Engineering Commons^™

Diplomacy Lab Provides Term-Length Group Projects Integrating Policy Analysis And Liberal Arts Into The Traditional Engineering Classroom, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Science in diplomacy, the use of trained scientist to inform and support foreign policy objectives, has been a part of U.S. foreign policy since the time of Benjamin Franklin. The Diplomacy Laboratory project, a public-private partnership, allows the Department of State to 'course source' projects to seek input from universities and to recruit talented students to consider careers in diplomacy. This paper provides a summary of a case study using a DipLab project as part of a term-length, writing assignment in courses for undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering students. An overview of DipLab and suggested best practices to integrate DipLab …

Reducing Costs While Maintaining Learning Outcomes Using Blended, Flipped, And Mastery Pedagogy To Teach Introduction To Environmental Engineering, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As part of a cost-savings initiative, an existing course of 'introduction to environmental engineering' offered using a 'traditional' format of didactic class meetings supplemented with hands-on laboratory sessions, was changed significantly. The 'modified' format uses 'blended', 'flipped', and 'mastery' approaches to teach "2601: Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering" to approximately 60 sophomores pursuing baccalaureate degrees in environmental, civil, or architectural engineering, each semester. This paper presents a summary of the results from eight course offerings over a period of four years to more than 450 total students. Assessments included student grades; open-ended invitations for anonymous feedback at the end of each …

Application Of An Artificial Neural Network To Predict Graduation Success At The United States Military Academy, Gene Lesinski, Steven Corns, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a neural network approach to classify student graduation status based upon selected academic, demographic, and other indicators. A multi-layer feedforward network with backpropagation learning is used as the model framework. The model is trained, tested, and validated using 5100 student samples with data compiled from admissions records and institutional research databases. Nine input variables consist of categorical and numeric data elements including: high school rank, high school quality, standardized test scores, high school faculty assessments, extra-curricular activity score, parent's education status, and time since high school graduation. These inputs and the multi-layer neural network model are used …

Electronic Flashcards As A Tool To Improve Exam Readiness, Susan L. Murray, Julie Phelps

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many college classes have basic information that must be learned before students can master the more complex application and analysis of advanced ideas in the class. Students often struggle with identifying and learning these facts, terms, and principles. This paper reports on a project that evaluated the use of electronic flashcards in two undergraduate engineering classes. The study materials (online flashcards) were developed in conjunction with the university's Educational Technology Office.

An Inverted Teaching Model For A Mechanics Of Materials Course, Jeffery S. Thomas, Timothy A. Philpot

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Instructors at Missouri University of Science and Technology have been offering certain sections of a mechanics of materials course in an inverted format for the past two years. In this format, students learn the concepts outside of class, using a textbook, animations and videos developed by the authors, and work on homework either individually or in groups during the optional class time. Students take eight multiple-choice exams and a final exam that is common to both the inverted sections and the more traditional lecture-based sections. Homework in the inverted sections is assigned but not graded. The in-class exams are given …

Using Student Ambassadors To Relay Themes From Changing The Conversation In Engineering First Year Seminars, Sarah Rzasa Zappe, Melissa Marshall, Enrique D. Gomez, Esther W. Gomez, Angela D. Lueking

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper describes the efforts at a large mid-Atlantic university to integrate themes from Changing the Conversation into First Year Seminars. Changing the Conversation, a 2008 book by the National Academy of Engineering, found that both male and female students were more attracted to messages describing engineering in terms relating to societal impact, such as the phrases, "Engineering makes a world of difference" and "Engineering is essential to our health, happiness, and safety." Although the research was conducted with younger students, the potential for using these themes in the undergraduate curricula could have the potential to impact persistence in engineering, …

Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education Of Lean Methods Using Simulation Learning Modules Within A Virtual Environment, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Steven Corns, Jennifer A. Farris, Stephen Gent, Scott Erwin Grasman, Ivan G. Guardiola

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper highlights the use of an integrated user-centered virtual learning environment throughextensible simulation learning modules that is currently being developed to enhance undergraduate curricula to meet the industrial needs for engineers with education in lean. The purpose of the research is to address these expectations by developing learning modules that incorporate lean simulation models into various Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering courses at Missouri S&T, Texas Tech, and South Dakota State, respectively. In recent years, increasing global competition, rapidly changing technology, and a deficit of U.S. engineering graduates have intensified the need to produce graduating engineers who …

Engineering Education Collaboration: Innovative Pedagogical Methods For High School And University Environmentalists, Leslie Hadaway, Megan Urbaitis, Regina Lamendella, Daniel B. Oerther, Andrea C. Burrows, Mike Borowczak, Anant R. Kukreti

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents an innovative teaching approach, how it is implemented, student response results of the implementation, and the assessment of impact on student learning. The findings are based on surveys given to the students after each lab lesson taught in partnership with university (Project STEP) and community members. The purpose of this paper is to showcase authentic molecular technology research methods that have been incorporated into a high school level water quality study in cooperation with a watershed restoration program. Typically, water quality studies focus on chemical analysis such as pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, orthophosphates, nitrates, temperature, …

Encouraging Lifelong Learning For Engineering Management Undergraduates, Susan L. Murray, Stephen A. Raper

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The current ABET guidelines place an emphasis on life-long learning for our undergraduate students. What is life-long learning? How can we encourage students to consider global issues, current events, or even anything "that isn't going to be on the next test"? In this paper we present survey results evaluating habits of undergraduate students entering an engineering management program and seniors related to life-long learning including attending professional society meetings, reading trade publications, reading business related books, and other learning outside of the classroom activities. This paper also presents a two semester effort to increase life-long learning activities among undergraduate engineering …

A First Course In Power: Can A Single Course Serve All Students?, Mariesa Crow, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Keith Corzine, Mehdi Ferdowsi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper is part of a panel entitled "Modernizing the First Course in Power Systems." In this paper the authors discuss the first power course requirement at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Undergraduate students are required to take a power course, but they may select between a power systems course or a electromechanical conversion course.

Engineering Management And Industrial Engineering: Similarities And Differences, Cassandra C. Elrod, Ashley Rasnic, William Daughton

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Engineering Management is a broad and diverse field of engineering, thereby making it difficult to define exactly what the degree encompasses. At the same time, the somewhat related degree of Industrial Engineering is better understood. Some universities offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management with an emphasis in Industrial Engineering, while others offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis in Engineering Management. In today's world of competitive academia, many wonder if these degree fields are similar enough to be used interchangeably or if there is a distinct difference separating the two degrees, making …

Leadership In Student Distance Education Teams, Leroy Cox, Susan L. Murray, David Spurlock

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Interactive video technology has become a widely used medium for education. A prominent implementation of this technology, interactive distance learning, involves groups of students at local and remote sites connected by audio and video teleconferencing. This approach has made the task of delivering vital undergraduate and graduate engineering courses to distributed audiences much easier. As this approach has permeated more curricula, distance education instructors have increasingly assigned projects that require distance learners to work together as an element of the final course grade. This trend presents an interesting opportunity for researchers to understand the nature of interactions among course participants …

Service Learning At Cincinnati: Researching Water Treatment For Emerging Economies, Sarah I. Pumphrey, Anna Hoessle, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Of the nearly six billion human inhabitants of planet earth, nearly two thirds lack access to sufficient quantities of potable water and access to basic sanitation. These appalling conditions result in the deaths of millions of children each year from preventable waterborne diarrheal disease. At the University of Cincinnati, two female graduate students have undertaken MS degrees with the specific objective of performing service learning where the research focus of their respective degrees is validating and deploying appropriate technology for water quality treatment in developing countries. This presentation will highlight the results of these research projects as well as the …

Disseminating Molecular Biology For Environmental Engineers With Nsf Ccli Support, Daniel B. Oerther, Catherine V. Maltbie, Baikun Li, Jin Li, Amy Pruden, Peter George Stroot

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

For the past five years, more than fifty undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Cincinnati have participated in a term-length course, CEE69 Molecular Biology for Environmental Systems. Using a self-paced approach, teams of students complete laboratory exercises to answer open ended questions about the composition of the microbiological community in an environmental sample. With the financial support of a Adaptation and Implementation (A&I) track grant from the NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program the course from Cincinnati is being taught at four partner institutions. This paper highlights the unique challenges of adapting the existing course to other …

A Matter Of Priorities: Effects Of Increased Opportunities For Extracurricular And Non-Traditional Learning Experiences On Student Time Management And Attitudes, David Spurlock, Daniel J. Bailey, Susan L. Murray, Andrew S. Ricke

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many schools are emphasizing non-traditional and extracurricular learning experiences for undergraduate engineering students. These include activities such as incorporating servicelearning projects into the classroom, involving students in design competitions (e.g., solar car, formula car races), and promoting involvement in traditional campus organizations. Often this emphasis is in response to changes in ABET requirements, desires of future employers, and needs to improve student retention. What are the effects of emphasizing these sorts of activities on student attitudes and time management decisions? We examine the influences on students' priorities for allocating their time and their perceptions of the relative importance of available …

Increasing Student Commitment To Class Preparation, Susan L. Murray

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Most of us know the rule-of-thumb that students should spend a certain number of hours outside of class studying for every hour in class. Unfortunately, students often develop the view that it is more efficient to come to class and have the instructor cover the material and then only study material that was emphasized or unclear. As faculty members this results in the dilemma of either assuming the students are not prepared and lecturing over basic material or trying to require the students to prepare. Some use readiness quizzes covering the required readings. Some try to intimidate, calling on students …

Investigating Student Interest In Post-Secondary Stem Education, Anant R. Kukreti, Shafiqul Islam, Daniel B. Oerther, Karen C. Davis, Mark G. Turner, Catherine V. Maltbie, Thaddeus W. Fowler

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Interest among students for post-secondary STEM education and causes behind the declining enrollment rate was analyzed. A K-12 survey was developed at the University of Cincinnati to gather information directly from students to verify the teachers' statements regarding K-12 students' perceptions of the engineering profession and studying engineering in college. The K-12 student survey respondents indicated that about 28% of the 6-12 graders were interested in engineering. The survey also showed that students wanted to be an engineer because it was a stable living.

Penn State University Nsf Gk-12 Project: Using Web-Based Education And Interaction With K-12 And College Freshman To Promote Science And Engineering, Elana M. Chapman, Angela D. Lueking, Robin A. Tallon, Philip H. Henning, William S. Carlsen, Daniel C. Haworth

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Penn State University has hosted an NSF-sponsored GK-12 Outreach project for the past five years, and has just begun the second phase of the project. The Penn State project utilizes the talents of many science and engineering graduate students as teachers, mentors and role models for the K-12 classrooms. The project focuses on developing skills of students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the use of Advanced Transportation Technologies. A new project component was devised and implemented-the interaction of K-12 students with college freshman via a website project. The college freshmen were asked to create a …

Blue-Box Approach To Power Electronics And Machines Educational Laboratories, Robert S. Balog, Zakdy Sorchini, Jonathan W. Kimball, Patrick L. Chapman, Philip T. Krein, Peter W. Sauer

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Our approach to laboratory education in power electronics and electric machines is presented. The approach centers upon "blue-box" laboratory components, that aid the student in rapid experiment assembly without disguising important aspects of the hardware. Several example experiments are presented. Schematics and construction techniques for the hardware are publicly available.

Modern Laboratory-Based Education For Power Electronics And Electric Machines, Robert S. Balog, Zakdy Sorchini, Jonathan W. Kimball, Patrick L. Chapman, Philip T. Krein

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The study of modern energy conversion draws upon a broad range of knowledge and often requires a fair amount of experience. This suggests that laboratory instruction should be an integral component of a power electronics and electric machines curriculum. However, before a single watt can be processed in a realistic way, the student must understand not only the operation of conversion systems but also more advanced concepts such as control theory, speed and position sensing, switching signal generation, gate drive isolation, circuit layout, and other critical issues. Our approach is to use a blue-box module where these details are pre-built …

Digital Scr Control Box For Educational Laboratory, Zakdy Sorchini, Jonathan W. Kimball, Philip T. Krein

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A "blue box" has been designed to introduce the silicone controlled rectifier (SCR) to power electronics students. SCRs are useful in many real-world applications, and are conceptually important in a student's understanding of power converters. The box is highly flexible in application, and its internal design is simple enough to explain to students. Experiments are shown, both of the type commonly used in the laboratory and of the type used for demonstrations. The box has also been designed to be suitable for research purposes and line voltage applications.

Successfully Blending Distance Students Into The On-Campus Classroom, Susan L. Murray, David Lee Enke, Sreeram Ramakrishnan

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As universities are increasingly embracing distance education technology, it is useful to examine the challenges and opportunities of technology in the classroom. This is especially true when the course contains on-campus local students in addition to students learning at a distance. A significant challenge commonly faced is how to remain flexible in presenting course materials while still having notes and other handouts in electronic format available before the lecture. Other challenges include creating and using lecture material that can be viewed at low resolution and low bandwidth, and getting distance students to interact with the instructor, on-campus students, and fellow …

Integrating Biological Principles In Environmental Engineering Education: Summary Results Of A Three-Year Pilot Study, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Teaching biology to engineers is a challenge. For environmental engineers, biological principles are necessary to understand microorganisms that are removed from drinking water as well as microorganisms that treat waste in sewage treatment plants and bioremediation field sites. At the University of Cincinnati, we integrated state-of-the-art research in environmental microbiology within our graduate and undergraduate environmental engineering curricula. For the past three years, we taught a novel course entitled, "Molecular Biology in Environmental Engineering." Course evaluations over the past three years suggested that the course was successful for primarily two reasons, namely: (1) the course employed a problem-based learning approach …

Environmental Sustainability Education At The University Of Michigan: Collaboration With Industry To Provide Experiential Learning Opportunities, Angela D. Lueking, Deborah A. Ross, Walter Weber Jr

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Concentrations in Environmental Sustainability (ConsEnSus) Program at the University of Michigan is a new multi-disciplinary opportunity for graduate students in the College of Engineering to pursue interests in environmental sustainability white obtaining a traditional engineering Master's degree. Students from several engineering departments complement traditional disciplinary course requirements with courses in environmental regulations, policies, and technology. A required case studies course of the ConsEnSus Program brings practicing engineers together with students to discuss real-world sustainability problems. The industrial participants interactively present relevant case studies, and provide opportunities for experiential learning through classroom activities and term projects. This paper …

Engineering Management At Umr -- Alumni Voices, Stephen A. Raper

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Department of Engineering Management at the University of Missouri-Rolla is among the oldest of its kind in the United States, and has over 2000 Bachelors level alumni graduates. The Department will undergo ABET accreditation under the new assessment based criteria in the fall of 2002. The new criteria specify that engineering programs should seek to continuously improve their degree offerings through an ongoing assessment process that includes constituent input. Our own department has specified undergraduate alumni as one of the prime or key constituents that will be queried for input into our own processes. For the first time in …

Principles Of Biology In Environmental Engineering: Molecular Biology-Based Identification Of Microorganisms, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The various aspects of a course on use of technology from molecular biology to screen microorganism in environmental samples and to monitor microbial biocatalysts in reactors, is discussed. The objective of the course is to teach students to adapt techniques from molecular biology to address important issues in environmental engineering. In case of methanogens, design considerations in environmental engineering include stabilization of sewage sludge through anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment. The hands-on format encourages students to develop scientific questions, learn appropriate methodology, conduct careful experimentation, and draw conclusions worthy of presentation.

Incorporating Web-Based Homework Problems In Engineering Dynamics, Ralph E. Flori, David B. Oglesby, Timothy A. Philpot, Nancy E. Hubing, Richard H. Hall, Vikas Yellamraju

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We are involved in a project funded by the Department of Education (FIPSE) which focuses on developing interactive software to improve the teaching and learning of engineering statics, dynamics, and mechanics of materials. This paper presents an overview of this project, discusses its objectives, and focuses on one particular aspect of the project.the use of web-based homework problems as assessment tools to evaluate student learning. The overall project includes creating, for all three engineering mechanics courses, the following web-based learning tools: (a) Animated theory modules, using Macromedia.s Flash development software, which display basic theory and example problems in an engaging, …

Retention Of Female Faculty Members, Susan L. Murray, Mariesa Crow, Suzanna M. Rose

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recruitment and the retention of female undergraduate and graduate students into engineering courses is discussed. A similar challenge lies in recruiting female faculty member from the limited pool of candidates in several fields at most universities. It is found that about half the females who were hired did not stay at the university. It is suggested that programs should be introduced to encourage mentoring and career development as such improvements would benefit all faculty members both female and male.

Laboratories Teaching Concepts In Microcontrollers And Hardware-Software Co-Design, Daryl G. Beetner, Hardy J. Pottinger, Kyle Mitchell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hardware software co-design is becoming increasingly important to the embedded systems industry. It will soon be fundamental to digital systems design. As such, students in electrical and computer engineering and in computer science should be introduced to hardware-software co-design early in their undergraduate education.

We are designing laboratory modules which introduce concepts of hardware-software co-design in an undergraduate's first course on microcontrollers and digital systems design. Students use design automation tools to develop FPGA-based hardware for use with an 8051-microcontroller and use common software development tools to develop microcontroller software in C or assembly language. Co-simulation of hardware and software …

Power Education At The Crossroads, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To meet the demands of designing and running far more complex and highly integrated electricity systems, a new kind of power engineer is needed. In this paper, the author describes how, though students tend to favor higher-tech and more lucrative fields than power Engineering; reports of the discipline''s demise are exaggerated