Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Arthur Pachachura; Vedansh Patel

Engaging Students through Community Projects: Impact of Student-led Software Teams on Nonprofit Organizations Arthur Pachachura, Vedansh Patel Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) The Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The University of Texas at DallasThe University of Texas at Dallas’ Engineering Projects in Community Service (UTD EPICS) is a class whereundergraduate students work in multidisciplinary teams that design technical solutions to problems faced bynonprofit organizations in the community. One such project, Trusted Inventory, allowed a growing

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Elsa Castillo; Joel Robinson; Kristine Denman; Anyssa Choy; Tariq Khraishi

Copyright  2020, American Society for Engineering Education 2Students receiving aid may be able to work less and instead spend time engaging with other people andexperience outside the classroom, potentially leading to higher course grades and higher rates of persistence anddegree completion” [1]. In addition to looking at the impact of financial awards in low-income, academicallytalented, students of color, research shows that “academic and social behaviors such as course performance,participation in extracurricular activities, and community service all function as potential mechanisms forincreasing college graduation rates”. Although GPA is also useful to evaluate success, it is better to

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Randall Manteufel; Amir Karimi; Pranav Bhounsule

Dishonesty Policy in the SyllabusDuring exams, the class has a strict no-phone/no-electronics policy that is described in the syllabusand an abbreviated version is included on the front page of each exam: No communication device (such as phone, smart watch, computer, unapproved calculator) on your body (in hands/clothing/pockets) or within reach (on your seat, between your legs, under your seat, on the seat next to you) during exams. It is considered cheating to have a phone, computer, or other electronic device (other than approved calculator) accessible during an exam.The instructor doesn’t need to catch the student with the phone taking the picture and uploading itduring the exam. In fact, the teacher didn’t catch

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Krista Nicklaus; Daniel Puperi; Patricia Clayton

gradingtechniques, while other meetings focused on the students’ preparations for and reflections on thespecific classes they were teaching. Before each student got in front of the class, they preparedlearning objectives for the topics they were to cover, and discussed those learning objectives andassociated classroom activities with the group. The group provided feedback, including suggestionsfor promoting student engagement in classroom activities, editing content to ensure timely deliveryof information most pertinent to the learning objectives, and encouraging student-teachers to stepout of their comfort zones to grow. These discussions resulted in many ideas for in-class activities.In addition to providing a supportive community of peer teachers, this

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Andrea Turcatti; Terrell Bennett

-based problems.Students from across the university work together and improve skills in their discipline whileleaving a lasting impact on the community. UTDesign EPICS was launched in the Jonsson Schoolto provide students with a hands-on experience while preparing them with critical skills for asuccessful career.Students in UTDesign EPICS work on service projects that reinforce academic content and helpdevelop essential skills that are often missed in lecture courses such as: engaging in real design,working in multidisciplinary teams, communicating effectively, working with external“customers” that may not have a technical background, managing projects, and working withpeople from different backgrounds and social settings.Self-efficacy is

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

M. Javed Khan; Chadia Affane Aji

college degrees awarded in STEM fields are much smaller in comparison to othercountries such as China2. While there was a steady rise in undergraduate enrollment in science andengineering (S&E) from 2000 (243,500 students) to 377,410 in 2014, this is in stark contrast toChina where in 2000 the undergraduate enrollment in S&E was 281,270 and in 2014 it was1,447,3303. In 2014, 40 percent of bachelor's degrees earned by men and 29% earned by womenwere in STEM fields. The engineering degrees were only 4.4% of all the undergraduate degreesawarded in 2014 as compared to for example, European countries (13%) or Asian countries (23%),according to a report by the National Academy of Engineering4.President’s Council of Advisors on Science and

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Diana de la Rosa-Pohl; Catherine Horn

Endeavour Program as well as its partner programs on campus. Ongoing research bythe authors seeks to determine if this financial assistance combined with the program activities andsupport can significantly reduce the negative impact of risk-factors for low-income students inSTEM.The Endeavour S-STEM ProgramThe UH Endeavour Program is a two-year STEM engagement program funded through an NSF S-STEM grant (NSF No. 1742579). Managed through the Department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering, the program financially supports cohorts of 20 STEM students. Low-income studentswho demonstrate high academic potential in high school and on standardized tests are recruitedbefore their freshman year and selected based on need, previous academic achievement

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Marina Miletic; Vanessa Svihla; Eva Chi; Jamie Gomez; Abhaya Datye; Pil Kang; Yan Chen; Sang Han

teamwork and communication areas.Mentorship badges are earned based on an application that spans two years, including a reflectiveessay and mentee evaluations featuring Likert-scaled questions about the mentor's performance.Student must show sustained, impactful, and meaningful mentorship across several years for severalmentees, and high marks on key mentorship qualities.Thus far, 15 students have earned badges, with more being awarded in January 2020. Of all studentswho have applied for badges, around 80% earn them.The Teamwork digital badge was refined for the Fall 2018 cohort after two issues were discovered:(1) a group of six students collaborated to nominate each other for badges and wrote relativelysuperficial evaluations for each other (2

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Olga Lavrova; Satish Ranade

andregulate power systems with ever-growing deployment ofrenewable energy sources, electrification of non-traditionalsectors such as transportation, and ‘smart’ utilization of energy. Teaching and advising students are of paramount importanceand should be a key part of being an academic teacher. Fig. 2. NMSU BEST STEM competition challengeInstructors can have a major impact on the development of participantsfuture engineers with undergraduate courses. The nature of thecurriculum of undergraduate courses, as well as the and nation-wide competitions with specific goal of briningpresentation approach, can attract (or turn away) students in awareness to power and energy

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Roy Issa; Reinhard Puffing; Emad Manla

drone along with numerical simulations. The engineering group from West Texas A&MUniversity had to assess the three different preliminary designs provided by FH JOANNEUM, selectthe most appropriate one, construct and test the drone and its spraying system. The resulting systemwas capable of achieving the following: a flying time of at least 16.7 minutes covering a distance of2 kilometers when operated in automatic mode, with the ability of carrying 2 kg of payload attakeoff and delivering a spray mist at a flow rate ranging between 0.37 and 0.45 liters/minute. Theproject created an opportunity for global virtual teams to form between the two universities, andprovided an opportunity for the students to communicate effectively with a range of

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Amir Karimi; Randall Manteufel

following elements in Criterion 3:10  “SO1 requires that students have the ability to solve complex problems. Programs will want to ensure that their problems are complex as defined in the new general criteria. “  “SO2 requires that students have the ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. This does not mean that each of these elements must have a significant effect on the design - it just means that the program must show that students consider these elements as they engage in design.” We recommend that programs require students to include

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

AHMED HUSSAIN; Nizar Tayem; Jamal Nayfeh; Samir El-Nakla

understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context. h.1 Show awareness of current trends in electrical engineering discipline h.2 Recognize the impact engineering solutions have on the environment, economy, and society as a whole Outcome i: A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in life-long learning. i.1 Use critical information seeking tools to continue to stay up to date in the profession. i.2 Demonstrate ability to learn independently Outcome j: A knowledge of contemporary issues. j.1 Review articles and others resources to identify and evaluate contemporary issues (such as socio- economic, environmental, etc.) facing the GCC region and the world Outcome

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Chadia Affane Aji; M. Javed Khan

which is an essential element for student engagement to foster deeperlearning leading to academic success. However, time limitation of the classroom is a major obstaclein implementing active learning. One solution is the use of the flipped teaching and learningmethodology. This paper provides details of strategies to promote engagement and deeper learning inlower level math and aerospace engineering courses at a Historically Black College and University(HBCU). Data on students’ motivation and self-regulation was collected using the validatedinstrument, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Results of the analysis and bestpractices impacting students’ academic performance are shared in this paper. The work is supportedby NSF

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Matthew Wettergreen

solution. Every student participated in a three-hour hand toolsworkshop where they learned how to use basic hand and power tools safely. The first part of theworkshop was direct instruction with these tools, demonstrating best practices. The second part ofthe workshop was an open session where teams built a structure for a bat colony using a providedtechnical drawing. In the first session of class in the prototyping phase, each student worked on a ‘30 minuteprototype’. A 30-minute timer was set and each student used this time to construct a version of theirsolution. Students were encouraged to focus on completion rather than aesthetics. After the allottedtime was over, students communicated their prototypes to their teammates and recorded

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Aleksandr Sergeyev; John Irwin; Adrienne Minerick

capable of engaging in interdisciplinary research and industry applications. Theproposed MS degree in Mechatronics and Associated Graduate Certificate at Michigan Techhave a flexible structure. The MS degree consists of five distinct pathways allowing studentsfrom technology, traditional engineering, community colleges, other institutions, and industryrepresentatives to pursue an advanced degree in this emerging field. Students enrolled in theprogram have three graduation options: coursework, research with thesis, and internship withindustry and report options. Existing graduate certificates (~15 credits) are designed aroundadvanced controls, digital electronics and mechatronics systems with little or no emphasis onautomation or industrial

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

John Carrell; Joshua Cruz; Stephanie Kuzmack

solutions. The numberof possibilities is expanded, they argue, when students are taught to empathize, asking, “what if?”Empathy is related to critical thinking because it allows students to consider a greater number ofapproaches to solve a problem.The humanities have previously been used to aid STEM students as they develop creativity,innovative thinking, and communication skills 13, 14. Typically, humanities modules are embeddedinto STEM coursework 15. Singer et al. 16 examined engineering students and found thatinterdisciplinary courses resulted in students developing a better understanding of engineering andits social impact than traditional courses 16. Other examples include that of Stengel 17 and Mikic andGrasso 18. They examined first-year

Collection

2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference

Authors

Ulan Dakeev; Recayi Pecen; Faruk Yildiz; Ali Aljaroudi PhD

. Previous research [1] reported that almost one-third of existingrecovery plans are in inferior quality. Therefore, several city authorities have decided to convertpaper-based process to electronic-based process to take advantage of available technology in orderto reduce cost and enhance response time.Technology has become an integral part of the natural disaster communication [2] during theemergency response activities. For example, Hurricane Harvey in 2017 pronounced that moredisaster victims used social media than 911 services to seek assistance [3]. The researchers haveconstructed a Mobile Renewable Energy Trailer (MRRT) to assist victims of natural disasters.Although the trailer does not need significant training to operate, some of the