Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Jennifer Zirnheld; Adam Halstead

TEACHING NEW ENGINEERING STUDENTS ABOUT THE DISCIPLINES: A DISCIPLINARY OR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH? Jennifer Zirnheld, Adam Halstead University at Buffalo, Department of Electrical EngineeringAbstractMost students entering into the world of engineering encounter the difficult task of choosing anappropriate engineering discipline. How should an instructor approach this important topic? Oneproposed technique is to cover each discipline one at a time, giving examples of what an engineer in thatdiscipline might do (disciplinary approach). A second proposed technique is to convey the disciplinesthrough multidisciplinary engineering problems

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

John Adams; Charles Kochakian

offer a part time evening program in all of New England, and in addition has a veryactive co-operative education program. A typical graduating class is on the order of 15 students,with most students going directly into industry.In 2004 the department was approached by an Alumnus who is a retired CEO in the bar-codingand RFID industry, who was very ardent about bringing RFID to Merrimack College. While thisimmediately was recognized by the department as a major educational opportunity for ourstudents, it was not clear how to staff the course and find a spot in a very tight curriculum for anRFID course. The decision was made to host a three part seminar series delivered by industryexperts, including the topics: “RFID: Past Present and Future

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Barrie Jackson

effectively pass it on to the next generation of individuals responsible for keeping our economyviable.This brings us to the issue of Engineering Education. The young people entering our Colleges andUniversities represent a new era of essentially instant communication. Facebook, Youtube and manyother such social organizations have changed society dramatically and our students are certainly arepresentative of this trend. Demands on a practising Engineer are constantly evolving. How do us aseducators deal with these major changes. The old Sage on the Stage paradigm doesn’t seem appropriatewhat with bored students sitting in the back of a classroom listening to their latest music on an iPod,communicating with others with their cellphone or playing

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Arthur Heinricher; Brian Savilonis; David Spanagel; Robert Traver; Kristin Wobbe

-1-provide a solution, and that great problems will be solved only through the efforts of many smallsolutions coming from many disparate directions.There is a national trend toward more active, project-based learning in engineering education thathas been (slowly) gaining momentum for more than 40 years. (See Felder, 2004.) A recent, andwidely publicized, illustration of the trend was the creation in 1997 of the Olin College ofEngineering. The Olin Foundation made a $300 million investment to establish a new college ofengineering that would integrate project work in all four years of the new curriculum.(Somerville, et al, 2005).For almost 20 years, there has been significant investment by the National Science Foundationintended to increase

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Rashmi Jain; Keith Sheppard; Elisabeth McGrath; Bernard Gallois

experiences and curriculum components in middle and high schools is seen as ameans to engage students and excite them about the opportunities for an engineering career. Given thatsystems thinking and perspective are now seen as playing an important role in educating engineers for thefuture, it follows that coupling these concepts to the engineering elements of the pre-college program hasmerit. Stevens, through its Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE), has beenvery active in promoting the introduction of engineering into K-12 curricula in the State of New Jersey aspart of a broader approach to increasing the STEM pipeline. As part of this pre-engineering effort CIESE,with funding from a New Jersey Foundation and

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ismail I. Orabi

Comparison of Student Performance in an Online with traditional Based Entry Level Engineering Course Ismail I. Orabi, Ph.D. Professor of Mechanical Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences University of New Haven West Haven, CT 06516AbstractThe purpose of this study is to compare course performance over time between online andtraditional classroom students enrolled in an entry level engineering course. The Introduction toEngineering Course is a three semester-hour course. It provides an introduction to the engineeringprofession

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Elif Kongar; Paul Kontogiorgis; Nancy L. Russo; Tarek Sobh

create anawareness of the skills and job roles required for future labor workforce demands in the engineering andtechnology services industry and argues that these current and future roles makes them more appealing towomen.Keyword: STEM, Women in engineering, U.S. Education, IT services, Service industries.1. IntroductionServices have surpassed agriculture and manufacturing as the leading contributor to gross domesticproduct in the world today. As the global economy has become more integrated, and the demand for aworkforce required to run service-focused organizations in an efficient manner grows, the level andvariety of skills needed in this new service economy have also changed and grown. Specifically; inregards to science, technology

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

environmentalengineering course required for all Civil Engineering students. Course projects previous to 2004involved a variety of term papers on technical topics sometimes focusing on case studies.Assessment data and informal feedback seemed to indicate that students were not inspired bythese “paper studies” and that there was also a need to enhance student contact with practitionersin the field and to better prepare them for the open-ended, client driven team projects they wouldencounter in their senior capstone design experience. When the staff at the City of GrotonWastewater Treatment Plant approached the Environmental Engineering II teacher aboutdeveloping an educational brochure for the plant, service-learning was eagerly incorporated intothe course. These

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Kanti Prasad

of M2C, its support ended. The author approached a number ofsemiconductor industries in the region such as Analog Devices, Skyworks’ Solution(former Alpha Industry), MA/Com, Raytheon, and Intel. These industries have becomemembers and sponsors of this program. The Hi-Tech leaders play a vital role in meetingthe growing demand for Microelectronics/VLSI personnel not only in the region, but inthe nation as well. It is the contribution and perpetual support of these companies, and thevision of the author, which has kept Microelectronics/VLSI Technology program withinthe department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMass Lowell vibrant. 5. About the AuthorDr. Kanti Prasad is a professor in the department

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

R. Radharamanan; Ha Van Vo

. 8[6] Barr, R. E., Schmidt, P. S., Krueger, T. J and Twu C-Y., “An Introduction to Engineering Through and Integrated Reverse Engineering and Design Graphics Project,” Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 89 (No. 4), 2000, pp. 413-418.[7] Moor, S. S., and Drake, B. D., “Addressing Common Problems in Engineering Design Projects: A Project Management Approach”, Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90 (No. 3), 2001, pp. 389-395.[8] Sheppard, S. D., “Design as Cornerstone and Capstone,” Mechanical Engineering Design, November, 1999, pp. 44-47, New York, NY.[9] Swearengen, J. C., Barnes, S., Coe, S., Reinhardt, C., and Subramanian, K., “Globalization and the Undergraduate Manufacturing Curriculum

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2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Engineering in the New Century.2. Heywood, J. (2005). Engineering Education: Research and Development in Curriculum Instruction, JohnWiley.3. Santanen, E.L., de Breede, G. (2004). Creative Approaches to Measuring Creativity: Comparing theEffectiveness of Four Divergence thinkLets, Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on SystemSciences.4. Mednick, S.A. (1962). The Associative Basis of the Creative Process, Psychological Review, 69, 220-232.5. Corona, E., Mason, J.J. (1999). Solid Mechanics Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. 76. Beer, F.P., Johnston, E.R, and DeWolf, J.T. (2006). Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ali Setoodehnia; Kamal Shahrabi; Anthony Manno

How to Improve Student’s Retention Rate in Science and Technology Dr. Ali Setoodehnia Chair, School of Electronics and Computers ITT-TECH, Woburn MA asetoodehnia@itt-tech.edu Dr. Kamal Shahrabi Dean, School of Engineering Technologies Farmingdale State College, Farmingdale, NY kamal.shahrabi@farmingdale.edu Anthony Manno Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department Kean University, Union, NJ

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Dean Aslam; Aixia Shao

nano-concepts without focusing on education research. Historically, efforts to increase impact of learning techniques have Fig 1 Cell phone: Integration offocused on a number of ideas; a restructuring of school science around new technologies; current (solid),real-world problems [1], inquiry based studies [2][3][4][5] including in 2008 (dashed) and futureDesign-Based Science (DBS) [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] (dotted). 1and Learning By Design (LBD) [16][17][18], augmented reality (AR) [19][20][21][22][23][24][25], andTechnology Assisted Science, Engineering and Mathematics (TASEM) [26][27][28]. The explanation ofnano-structures and nanotechnology are

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Aaron S. Bradshaw; Gary N. McCloskey; Franklin Miguel

described, it is anticipatedthat the approach could be utilized for any design problem. This pedagogical approach, therefore, may beof interest to those interested in developing engineering design courses.AcknowledgementsStudent travel to the Dominican Republic is funded through a grant provided by the Davis LearningFoundation. The authors would also like to thank Father Manuel Ruiz, Director of the MovearteTechnical School, for his help in coordinating this project and for providing room and board for thevisiting students.References1. Killion, J.P.; Todnem, G.R. (1991). Educational Leadership, Vol. 48, Issue 6, 14-16.2. Schon, D.A. (1983/1991). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.3. Schon

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Dean M. Aslam; Zongliang Cao; Cyrous Rostamzadeh

, L.L. (1994). Designing engineers. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.[11] Davis, M., Hawley, P., McMullan, B., & Spilka, G. (1997). Design as a catalyst for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.[12] ITEA. (2002). Standards for technological literacy. Reston, VA: International Technology Education Association.[13] NRC. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.[14] NRC. (2002). Scientific research in education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Penner, D.E., Lehrer, R., & Schauble, L. (1998). From physical models to biomechanics: A design-based modeling approach. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7, 429–449.[15] Chiapetta, E.L

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Roger Chapman Burk

author’sbackground in the subject. The author found that this approach did succeed in attracting a variety ofstudents who otherwise would learn little of engineering, and in engaging them in the subject and givingthem a basic quantitative understanding of some aspects of the subject. Of course, the approach was notwithout its difficulties, including the problem of integrating very diverse material. On the whole, theauthor found that the approach worked well and recommends it for further development.The rest of this paper is in five parts: (1) An account of how and why the course was developed and itseducational goals; (2) The design of the course, including the syllabus; (3) Observations on the types ofstudents who took the course; (4) The students

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Roy T.R. McGrann

assessment approach using marker problems will be introduced. The specificmarker problem that is the focus of this paper will be described, as well as the rubric used to evaluatestudents’ work on the assignment. 1Results for six semesters (2002-2007) are shown in the final section. A discussion of the impact ofusing the pre-recorded videos is presented. In addition, the use of the marker problem results formaking course improvements is shown.The CurriculumStudents are introduced to design and solid modeling in the first-year, introductory engineering coursesthat include all undergraduate engineering majors in the engineering school: mechanical, electrical,computer, industrial, and bio- engineering

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Matt Armstrong; Richard L. Comitz; Andrew Biaglow; Russ Lachance; Joseph Sloop

Interdisciplinary Learning for Chemical Engineering Students from Organic Chemistry Synthesis Lab to Reactor Design to Separation Matt Armstrong, Richard L. Comitz, Andrew Biaglow, Russ Lachance, Joseph SloopAbstract A novel approach to the Chemical Engineering curriculum sequence of electives here at WestPoint enabled our students to experience a much more realistic design process, which more closelyreplicated a real world scenario. Students conduct the synthesis in the organic chemistry lab, then conductcomputer modeling of the reaction with ChemCad and Mathematica, analyze chemical separationprocesses, and design a reactor system. This interdisciplinary learning approach

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Paul G. Ranky

’.) 3 Work in a multi-disciplinary team and exchange ideas, because this way the engineering management team will become stronger, and their decisions better. Understand the boundaries as well as the tremendous potential of new ideas and developments by working on this case. (Realize that in order to survive and win, you must add value.)The above challenges are presented to students using 3D interactive virtualenvironments of real-world challenges (see Figures 1 and 2). (Note, that thevirtual approach here helps to bring students to advanced, industrial andresearch facilities, that would otherwise be impossible to reach, due to cost, timeand other constraints.)Furthermore, the expert guided in-depth discussions, the

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Robin K. Burk

paid offhandsomely and was well worth the additional time and energy we each invested in offering theseproblems to our student teams.References1 Dutson, A.J., Todd, R.H., Magleby, S.P., and Sorensen, C.D. A Review of Literature on Teaching Design ThroughProject-Oriented Capstone Courses. Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 76, No. 1, 1997, pp. 17–28.2 Dym, C.L., Agogino, A.M., Eris, O., Frey, D.D., and Leifer, L.J. Engineering Design Thinking, Teaching, andLearning. Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 94, No. 1, 2007, pg. 103.3 c.f. Noble, J.S. An Approach for Engineering Curriculum Integration in Capstone Design Courses. InternationalJournal of Engineering Education, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1998, pp. 197-203.4 Educating Future Officers for a

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Gregory S. Parnell; Michael Kwinn

to enhance the curriculum. The newcourse “was designed primarily to do two things. First, the course was designed to motivate students’learning by introducing them to the systems engineering discipline and providing a roadmap of thedepartment’s systems engineering majors to be grouped together and meet the other students in theirchosen academic field. This enabled the department to develop a sense of cohesion and identity amongthe majors” [3].SE301 provided students an introduction to a process to support decision making for engineering designproblems, the Systems Engineering and Management Process (SEMP) (Figure 1) 4. The SEMP [3] wasthe foundation for the first course and our problem solving approach to systems engineering. During

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ashraf Ghaly

technology who know that their ability to excel in the realworld depends on their being critical, broad-minded, and informed.Building on its history of innovation in education, Union designed its undergraduate program around oneof its most distinctive features: being the first college to offer engineering (civil engineering in 1845), andthat its curriculum has a variety of courses that is unusual among small colleges. The FreshmanPreceptorial and the Sophomore Research Seminar are two major fixtures in Union’s undergraduateprogram. They are designed as venues to pursue innovative approaches in teaching, help the studentsthink critically, improve their writing ability, investigate the intersection between the sciences,engineering, and the liberal

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ryan A. Ebel; Donald S. Abbott-McCune; David Chang

, which is not implemented in any otherautonomous vehicle programs.III. Approach The AUGV project at USMA is a multidisciplinary activity with electrical engineering andmechanical engineering curriculum. Figure 1 shows the course map. This paper focuses on theAutonomous Vehicle block. The design project consists of building an autonomous vehicle which will Figure 1 Course Map 2incorporate applied knowledge of robotics. In an introductory mechatronics course, there needs to be adesign project which allows students to apply these concepts in a meaningful way. This is done duringthe last five weeks of the semester by inductive learning. Inductive

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Daniel J. McCarthy; Michael J. Kwinn

of Pennsylvania, the University of Arizona, and the University of Virginia. One significantinsight we discovered at the University of Arizona is how they structured their program objectives andoutcomes. Essentially, after establishing their program objectives, they identified the outcomes thatsupported the achievement of those objectives. We followed this same approach in our program. Page 3As a result of this deliberate review of our stakeholders, to guide the Systems Engineering program werevised the program objectives and subsequently defined program outcomes to support these newobjectives. These objectives and outcomes are listed below: Objective 1: Produce graduates who apply systems

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Christopher W. Swan; Julia Carroll

Housing The overall goal of the project was to create a guidance document for selecting andimplementing appropriate green engineering practices into low-income residential housing.Green engineering can occur in both the construction, and operation and maintenance of thehome; thus, the decision to incorporate green components, materials, fixtures, methodologies,and/or practices in a new residence requires a more holistic approach to home design andconstruction than current standards. During the project, the team addressed the feasibility ofincorporating various green engineering techniques and technologies into the building of simple,affordable homes. Ultimately, the team created decision-matrices that addressed when, where,and how to use

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Linda Ann Riley; Charles Thomas

three year grants guarantee that 90% ofmathematics and science teachers in the applying school districts fully participate in the conditions of thegrant. Those conditions involved engaging in common planning times, participating in 100 hours ofprofessional development each year of the grant, providing programs in an “extended day” format,acquiring increased content knowledge in mathematics and science and demonstrating improvedpedagogical curriculum plans in the classroom. The latter two requirements are externally validatedthrough the ETS Mathematics and Science Teacher tests and consultant observations of classroompractices.As the higher education partner, faculty members from mathematics, science and engineering departmentshad to agree to

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Diana Schwerha; Chang Liu; Sertac Ozercan; Tripura Vadlamani; Lev Neiman

with performance extremeness, and making thelearning memorable.4 In the engineering curriculum, part of the difficulty lies in the ordering of thecourses. Students take ISE 306 as a pre-requisite for their major classes. Although the professor can tryto use relevant examples, students often do not link the process of statistics with the conclusions that theyneed to make as engineers. This lack of relevancy can cause a disinterest in the student and a lack ofmotivation to learn the material. In addition, statistics is conceptual. If students do not spend the time tolearn the concepts (rather than just plugging in numbers), memorable learning will not occur.2.1 Second LifeSecond Life (see http://www.secondlife.com) is a multiple-user virtual

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Richard B. Mindek

-learn fundamental PLC operation. The purpose of this paper to describe the work recentlycompleted in this area at Western New England College, report on the use of the platform at the graduatelevel, as well as present future plans to incorporate it within the undergraduate engineering curriculum.2.0 Basic Components of the PLC PlatformIn order to give students an opportunity to experience how computer automation and control isaccomplished in a manufacturing environment, a demonstration apparatus was built containing actuationand sensing devices, a computer interface, feedback control, and an Allen Bradley MicroLogix 1500programmable logic controller. This platform can be utilized by the instructor in a classroomenvironment for demonstration

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Richard J.H. Gash; David Fedroff

and laboratory courses. It introduces engineering students to the relevancy ofreinforced concrete as a sustainable building option and lays the foundation for further study in thisrapidly emerging field.Introduction Let’s face it, the future is green! An increased emphasis on energy efficient, sustainablestructures is sweeping through the building industry. Architects, engineers and developers alike areattracted to the increased marketability and decreased life-cycle costs of “green” buildings. Today’seducators must ensure tomorrow’s engineers embrace sustainable design. With most engineering coursesalready bursting with content, adding sustainable construction initiatives can prove a daunting task.Typically incorporating any new

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Vicki V. May

-driven. A more learner-center, objective-driven approach is easier today given theavailability of digital resources and collaborative tools.As an alternative to requiring a textbook for a senior-level mechanics course, the studentsare creating a set of notes as a class using the wiki function in Blackboard. Through thisprocess the students will:• Synthesize information from different texts and resources, and• Collaboratively create a set of notes that they can use for quizzes and the final exam (and later in their careers).The students are working in groups. Each group is responsible for a separate section (thesections include: General Discussion, Theory and Equations, Definitions, Concept Map, andExample) of the class notes for each of five