Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mya Poe; Dennis Freeman

Session 1793 Integrating Technical Writing into a Large Lecture Course Mya Poe* and Dennis M. Freeman+,# *Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies / +Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / #Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAbstractTechnical writing was incorporated as an integral part of a large lecture, undergraduate subject inbiomedical engineering. The writing component was

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Cliver; Mike Eastman

2004-410 Freshman Orientation Activity Richard Cliver, Steven Ciccarelli, Michael Eastman, Jeffrey Lillie Rochester Institute of TechnologyAbstractThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the experience and positive results in this year’s freshmenorientation at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Before classes started in the fall freshmanin Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering Technology (ECTET) programswere asked to work with faculty as they programmed an inexpensive robot and built maps of theRIT campus for the robots to navigate. The paper discusses these activities in detail, provides

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Thomas Slack

. Students and Graduates An engineering technology program must demonstrate that graduates have: a. an appropriate mastery of the knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools of their disciplines, b. an ability to apply current knowledge and adapt to emerging applications of mathematics, science, engineering and technology, c. an ability to conduct, analyze and interpret experiments and apply experimental results to improve processes, d. an ability to apply creativity in the design of systems, components or processes appropriate to program objectives, e. an ability to function effectively on teams, f. an ability to

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Judith Miller; Joseph Rencis, University of Arkansas

students, in technical careers. The goal of the NSF Graduate Teaching Fellowsin K-12 Education (GK-12) Program is to prepare engineering graduate students, not necessarilyto become K-12 teachers, but to be informed about and engaged in K-12 education throughouttheir professional careers. Our project is titled "K-6 Gets a Piece of the PIEE (PartnershipsImplementing Engineering Education)"; its objectives are to develop partnerships between WPSand WPI; to implement the technology/engineering portion of the Massachusetts Science andTechnology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks (MSTECF)(Massachusetts CurriculumFrameworks, n.d.) in grades K-6; and to develop curricular materials and prepare teachers so thatthe project is self-sustaining after the NSF

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Simo Lehto

technology. Driven by continuing market liberalization,the transition continues at an accelerating rate. The increasing competition betweencompanies forces routine manufacturing to be transferred to countries with low manpowercosts. It also forces companies to adopt modern ICT tools (Information and CommunicationsTechnology) for automating routine work. At the same time, the global development isprogressing towards the fulfillment of the basic human needs and, consequently, to theincreasing emphasis of higher individual needs.The new requirements produced by the increasing global competition and changes ofsocieties can no longer be met by sporadic development. The situation forces organizationsand people in the industrialized countries to make a

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Lili Zhao; Chris Brus; Julie Jessop

ofwomen’s prior experience working or playing in spatial environments.In this study, the initial reported differences in preparation and self-confidence, by gender, weresurprising and disconcerting. That first-year women in engineering were less confident and feltless prepared to use technology and especially computer graphic tools, was not in itselfsurprising, but the magnitude of the difference was. Tracking changes in those variables over thefirst semester of the college experience produced some interesting results. Over time, patternsmay emerge that will inform our efforts and make our support and interventions more effective.If undergraduate women are being adversely affected by less well-developed visual-spatial skillsand, as this study

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Paul McCright; Joanne Larsen

2004-2440 Coordinating Learning Styles and Teaching Styles in Undergraduate Engineering Education JoAnne Larsen, Ph.D., PE, Paul R. McCright, Ph.D., Gregory Weisenborn, Ph.D. University of South FloridaAbstractA student’s success in undergraduate engineering classes is determined in part by the student’sinnate ability, life experiences and the compatibility of the student’s learning style with theinstructor’s teaching style. Felder’s Index of Learning Styles (ILS) provides a measurement of astudent’s preference to receive, process, and understand information. Use of the ILS provides aninstructor with valuable insight into

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Mariano Savelski; Stephanie Farrell; Robert Hesketh; C. Stewart Slater

limited by current or dominant technologies; seek fundamental and incremental change. 9. Create awareness in and engage communities and stakeholders. In addition to these principles the conference participants felt strongly that there is a dutyto inform society of the practice of green engineering. These principles were based in part on aprevious paper giving 12 green engineering principles and examples of their use [3]. The need to introduce green engineering concepts to undergraduate students has becomerecognized to be increasingly important [4]. The U.S. Engineering Accreditation Commission -Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) chemical engineering programcriteria require the incorporation of safety

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Sven Nielsen

Basis 1 Assessing a Space, Human and context, Co-operation, learning design and management of projects, Architecture and de- signs, Information technology, DesignTable 1. Phases, semester themes and (some) courses of the M.Sc.; Programme in Archi- Page 9.943.3tecture and Design“Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copy- right  2004, American Society for Engineering Education”The main element of the pedagogical concept is study plans, which for each semester de-scribes

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Marjan Zadnik

Teaching in Engineering, Science and Computing: A Collaborative Process to Improve Quality Marjan G. Zadnik, Joan Gribble, Shelley R. Yeo†, Peter L. Lee. Division of Engineering, Science and Computing, † Learning Support Network, Curtin University of Technology, PO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia, 6845.IntroductionThis paper outlines a process encouraging the involvement of all academic staff in theDivision of Engineering, Science and Computing at Curtin University of Technology toimprove the quality of their teaching and students’ learning. The Teaching

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Liv Brakewood

engineering. Itis also recognized that civil engineering students should have closer contact with real-worldconstruction, and in many cases this has been accomplished with bringing construction siteaspects into the classroom, but may also be accomplished by bringing the classroom to theconstruction site 1. In addition, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology(ABET) system, which is used for accreditation of most of the collegiate engineering programsin the United States 2 lists one of the outcomes that must be demonstrated is that the graduates ofthese programs have the ability to communicate effectively 3,4. One of the areas important forengineers in land development is being able to communicate field information effectively. Addedto

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Joseph Urban; Debra Banks; Mary Anderson-Rowland

. Thetechnologies consisted of autonomous robots that were relatively easy to build and Pocket PCswith an integrated wireless capability in order to access the Internet. The paper includes thebackground information on the course, technologies, and the applicability. In addition, studentexperiences with the tools are also covered in the paper.I. IntroductionThe effective use of computer applications is essential for incoming freshman engineeringstudents. However, there are some entering freshman engineering students who lack thecomputing skills necessary to be productive in the beginning courses. The lack of skills can beattributed to a variety of reasons, such as an impoverished pre-college environment orinattentiveness to the details when the opportunity

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Veeramuthu Rajaravivarma

Session 1793 Practical Network Tools V. Rajaravivarma Computer Electronics, School of Technology Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT 06050, USA RajaravivarmaV@ccsu.eduAbstractThis paper discusses ten practical commands useful in troubleshooting and solvingnetwork problems. These commands will be helpful for students in networking curriculaand for entry-level network administrators. Troubleshooting is often a process ofelimination. While troubleshooting problems, network

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Li Bai; Saroj Biswas

and information at their luxury time from CD-ROM, or through websites.Elder students felt these learning preferences more acceptable rather than sitting in a classroomwith younger students [2]. However, intellectual stimulations in traditional classroom educationcan be irreplaceable using these smart and web-based education systems. It is critical foreducators to obtain course evaluation to determine how successful and effective a course is Page 9.959.1taught in the classroom. “Proceedings of the 2004 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society of

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Dilip Mirchandani; Kathryn Hollar; Beena Sukumaran; John Chen; Yusuf Mehta

development; and (iv) understand the environmental impacts of development andexplore the role of appropriate technologies in developing sustainable strategies.The second in the series is an engineering course called Sophomore Clinic II, which is taken byall engineering students at Rowan University. Sophomore Clinic II is the 4th course in aninnovative eight semester multidisciplinary engineering design and practice, project-orientedcourse sequence that is a hallmark of the Rowan Engineering program. The students in thiscourse work on projects related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As part of the course,students participate in a semester-long project in which sophomore students from all engineeringdisciplines calculate CO2 emissions for the

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Douglas Coffin; Catherine Almquist; Amit Shukla; Michael Bailey-Van Kuren; James Kiper; Christine Noble

reflect and act.) Develop a supportive relationship with students; challenge them to learn inside and outside the classroom. Encourage yourself and students to take risks and try out new ideas and challenges. Partner with others on campus to deepen students’ learning.Motivation and Objectives According to various studies [5, 6, 7, 8] including the Boyer Commission [9] and NSFEngineering Coalitions [10, 11, 12, 13], the engineers of the future must be well trained bymaking: 1. research-based learning a standard 2. an inquiry-based first-year 3. creative use of information technology 4. a multi-disciplinary capstone for integrating, broadening and deepening the total experience of the majorThese

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Jon Plummer; Barry Lunt

. The software is capable of reading a Gerber file of the RS-274X format asdefined by Barco Graphics. The RS-274X format is the industry standard Gerber file format withaperture parameters built into the data file. The Gerber file is in ASCII text format and can beread by any basic text file reader.A Gerber file can contain a plethora of information containing artwork for photoplotters, CNCmachines, and/or part placement machines in the world of electronics manufacturing. A Gerberfile will typically have information defining where a PCB image starts, what shape it will take,and where it will end. Within the borders of the PCB, the Gerber file will define apertureinformation including the shapes and sizes of holes, traces, pads, and other

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Vijay Rajappa; Steve Watkins; Ray Luechtefeld

students’ team. The modules presented and approachtaken was typical of most team skill training.The Action Science training, however, took an entirely different approach to improving teamskills. Action Science is an approach to participative inquiry that has its roots in organizationdevelopment and the general field of “Action Research” 17. Action Science is aimed at increasingthe ability of engineering teams to critically reflect and inquire into their own social andscientific practice, so that they can work together more effectively and complete innovative,quality projects. It has been shown to improve the extent to which important information isshared among team members 18. One of the greatest distinctions between conventional teamtraining and

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Chean-Chin Ngo; Kurt Gramoll

. Other CD-ROM based fluid mechanics textbooks include Multi-Media FluidMechanics by Homsy et al.6 and Fluid Mechanics: An Interactive Text by Liggett and Caughey7.On the other hand, comprehensive web-based modules in the area of fluid mechanics arerelatively scarce. In 2001, an NSF-sponsored workshop was held to find ways to improveundergraduate fluid mechanics across the curriculum8. One of the discussion topics was the useof multimedia technology to enhance fluid mechanics education. The panel suggested initiatingand developing a central web site for fluid mechanics where universities, colleges and industriescan all share the resources.Realizing the need for a comprehensive text for fluid mechanics in electronic form was, in part,the

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

G Murphy; G Kohli; S P Maj; D Veal

professional practices of a speciality of information technology is every bit as important as learning the intellectual core of computing. The mark of a well educated professional will be a balance of the two, and perhaps through partnerships and training companies. The current academic inclination to disdain skills-specific training does not fit a profession” 6. • Each unit of a VBC generally requires more time than is available under the university course structure as reported. For example, in one university in Western Australia, four hours per week for 12 teaching weeks, for a total of 48 student contact hours, are allocated to deliver a CNAP program that Cisco recommend should take 80 hours

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Tim Ameel; Ian Harvey; Bruce Gale

Session 1793 A Three-semester Interdisciplinary Educational Program in Microsystems Engineering Tim Ameel, Bruce Gale, and Ian Harvey Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 84112Abstract Motivated by an NSF IGERT grant in the general area of microfluidics, a sequence ofthree interdisciplinary technical courses has been developed in the emerging area ofmicrosystems engineering. Designed as a sequence, these courses provide students, bothgraduate

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Leotis Parrish; Devdas Pai

physical resources such as classrooms and computing facilities. More importantly,there has been an imperceptible but very definite creeping up of class sizes in the lower-levelcritical core classes – the ones where one-to-one interaction is crucial for students to grasp themore complex and abstract concepts. This latter consideration has a direct and potentiallynegative impact on the retention of students especially in the science, mathematics, engineeringand technology (SMET) areas. The CoE has anticipated these problems in planning for its growth. A SupplementalInstruction (SI) Program has been instituted to enhance retention, particularly of minoritystudents, by providing them with two or three opportunities every week to interact one-to

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Joseph Sener

Document 2004-150 CRITERION 3-(b) OF 'ABET' FOR LABORATORY PRACTICES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION Joseph C. Sener, Ph.D., P.E. Civil Engineering Department Boise State University College of Engineering 1910 University Drive, MEC 403K Boise, ID 83725-2075, USAAbstractThe Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), 2003-2004 GeneralEngineering Criteria for Basic Level Program Outcomes and Assessments, requires

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Frederick Stern

stringentthan required previously since they are a limiting factor in establishing intervals of CFDvalidation1 and code certification2 and ultimately credibility of simulation technology. Also,routine test data is more likely used “in-house” whereas detailed test data is more likely utilizedinternationally, which puts increased emphasis on standardization of procedures. Detailedtesting offers new opportunities, as amount and complexity of testing is increased.EFD is included in the undergraduate engineering curriculum both in introductory and advancedfluid dynamics and/or related courses such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, hydraulics,aerodynamics, chemical and bioengineering, etc. Traditionally, at the introductory level variousexperiments are used

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Joseph LaLopa; Mara Wasburn

Copyright 2004, American Society for Engineering EducationThe Benefits of Mentoring, with Some CaveatsWhen asked to reflect on their career successes, many if not most people point to role modelswho helped and/or influenced them. In academe, mentoring programs for new faculty, bothformal and informal, have grown in number in recent years.5, 6 Many of those embarking on newcareers have concerns about their competence, their ability to succeed, and their understanding ofand ability to navigate the organizational culture in which they find themselves.6, 7 They oftenfeel isolated in their new milieu, and uncertain of exactly how to fulfill their job requirements,8, 9which can ultimately lead to feelings of alienation.6Research indicates that mentored

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

J. Keith Clutter; Alberto Arroyo; Amir Karimi

curriculum by the faculty on a regular basis to ensure that the programoutcomes are being met. A group of three or four faculty members are assigned to evaluate eachcourse outcome on a continual basis and their recommendations are used to make courseimprovements. This paper will discuss the course and program outcome assessments. It willexplain how assessment data are collected, analyzed, and used in the enhancement of ourundergraduate programs.IntroductionThe College of Engineering at UTSA offers three undergraduate degree programs in civil,electrical, and mechanical engineering (CE, EE, and ME). These programs started in 1982 andreceived their first accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology,Inc. (ABET) in 1986. In

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Yi Min Huang; Michael Trevisan

-technologysector. Several companies have investigated re-locating to the region or establishing start-upcompanies in the area. A key concern voiced by these companies is the need for a professionalworkforce in the region that can be drawn on to fill critical technical positions. In addition, therecurrently exists a dearth of trained individuals with expertise in optoelectronics, which is criticalto many high-technology products and future development.In response to regional high technology industry needs, a master’s program in opto-electronicswas established at WSU, combining the research strengths of the physics and electricalengineering departments. NSF funding was obtained to develop and support the initial stages ofthe program. Course and laboratory

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Rhona Moore; James Strueber

process at an ACSA Technology Conference in 1992;1 sincethen the assignment has been further developed, expanded, enhanced, and refined.Professionals must be able to write daily reports to document progress on the job or project activities, toevaluate, and to summarize the work of others. They must be able to compose clear, succinct technicalreports on a regular basis; they also need to be able to speak in front of groups of people, ranging fromdirecting workers in the office, to the instructing at the jobsite, to making formal public presentations.This means being able to write and speak clearly and concisely and to present the material so it can beclearly understood by the intended audience. Professionals also need to review a seemingly endless

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Daniel Raviv

of problems and solutions. Some of them encourage work in a self-paced mode, and other promote group competitions, thinking and discussions. Students are encouraged to find multiple, imaginative, intuitive and common sense solutions and not “one right answer” to a problem. The activities are part of an undergraduate course at Florida Atlantic University titled: “Introduction to Inventive Problem Solving in Engineering”. The goal of this “elective” is to enhance innovative and inventive thinking abilities of undergraduate students resulting in skills that can be used in science, math, engineering and technology. The different activities are introduced in specific contexts to enhance learning and understanding of the

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2004 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Johnson; Martin Morris; Arnold Ness; Richard Deller; Julie Reyer

BEST/STEPS: Hands-On Education and Recruitment of Underrepresented Groups Julie A. Reyer, Richard W. Deller, Martin J. Morris, Arnold Ness, Richard T. Johnson College of Engineering and Technology, Bradley University By the time students enter college, lack of rigorous high school coursework can eliminateengineering as a potential career path[1]. Bradley University has developed new summer campprogram designed to attract students to engineering and to interest students in taking high schoolcourses needed to pursue engineering. The campers were members of underrepresented groupsselected with the input of representatives from local public schools and industry. The purpose ofthe camp, sponsored by the Society of