Collection

2008 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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

Collection

2008 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

Authors

Dean M. Aslam; Zongliang Cao; Cyrous Rostamzadeh

Innovative Engineering Education Using Programmable Lego Robotic VD Graaf Generators Dean M. Aslam, Zongliang Cao and Cyrous Rostamzadeh* Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824 * Robert Bosch LLC, EMC Department, Plymouth, MI 48170. aslam@msu.eduAbstract The Technology Assisted Science, Engineering and Mathematics (TASEM) learning, with majorfocus on innovations in the use of technology to explain new and complicated concepts rather than oneducation research, goes far beyond the

Collection

2008 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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 Northeast Section Meeting

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