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2003 GSW

Authors

Ronald E. Barr; Justin Cone; Robert J. Roselli; Sean P. Brophy

joint during the IC position. This compels them to thinkabout the mechanics of the position and leads to another CPS question (Figures 4 and 5)concerning the correct free body diagram.These early research and revise exercises ultimately lead to a major concern about the ICproblem, namely the static equilibrium condition that is caused by multiple muscle actuatorsacross the shoulder joint. Thus, the students must make some initial assumptions, such as equalstress in all muscles or each muscle is activated to its maximum force. To test their assumptions,the students are encouraged to make some initial calculations of the forces at the shoulder joint.They are given anthropometric data about the shoulder (Figure 6), such as muscle origin

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2003 GSW

Authors

Jiecai Luo; Pradeep K. Bhattacharya

algorithm to solve the nonlinear equation (1) isdeveloped. 3. A New Convergence Guaranteed AlgorithmTraditionally, to solve the equation (1), necessary seven steps [1] are adopted as follow: 1. Input I ref , R2 ; 2. Set I o to initial guess; 3. Choose iteration error margin ∆ ; ηV I ref 4. New I o' = T ln ; R2 Io 5. Is I o − I o' < ∆ ? 6. If the condition above is satisfied, then go to step 7, otherwise, go to step 4 again; 7. I o = Final answer.When the algorithm given above is adopted, there are at least two problems: (1) it is notguaranteed that I o will converge to the real I o ; (2) Once it converges, it works very slowly.About the second

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2003 GSW

Authors

Geoffrey Orsak; Betsy Willis

. Orsak is the Executive Director of the Institute for Engineering Education at SMU. Additionally, he serves asthe Director of the Infinity Project and Associate Dean for Research for the SMU School of Engineering. Hisresearch interests include wireless communications, signal processing, information theory, and engineeringeducation.BETSY WILLISDr. Willis is the Director of Student Programs and Outreach and leads the Gender Parity Initiative. She is alsoinvolved in numerous outreach activities targeting k-12 students. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of Texas at Arlington Copyright  2003, American Society for Engineering

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2003 GSW

Authors

H. Dwayne Jerro; Chun-Ling Huang; Patrick Mensah

will facilitate better learning of the subjectsthat most students find difficult to grasp. This task seems to be even more difficult inengineering courses where concepts, terminology, equations, formulations, and problems, whichare initially foreign to students, abound. This paper is an attempt to demonstrate the utilizationof one of the tools of outcome-based learning that will accommodate a variety of learning styles,namely a concept map. The course selected to apply this tool is the first thermodynamics coursetaught at Southern University. This course is usually a one-semester course taken by third-yearengineering students. The course is an introduction to the basic laws of classicalthermodynamics and the behavior of gases and vapors. The

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2003 GSW

Authors

Khosrow Behbehani; Kevin D. Nelson; Robert C. Eberhart

requireddidactic or research credit hours. . However, the research findings associated with the industrialproject may qualify as a non-thesis master’s project, a master’s thesis, or even a Ph.D.dissertation, depending on the scientific merit of the findings. Thus far, 25 students havesuccessfully completed the internship program. All participants have successfully completed theinternship program. Upon graduation, over 10% of the interns have been hired as full timeemployees by the company where they interned. The rest of the interns after graduation havebecome employed as engineers at other industrial firms or research laboratories. IntroductionThe majority of biomedical engineering (BME) graduates take employment

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2003 GSW

Authors

Daniel Waters; Armando Mora; Lizette Zounon; J. Carter Matheney Tiernan

may be able to achieve in the future. The InfinityProject is a nationally recognized partnership between leading research universities, industry,government, and educators that has created innovative educational approaches to modernengineering that are both fundamental and fun.1 The development of the Infinity Project materialwas spearheaded by the Electrical Engineering (EE) faculty at SMU along with engineers atTexas Instruments (TI), makers of the DSP components used in the Infinity VAB kit, andHyperception, Inc., the software developers for the VAB software to control the DSP. TheInfinity Project is designed around hands-on experiments that demonstrate the basic concepts ofelectrical engineering. Each experiment utilizes real-time DSP

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2003 GSW

Authors

Ronald E. Barr; Marcus G. Marcus G.; Anthony Petrosino; Lawrence D. Abraham; Tejas Karande; Bijal Patel

) anddetermine the ground reaction forces (GRF). Included in the modules are video clips of expertspresenting their opinions on the problem, and video shots of the equipment used in the datacollection process in the actual biomechanics laboratory. Several appropriate reference papersare also supplied for background reading. This paper concludes with some results of testing thisapproach to learning in a traditional biomechanics class taught at the University of Texas atAustin in the Fall 2002 semester. This research study included pre- and post-tests, modulecomponents’ effectiveness rankings, a survey of learning outcomes, and a personal preferenceaffect questionnaire. Introduction to the CourseThe course ME 354M

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2003 GSW

Authors

Ali Abolmaali

presence of hard disk with a drive letter “C” – if not it asks the user to enter an appropriate drive letter and can create, transfer, execute and redirect to that drive! Examples of Virtual Test SpecimensTest BeamTo test the procedure developed in this research, a simple beam example was initially tested.This example illustrates a simply supported beam for which the transverse displacement due to aload at the center of the beam is calculated and displayed. The configuration of the initial Webpage created, which will be linked to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering(CEE)’s Web page at UTA is presented in Figure 1. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference

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2003 GSW

Authors

Chun-Ling Huang

include the ability to use symbols, learning through observation, planning,self-regulation, and self-reflection [1]. A brief description of each of these humancognitive capacities follows: Ability to Use Symbols: By the use of symbols, humans transform immediatevisual experiences into internal cognitive models that in turn serve as guides for theiractions. Through symbolizing, people also ascribe meaning, form and duration to theirpast experiences. Learning Through Observations: Learning can also occur indirectly by observingother people’s behavior and its outcomes. Individuals’ capacity to learn by observationenables them to obtain and accumulate rules for initiating and controlling differentbehavioral patterns without having to

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2003 GSW

Authors

James M. Gregory; Xuepeng Xie; Susan Mengel

or predict rhythmic breathing during sleep for peopleat high elevations. Thus, our sleep model will miscalculate sleep need and mentalperformance at high elevations. To be safe, or model should be used for elevations lessthan 10,000 or 11,000 feet. It will certainly miscalculate for elevations of 15,000 feet andhigher.The sleep research model was reprogrammed with web-based graphic tables toconveniently input data. A menu was also developed to allow the user to select the typeof output desired: table or graph. This menu is shown in the output figures later in thispaper. The sleep research model was initially programmed in BASIC. Because of thisinitial start, we have continued to use BASIC for development, although the limitation ofmemory has

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2003 GSW

Authors

Pradeep K. Bhattacharya

paper sets the limits and gives an overview of such alaboratory for a nano-technology research and infrastructure. This education can develop atechnician-training program and ultimately leads to the capabilities of building proto-type pilotprojects. Since upcoming initiatives are so demanding, newer systems prevent professors toform a company or participate with new entrepreneurs. One of the greatest examples is the long-standing demand of interconnections to nano-electronic components. Giving the right trainingand objectivity, a new generation of entrepreneurs can be enthused amongst our students. Thiswould help our State develop fundamental research in nano-technology. Our effort of building anano-engineering laboratory is to develop novel

Collection

2003 GSW

Authors

Richard Bannerot

significant engineering projectsof the 20th century, employed few, if any, engineers. [Of course, this is not true. Forexample, General Leslie R. Groves, who headed the project was an engineer. Afterattending the University of Washington for a year and MIT for two years, he graduatedfrom West Point in 1918. He took courses for three years at the Army’s EngineersSchool, Camp Humpherys (now Fort Belvoir), Virginia. In fact, among the many Armyconstruction projects that he supervised was the building of the Pentagon. Also, duringWorld War II, the Office of Scientific Research and Development under the DefenseResearch Council was active in supporting the engineering of the war effort. ] Thesuccessful Russian launch of an earth orbiting satellite in 1957

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2003 GSW

Authors

Jennifer R. Jewers; Robert R. Bittle

upstream pressure and temperature, the location of the onset ofvaporization, or flash point, could be positioned near the fiberscope lens. In this way, the two-phase flow detail could be viewed in the region of the flash point. The flow visualization resultspresented herein clearly indicate that once the vaporization is initiated the two-phase flowappears to be plug/slug-like, in contrast to developing bubbly flow behavior reported for theglass tubes in previous studies. Introduction and BackgroundThe small-bore capillary tube is the most common expansion device used in householdrefrigerators and other small refrigeration systems. Refrigerant flow behavior in the capillarytube has been studied extensively for the past

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2003 GSW

Authors

Kuldeep S. Rawat; Gholam H. Massiha

begun to proliferate in industry,so have the demands on the level of sophistication of their performance. Careful attention tosafety planning has been required because; these industrial tools present many of the samehazards as conventional machine tools. Thus, engineers working in the areas of robotics musthave a well-structured understanding of robotic systems. Model driven simulation is a valuabletool for helping in this aspect. RoboCell simulation software is one such model driven simulationprogram. Simulation is a powerful tool, but robotics research should be conducted on robots. Inthis paper we provide a brief approach to learning technical aspects of industrial robots throughuse of an educational robot and RoboCell simulation software

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2003 GSW

Authors

Geoffrey Orsak; Betsy Willis

, DC: 2000.GEOFFREY ORSAKDr. Orsak is the Director of the Infinity Project. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Director of the Institute forEngineering Education at SMU and Associate Dean for Research for the SMU School of Engineering. His researchinterests include wireless communications, signal processing, information theory, and engineering education.BETSY WILLISDr. Willis is the Director of Student Programs and Outreach. She is engaged in the creation, implementation, andevaluation of numerous outreach activities. Additionally, she leads the Gender Parity Initiative and multiculturaldiversity programs. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The

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2003 GSW

Authors

Kevin M. Nickels; Mahbub Uddin

The Impact on Student Learning of Resubmission of Work and Flexible Deadlines Kevin M. Nickels, Mahbub Uddin Department of Engineering Science Trinity University AbstractTwo policy initiatives were considered in this study. The first allows students to rework andresubmit previously evaluated work for additional credit. The second allows students to have asmall pool of “bonus days,” or declared but nonjustified extensions to homework or laboratoryreport deadlines. Both policies are intended to address perceived shortcomings in the traditionalmethods for setting

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2003 GSW

Authors

Terrence L. Chambers; William E. Simon

be the culminating event in the educational career of the students, providingan opportunity to put into practice many of their newly-acquired engineering skills in thecontext of a single major team design project. Various researchers have identifieddifferent factors that contribute to a project’s success1,2,3, but the factor we will deal withhere is the choice of project type. We will first discuss the pros and cons of designcompetition vs. industry-sponsored projects. Then we will relate our experiences as wehave transitioned our senior design course from a competition-oriented course to a courseoriented more toward solving industry-sponsored projects. Although many researchershave discussed the potential difficulties associated with

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2003 GSW

Authors

Jerry K. Keska

pushes students to their creative limits through the use of open-ended projects in which realistic, complex, challenging state-of-the-art problems are investigated. This new approach will increase student enthusiasm and provide closer alignment of classroom topics with today’s standard industry practice. This paper will deal with a unique application of the research/teaching method used at the undergraduate level, using a hands-on laboratory approach in conjunction with classroom lecture. The approach can be tailored to all levels from introductory freshman to senior-level classes. An open-ended project is utilized, requiring a creative approach for its solution. Faculty and students are both learners and investigators, formulating and solving

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2003 GSW

Authors

Ray Bachnak; Carl Steidley; Korinne Resendez

equipment is included in the system configuration. Details aboutthe system design and development along with its programming and testing are given. IntroductionTexas A&M University-Corpus Christi (A&M-CC) recently established a new ControlSystems Laboratory1 that provides interdisciplinary educational and research capabilitiesacross several science and engineering areas. These areas include sensor technology,data acquisition, control system design, system modeling, signal and image processing,neural networks, and data visualization. The laboratory supports several courses andgives Computer Science (CS) and Engineering Technology (ET) students uniquetraining opportunities and benefits.Advances in

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2003 GSW

Authors

Akanni Lawal; James M. Gregory; Lloyd Heinze

has an early history associated with a need for the course and the development of thecontent to teach the science and skills of technical communication. The course also has a recenthistory and a recent rapid growth in the number of students taking the course. We will reviewboth.Early HistoryThe concept for the course began in the late 1980’s. At that time, the College of Engineering hada writing center to help students and professors in engineering to improve writing skills and tointegrate intensive writing into classes. Jean Ann Cantore, Director of the EngineeringCommunications Center, and James Gregory, Professor in Agricultural Engineering, developedthe initial course for improving professional communications. They experimented with

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2003 GSW

Authors

W. Conway Link; Carlos G. Spaht

SpringHooke's Law is a typical variation problem found in College Algebra textbooks. Lial andHornsby in their Algebra for College Students, 4th Edition³ have: "Hooke's law for an elasticspring states that the distance a spring stretches is proportional to the force applied."Initially, equipment used for the project included a metal spring stand having an adjustablehorizontal arm and an adjustable scale, which could be moved up and down the vertical post.This unit bore no maker's mark so it was impossible to determine its origin. In addition, a set ofeighteen disk-shaped weights, ranging from 10 to 500 grams, manufactured by the WelchScientific Company, a weight tray on which to place the weights, and assorted springs were usedin the project.At the

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2003 GSW

Authors

Ifte Choudhury; Ricardo E. Rocha; Richard Burt

optimal relationships with vital customers.Project documentation is critical to the success of many companies. Understanding andlearning how to prepare a variety of construction documents is of the utmost importanceto construction professionals. This purpose of this study was to assess the skills of thestudents graduating with a major in construction. Along with assessing the writing abilityof the graduates, the study also attempted to rank the importance of certain constructiondocuments used within the construction industry.Research ObjectivesThe objectives of the research were to find out the views of members of the constructionindustry and faculty members of construction education programs: 1. About the need for construction science

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2003 GSW

Authors

Richard Bannerot; Ross Kastor

ECE students (for a course total of 86) are currentlyenrolled for the spring, 2003. It is anticipated that between 100 and 120 students fromthe three departments will eventually be enrolled in the course each fall and springsemester on a continuing basis.Anticipating the significant increase in enrollment in the course and the need for a largerand more diverse instructor base, the other two authors of this paper were assigned towork with Ross Kastor on the course beginning in the spring of 2002. Our initial taskwas to evaluate and “upgrade”, if necessary, the course content and operations andprepare for nearly a tripling of the course throughput, from less than 100 students a yearto more than 200. The second task was to team-teach the course

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2003 GSW

Authors

Ronald E. Barr; Thomas J. Krueger; Ted A Aanstoos

modules with specific educational outcomes. Table 1 lists thecurrent modularization scheme and learning outcomes. It consists of ten units that serve asindividual student projects, plus an integrated PROCEED project that is conducted at theconclusion of the course. With this modularization scheme, the ten individual units trainstudents to develop computer skills and abilities that can be later used in the larger team project,as well in later upper-division courses where CAD skills are needed.These modern course outcomes, as outlined in Table 1, were fully implemented in the Fall 2002semester using some preliminary computer graphics laboratory notes written by our group.10The initial modules stress individual learning activities, which build the

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2003 GSW

Authors

Mohammed E. Haque

parallel architecture inspired by the structure of thebrain. Applications and research into the use of neural networks have evolved from their abilityto understand complex relationships and hidden patterns within large data sets.ANN and GA- concepts and definitionNeural computing is a relatively new field of artificial intelligence (AI), which tries to mimic thestructure and operation of biological neural systems, such as the human brain, by creating anArtificial Neural Network (ANN) on a computer. An ANN is a modeling technique that is usefulto address problems where solutions are not clearly formulated or to validate the results obtained y y Output signal to other through other modeling techniques1

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2003 GSW

Authors

Daniel Bankston; Allen Battles; David Gurney; Edgar N. Reyes

interfaces with Mathematica. Mostapplications of Visual Basic, including ours, consist of frames such as the ones shown inFigures 1 and 2. One can think of a frame as consisting of combinations of drop-down menusand text boxes. After the data has been entered in the text boxes, then the user clicks on acommand in the drop-down menu. Then another frame shows the results, which are eithernumbers or graphics that are displayed in text boxes or picture boxes, respectively.The current applet consists of four frames. The initial frame describes the applet. Anotherframe is used for computing the hyperbolic distance between two points, the midpoint of ahyperbolic line segment, and shows a graphic representation of the hyperbolic line segment.A third frame

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2003 GSW

Authors

James M. Gregory; Akanni Lawal; John Rivera; Lloyd Heinze; Gary Harris; Donald Bagert

the qualifications. Initially all students had tobe eligible for a Pell Grant or Title IV need if they went to graduate school. We had difficulty infinding students with this severe degree of financial need. This requirement was later relaxed,and we have been successful in finding qualified students to award scholarships. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of Texas at Arlington Copyright  2003, American Society for Engineering EducationWe will also report trends in grade point average, percentages of students who have graduated,and percentages who have graduated and gone to graduate school. Results from this reportshould be

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2003 GSW

Authors

Richard Bannerot

course) self-selected to form their own teams. So naturally, there is an incentive todo it differently. Of course, if the teams are to be selected by the instructor, there is thedesire to do it effectively. As noted above, the literature provides little help. Thus thisproject was initiated to determine what is the make-up of effective teams or who are the“good” team players. MethodologyThe plan was to gather as much data as seemed relevant from each student enrolled ineach class in the fall, 2002 semester, to organize the individual student characteristics bythe self-formed groups, to conduct a peer evaluation within each group, to evaluationgroup performance as always at the end of the semester, and then to

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2003 GSW

Authors

Tariq A. Khraishi

one for some of the designs. Other problems arose when somegroups tried to use a spring mechanism to initiate ball flight. This and other issues like whatlessons were learned from this experiment are discussed in the paper. IntroductionIn the engineering education literature, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is generally consideredthe best way to achieve the educational learning objectives as set forth in a Bloom’s taxonomy.There has been a lot of work in the literature citing the benefits of PBL in enhancing studentlearning and discussing the issues associated with its implementation1,2,3,4. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference

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2003 GSW

Authors

Mohammed Shahbazuddin; Dr. Terrence. L Chambers

rather thanin individual stages. For instance, last year there was considerable focus on connecting WMSwith TMS packages. The next phase is building links between OMS and WMS. Additionalintegration is underway too. Despite these efforts, each of the six is maintaining its pre-existingidentity. Proceedings of the 2003 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of Texas at Arlington Copyright  2003, American Society for Engineering Education2001-2004Once all six of the current software types have been initially integrated, their names are likely tostill be in use. In part, this will be a reflection of the level of integration actually achieved. It willalso be a