Resource requirements of project

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

William J. Sproule; William H. Leder

is offeredat Michigan Tech University. It was developed for juniors, seniors, and graduate studentsand was originally planned for civil and environmental engineers, but engineeringstudents from other disciplines have taken the course. The course has been offered in thespring semester (January – April) two times – 18 students enrolled in the first year and 30students enrolled in the second year. The course has been team taught by two instructorswho, between them, bring substantial consulting, government service, university teachingand research experience to the classroom. This paper describes the topics covered in thecourse, major projects and assignments, special features, and resources.Course TopicsThe primary objective for the course was

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Qiong Zhang; Dana Johnson; James R. Mihelcic

acollaborative environment play an important role for students to learn and apply knowledge. Inthis paper, one project sponsored by an industrial company through the Sustainable FuturesInstitute (SFI) at Michigan Technological University serves as an example of how research insustainability can stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and can improve graduate studentlearning in terms of the system approach, discovery of new knowledge across disciplines, criticalthinking, and overall educational experience. It was also found that the sustainability projectsand interdisciplinary collaboration stimulate high quality scholar articles and continuouscollaboration.IntroductionAs the world faces increasing threats to the long-term health of the environment

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Kurtis G. Paterson

Community-Based Learning: Student Outcomes Kurtis G. Paterson, Ph.D., P.E. Michigan Technological University Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAbstractInitiated in Fall 2006 with the help of a NSF grant, this program engages engineeringstudent teams in community-based learning (CBL) outside La Paz, Bolivia. CBL isdefined as learning via working with and in a community in need of engineering (orother) services. This paper will present student participation, project results, and lessonslearned to date.The four main goals of this CBL experience are: (1) to produce engineers with a bettersense of the societal and global interconnections of

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Amber J. Kemppainen; Alex S. Mayer; Jacqueline E. Huntoon

to produce sustainable solutions. To practice this, a relevant, real-world example related to the sustainability of engineered flood-control systems in the New Orleans region is investigated by students. Student projects examine the importance of sustainability throughout the design process as they progress from initial concept to sustainable flood management systems. Introduction The Code of Ethics for the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) states that engineers have an ethical obligation to hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties (Eide, et al., 2002). The Code also addresses sustainability: “Engineers shall strive to adhere to the principles of sustainable

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michele H. Miller; Kari L. Jordan

Engineering Design Curricula Review Michele H. Miller and Kari L. Jordan Michigan Technological UniversityAbstractEngineering curricula are being called upon to respond to changing global economics andincreasingly complex societal problems. The design component of engineering curricula is anatural place to address these new realities. As a prelude to examining and revising the designcomponent of the mechanical engineering curriculum at Michigan Tech (and before consideringwhat is needed in the future), we investigated current state-of-the-art in design curricula. Seniordesign projects are nearly universal on campuses across the country and abroad. To

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Abulkhair Masoom; Fahmida Masoom

Design Competition – A Meaningful Experience for Underclassmen in Engineering Abulkhair Masoom and Fahmida Masoom College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science University of Wisconsin-PlattevilleIntroductionCollaboration between industry and engineering programs routinely provides opportunities andchallenges for senior design projects. In the General Engineering (GE) program at the Universityof Wisconsin-Platteville (UW-Platteville) freshmen and sophomore are introduced toengineering topics from a variety of engineering majors that are available in the college. Effortsare made to provide introductory information on

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

AnnMarie Polsenberg Thomas; J. Roxanne Prichard

Design For an Aging Population: A Multi-disciplinary Design Retreat AnnMarie Polsenberg Thomas and J. Roxanne Prichard University of St. ThomasAbstractIn an effort to raise students’ awareness of the engineering opportunities andresponsibilities associated with the aging of the U.S. population, the University of St.Thomas hosted a 3-day intensive, multi-disciplinary retreat for undergraduate andgraduate students on “Design for an Aging Population.” The retreat, organized byprofessors in Psychology and Engineering, provided crash courses in aging and thedesign process, and incorporated a team design project. This paper will discuss theretreat schedule

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Leonard Bohmann; Dana Johnson; Kris Mattila; Nilufer Onder; John Sutherland

disciplines to develop a curriculum forService Systems Engineering that integrates business, engineering, and the sciences and serves asa model for other universities. This is an exciting degree program that takes curriculumdevelopment beyond its current boundaries and branches into a new direction. In this paper,efforts related to the development of the curriculum will be described, as will the challengesfaced by the project team to facilitate interdisciplinary education. The successes to date will behighlighted along with the lessons learned, and collaboration experiences with other universityfaculty members on curriculum development.IntroductionIn the next decade, the role of services will continue to grow and skilled individuals are neededto

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Matthew Roberts; Philip Parker; Christina Curras; Michael Penn; Max Anderson

at least one new course (i.e. “Introduction to Infrastructure I”), which willspecifically address infrastructure needs and the non-technical issues (such as financing, po-litical process, etc.) that are often crucial to successful engineering projects. However, unlikemany implementations of curriculum reform4, our proposed changes will go well beyond thecreation of a class or classes. Infrastructure concepts will be interwoven throughout the re-mainder of the curriculum to provide students with a better understanding of the challenges tobe faced in improving, securing, and maintaining the national infrastructure.In addition to learning about infrastructure in classes, students will evaluate infrastructurecomponents in local communities using

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Nihad E. Daidzic; Vojin R. Nikolic

students have been familiarized with the fundamental concepts and relationships of science and engineering in general, and of aerospace engineering and aviation, in particular. Two major team projects have been completed and tested. The activities have culminated in an FAA approved flight simulator sessions and the students’ flights aboard Piper Seminole twin-engine airplanes. The participating students have provided extensive positive feedback on the program. To the teaching faculty, this has been a very pleasant and rewarding experience. The outcomes of the two-week Camp have been discussed in detail and some very useful guidelines for successful outreach efforts have been presented. Introduction

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

John L. Irwin

Teaching Design Engineering Technology: Experiential Learning Activities John L. Irwin, EdD Michigan Technological UniversityAbstractThis research shows that experiential learning using problem-based simulation activitieswas perceived by students and teachers as a valuable tool to use in design engineeringand in the education of CAD/Drafting students. The simulation activities offer manyadvantages to the user in visualizing results and being able to predict more accuratelyanswers to problems. Results are shared from action research projects involving highschool design/CAD students, university workshop participants, and university

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Valerie J. Fuchs; James R. Mihelcic

criterionand outcomes are defined in this balanced manner. These objectives define the scope ofeducation that would fit into the Sustainable Futures model. The objectives are used to assesstwo MTU programs, Peace Corps Master’s International and International Senior Design. In thePeace Corps program, Master’s students spend 1 year taking credits at Michigan Tech, and 27months abroad in the Peace Corps, where they integrate with a community, implement projects,and research a sustainable development topic. International Senior Design is a senior designprogram where senior engineering students spend 2 weeks abroad in Bolivia or the DominicanRepublic, doing service-learning work and investigating a design project, then spend part of asemester back at

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Yue Li; Qiong Zhang

should be introduced in early stage of the curriculum. For instance, Introduction to Probability and Statistic is a required course in many university curriculums. The class is essential to understand performance-based design, which involves various sources of uncertainty. The class should also emphasize the probabilistic aspect of society and environmental impact. When construction material class is taught, material selection should be considered from both structural performance and sustainable built material perspectives. Second, design courses and capstone projects provide an opportunity for students to apply what they learn in classrooms about PBE and sustainability to “real world” examples. Working on

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Kris G. Mattila

have they are selected at random from thosethat volunteer to be next. The next student must define the term and explain how it is related tothe previous term.Figure 2 List of Terms Used in Exercise Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE North Midwest Sectional Conference 4An “ideal” progression through the list of Figure 2 might be: Project Delivery Systems, Design– Bid – Build, Design Build, Construction Management, and CM@ Risk. This could then befollowed by the different types of contracts such as: Lump Sum, Unit Price, and Negotiated.However, “ideal” rarely happens and the progression through the list is at times unrelated

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michele H. Miller; Debra D. Charlesworth

experience.Average responses to those are summarized below.Question AvgIf you were able to fund your own graduate study (or won a fellowship that paid all 3.80your expenses), how likely would it be that you would choose a research project similarto the one you are currently working on (0 very unlikely to 5 very likely):How rewarding do you find your grad school experience? (0 not rewarding to 5 very 3.88rewarding)How challenging do you find your research project to be? (0 not challenging to 5 too 3.74challenging)Do you feel that success on your research project is mostly within your control or does 2.71it mostly depend on lots of other factors? (0 in my

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

William S. Helton; Michele H. Miller; Robert Pastel

understanding the limitation of humans. At MichiganTech, we teach PSY4120 Human Factors Psychology and PSY4100 EnvironmentalPsychology on an alternate year schedule. The Human Factors psychology courseintroduces students, regardless of major, to the basic psychological concepts critical tothe proper design of human-machine systems. Although there is some discussion ofdesign, the focus is more directed on understanding the role of the human operator in asystem. We have, however, in the past taken on design projects, including one that led topublished work (Helton et al., in press). The environmental psychology course is broadlyabout the role of humans in environmental systems, but has a strong emphasis on howenvironmental variables, such as noise

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Zhanping You

engineeringresearch; therefore a course in the application of DEM was designed and offered. Thecourse is unique because this is one of the few courses in the nation and DEM is anemerging technology in numerical methods. This course is also innovative due to theextensive faculty-students interaction during the lectures, computer lab work, and studentprojects. In addition, the DEM application in student research projects has been verysuccessful in the past few years. The DEM was applied in soil compaction, aggregatecompaction, and asphalt mixture modeling simulation. The research work at otheruniversities was reviewed and summarized. In order to introduce the advances of theDEM to the graduate curriculum, some materials such as soil, sand, and asphalt

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michael P. Hennessey

as atype of modern system dynamics, in which CAD and animation are brought in for significantvisualization to enhance understanding of mechanical systems that incorporate motion as well asto appeal to a wide audience, some of whom may not be technically oriented. This paperdescribes such a course and its advantages. Sample student project work is shown thatemphasizes applied mathematical modeling, CAD modeling, modeling and simulation usingMATLAB® and Simulink®, and animation of specific scenarios of interest using SolidWorks®with the Animator add-on. Projects show-cased include: (1) the zero-friction skiingbrachistochrone problem, (2) the kinematic car with both front and rear wheel steering, (3) theN-pendulum chain approximation of a

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Michael R. Penn

format where the speaker is standing in front of aseated audience. Many engineering professors require students to make oral presentations incourses, often upper-level design courses, in a similar format. This format simulates a publicmeeting, a particular setting in which practicing engineers (especially civil and environmentalengineers) may have the professional responsibility to perform. However, this responsibility isusually given to experienced engineers and project managers, not recent graduates. The oralcommunication setting in which entry-level engineers are most often placed is that of a businessmeeting, seated around a conference table. Key differences from the public meeting are that theaudience size is much smaller (e.g., 2 to 10

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Susan Amato-Henderson; Jessica Mariano; Pete Cattelino; Brian Hannon

and post-attendance survey served as participants for this project (N = 204),approximately half of which were middle school students (n = 99, accounting for 48.5% of thesample). Over 60% of the respondents were female (n = 124). A majority of respondents Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE North Midwest Sectional Conference Knowing an Engineer and Engineering Self-Efficacyreported their ethnicity as Black/African-American (n = 97, or 47.8% of sample) orWhite/Caucasian (n = 86, or 42.4% of sample).Materials A survey was designed to measure demographics, engineering self efficacy, courseenrollment and extra-curricular behavior, and expectations and perceptions of the YES! Expo.Of

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2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Hetal Jasani

Developing an Innovative Mobile and Wireless Networks Course Hetal Jasani Assistant Professor School of Technology Michigan Technological UniversityAbstractAll over the world, mobile and wireless courses become increasingly popular in colleges(including community colleges) and universities. This paper discusses about developing theinnovative course of mobile and wireless networks using laboratory activities. It elaboratesinnovative projects that are suitable for laboratory work in network engineering (includingtechnology) curriculum. It explores both hardware and software components that are

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Pasi T. Lautala; William J. Sproule

AN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM IN RAILROAD ENGINEERING Pasi T. Lautala and William J. Sproule Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Michigan Technological UniversityIntroductionThe railroad industry has identified a need for engineers as many will be retiring over thenext few years and freight traffic is projected to increase. The challenge for railroads isfinding engineers when careers in railroad engineering have been forgotten on mostuniversity campuses. Michigan Tech University saw a unique opportunity for a six-creditsummer program that includes an introductory course in railroad engineering, a course ina foreign language and culture, and a study abroad component

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Robert M. Nelson; Benjamin D. Braaten

sequence are briefly described.NDSU ECE ENGR 780Course DetailsThe present offering is a 3-credit class, offered alternate fall semesters. The course format has beentraditional lectures, supplemented with in-class or in-lab computer demonstrations. The main text hasbeen Numerical Techniques in Electromagnetics, (2nd Ed.), by M.N.O. Sadiku, (CRC Press, 2001),but material is taken from a variety of sources. There are typically 5 to 7 extensive homeworkassignments (which often include writing computer code to solve a given problem), one “paperproject” and one “computer project”. In the “paper project” students are asked to select, read, andwrite a report on a recent journal article dealing with computational electromagnetics. These aretypically