The IPT Program at UA, Huntsville: An Innovative Approach to Design Education and STEM Outreach

Phillip A. Farrington; Michael P.J. Benfield; Matthew W. Turner

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Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Project-Based Learning
Tagged Division: Design in Engineering Education
Page Count: 10
Page Numbers: 22.1474.1 - 22.1474.10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--18464
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/18464
Download Count: 421

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Paper Authors

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Phillip A. Farrington University of Alabama, Huntsville

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Phillip A. Farrington, Ph.D., is a Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Oklahoma State University. He is a member of ASEE, ASQ, ASEM, and IIE.

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Michael P.J. Benfield University of Alabama, Huntsville

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Dr. Michael P.J. Benfield is the Integrated Product Team (IPT) Deputy Program Manager at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Benfield has been mission manager of the one of the IPT Senior Design Experience projects for the past seven years and is the project manager of the Innovative Student Project for the Increased Recruitment of Engineering and Science Students (InSPIRESS) Level I project with the IPT program. Dr. Benfield holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and has worked in the Huntsville aerospace industry for the past twelve years supporting both NASA and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command on Redstone Arsenal.

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Matthew W. Turner University of Alabama, Huntsville

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Dr. Matthew W. Turner is the Experience for Next Generation of Innovators through networked Engineering Education and Research (ENGINEER) Deputy Program Manager at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Turner has been mission manager of the one of the Integrated Product Team (IPT) projects for the past four years and is the IPT project manager. Dr. Turner holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and has worked in the Huntsville aerospace industry for the past five years supporting NASA.

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Abstract

The IPT Program at UAHuntsville An Innovative Approach to Design Education and STEM OutreachThis paper will review the Integrated Product Team (IPT) Program at the University of Alabamain Huntsville. The core of the IPT program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-university senior designexperience. This design experience involves students from engineering and non-engineeringdepartments at UAHuntsville as well as engineering and science students from four U.S.universities and two European universities. This year the program has been expanded to includeeight area high schools as part of a new outreach initiative called the Innovative Student Projectfor Increased Recruitment of Engineering and Science Students (InSPIRESS). The goal of thethis initiative is to expand the UAHuntsville Integrated Product Team (IPT) program into areaHigh Schools in order to help them develop a better understanding of the purpose of science andmathematics education by providing the opportunity to develop and design a payload for aspacecraft designed by the UAHuntsville senior design experience. This initiative exposes highschool students to the systems engineering design and integration process over the academicyear. This year over 400 high school, college, and graduate students are involved in the IPTprogram. The overarching goal of the program is to provide a broad impact across the spectrumof the educational system from K-20 by establishing the foundation for a highly integrateddesign program that links graduate education, undergraduate education, and high schooleducation. All of the participants (i.e., faculty advisors, graduate students, undergraduatestudents, high school students, and high school teachers) gain experience in the design of a largescale system and a better understanding of the role of various disciplines in that process. Aparallel goal is to encourage more high school students to pursue careers in STEM related fields.For 2010-11 the UAHuntsville IPT program developed two missions; one to deploy a radioastronomy array on the far side of the moon and one to explore the Jovian moon, Europa. Theinstructors used the 2010 NASA Discovery Announcement of Opportunity as the Request forProposal. All of the teams competing in the project responded with a proposal for their missionand spacecraft concept. This academic year is divided into four phases. Phase 1 - RequirementsDevelopment - focuses on the development of both the scientific and engineering requirementsof the mission. During this phase the teams work closely with the PI organization, representedby the College of Charleston. Phase 2 - Mission Architecture Development - concentrates on theassessment of the overall mission architecture from the launch vehicle to the ground operationsof the proposed spacecraft. Phase 3 - System Definition – focuses on spacecraft subsystem tradestudies and further refinement of the specific spacecraft to meet the scientific requirements andobjectives developed in Phase 1. Phase 4 - Design – focuses on the detailed design andengineering of the spacecraft that is required for the mission of interest. At the conclusion ofPhase 4, an external review board made up for NASA managers and engineers evaluates theproposed designs and chooses one winner of the competition.

Citation
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Farrington, P. A., & Benfield, M. P., & Turner, M. W. (2011, June), The IPT Program at UA, Huntsville: An Innovative Approach to Design Education and STEM Outreach Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18464

TY - CPAPER
AB - The IPT Program at UAHuntsville An Innovative Approach to Design Education and STEM OutreachThis paper will review the Integrated Product Team (IPT) Program at the University of Alabamain Huntsville. The core of the IPT program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-university senior designexperience. This design experience involves students from engineering and non-engineeringdepartments at UAHuntsville as well as engineering and science students from four U.S.universities and two European universities. This year the program has been expanded to includeeight area high schools as part of a new outreach initiative called the Innovative Student Projectfor Increased Recruitment of Engineering and Science Students (InSPIRESS). The goal of thethis initiative is to expand the UAHuntsville Integrated Product Team (IPT) program into areaHigh Schools in order to help them develop a better understanding of the purpose of science andmathematics education by providing the opportunity to develop and design a payload for aspacecraft designed by the UAHuntsville senior design experience. This initiative exposes highschool students to the systems engineering design and integration process over the academicyear. This year over 400 high school, college, and graduate students are involved in the IPTprogram. The overarching goal of the program is to provide a broad impact across the spectrumof the educational system from K-20 by establishing the foundation for a highly integrateddesign program that links graduate education, undergraduate education, and high schooleducation. All of the participants (i.e., faculty advisors, graduate students, undergraduatestudents, high school students, and high school teachers) gain experience in the design of a largescale system and a better understanding of the role of various disciplines in that process. Aparallel goal is to encourage more high school students to pursue careers in STEM related fields.For 2010-11 the UAHuntsville IPT program developed two missions; one to deploy a radioastronomy array on the far side of the moon and one to explore the Jovian moon, Europa. Theinstructors used the 2010 NASA Discovery Announcement of Opportunity as the Request forProposal. All of the teams competing in the project responded with a proposal for their missionand spacecraft concept. This academic year is divided into four phases. Phase 1 - RequirementsDevelopment - focuses on the development of both the scientific and engineering requirementsof the mission. During this phase the teams work closely with the PI organization, representedby the College of Charleston. Phase 2 - Mission Architecture Development - concentrates on theassessment of the overall mission architecture from the launch vehicle to the ground operationsof the proposed spacecraft. Phase 3 - System Definition – focuses on spacecraft subsystem tradestudies and further refinement of the specific spacecraft to meet the scientific requirements andobjectives developed in Phase 1. Phase 4 - Design – focuses on the detailed design andengineering of the spacecraft that is required for the mission of interest. At the conclusion ofPhase 4, an external review board made up for NASA managers and engineers evaluates theproposed designs and chooses one winner of the competition.
AU - Phillip A. Farrington
AU - Michael P.J. Benfield
AU - Matthew W. Turner
CY - Vancouver, BC
DA - 2011/06/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - The IPT Program at UA, Huntsville: An Innovative Approach to Design Education and STEM Outreach
UR - https://peer.asee.org/18464
DO - 10.18260/1-2--18464
ER -