Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Herbert Hess

] There exists no general agreement on the content nor structure for a second powerelectronics course, one that has the introductory power converters course as a prerequisite. Suchsecond courses are invariably graduate courses intended to prepare the student for researchappropriate for the graduate program at hand.[4,5] A typical introductory power converters course addresses the topics identified in thefollowing outline.[5] This outline is similar to one compiled by Akagi in his survey of Japaneseinstruction in power electronics.[10].I. Introduction A. Overview B. Applications of Power ElectronicsII. Review Material A. Modern Switching Semiconductor Devices B. Switching Characteristics C. The Ideal Switch

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Mohamed A. Bourham; Donald J. Dudziak

Session 2377Undergraduate Research As An Enhanced Educational Tool and A Transition Mechanism for Post-Graduate Studies Mohamed A. Bourham and Donald J. Dudziak Department of Nuclear Engineering North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7909 Research experience for undergraduates is of great importance not only forconducting research on a topic that has impact on a current research activity, butalso as a tool to enhance undergraduate education. During the past decade,undergraduate research in nuclear engineering was irregular, a case-to-case event,based on individuals

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Hussein Anis

Session 1260 Developing Engineering Education In Egypt- Experience and Achievements Hussein Anis Cairo University , EGYPTIntroductionAn Engineering Education Development Project (EEDP) was initiated in Egypt in January,1992 1,2. The project has been funded through a loan agreement between the World Bank andthe government of Egypt. The project generally aims at the upgrading or the redesign ofeducational programs at the eighteen Egyptian faculties of engineering. This includes theupgrading of academic curricula, human resources (teaching and

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Fahmida N. Chowdhury

interdisciplinary[3] in the sense that it is open to all majors. My discussion with Professor Uhrig[4] revealed that the course3 typically has students from different engineering depart-ments, and each student is expected to do a project in her/his own field. In general,the professor considers this an excellent interdisciplinary course. In the University of California at Berkeley, several different courses in the Elec-trical Engineering and Computer Science department include topics from the generalfield of Neural Networks. In a sense, this approach demonstrates the maturity of thefield; for example, a graduate course entitled “Audio Signal Processing in Humansand Machines” includes “introduction to Hidden Markov Model and Neural Networkapproaches” [5

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert P. Taylor; B.K. Hodge

iob marketDriven in part by the end of the Cold War, the employment pattern of entry-level mechanicalengineers has shifted over the last few years. At Mississippi State University (MSU) a muchlarger percentage of the graduating class is accepting employment with small companies andwith local, rather than national or international, companies. Many of these entry-level jobs willrequire that the engineer perform a wide range of tasks involving the entire gamut of mechanicalengineering. If these graduates are to succeed, then they must have had an ME education thatcovers at least the basics of most traditional mechanical engineering topics. The changing natureof the job market presents mechanical engineering educators with hard choices: how can

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Roman Z. Morawski; Jerzy Woznicki; Andrzej Krasniewski

thequality of education. In particular, an opportunity to design an individual program of study thatbest suits student's capabilities and professional career objectives enhances student's interest inthe institution, its academic staff, courses it offers, and studying in general. Furthermore, theresponsibility students take for their own education usually motivates them for more efficientlearning which, in turn, results in better qualifications of graduates who enter the labor market. Amore detailed discussion on the impact of diversity and flexibility of the system of study on thequality of education is presented in the following section.3. IMPACT OF DIVERSITY AND FLEXIBILITY ON QUALITY OF EDUCATION: A PRACTICAL EXAMPLEIn this section, we first

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Halvard E. Nystrom; Diego Rodriguez

high level of commitment and energy. The distance education experienceshould be designed to maximize the utilization of the following motivational enhancers3 :x Confidence - attainable by minimizing the perception of failure and maximizing the perception of success. Self assessments and tests can be used to inform the student of their level of competence in specific areas as well as motivate them during the learning process to assure acceptable performance. A clear communication of what is expected from the interaction helps generate confidence that it can be achieved.x Challenge - accomplished by the progressive and responsive modulation of the task difficulty in an attempt to apply the maximum level of achievable challenge and

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Gerald R. Frederick; Benjamin Koo

restructuring their programs, this presentation attempts to extendthat effort to a much wider community through the American Society for Engineering Education.UNIVERSITIES Each university should identify and establish a long-range global vision through self-examination of its academic activities, indicating their strengths and weaknesses. In the area ofcurricula enhancement, strategic planning must accentuate courses including foreign languages,cultural development, social and political sciences, psychology, behavioral science, businessmanagement and ethics. It is recognized that many of these courses can be included withinABET guidelines as well as within a general education core which is required at manyuniversities. However, the breadth

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John A. Reed; Abdollah A. Afjeh

. Thiscapability has not gone un-noticed in the educational community. In the short period since Java’srelease, over 600 educational applets have already been developed. At the time of this writing,nearly 100 engineering-specific educational applets have been listed at Gamelan, the officialdirectory for Java applets3. These applets cover topics in all engineering disciplines, and althoughthe majority of these are relatively simple and problem-specific, several sophisticated applets havebeen developed which demonstrate the effectiveness of using Java to develop educationalsoftware. Some notable example are listed as follows: The Java Virtual Wind Tunnel applet,developed by David Oh demonstrates two-dimensional implementation of computational fluiddynamics

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Jian Edward Zhang; Lucy King

,demonstrate and teach the components of CIM which they have learned in class, to off-campus audience. This allows them to obtain a deeper understanding of the topics. It will also givethem the opportunity to play mentoring roles to the younger students. The CIM on WHEELS wasdisplayed at SME-AutoFACT ’96 Exhibition in Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, November 12-14,1996.II. Introduction CIM on Wheels (CIMoW) provides a facility for capstone hands-on projects in the CIMand Robotics courses to enhance the standard of education at GMI and better prepare thegraduates for the highly technical, automated work environment of the future. It furnishes anarena for the integration of CIM fundamental principles and technology. "...workers must have

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Thomas R Phillips

%) ............. ........ . iThe “Industrial Engineering” category includes industrial applications for each discipline (e.g.,electronic manufacturing & fabrication for an E.E. student). CACEI has defined the essential“thematic” and applied engineering topics for programs in each discipline. Design is addressedwithin individual courses, rather than as a criteria category.The Secretariat de Education Publica (SEP) maintains a Professional Directory of graduates fromrecognized programs who complete SEP-approved graduation requirements. The SEP does not dosubstantive program evaluations, nor does it specify the actual content of programs, thesis projects,or the professional exams given by faculty. Content is determined by the faculty at each recognizedinstitution. Most

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John T. Bell

Page 2.450.5 have a deepened interest in computers in general, and especially in the promise of virtual reality. VR is both a fascinating new area of interactive computing and also a very powerful educational tool. Another aspect crucial to this work was the need to pick up where others left off. Many people have collaborated on this project, and it was sometimes challenging to dig through their work and try to decipher what they had accomplished. This stressed to me the need for proper documentation when working on parts of a larger puzzle, i.e. the need for a clear line of communication from one student to the next. This project illustrated to me how important it is to communicate

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

T. Taylor; T. Egolf; R. Klenke; M. Salinas; J. Stinson; H. Carter; Vijay K. Madisetti; James H. Aylor; Anthony J. Gadient

Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, University of Cincinnati, Raytheon, andArthur D. Little has developed a new digital system design curriculum and supporting courseinfrastructure in the form of an electronic archive of instructional material – course modules,labs, projects, and interactive educational CD-ROMs. Included in this electronic archive ordigital library are over 200 hours of instructional material suitable for immediate insertion atthe undergraduate and graduate levels. To date, over 80 educational institutions have obtainededucational material developed by the RASSP E&F team. In this paper, we present the technicalgoals and rationale, including an Educational Maturity Model (EMM), motivating our efforts.Additional

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

K. P. Brannan

can be done to generate interest in engineering education,consider some of the initiatives implemented at The Citadel, beginning in 1990. These includean Excellence in Engineering Education Luncheon Series, a newsletter, annual faculty retreats,Communication across the Curriculum (CAC) seminars, and a stronger institutional commitmentto participation in ASEE conferences. The luncheon series has been a significant mechanism forpromoting faculty interest in topics such as effective teaching, teaching learning disabledstudents, cooperative learning, using Mathcad in engineering classes, and other subjects. A freemeal (cost of $5 - $7 per person), funded by the Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies,serves as excellent "bait" to attract

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Sr., Buck F. Brown; Jr., Buck F. Brown

Page 2.327.7evaluation criteria and provide examples from previous problem-based learning setting whenpossible. The actual implementation of problem-based education always begins with the problem.The problem must come FIRST in the instructional process. It is the problem which provides thereason for learning, but more importantly the problem defines the context in which learning willoccur. The context in which learning occurs then defines what is to be learned and how it will belearned. This first step in implementing problem-based learning is exactly the reverse of mosttraditional teaching methods in engineering and technical courses. Traditional teachingtechniques generally call for the presentation of concepts, skills and procedures

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ronald W. Schafer; Mark A. Yoder; James H. McClellan

Ideal Frequencymust be learned later in the educational Responsesprocess to appreciate how circuits are justone way to synthesize a frequency response, Filter Designfor example. In a traditional ECE Circuit Equationscurriculum, the higher levels of abstraction Circuit Simulationare generally postponed until the senior Circuit Schematicyear. There is some basis in learning theory Circuit Constructionfor this bottom-up approach where thestudent moves from specific cases to see the general picture. There is probably also a

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Samuel P. Clemence; Daniel J. McGinley

professor in the Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering and has been the senior associate dean of the L.C. Smith College ofEngineering and Computer Science.DANIEL J. McGINLEY is the Executive Director of the Institute for Professional Practice. He has nearly20 years of engineering association management experience, most recently as the Education ActivitiesDirector for the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is the 1996 recipient of the George K. WadlinDistinguished Service Award from the ASEE Civil Engineering Division and a graduate of NJIT. Page 2.268.8

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Mark A. Pagano; Christine L. Corum

philosophies were adopted for the curricula review effort: 1. Our Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science curricula must prepare our mechanical engineering technicians and technologist for current industry practice, and for lifelong learning opportunities. 2. Technical depth and breadth are necessary components of the MET student’s education. Depth prepares the student for immediate employment in his/her area of interest, while breadth provides the foundation for lifelong learning. a. The AS graduate will have some limited amount of depth in the areas of mechanics and design, with breadth in other areas of MET. b. The only upper division course requirements

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Cal Caswell; Mel I. Mendelson

SouthernCalifornia [4]. Over thirty manufacturing companies, state and federal agencies responded thattheir greatest need was educating engineers in integrated product development . Both small andlarge size companies need to have their employees educated in the skills of IPD for jobs of thefuture [2].The Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy has recommended that a broader,more flexible, cross-functional education be implemented for graduate scientists and engineers[5]. However, very few U.S. universities offer cross-functional courses that address integratedproduct development [6]. The major difficulty has been the faculty's lack of motivation, abilityand multi-disciplinary experience in teaching integrated courses [7]. MIT was one of the

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John K. Gershenson

them a realistic trial run in product development andengineering analysis before they graduate. Page 2.10.1These two classes have served the students and the department well. The design classes havegained regional recognition for their ability to yield “finished quality” products that areimplemented. Students’ rigorous engineering analysis coupled with their creativity have madethese projects successful. However, there is something missing from this design experience. Inan article on the state of mechanical engineering design education Dixon states that, “...the only design evaluation criteria expected to be involved are technical engineering

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

B.K. Hodge

coverage of viscous-flow topics atboth the undergraduate and introductory graduate levels is towards fundamentals andunderstanding, rather than intense numerical solutions.Indeed, at the undergraduate level, most fluid mechanics textbooks (for example, Fox andMcDonald (1992) Janna (1993), Munson et al. (1994)) present solutions with little or no detailas to the computational procedures employed. Numerical examples are generally centered aboutthe Blasius equation (laminar flow over a flat plate in a zero-pressure gradient) and variousintegral techniques. Applications involving solutions are stressed more than computationsleading to the solutions. Undergraduate students often fail to understand and appreciate theboundary-value nature of the Blasius

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

David B. Beyer

telecommunications skills are required. The program is being designed in cooperation witha local high school, so that provision can be made for smooth transition from high school to thisprogram. It is anticipated that articulation with four-year colleges will allow students to continuetowards a bachelor degree. The first class will enter this program in the fall of 1998.It is expected that graduates will find ready employment in industry. Our industrial partners haveinformed us that many employment opportunities exist in such areas as network installation andmaintenance, installation of video-conferencing equipment, cable installation, testing andtroubleshooting. The major components of the program are intended to maximize studentcompetencies in these areas

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Edward Pines

. As part of its manufacturingengineering education program, NMSU has developed partnerships with a variety of industrialfirms and two national laboratories. A telephone survey was made of human factors specialistsat the industrial partners. Respondents indicated a need for actual facility use. It was suggestedthat as much actual equipment and workplace experience as possible be built into the class.Additionally, a telephone survey was made of colleagues working in the ergonomics area. Thissurvey was undertaken to further develop the academic content of the course.A set of course objectives and topics were finally developed and discussed with the curriculumcoordinator. This agreed-on set of topics became the basis for the course syllabus

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

M. N. Borges; F. H. Vasconcelos; M. Lewis

ApproachThis change in the pedagogical approach results in a new concept facing the degree course whichassumes that:x Learning is the central purpose of education and training;x The assessment of learning can be better achieved by describing a list of Learning Outcomes.Principles of Learning OutcomesThis new trend in higher education towards focusing on the students' achievements rather than onthe learning process itself has its roots in the Learning Outcomes Theory (Robertson, 1991). Itseems to be accepted that this new approach to curriculum development suits best the presentrequirements of the market place, given that it maps out what graduates are expected to be able todo after having undertaken their learning experience. This theory suggests that

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Vernon W. Lewis

acknowledged that a course such as one in plans and specifications requires a somewhatdifferent approach from many typical courses. It is the opinion of our program that competencein the preparation of plans and specifications is essential for CET students to performsuccessfully without extensive on-the-job training following graduation. Unfortunately, based onthis professor’s professional experience, a lack of competence in this and other project relatedtasks is common in new graduates.If a student possesses the desired competence in this topic, it is our position that the studentshould not be denied credit for prior experience provided that this competence can be adequatelydocumented. A course in plans and specifications requires careful planning in

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Surendra K. Gupta

Techniques (visit http://www.rit.edu/~skgeme/emem518) were revisedaccordingly to take advantage of new skills students possessed5,6,7. These innovations have beenselected to receive an Honorable Mention in the 1996 ASME Curriculum Innovation AwardProgram8. Table I: “Computational Methods” Course Sequence Code Course Title Credits Year Topics 342 Problem Solving with 3 1st Spreadsheet, Computer Algebra Computers System, Word Processing 440 Numerical Methods 4 3rd Numerical Techniques with applications 518 Advanced Computational

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Rose M. Marra; Thomas Litzinger

— Engineering Thermodynamics and MachineDynamics. Our SI program was piloted as a part of our larger Undergraduate Teaching InternProgram. The Teaching Intern (TI) Program allows undergraduate students to partner with aprofessor on a particular course in order to learn about the responsibilities of being a facultymember. TIs generally help with in-class activities, hold office hours, run review sessions, teachseveral class sessions and do some test construction and grading.This paper provides an overview of both the SI and TI programs, specific details on how to run acourse to train for these programs, and preliminary results of the SI program in terms ofexperiences of the three student SI leaders and achievement results of those students whoattended

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Bob Lahidji

5 Role of Industry The support of local industry is essential for the success of mechanical and electricalengineering technology programs. Local industry can be tapped for financial support and it is agreat source of generating topics for research. Industry can provide students with real-worldproblems to solve in the classroom environment. An industry and a university can work togetheron projects that benefit each other. Personal exchange with industry is another way of enrichingthe curriculum.6Conclusions The manufacturing environment requirements and needs are different than those used adecade ago. The engineering technology education program should reflect the needs and changesof today's industry and prepare young engineer

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

David S. Cottrell; Stephen J. Ressler

their academic major until their sophomoreyear and generally are not able to take any engineering courses until the second semester ofthat year. Thus a freshman “Introduction to Design” course is not a pragmatic option, and wemust seek other vehicles for introducing our students to design at the earliest practical point inthe curriculum.This paper describes the use of design projects in an introductory mechanics of materialscourse at USMA. These projects serve not only to reinforce the topics taught in theclassroom, but more importantly to introduce students to the engineering design process andto provide them with their first hands-on design experience.The course is EM364A Mechanics of Materials, taken by all students majoring in civil

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Tom Mase

, appliedphysics, computer science, and environmental chemistry have been added. However, themajor focus for the 2,500-3,000 undergraduate students is engineering; more specificallymechanical engineering which has an enrollment of around 1,100. Students inmechanical engineering specialize in automotive engineering design, plastics productdesign, manufacturing product design, medical equipment design, or machine design. Students generally participate in a cooperative education experience where theyalternate a term of classes with a term working in industry. All students complete a thesisas part of their undergraduate requirements (up to 4 credits out of 180 quarter-hours). Inrecent years, it has become difficult, if not impossible, to evaluate