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Session 2325

Teaching Electronics and Instrumentation through an Innovative Core Design Laboratory in Sophomore Year

K. Sheppard*, D. Carlucci**, R. Carr**, T. Corradeschi**, A. Messano** and L. Natiello** * Associate Dean of Engineering ** Adjunct Engineering Professor

Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ 07030

Introduction

Stevens Institute of Technology has completed implementation of a revised Engineering Curriculum to include an expanded design course sequence, having a design course each semester to form a Design Spine1. The Design Spine allows development of many of the “soft skills” demanded of engineering graduates, as embodied in ABET Criteria 2000, by evolving them over the four years of the design sequence. It is also a means to enhance learning, as each of the design courses is linked to engineering courses taught concurrently. The first five design courses of the Design Spine are core requirements for all engineering disciplines. This takes the students into the second half of Junior Year when they take Design 6 in their chosen discipline. Design 7 & 8 are the disciplinary capstone senior design courses in Senior Year.

The core sequence starts in 1st semester with an introductory design experience with some linkage to a concurrent Graphics course2. Elements of teaming, project management, economics and effective communication are included. The second half of the course is focused on a major team project to build a robot that can negotiate obstacles and fulfill a prescribed task in competition with the robots from other teams. The project introduces students to sensors, algorithm development and microprocessor programming, and it is also fun! The design sequence continues in the 2nd semester of Freshman year with a design course that strongly links to a Mechanics of Solids lecture course3. The third design course links to the Thermodynamics and Energy Conversion course4. These design laboratories further advance the various threads in teaming, project management, communications and economics of design. The 3rd semester also includes an introductory Circuits course and laboratory. This is followed in the 4th semester by a lecture course in Electronics and Instrumentation coupled to a design laboratory, Engineering Design 4, which is the focus of this paper.

Engineering Design 4 – Electronics and Instrumentation

The Engineering Design 4 core laboratory is taken concurrently (co-requisite) with a 3-credit lecture course in this topic. The syllabus for the lecture course is one that builds on a traditional 3- credit Introduction to Circuits course (pre-requisite) taken in the 3rd semester. It consists of rectification, filtering, feedback concepts, operational amplifiers, transducer operation,

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright  2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Corradeschi, T., & Carr, R., & Natiello, L., & Carlucci, D., & Messano, A., & Sheppard, K. (2003, June), Teaching Electronics And Instrumentation Through An Innovative Core Design Laboratory In The Sophomore Year Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12123