Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Andrea Baruzzi; Theresa M Calcagno

University Libraries began an initiative tomigrate existing library research guides (both print and electronic) to the LibGuides software.This software offers librarians several advantages over the traditional print and web formatsincluding: • LibGuides software offers a solution that makes it easy to create customized research guides for departments or individual courses; • The software is easy to learn and to use; users do not have to be fluent in html; • Software features include the ability to embed RSS feeds, video, custom widgets, etc. very easily into a guide. • Guides developed with the LibGuides software are easier to maintain and to update than more traditional

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Cameron Ian Cooper

-retention.IntroductionThis research follows a line of research started in 2008 [1]. The primary goal of this research is tounderstand the dynamics of a student body for the purposes of predictive modeling via neural networks.As evidenced, behavioral modeling of a student body in regards to success can be a difficult enterprise[2]. Student body data can become quickly obsolete and of little use for predicting student success.The initial stage of this research attempted to create a generalizable model for predicting first-semesterpersistence (i.e. identify students most likely to persist and conversely those students “at-risk” of notpersisting to their second semester of study). This model utilized the 2005 and 2006 freshman cohorts totrain and test a neural network

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Kara Cokeley; Claire Mockler; Min Feng Zheng; James Patrick Abulencia

started with. The students may even have to fall back to a Plan B incase their experiment does not work the way they planned it. This teaches the students thateverything does not work out the way they planned initially. In the real world, companies mayhave to run through several ideas before they find the right one which is something that studentscannot experience and see in a classroom. The second semester is used to perfect the experiment and to make a conclusion based onthe results they recorded during their months of researching and experimenting. From all theinformation they have learned, researched and concluded, a paper, for possible publication,should be written and handed in for a final grade. The paper should explain why they

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Elif Kongar; Kurt A. Rosentrater

focusing on utilizing continuous processimprovement and Six Sigma techniques (lean and green). The overall objective of the projectincluded an investigation of the current state of the University-environment system, including theanalysis of the material and energy flows caused by different human activities on campus,identification of key problem areas and potential solutions in order to create a basis fordiscussion with the top and middle management of UB, and initiate an ongoing learning processbetween researchers, students, and management. To achieve this, students were asked to createteams that consisted of a minimum of four, maximum of five individuals. Furthermore, studentswere asked to: • Select a building/office space/facility located

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Ross McCurdy

Fuel Cell and Alternative Energy Education Program and Projects in the High School Ross McCurdy Ponaganset High School Session: Interdisciplinary programs, sustainability and alternative energy as related to engineering educationAbstract Ponaganset High School began fuel cell and alternative energy education in 2001 and hasgained momentum through innovative projects that strengthen the students’ learning experiences.Students at Ponaganset initially demonstrated fuel cell technology with the formation of Protium,a fuel cell-powered rock and roll band. The successes of the

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Salah Badjou

typically from 3 to 5. Much ofthe work involves testing and prototype development in the labs and therefore requires thestudents’ presence on campus. On the other hand, a substantial amount of work does not requireactual physical meetings. This includes reports writing (proposal, 2 progress reports, weeklymemos, and a final report), sharing research work and other communication. The author hasbeen teaching this course for the last 4 years. End-of-semester assessment from carefullydesigned surveys consistently indicated student difficulties managing their time. This is partlydue to demanding coursework, and work outside. Typically, students try to use the week ofSpring Break to “catch up.” However, many of them are then off campus. As a

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

John Adams

” course fornon science majors. This cross disciplinary course is based in the EE department withsignificant input from the Biology department. A Kill-O-Watt meter serves as the“textbook” purchase, with required student real-world projects in energy usageassessment, and in evaluating effectiveness of remedial actions. This collaborationbetween EE and Biology is an initial effort towards greater collaboration between the twodepartments.The Civil Engineering department piloted the senior elective “Environmental Design” inFall 2009, with student teams running feasibility studies for renewable energyinstallations including Photovoltaic, SHW and Wind. The next iteration of this coursewill incorporate participation of EE and business students.Background

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Jeng-Nan Juang; R. Radharamanan

enable tomeasure properties that have not previously been observable. However, there aresignificant problems to be overcome to implement this concept in working systems.This paper describes a PC controlled irrigation monitoring and controlling system withwireless sensor communication. The design of the overall system is based on: the systemmust provide consistent soil moisture measurements at low cost; the system mustinterface with an irrigation system to allow for automatic watering of the soil; and themeasurement units must be unobtrusive to everyday activity. Research performed todetermine the feasibility of a moisture monitoring system indicated that the cost ofsimilar systems was astronomical, due to their typical use in commercial

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Ali Alshubbak; Saeid Moslehpour; Eugenio Pellicer; Joaquín Catalá

, West Hartford, CT 061173 Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.4 Professor in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.1. IntroductionEngineering, as a profession, usually deals with a lot of challenges, such as thechangeable and progressive industry, changeable client perspectives and expectations,uncertainty, initial data shortage, and variability of legal and normative situation fromone place to another. This situation implies that the engineer should be able to face allof these situations; this, on one hand, is a university responsibility, on the other hand, isan industry’s expectation to receive well prepared engineers.Recently, many studies have been carried out to

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Chitra N. Javdekar

process through guided andindependent scientific inquiry into the problem, and approaches, materials and methods used forsolving problem. New course modules draw from current social contexts such as health, sustainabilityand issues impacting human and social dynamics. Problems are open-ended and creativity andcommunication are emphasized. Specific examples of redesigned course modules, formal and informalstudent feedback and plans for future work are offered.Introduction:According to a recent National Science Board (NSB 2010) report, the Science and Engineeringcapacityhas grown over the past few years around the world and while it allows greater cross-bordercollaboration, and a larger pool of researchers, it presents “definite challenges to U.S

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Vijay Kanabar; Virginia Greiman; Jim Cormier

half describes the design and execution of three online projectmanagement courses, detailing the curricula and techniques utilized to encourage collaboration anddiscussions amongst students. We also include a special section that illustrates teaching projectmanagement through case studies. In each case, we describe the pedagogical approach and curriculumused to encourage collaboration and create an effective learning environment. The paper concludes with anarration of the challenges that remain when teaching online. The research results and experience sharedin this paper will provide invaluable assistance to faculty and course designers interested in creating anonline course. 1. IntroductionBefore we describe our experience with

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Hudson V. Jackson P.E.; Kassim M. Tarhini P.E.; Corinna Marie Fleischmann P.E.; Nathan Rumsey; Sharon Zelmanowitz P.E.

certaincomponents such as problem definition, research, scheduling, solution analysis, design andcommunication of results. To better prepare our students for their unique future roles as civilengineers in the Coast Guard, most capstone projects involve working with Coast Guard officersand civilian engineers in the field on actual Coast Guard projects. Project selection criteriainclude funding for site visits, a mandatory design component, a reasonable project schedule,realistic stakeholder expectations and a good match with expertise of the faculty advisors. Thecapstone design teams are provided specific instructions to guide them through the execution oftheir capstone projects. These guidelines include mandatory weekly progress meetings withadvisors

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Paul C. King; Gerarda M. Shields

courses.INTRODUCTION Leading the IP curriculum development effort is an interdisciplinary team led by the partnership of alicensed Architect and a licensed Civil Engineer both full time professors at New York City College ofTechnology. This paper focuses on the curriculum development, implementation, and assessmentmethodology of the Integrated Projects courses.1. THE CITYPOLY – CITYTECH PARTNERSHIP1.1 Introduction to CityPoly High School CityPoly is one of four State-approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) demonstration sites inNew York City and has been named as one of 10 schools in New York City Chancellor Joel Klein’s 21stCentury Schools Initiative. The unique format of this CTE school is a 3 + 2 program in which studentscomplete a full 4 years

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Ibrahim Alkore Alshalabi; Eman Abdelfattah

control and manage multimedia that is related to the online course, the need of the session accessis essential (Fig. 2). The instructor creates initial session (session manager) that gives him/her the abilityto control all the sessions that are created during the online connection to the course, which means that allthe students connected to the course environment can be controlled to access a specific media or restrictit. Also, initial session allows admission of late comers and early withdrawal of students. This capabilityof the initial sessions allows a better utilization of bandwidth [5]. Teacher Internet

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Kevin John McDonnell; Anne Joan Caraccio; Nithin Susan Abraham; Nicholas Alexander Ruffini; Susan Gallardo; James Patrick Abulencia

compounds (VOCs), and high levels ofColiform bacteria. In attempts to remove these contaminants, students will research the naturalmaterials in the area that may be helpful or useful in their removal. Materials like coconut wasteto derive activated carbon and Malunggay, which are readily available throughout thePhilippines, will be tested for their contaminant removal capabilities. Not only will this researchand development project help the people of Nagcarlan, but also other rural, disadvantaged areas,where water contamination is of great concern. This research and service learning will also bebeneficial to the students, who will grow from this experience and provide an example forengineers to come.Introduction: In an age where information

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Dan Brosnan; Dana Hawes; Max Nielsen; Salah Badjou

show how the feedback loops work, and which system overrides othersystems. To help visualize the obstacle avoidance subroutine works, the diagram of Fig 6 abovewas made. 4Fig. 7: Initial trip logicFig. 8: Returning trip logic A major design parameter of the Autonomous Garbage Removal System is the idea of“setting and forgetting it”. This way the time of pickup is put into the system, and nothing elsehas to be done by the operator. This requires some sort of timer to keep track of when exactly toinitiate the program to start the operation of taking out the trash. A “SLEEP” function in themicrocontroller [11] allows for the system to go into

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Anne Y. Boisvert; Bahaa E. Saleh; S. Hamid Nawab

to select courses to take for which they already have the prerequisites and that interest them (typically by way of what the ultimate application is).  Personal research by a student to find the “relevance” of a course to practical real-world applications.  A Senior Design Project which encourages students to discover how the confluence of knowledge from different courses can be used to create/invent various types of products and/or applications.Clearly, in the traditional paradigm for acquiring interconnection knowledge there is a greatdegree of dependence on the initiative taken by individual faculty and students. It would beadvantageous if students could be provided additional material on

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Gautham Das; Rishi Cariappa

students to complete their senior designproject on this rapid road expansion project. This paper highlights the work conducted by thestudents from BU on the Outer Ring Road which lies in the southwest corridor of the city. Withthe assistance of senior field engineers, students helped in the initial site assessments whichincluded surveying the existing conditions of the roads, procuring soil samples from core cutters,conducting geotechnical field tests such as standard penetration tests (SPT) tests and laboratorytests such as tri-axial and consolidation tests and in areas where the roads existed studentsconducted Dynamic Cone penetrometer (DCP) tests. In addition to working with the engineersstudents were required to help the botanist move certain

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

B. Samanta

well as engineering education are discussed. The experiences of presenting CI as acourse and summer projects are also presented. The importance of introducing the CI techniquesand their multidisciplinary applications as a senior level interdisciplinary engineering electivecourse and integrating these in research experiences for undergraduates (REU) and STEMeducation (GK-12) is discussed.I. IntroductionIn the digital generation, large volumes of data are collected in various forms in differentendeavors related to business, science, engineering and biomedicine, among others. There is aneed to make sense of the voluminous data for assessing the current status of the system anddetecting an early indication of any possible deterioration of the

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Chiara Silvestri; Adriana Hera; Malcolm H. Ray; Siamak Najafi

mesh generator and is employed aspre-processors for FE analysis [4]. Also, Ls-PrePost can be used as post-processor to process theresults from FE solvers. Envisioning the increased integration of technology in the classroom and software usage inthe courses, in March 2006, WPI initiated a new information technology (IT) program, intendedto support the academic undergraduate and graduate curriculum by providing training sessionson main scientific and engineering software applications (SESA) and technical expertise to assistthe research efforts of students and faculty. This program proved to become very popular and highly appreciated by students and isconsidered a valuable resource by faculty. At the end of the academic year 2008-2009, 24

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Charles Thomas; Loren Byrne; Jeremy Campbell

, and come froma wide range disciplines. We expect that courses will be added in the future as more and moreattention is paid to sustainability by faculty. The balance between required and elective courseswas struck to limit the number of new courses needed and to encourage the inclusion ofsustainability issues in existing courses so that they might be added to the list of approvedelectives. In addition, this balance will allow more students to partake in the minor because theycan use courses from their majors as part of the minor.The focus of this paper is on the first of the newly-created required courses “Introduction toSustainability Studies.” The initial offering of this course was in the fall semester of 2009, and itwas co-designed and co

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Ismail I. Orabi

mechanicalengineering capstone design courses. Examples of the current projects will be presented.IntroductionSenior design engineering courses have increasingly used industry-sponsored projectsthat give students opportunities to address real world problems [1-4]. Capstone design coursesare also a site for developing many of the higher-level engineering learning outcomes and thoserequiring integration of innovation, problem solving and knowledge. The vast majority ofcapstone design instructors assign great value to the capstone design course [5-6]. Many believetheir courses offer potential for achieving and assessing all of the engineering criterion 3outcomes required by ABET [7].The mechanical engineering capstone design instructor has initiated the industry

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Robert Simoneau; Diane Dostie

, offering undergraduate and graduate programsleading to a Doctorate of Science with extensive ongoing research. The University ofMassachusetts, Lowell has laboratory facilities, which include plastics processing, testing andpolymer characterization. They contribute to the VIP collaborative by providing graduate studentsan opportunity to perform detailed finite element analysis and mold flow analysis. This analysiswill enable VIP students to optimize part and tool design.Saddleback College Saddleback College is a community college and is the recent recipient of a National Centerin Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Additive Manufacturing called RapidTech ATE DUE #0702912.Their staff has provided the RP capacity, technical support and seminars. Their

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Solomon G. Diamond

"*"L"^2/12 ' in-lb "sigma_max"=-"P"*"L"^2/2/"b"/"h"^2 ' lb/in^2 Fig. 2. Parametric model of a beam (top) and the parametric design equations (bottom) that were entered into the CAD software. The parametric design behavior of the beam model is fundamentally different from thetypical CAD approach where the beam height h would be initially guessed and then optimized bya search algorithm using FEM simulations at every step. This sort of bruit force solution to thebeam design problem (Fig. 3) must be restarted every time a design parameter changes. Thecomputational load of a parameter search using FEM simulation can be considerable even fortrivial geometries with a single unknown parameter like in this

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Peter Salvatore

completion of the CAP. Recyclemania is a national recycling competition with the goal ofraising student awareness of sustainability issues and increasing campus recycling efforts.IntroductionIn October 2006, after planning sessions among a group of college and university presidents andtheir representatives at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in HigherEducation (AASHE) conference at Arizona State University, 12 Presidents agreed to becomefounding members of the ACUPCC. In December the same year, those presidents sent a letter tonearly 400 of their peers inviting them to join the initiative. By March 31, 2007, 152 schoolsbecame charter signatories of the ACUPCC. This new group of signatories sent a packet ofinformation to their

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Andrew C. Foley; Eben H. Phillips

Science etc) the nature of the courses becomes more‘demonstrative’. Culmination of the sequences is the two semester Capstone coursewhere students undertake their own unique projects, creating specifications, generatingalternatives and developing chosen solutions. Foley (2007) discusses the design processused at the Academy in more detail. This paper however discusses a particular methodology of ‘rapid fire’ theory tohardware realization in a unique sophomore design course. The outcomes were ambitiousand initially a little open ended, but once correctly indentified were seen to have beenachieved. DESIGN PROGRESSION Sophomore Junior Introduction to Mechanical

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Daniel Domato; Marco Castaldi; James Patrick Abulencia

analyze the samples from theprevious trial. Each experimental trial should take on average one hour, including GC analysis. During the students lab report write-up, they will perform material balances around theirsystem utilizing initial data and composition data measured in the GC. The students will alsodiscuss and prove the relationship between water content and syngas quality from theirexperimental data. The ultimate goal of the implementation will come when the students writethe methods and background and theory section of the lab report. It is in these sections where thestudent will research the gasification process along with the viability of biomass as a renewableenergy source.AcknowledgmentThe authors would like to thank Pat

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Jeanine Lee Skorinko; Jennifer Lay; Grant McDonald; Brad Miller; Colleen Shaver; Cindy Randall; James Kevin Doyle; Michael A. Gennert; Gretar Tryggvason; James Van de Ven

, 18, 302-318.13. Ryckman, Hammer, Kaczor, and Gold (1996). Construction of a personal development competitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 374-385.Project supported by NSF Grant EEC 0750192Authors:Jeanine Skorinko, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute,Worcester, MA 01604, 508-831-5451, skorinko@wpi.edu.Jennifer Lay, Undergraduate StudentGrant McDonald, Undergraduate StudentBrad Miller, Associate Director, Robotics Resource Center, Department of Mechanical EngineeringColleen Shaver, Manager Robotics Initiatives Manager Robotics InitiativesCindy Randall, Director of Research at FIRSTJames Kevin Doyle, Professor and Department Head, Department of Social Science.Michael Gennert

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

A. Richard Vannozzi

Experiential Learning Theory and the Teaching of Software Intensive Courses A. Richard Vannozzi, MS, PLS Thompson School of Applied Science, University of New HampshireSession: Tools, techniques, and best practices of engineering education for the digital generation Each year, pressure seems to grow to bring more software into our teaching. There arethree forces at work in engineering education today that make a discussion of how to teachsoftware intensive courses timely. First, initiatives such as laptops in the classroom,asynchronous and blended learning models, Web 2.0 and the multi-media classroom have allbrought fundamental changes to the

Collection

2010 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Benjamin Cadieux; Lee Denaro; Paul Ellsworth; Adam Robert; Salah Badjou

Natural Gas Shut-off Valve System at a public forum andit was perceived by the design group that none were disappointed or un-impressed by what hadbeen accomplished in the three months allotted for development of the project. Throughout thethree months spent by the group members, in design and construction of the final proof ofconcept, there were four paramount milestones reached. These principal stages consisted of:initial conception and research, analog design/assembly, microcontroller coding, and testing. The first milestone completed by the design group was with the initial conception of theidea for an Automated Shut-off Valve System and completion of technical and market research.Temperature sensors [8] and gas detectors [11], [12