Conference Session

Beyond BS: Issues Affecting Graduate Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zsuzsa Balogh, Metropolitan State University of Denver; Marvin E. Criswell P.E., Colorado State University; Michael A De Miranda, Colorado State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

three times in the student‟spreparation: after their undergraduate work, immediately after a graduate level program, or afterMasters-Level graduation and the first few years of experience. This study addresses in somedetail how well the Masters-Level structural engineering education, supplemented with theknowledge increase expected from the initial professional experience, meets the expectations ofthe structural engineering profession in the United States. The outcomes of this research project include an assessment of the competency level(using Bloom‟s taxonomy [1]) expected to be achieved by the conclusion of the Masters-Levelprogram and after the initial five years of professional practice following the graduate program ineach of the

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Saleh M. Sbenaty

current or riskfalling behind the competition! A recent study by The US Department of Commerce indicatedthe following: firms that do not use advanced technology are less productive, pay lower wages,and offer less job security than similar firms that do. On the other hand, the implementation ofnew technology is often slowed down by the unavailability of skilled workers. This wasexpressed in letters of support by various officials form major area companies such asBellSouth, Xerox, Time-Warner Cable, Eastman Chemical, NORTEL, Phillips ConsumerElectronics, Fujitsu Business Communication Systems, MCI, Technology 2020, GenesisCommunication, and The Bevill Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technology.Therefore, it is essential, particularly in small or

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keilin Jahnke, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Joe Bradley, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division (ENT)

completed in between class sessions.Finally, future offerings of this course will formally collect and analyze individual student workto comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of the activities, assessments, and program as awhole. This could include course-specific pre- and post-surveys or a qualitative content analysisof the responses in the Impact Portfolio or workbook.6. Conclusion and Future WorkSimilar to many other institutions, the offering university has a large undergraduate and graduatestudent population across dozens of disciplines, all of whom might benefit from understandingand reflecting on possible pathways of professional impact. While the pilot of this courseintentionally limited the maximum enrollment, it is anticipated that

Conference Session

DSA Technical Session 5

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karl D. Schubert FIET, University of Arkansas; Shantel Romer, University of Arkansas; Stephen R. Addison, IEEE Educational Activities; Tina D Moore; Laura J Berry, North Arkansas College; Jennifer Marie Fowler, Arkansas State University; Lee Shoultz, University of Arkansas; Christine C Davis

Tagged Topics

Data Science & Analytics Constituent Committee (DSA)

©American Society for Engineering Education, 2024 Envisioning and Realizing a State-wide Data Science EcosystemAbstractThis paper describes the vision, strategy, plan, and realization of a state-wide rigorous datascience educational ecosystem. The need for developing data science degree programs andeducation has been well-established and, in our state, a blue-ribbon panel with industry,academic, and government representatives defined the needs of the state. Additionally, a well-established “think and do tank” published several reports on the importance of data scienceeducation and graduates. As we began to develop our programs separately, it occurred to us thatwe were in a small enough state that, if we chose to do so, we could work

Conference Session

Track 1 - Session 2

Collection

2014 ASEE International Forum

Authors

Yakov E. Cherner, ATEL, LLC; Maija M Kukla, University of Maryland, College Park; Linn W Hobbs OBE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sergey V Vasilev, Yaroslavl State University; Ivan Fedorov; Alexander S. Sigov

Tagged Topics

Curriculum and Lab Development

in as follows: Page 20.39.2 1. For lecture demonstrations; 2. As the only practice on the relevant subjects for the students, enrolled in large-scale lecture classes or in distance learning courses; 3. For preparing students to hands-on practice in actual X-ray labs; 4. In combination with practice using an actual X-ray diffractometer; 5. For performance-based assessment of students’ ability to apply gained knowledge of diffraction theory for solving practical tasks.Fig. 1 shows two simulations that are useful for lecture demonstrations. Theses simulations canreplace static images and hand drawings with visual and

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Innovation, International Cooperation, and Social Entrepreneurship

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pritpal Singh, Villanova University; William Hurley, Villanova University; Edmond Dougherty, Villanova University; James Klingler, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

extraordinary contributions to the projects. Page 14.76.8Outcomes AssessmentThe students were issued pre- and post-course surveys with various questions related tothe development of an entrepreneurial mindset. These same questions will be usedthroughout the engineering entrepreneurship minor program to assess how well theirunderstanding of the various facets of entrepreneurship is developing. The question onthis survey most relevant to the present course was: “How confident are you in yourability to create new products and services?” The question had four possible answers:Not confident, somewhat confident, confident, and very confident. Ten studentsresponded

Conference Session

Simulations and Project Based Learning I

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nancy L. Denton PE, CVA3, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

would require some adaptation. Foractive learning in a large-lecture setting, the measurements portion may have to be done as ademonstration (preferably with student volunteers to provide some of the insights that comeduring the measuring experience). No modifications should be needed for the relatedcalculations. For distance students, developing a short video of the measurements portion wouldsuffice. Calculations could be done individually, but working in small teams via the Internet orotherwise is suggested to facilitate student interactions. In all settings, one implementationchallenge comes from the slight arc of the noodle’s longitudinal axis. When adding thecompressive mass, a mechanism for ensuring the mass stays on the noodle may be

Conference Session

Innovative Partnerships

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Shaw, Museum of Science, Boston; Michael Pelletier, Northern Essex Community College

Tagged Divisions

Two Year College Division

awareness among high school guidance counselors, college faculty advisors, parents, and other stakeholders about the importance of technology and engineering programs for all students at the high school and college levels.PowerUP! ran two highly successful symposia for Guidance Counselors. Theseevents provided guidance staff with an opportunity to talk directly with engineersrepresenting over 10 fields of engineering, in small groups. The first event washosted at the museum of science. Engineers and college representativesteamed up at stations set up through out the Museum of Science. The stationswere strategically placed near or in exhibits that represented some element oftheir field of work. Guidance staff was able to talk with

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Phillip C. Wankat; Frank S. Oreovicz

excellent group course project which integratesknowledge of the subject with communication of that knowledge using modern technology. Theinformal and formal assessments indicate that this course is fulfilling its goals. We believe thatall institutions graduating substantial numbers of Ph.D. engineers should offer some structuredopportunity in learning how to teach.Bibliography1. Anon., "Engineering Criteria 2000: Criteria for Accrediting Programs in Engineering in the United States,"ASEE PRISM, p. 41 (March 1997).2. Wankat, P. C. and Oreovicz, F.S., "Re-engineering Graduate Programs," ASEE PRISM (1999, in press).3. Wankat, P. C., "Educating Engineering Professors in Education," Phillips Petroleum Company Lecture,Oklahoma State University

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elan Hope, North Carolina State University at Raleigh; Matthew Bahnson, North Carolina State University at Raleigh; Adam Kirn, University of Nevada, Reno; Derrick Satterfield, University of Nevada, Reno; Anitra Alexander; Alexis Briggs; Laila Allam, North Carolina State University at Raleigh

), 3) engineering college, and 4) program size. We used the number ofdoctorates awarded between 2014 and 2017 as our measure of program and college size. Wecreated categories to represent one-third of the sample for program size by number of doctoratesawarded by that program: small (1-6), medium (7-19), or large (19-225). Similarly, based onnumber of doctorates awarded, three groups for engineering college represented one-third of thesample: small (1-26), medium (27-114), and large (115-992). Using a random number generator, programs were selected into the sample to match thepopulation proportion criteria. We then compared the sample to the population descriptivestatistics to identify and correct an under or over-representation in the

Conference Session

Professional Graduate Education and Industry

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald Keating, University of South Carolina; Thomas Stanford, University of South Carolina; Norman Egbert, Rolls-Royce Corporation; Roger Olson, Rolls-Royce Corporation; Joseph Rencis, University of Arkansas; Eugene DeLoatch, Morgan State University; Mohammad Noori, North Carolina State University; Edward Sullivan, California Polytechnic State University; Joseph Tidwell, Arizona State University Polytechnic; Duane Dunlap, Purdue University; Stephen Tricamo, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

research is not the primary driving force for engineering innovation which the outdated 1945 linear basic research-driven model predicted; nor is the practice of engineering sequential to basic research as conventional wisdom implies. Rather, in many large-scale technology development projects and programs, engineering frequently drives the need for further academic basic scientific research [Project Hindsight]. 13 The National Collaborative Task Force has identified the modern process and stages of the engineering method for innovation; and the core competencies, skill-sets, attributes, and progressive responsibilities required of graduate engineers at all leadership levels of engineering from a) early- career levels, b) mid

Conference Session

'Diversity' and Inclusion? Pedagogy, Experiences, Language and Performative Action

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Erin A. Cech, University of Michigan

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

challenges faced by persons with disabilities in school and theworkforce are often missing. Using two large survey datasets, I examine the experiences ofengineering students and engineering professionals with physical and/or mental disabilities,compared to the experiences of their peers who do not report disabilities. The first data source, theASEE Diversity and Inclusion Survey, includes data from over 1700 students enrolled in eightengineering programs in the US. The second data source, the STEM Inclusion Study survey,includes data from over 8,000 professional engineers employed in the US. Consistent withnational-level estimates in STEM, 13% of engineering students report a physical disability, 3%report a chronic illness, and 9% report mental

Conference Session

Electrical & Computer Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Virgilio Gonzalez; Ahmed Musa; Mehdi Shadaram

included approaches such as cooperative learning to enhance students' problem-solvingand conceptual-thinking skills. The lab assignments required the real construction of a smallnetwork and the simulation in a computer system. The virtual part of the lab was implemented byusing PC-based computer simulation tools. Students are able to access a variety of softwarepackages for analysis of different communications systems either locally or remotely. In additionthere are several physical devices that will be configured by the students creating a real network.In such way they cover the theory, then have real practice assembling a small network, andfinally simulate large scale systems. The topics covered in the lab can be divided into threecategories

Conference Session

International Division Technical Session 7

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas J. Siller, Colorado State University; Alistair Cook, Colorado State University; Gearold R. Johnson, Colorado State University

Tagged Divisions

International

societally, and the importance of defining theproblem and how culture affects decisions. In 2014 there was, from qualitative feedback, a lack ofunderstanding of what stakeholders were, which is demonstrated in the lower levels of comprehensionamongst the students in these areas. In 2015 with a clearer understanding of stakeholders ascommunities and organizations involved or affected by the project student’s understanding improved ascan be seen in Figure 5. Students were also asked to self-assess their improvement in professional skills, such asunderstanding the design process and working in teams and had the EWB Challenge program facilitatedthis improvement, (Figures 6 & 7). 50 45 40 35 30

Conference Session

New Tools for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bernd Steffensen, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt; Kathryn A. Neeley, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

. IntroductionEngineering innovation and technology entrepreneurship—whether by a single founderestablishing a new venture or a multidisciplinary team within a large industrial firm—areembedded in cultural, legal, and physical contexts that constrain, facilitate, and otherwiseinfluence the innovation process. Within any entrepreneurial context, assessing and managing risks are high priorities.When it comes to environmental hazards and other threats to health and human safety, we facethe challenges of optimizing potential benefits while minimizing possible negative outcomes andmaking a profit—a formidable task, indeed. In the case of potentially catastrophic or avoidablerisk, we may find that a particular product or system should not be developed or

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship and Engineering Innovation Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Peter Golding P.E., University of Texas at El Paso; Mike Thomas Pitcher, University of Texas at El Paso; Diane Elisa Golding, University of Texas at El Paso; Hector Erick Lugo Nevarez, University of Texas at El Paso; Helen Elizabeth Geller; Fernando Monroy Faudoa

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

the local community in developing technology programs that highlight student skills development in ways that engage and attract individuals towards STEAM and STEM fields by showcasing how those skills impact the current project in real-world ways that people can understand and be involved in. As part of a university that is focused on supporting the 21st century student demographic he continues to innovate and research on how we can design new methods of learning to educate both our students and communities on how STEM and STEAM make up a large part of that vision and our future.Dr. Diane Elisa Golding, University of Texas at El Paso Diane is a passionate educator and proponent for K-12 engineering education and

Conference Session

Aerospace Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexandra Emelina Coso, Georgia Institute of Technology; Amy Pritchett, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

technicalcomponent (e.g. engine design). For many students, this course is their first opportunity toexperience design. While courses vary from program to program, these design experiencesgenerally include a large-scale team project accompanied by instruction on the overall aerospacedesign process. The most variability among courses and programs lies between the required textsand the requirements of the large-scale project. The subsequent sections describe three commonaspects found in a review of publicly-available aerospace engineering senior design coursesyllabi from several universities, including MIT, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, University ofTexas-Austin, Iowa State University, and Purdue University, and published works fromaerospace and engineering

Conference Session

Student Entrepreneurial Skills and Mindset I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Reid, Ohio Northern University; Daniel Michael Ferguson, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Engineering in 2010. His research interests include success in first-year engineering, introducing entrepreneurship into engineering and engineering in K-12.Daniel Michael Ferguson, Purdue University, West Lafayette Daniel M. Ferguson is a graduate student in the Engineering Education Program at Purdue University. Prior to coming to Purdue he was Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Ohio Northern University. Before assuming that position he was Associate Director of the Inter-professional Studies Program and Senior Lecturer at Illinois Institute of Technology and involved in research in service learning, assessment processes and interventions aimed at improving learning objective attainment. Prior to his University as

Conference Session

Communication as Performance

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott A. Morris, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

universalnature of storytelling12 and the typical means of engaging an audience whose composition andinterests have been assessed as well as the pitfalls of misunderstanding the audience13.Once basic tools for overcoming social reticence and making a persuasive narrative for theresearch or program being presented, students are given the opportunity to expand outward intounfamiliar situations, including the last-minute introduction of a speaker to a group type rangingfrom a large professional meeting to a small funding group.Finally, methods for dealing with confrontational interruptions and questions duringpresentations are discussed. This requires that the students have been practicing self-awarenesstechniques throughout the semester in order to deal

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Kathleen Zimmerman-Oster; Mohan Krishnan; Shuvra Das; Sandra Yost

DetroitMercy. These included a new senior level technical elective in introductory mechatronics alongwith mechatronic activities in freshmen design and in the introductory electrical engineeringcourse meant for non-EE majors. This effort has been very successful, and now mechatronicsactivities are also going on in many pre-college programs that the school runs.Recently this team received a National Science Foundation grant to take this effort one stepfurther by developing two new advanced courses in the area of modeling and simulation ofmechatronic systems and in the area of sensors and actuators, including emerging technologies.One of the key components of this effort is a detailed plan for outcomes assessment. Anoutcomes assessment expert is also

Conference Session

Ocean and Marine Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Villalobos; Abhijit Nagchaudhuri, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Madhumi Mitra Ph.D., University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Abbas H. Diab, University Of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Xavier Shastri Domnique Henry, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

. Learning, Development, and Assessment FrameworkConsistent with the ABET outcome which requires engineering students to work effectively inmultidisciplinary teams, selected undergraduate students are invited to participate in project teammeetings related to ongoing cross disciplinary projects led by graduate students and facultymembers in engineering, environmental sciences, agriculture, and aviation programs at UMES.Besides AIRSPACES, several other efforts related to agricultural automation, automation forenvironmental monitoring, and UAV based remote sensing are discussed in these team meetings.The exposure provides a rich learning environment for the students. The UMCP student who isalso the lead author of this paper, participated in these team

Conference Session

ERM: Engineering Identity: (Identity Part 1)

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hannah Budinoff, The University of Arizona; Vignesh Subbian, The University of Arizona; Francesca Lopez

additional guidance could help students dig deeper into how lived experiences relate to theirstrengths. Third, we found that instructors found it difficult to discuss topics of race, gender, andbias with their students without prior training or guidance. Finally, with many coursesthroughout engineering programs that could benefit from ABP, it is not desirable or feasible todeploy asset mapping in every course. Different course contexts require different strategies.Quantitative results: Students in the intervention group reported significantly higher sense ofbelonging, engineering identity, and design self-efficacy at the end of the course as compared tobaseline with a medium to large effect size (Table 1). Design self-efficacy, in particular

Conference Session

SE Capstone Design Projects, Part I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith G. Sheppard, Stevens Institute of Technology; John A Nastasi, Stevens Institute of Technology; Eirik Hole, Stevens Institute of Technology; Peter L. Russell, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering, Systems Engineering

, methods and tools.Although a small number of multidisciplinary projects are conducted every year, the practicaland academic organization of these projects has been primarily ad-hoc. The assessment inparticular of these multidisciplinary projects has been very much driven by the individualengineering program requirements, often to the detriment of the success of the overall system.This is not surprising as it places the focus for students on meeting the required deliverables andassociated timetables established by each program for their discipline-centric capstone projects.The opportunity to establish the SE project described in this paper is a result of the recognitionby the Department of Defense (DoD) that it is critical for their future needs

Collection

2018 ASEE Conferences - Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration / San Antonio proceedings

Authors

Cliff Mirman

manufacturing companies (both large and small)and all are in need of high tech employees. Each year, a fraction of these companies attend theNIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology employment fair, and come awaydisappointed, due to the limited numbers of graduates available for employment. Each year, thecollege graduates 400 students and over a 1000 are needed, as shown in Figure 3. To alleviatethe issues of finding qualified employees, the College and Departments have started to work withcompanies to both increase the pool of students entering the technical programs and to assist indeveloping the needed skills. The following outlines some of the mechanisms used to work withindustry to benefit the NIU programs and students.Student

Conference Session

Factors Impacting Engineering Career Choices, Including Engaging Families

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Massi, University of Central Florida; Charles H. Reilly, University of Central Florida; Diane Johnson, University of Central Florida; Leslie Castner, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

AC 2012-3204: EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS: THE IMPACT OF A ONE-DAY STEM CONFERENCE ON MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS’ AND PAR-ENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARD STEM CAREERSDr. Lisa Massi, University of Central Florida Lisa Massi is the Director of Operations Analysis in the UCF College of Engineering & Computer Sci- ence. Her primary responsibilities include accreditation, assessment, and data administration. She is a Co-PI of a NSF-funded S-STEM program at UCF entitled the ”Young Entrepreneur & Scholar (YES) Scholarship Program.” Her research interests include factors that impact student persistence to graduation and STEM career intentions.Dr. Charles H. Reilly, University of Central Florida Charles H. Reilly is the Associate Dean

Collection

2020 First-Year Engineering Experience

Authors

Lisa Lampe, University of Virginia; Blakeley Calhoun

Tagged Topics

Diversity

target racial inequity, we found it Journal, 29, 1, 2009, pp. 78--82. (Reprinted fromimportant to do an ex-post facto assessment to ensure Journal of College Student Personnel, 13, 1972,that co-advising was not leading to greater inequity. We pp. 12-17; NACADA Journal, 14[2], 1994, pp. 5--encourage administrators to both intentionally design as 9.well as assess programs and policies with race in mind. [7] Habley, W. R., “Organizational models andWe also encourage administrators to not only conduct institutional advising practices,” NACADAthis research when it is in their own self-interest (as

Conference Session

Engineering Management Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William J. Schell IV P.E., Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

a flipped design. Prior to these sessions, students areresponsible for familiarizing themselves with course materials outside of class through readingsand recorded lectures. Class meetings are then used in a variety of team based learningapproaches including small and large group discussions and debates, and student designed andled presentations. In person sessions are further supported with regular online discussions anddebates around key topics. Figure 3 summarizes this approach and the materials and techniquesemployed. Figure 3 - Relationship Between Course Materials and Educational Approach Page 26.1557.4Previous studies using

Conference Session

Architectural Engineering Division (ARCHE) Technical Session 2

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Caitlyn Blaine Christian, EIT, Oklahoma State University; Christina McCoy, Oklahoma State University; Blake Mitchell, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Architectural Engineering Division (ARCHE)

emissionsalone [1]. This is a large percentage, which is why green roofs are such an up-and-coming designdecision for new buildings. As the use of green roofs becomes more prevalent, an evaluation ofthe benefits and challenges may be something architectural engineering programs choose toincorporate into their curriculum. This paper aims to consider the particular challenge of addedweight to a roof structure, with the understanding that the addition of structural material tosupport this load must be considered alongside operational energy benefits that a green roofprovides. In addition, the research herein provides a methodological framework for evaluatingthe efficacy of energy-saving strategies in general, including relevant software tools

Conference Session

ERM Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dazhi Yang, Purdue University; Ruth Streveler, Purdue University; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Aidsa Santiago Roman

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

small length scales.Evolving new and difficult processes in engineeringEngineering is a discipline that has historically and successfully relied upon a largely empiricaldescription of how the physical world works. As we move into the 21st century, technologicaladvances are being made at the microscopic, molecular, and atomic levels in many fields ofengineering (e.g. microfluidics, microelectronics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, nanoscalemachines) that challenge engineering education to respond to these evolving disciplines. Forexample, a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) report calls for introducing nanoscalescientific and technology concepts into all levels of engineering and science courses so that thenext generation of

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles J. Robinson, Clarkson University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

were passed. Each hole was equipped with aretroreflective sensor and an electronic counter to monitorthe number of containers brought in. The totalizers oftenovercounted as they occasionally incremented with a itembottom and with the same item’s label. Glass bottles were Figure 1: Outdated count/ display intake technologyplaced in boxes and hand counted. Once a customer’sreturnables were collected, a supervisor hand-wrote the separate counts from each table and theglass bottle count, tallied the count, and then paid the customer accordingly. Following customerpayout, the cans and plastic bottles were dumped onto a separate sorting table. Employees thenseparated out cans, large plastic, small plastic and water containers. Many downstream sorts