Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

J. Moore; M.A. Thornton; R.W. Skeith

Teaching a Laboratory Intensive Class in a Distance Education Mode J. Moore*, M.A. Thornton*, and R.W. Skeith** Southern Methodist University*, University of Arkansas**AbstractA unique set of obstacles occur when administering a distance education class that has asignificant laboratory component. A class in Digital Systems Design targeting fourth-year andintroductory graduate students that is offered both in conventional and distance education modesis described. Because the course is design oriented, students must engage in several designprojects that would ordinarily be carried out in a laboratory to satisfactorily achieve the courselearning outcomes

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Chang-Soo Kim; Steve E. Watkins

Graduate-level hands-on laboratory practices of microdevices for microoptic and biosensor applications Chang-Soo Kim 1,2, Steve E. Watkins 1 Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering 1 Department of Biological Sciences 2 Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USAAbstractWe present our experience in graduate-level, small enrollment size, hands-on laboratoryinstruction of microoptic and biosensor microdevices. Inherently, instructing the twomicrodevices types can be largely benefited by linking with microfabrication laboratory practicesto design, fabricate and characterize these devices in class. Based

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

E. Carl Greco; Jim D. Reasoner; Ronald E. Nelson

Student Participation in EE Lab Teams as a Predictor of Acquired Skills and Knowledge E. Carl Greco, Jim D. Reasoner, Ronald E. Nelson Electrical Engineering Department – Arkansas Tech UniversityAbstractIn a fundamental electrical engineering laboratory course, the current model utilizing laboratory groupsof two or more students to perform assignments reduced the student's ability to learn rudimentarylaboratory skills and knowledge and the ability to apply them to a basic circuits analysis application. Thestudents' performance on the laboratory final exam provided an indicator of their individually acquiredknowledge and skills. Several factors were investigated as

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Peter LoPresti; Theodore W. Manikas; Jeff Kohlbeck

teach about the engineering profession and the field of electricalengineering. Activities included laboratories in electrical circuits, designing an electric car,soldering, a field trip, and discussion about ethics. Students worked in two and four-personteams, and made presentations on their experiences.The academy was evaluated using formal assessment instruments and faculty observations. Eachof the individual activities attained an overall rating of at least 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, with mostactivities rated at 4.5 or greater. A formal evaluation of the entire academy revealed ratings of4.5 or greater out of 5 on most aspects of the academy, though some areas indicated a need forimprovement, such as clarity of written materials and the

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Christi L. Patton

highlights of what did and didn’t work.BackgroundDegrees conferred from chemical engineering programs across the U.S. declined 34% between1997 and 20061 and The University of Tulsa (TU) has mirrored this trend. This same period oftime saw significant changes in the technology infrastructure at TU in the College of Engineeringand Natural Sciences. Every classroom was equipped with a computer console and display forinstruction. All engineering departments established computer laboratories for their students inaddition to the numerous facilities available to all students. WiFi was installed campus-wide.Two instructional laboratories were created with computers for up to 30 students.In 2007 and 2008, the public has watched the price for a barrel of oil

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R. Asmatulu; W. Khan; M.B. Yildirim

laboratorysessions. A nanotechnology laboratory has also been set up in the Department of MechanicalEngineering at WSU, and dedicated to perform a number of nanotechnology experiments forstudents. This laboratory has several pieces of new equipment, such as atomic force microscope(AFM), corrosion testing units, electrospinning unit, UV lithography, dry and wet etching,plasma cleaner, AC/DC power units, UV-Vis spectroscopy, optical microscopes, zeta potential /nanosizer, fume hood, spin coating, capacitance bridge, contact angle and surface tensionmeasurement devices, and electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) nanofilm coating unit. We plan tohave undergraduate students work on the electrospinning method in the nanotechnologylaboratory. Students will produce

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

W. Roy Penney; Kendal J. Brown; Joel D. Vincent; Edgar C. Clausen

transfer problems7, the use of a transport approach in teaching turbulentthermal convection8, the use of computers to evaluate view factors in thermal radiation9,implementation of a computational method for teaching free convection10, and the use of anintegrated experimental/analytical/numerical approach that brings the excitement of discovery tothe classroom11. Supplemental heat transfer experiments for use in the laboratory or classroomhave also been presented, including rather novel experiments such as the drying of a towel12 andthe cooking of French fry-shaped potatoes13. Suggestions for the integration of heat transfercourse material into the laboratory and classroom were described by Penney and Clausen14-19,who presented a number of simple

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Shaibal Mukherjee; Pallabi Mukherjee

. According to a recentsurvey by Concord Coalition13, if the current economic trend continues, by the year 2020, interestpayments on national debt and other expenses like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaidwould consume most of our national revenues. Under such a scenario, availability of federalfunds for university-based research is expected to go down substantially. Changes in budgetarypolicies and priorities may be needed to retain the nation’s lead in higher education anduniversity-based cutting-edge research16 while competing with other economically developedcountries. Federal Budget ScenariosThe federal government funding is the main source of support for science and engineeringresearch14, 15. Out of the 700 laboratories that are funded

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Shannon G. Davis; Bryan W. Hill; Carol S. Gattis; Bradley M. Dearing; Edgar C. Clausen

, understandingand application of selected laboratory exercises. It includes classroom/laboratory instruction,follow-up activities at the schools, and evaluation, both during and after the institute.While the Year 1 (2006) Summer Institute focused on providing engineering hands-on activitiesthat teachers could subsequently use in their classrooms,5, 6 the Year 2 (2007) Institute taught theparticipants how to design their own experiments using a reverse design teaching method calledthe “design loop” method which emphasizes results-driven outcomes.7 The design loopapproach focuses on three components: 1) a clear set of desired results by identifying goals forstudents, the specific information the students will understand , and what students will achieve asa

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R. Asmatulu; H. Misak; W. Khan

of Materials II Spring 2007,” University of Connecticut, 2007.17. Asmatulu, R,. Claus, R.O., Mecham, J. B. and S. G. Corcoran, “Nanotechnology-associated coatings for aircrafts” Materials Science, Vol. 43, No: 3, 2007, 415-422.18. Jaksic, N. “Nanoscience, Nanoengineering and Nanotechnology Education at Colorado StateUniversity – Pueblo,” Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 931, 2006.19. Feisel, L.D. and Rose, A.J. “The Role of the Laboratory in Undergraduate Engineering Education,” Journal of Engineering Education, pp. 121-130, January, 2005.20. Leva, A., “A Hands-On Experimental Laboratory for Undergraduate Courses in Automatic Control,” IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 263–272, 2003

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Dominic M. Halsmer

that the central truth-claims of a worldview be verifiable or falsifiable since claims that lack this characteristic cannot be investigated, evaluated, and critiqued, thus carrying little rational weight. „Testability increases a worldview‟s intellectual credibility. The concept of “testable truth” contains persuasive power.‟18 Engineers use several different methods for testing reality, such as theoretical calculations, computer simulations, and experimental testing in the laboratory. They typically look for good agreement among such methods before proceeding with a design- related decision. However, the approach to verification or falsification of worldview truth-claims can be somewhat different from that of verifying the

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

James A. Ejiwale

beforegraduation, the integration of service learning and learning communities have been of immensebenefit. While service learning has provided the avenue for students to put into practice theknowledge gained in the classroom and laboratory, the learning communities have functioned inthe capacity of facilitators and mentors by giving constant feedback on students’ performancewhile engaged in service learning to enhance their leadership skills. Student’s leadership skillsdevelopment is assessed in ITC 400 – Technical Communication based on the following criteria: Daily Journal of Activities: 25% Weekly presentation to faculty and students: 20

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Parameswar Hari

toAm. J. Phys 69(7): S12-S23, (2001)3. Pelligrino, J.W., N. Chudowsky, R. Glaser, eds. Knowing What Students Know: TheScience and Design of Educational Assessment, National Academy Press, (2001)4. College Physics by Serway and Faughn, 5th Edition (Saunders College Publishing), (1998), Problem 6.26Biographical InformationDr. Hari is an assistant professor of physics and engineering physics at the University of Tulsa. Dr. Hari earned aPh.D. from the University of Utah . After Ph.D., Dr. Hari received post-doctoral training at The NHMFL (NationalHigh Magnetic Field Laboratory), Texas A& M University and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Hari has published over35 peer-reviewed articles and is represented in the 2006-07 edition of who’s who among

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Ryan Eckl; Christopher Johnson; Shawn Shields; Brad Cullipher; Wayne Helmer

of the 2008 Midwest Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education 2 Figure 1. Typical Engine Head Flow Test Data .[2].The primary focus of this project was to design, build and test a flow-bench for use in amechanical engineering laboratory while keeping the system within reasonable financial limitswithout sacrificing experimental performance. Standard components of a flow-bench are: testpiece, air-flow measuring device, air temperature measuring device, flow control mechanismand a device to measure the pressure drop across the test piece [3]. The unit should also be safefor the experimenters and the

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Rebeca G. Book

inputs. Each subgroup records the issues they think need to beworked on and names are assigned. The equipment group even takes a tour of the laboratory tolook at equipment and materials to see what is needed for students. Sometimes in order to beorganized and talk about what needs are, the advisory council will meet the day before the mainmeeting with just the committee chairpersons to guide the discussions the following day in thesubgroups.Balance on the advisory council is important to get good representation from the following areasof sales/marketing, manufacturing, equipment, processing, materials, and research anddevelopment. This is something that is difficult to achieve with fluctuating membership andneeds to be addressed. With so many

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R.E. Babcock; Mark E. Arnold

Edition, 1998. 4. Moore, Holly, MATLAB for Engineers, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2007. R. E. BABCOCK Dr. Babcock, professor of Chemical Engineering, received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. He currently teaches thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and unit operations laboratories at the University of Arkansas MARK E. ARNOLD Dr. Arnold, associate professor and vice-chair of Mathematical Sciences received his Ph.D. from Northern Illinois with a specialty in computational mathematics. He teaches linear algebra and numerical linear algebra at the University of Arkansas and is active in computational research.Proceedings of the 2008 Midwest Section Conference of

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Timothy J. Annesley; David P. Miller

diverse set of projects than is typically found inrobotics classes; many of which may concentrate on building towards a single task.11.1 Class StructureIn order to best understand the function of the course it’s first necessary to outline the structureof the course. Enrollment for the course was capped at 30 due to lab size and Teaching Assistantlimitations. Each week, the entire class met once for a 50-minute lecture then, again, in groupsof 15 for a 110-minute laboratory session. Each group of 15 was then divided into teams of 3.The teams worked together for the duration of the semester. The idea behind teamwork is to An earlier version of this paper appeared in the proceedings for the Global Conference on Educational RoboticsJuly 2008

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Chih-Hao Wu; Kim Troboy; Tracy Cole; Loretta Cochran; David Roach

and environmental responsibility, and lifelong learning. 2. Team Players - communicating, planning, coordinating, and managing projects and personnel with efficiency and effectiveness. 3. Problem solvers - learning new concepts, techniques, skills, and tools to aid in analyzing and designing electrical engineering systems. 4. Professionals - trained and competent in the fundamentals of engineering science, applied mathematics, laboratory practice, and principles of electrical engineering.”6 The ATU Engineering courses that specifically address ethics in their technical objectivesare ELEG/MCEG 1012 – Introduction to Engineering, MCEG 2023 – Engineering Materials,MCEG