Engineering Commons^™

(Poster) A Bird's-Eye View Of What Learners Like And Dislike About Stem Moocs Using Topic Modeling, Abigail Gentry

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are offered for many different subject areas such as STEM, Arts, Medicine, and Business, with differences in each subject area. In this study, we focus on STEM MOOCs and their unique challenges. In order to design better MOOCs to encourage engagement, it is important to understand learners expectations and preferences based on the subject area by analyzing end-of-course evaluation surveys of STEM MOOCs. We analyzed open-ended learner feedback for two post-survey questions for 110 unique STEM MOOCs (some with multiple re-runs) with a total of 8100 responses, offered on the FutureLearn platform. The end-of-course survey …

(Poster) Freshman Engineering Student Engagement Through Sport’S Data Analytics, Adam Tennant

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Instructors of engineering for the last quarter of a century have attempted to engage undergraduates through project based learning. Often these topics can fall short due to a lack of interest by the students. Faculty-lead student research experiences addressing pop-culture topics of interest can often stimulate student engagement and have the possibility to positively impact student-retention rates. This presentation reports on the preliminary findings of a sport’s data analytics approach for faculty-led student investigations and increased engagement. Freshman engineering students will rank teams or individuals through the PageRank algorithm creating a model of the complexity of sports. The specifics of …

(Poster) Deepening Engineering Design Experience: A Novel Approach To Senior Design, Donald Peterson, Mansour Tahernezhadi, Abul Azad

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

This poster advances a new framework for the senior design course in order to deepen engineering design experience for engineering students. The proposed framework for the new senior design course while retains the traditional topics such as problem identification, conceptual design and analysis, prototyping and the preparation of a work schedule required to carry out the project, it fosters an early in the cycle start, typically after week 6, towards the design conceptualization and prototyping in the first academic semester. This is in stark contrast with traditional practices where the design conceptualization and prototyping largely takes place in the second …

(Poster) Pneumatically Assisted Autocutter: Providing A Safe Workplace Environment For People With Disabilities, Ryan Kallenberger, Brian Galliher, Laura Johnson, Melanie Moore, Joseph Herzog, Renny Fernandez, Najmus Saqib

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

We present a pneumatic autocutter to help workers with disabilities for reduced operator fatigue, increased efficiency, thereby giving enhanced capabilities when working on a production line without worrying about their ability to effectively do their jobs. We are students in a sophomore level six sigma based course through the R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis. The specific process of production being discussed involves cutting bulky cardboard frames with a metallic wire-mesh covering. The current process requires a considerable amount of physical labor from the operator; prolonged work results in gradial operator debility and injury. For Gateway …

(Poster) Return On Investment On A University Education: Development Of An Analytical Software Tool, Joshua Love, Kristians Kanders, Kinsey West, Ante Lucev

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

No abstract provided.

(Poster) Combining Design And Entrepreneurial Mindset Development: Motorcycle Detection System, Pilar Echeverria, Thomas Leseure, Bailey Wilder, Oluebubechukwu Onaga, Jake Braumbaugh, Steve Spicklemire Dr., Jose Sanchez Dr., David Olawale Dr.

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

The Motorcycle Detection System will detect and warn drivers of motorcycles driving between lanes at high speeds on the interstate. Its main function would be to significantly reduce the frequency of motorcycle-car accidents on the road. Similar to the blind spot detectors that can be found on many modern cars, the motorcycle detector would minimize the number of accidents and deaths caused by motorcycles lane-splitting. By alerting drivers of motorcycles within a 50 feet radius, motorists would be able to make calculated decisions on the road that they otherwise would not contemplate.

Through rigorous market exploration, the team deduced that …

(Poster) Combining Design And Entrepreneurial Mindset Development: Improved Multifunctional Charging Station, Allison Zwickl, Payton Staman, Evan Parduhn, Jake Smith, David Olawale, Stephen Spicklemire, Rashedul Sarker

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

It has become imperative to find ways to organize different devices of varying functions and sizes. This problem was introduced to us through customers who believed the current designs on the market could use improvement, or through the lack of organization that they have when charging multiple devices. A solution is a modular concept with a base station that will include a wireless pad and a few charging cords. Additionally customers can purchase specialized add ons that fit into the base station. The housing station will seamlessly charge a plethora of devices including; smart-phones, smart-watches, and speakers in a centralized …

(Poster) Automated Media Sweeper For Reducing Media Loss At Yamaha Marine Precision Propeller Facility, Kyla Christmas, Tyler W. Cole, Jevis T. Muluh, Ryan N. Veazie, Paul Talaga, George Ricco, Suranga Dhamarathne, Tyler Cook

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

No abstract provided.

(Poster) Internal Restoration And Modernization Of A 1948 Wwii Era Jukebox, Miles Furr, Cristiana Olarinre, Joel Carpenter, Elijah Knox, George Ricco, Paul Talaga, Suranga Dharmarathne

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Using Six Sigma guidelines under the sponsorship of The University of Indianapolis in cooperation with the client, Brugh Industrial Engineering, this project is to modernize the functionality and interface of a Rockola Model 1428 Jukebox while maintaining its vintage appeal. The process of modernization includes meeting today's industrial safety standards, incorporating ethernet protocol, and utilizing a programmable logic controller, PLC. The jukebox is a showcase of current automation technology. Lighting has been upgraded from fluorescent and incandescent bulbs to addressable nano pixel LEDs. The amplifier, coin system, and record selection system were revitalized to OEM operation standards. All switches within …

(Poster) Citizens Energy Group: Mobile Water Distribution System For Providing Water And Reducing Plastic Waste, Alex Pruitt, Alysa Epperson, Jonathen Key, Victor Antoñon Rodriguez, Paul Talega, George Ricco, Suranga Dharmarathne, David Olawale, Najmus Saqib, James Emery

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

During the 2017-2018 year, Citizens Energy Group partnered with the R.B. Annis school of engineering to develop a portable system to distribute water to people at outdoor events. During that academic year, initial designs and a small scale, functional prototype were completed. This year we built the full scale version. Throughout this project, we have implemented the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology to guide the design process. Within the R.B. Annis School of Engineering, this methodology has been adapted into the DesignSpine process. It’s a gate based process that uses gateways at key points in the design process to …

(Poster) Design And Fabrication Of A Custom Wrist Orthosis For Enhanced Patient Comfort, Marko Tasic, Matthew Hansen, Mang Lian, Demetre Mitchell, Rashedul Sarker, Renny Fernandez, Erin Peterson, Joseph Herzog, David Olawale, Najmus Saqib

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

This custom wrist orthosis project is the continuation of efforts made by students in the R.B Annis School of Engineering during the 2017-2018 academic year. Throughout this project, we have implemented the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology to guide the design process. Within the R.B. Annis School of Engineering, this methodology has been adapted into guide the DesignSpine process. We have designed a new orthosis that is custom fabricated for enhanced patient comfort. In the occupational therapy field, patients have reportedly not been wearing their prescribed orthoses/braces, which are designed to stabilize injured areas so that they heal properly. …

A Faculty Retreat Model Featuring Collaborative And Active Learning, Yeow Siow, Michael Scott, Houshang Darabi, Farzad Mashayek

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

A workshop-style, active-learning model was recently implemented in a Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) department retreat prior to the start of the Fall 2018 term. The department is currently undergoing a curriculum redesign, and a special committee was created to design the talking points for the retreat. Among the concerns were: meaning of grades, expectation of grade distribution, adoption of teaching pedagogies that align with the department goals, and definition of teaching excellence. Opinions were divided, and many felt strongly about each topic. New and non-tenure-track faculty were initially assigned as scribe or presenter, so as to encourage participation. A …

A Model For Incorporating Undergraduate Research Into An Engineering Curriculum, Douglas Stamps

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

A model is described for incorporating undergraduate research into an engineering curriculum through a vertically integrated design sequence. The sequence is composed of five courses: one each during the spring semester of the freshmen through junior years and two courses during the senior year. Each course offers skills that provide scaffolding for students to contribute to a team performing an engineering design project or research project. Teams are composed of freshmen through seniors (i.e., vertically integrated) and led by seniors. A strength of the model for undergraduate research is that upper level students can mentor lower level students, which allows …

International Aviation Collaboration In A Study Abroad Program, Brian Kozak, Peng Hao Wang

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Aviation is a global industry. As we continue to push the boundaries of technical advancements and operational efficiency in the aviation industry, the reliance on the global workforce will continue to increase. In the United States of America, the majority of educational establishments focus mainly in the education and training of students for the US aviation industry. The narrow focus significantly limits the amount of exposure and opportunities available to the students of these educational establishments. In order to improve global exposure and provide students with opportunities outside of the US aviation industry, the authors of the paper successfully established …

Writing Children’S Stories To Improve Engineering Student’S Communication With Non-Engineering Audiences, Benjamin D. Mcpheron, Katelyn J. Butler

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

One of the biggest challenges for students in science and engineering is communicating technical information to a non-technical audience. Students may struggle because they are not adept writers, because they cannot divorce the ideas from the jargon, or because they simply don't understand the material well enough to explain it to someone else. To attempt to address this issue, this study proposes the use of children’s stories to help students practice writing for a target, non-technical audience. To measure the efficacy of this method, junior level engineering students in an electronics course in Fall 2018 were asked to write children’s …

Application Of Computational Tools To Spaghetti-Based Truss Bridge Design, Jin Xu, Jiliang Li, Nuri Zeytinoglu, Jinyuan Zhai

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Application of Computational Tools to Spaghetti-Based Truss Design

Statics and Strength of Materials are two foundational courses for Mechanical/Civil Engineering. In order to assist students in better understanding and applying concepts to a meaningful design task, SolidWorks and theoretical calculation were used for a spaghetti-bridge design contest with the constraints of given maximum weight and allowable support-material weight. As the first step of this iterative designing process, both extrude feature and structural member were introduced to model planar bridge trusses. Then SolidWorks’ Statics module was used to run FEA analysis of the structural performance in efforts to optimize the …

Innovative Remote Smart Home For Immersive Engagement, Kevin B. Martin, Abul Azad, Mohammed Adnan Shareef, Mrinal Roy

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

An openly accessible, remotely operated smart home will be demonstrated as a tool for students to learn about residential energy usage and environmental impacts. Specifically, the demonstration unit provides classrooms an engaging experience that teaches students about energy efficiency technologies and how their behavior will have an impact on energy usage and the environment. It is expected that as students become aware of and understand how various energy efficiency technologies work barriers to their adoption will be lowered. The use of a web accessible, remote laboratory dramatically reduces lab setup time and equipment cost/space requirements for educators. Special attention is …

Development Of A Set Of Pre-Class Videos For Electromagnetic Theory, Benjamin Mcpheron, Josiah D. Kunz

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

One important aspect of experiential learning is allowing students time to reflect on new concepts before the application of the material. Most commonly, this is attempted by assigning readings from a textbook, but research suggests that few students complete these readings. This discouraging fact has prompted the use of other resources, such as videos, to supplement pre-class readings in order to introduce new material. Previous work has been completed by this author to produce pre-class videos for use in an introductory circuits course. This paper extends that work to the development of pre-class videos for a senior level electrical engineering …

Interactive Simulations In Signals And Systems, Anthony Richardson

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Several interactive simulations that promote a better understanding of concepts traditionally encountered in an undergraduate Signals and Systems course are described. The simulations were developed to support the text “Signals & Systems: Theory and Applications” by Ulaby and Yagle. The text and all simulation programs are available for free download (ss2.eecs.umich.edu) as part of the Free Electrical Engineering Textbook Initiative from the University of Michigan.

All simulations use graphical control elements that allow the student to interact with the simulation. Many of the simulations use either real audio or image data so that the student can vary parameters of the …

Design Of A Carburizing Treatment Of Steel Base Gear In The Materials Science Course, Jiliang Li, Jin Xu, Nuri Zeytinoglu, Jinyuan Zhai

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Diffusion PDE Application to Carburizing Treatment of Steel Base Gear

An introductory materials-science course is required in the mechanical engineering curriculum of many universities. This article describes an example effort to incorporate programming, diffusion transfer, heat treatment process and mechanical-property determination as an integral part of the materials-science course instruction. This effort was undertaken in order to give students additional experience in Fick’s 1^st and 2^nd laws and in-depth understanding of physics and mathematics involved in diffusion analysis. We chose to focus on Fick’s second law because its applications are not restricted to the materials-science field [1]. As …

Providing A Meaningful Lab Experience For A Manufacturing Processes Course, Kevin Molyet

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

No abstract provided.

Introducing Concept Maps In Undergraduate Thermodynamics, Jessie Lofton

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Concept maps, also called mind maps, are a widely utilized educational tool. While numerous studies cite the benefits of concept mapping as a tool for student learning, the use of concept maps is more common in non-engineering disciplines. This study examines student perceptions and academic performance in an undergraduate, introductory Thermodynamics course for students majoring in Mechanical Engineering. The pedagogical approach includes incorporating student-developed concept maps, as well as an interactive study tool for First Law analysis. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented. Results are limited to a single institution and a small sample size of students. Future work will …

Course And Exam Statistics In Electrical Engineering, D Blandford, Mark Randall, Jessica Lofton

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

This paper examines the course and national exam records for about fifty students in electrical engineering. The data includes the following: SAT/ACT scores, high school math and science grades, high school GPA, high school class rank, and grades for math, science, and engineering courses in the first two years of the major for undergraduates in electrical engineering. The data is analyzed seeking a correlation with success in the major which is measured by the cumulative GPA at or near graduation.

Two types of correlation data are presented. First, correlation with individual data items and success in the major is established. …

A Critical Look At Mechanical Engineering Curriculum: Assessing The Need, Yeow Siow, Jamison Szwalek, Jonathan Komperda, Houshang Darabi, Farzad Mashayek

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Since the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act in 1862, the U.S. higher education system has been serving the industrial world, and engineering study is the epitome of this ideal: Serve those who will practice it in the immediate future. The mechanical engineering curricula have long been evolving to meet the demand of the changing economy, and it may soon be due for a major update. This paper aims to present an initial effort to explore the need for a systematic redesign, or reform, of the mechanical engineering curriculum at [Institution X], where curricular changes during the past five decades have been …

Student Success And Retention From The Perspectives Of Engineering Students And Faculty, Amy Chan-Hilton

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Student retention and success is a complex issue, with many factors that impact an individual student’s retention and these factors varying across all of our students. At the University of Southern Indiana (USI), efforts within engineering, as well as across the college and university, have included intentional academic support services (such as expanded advising and tutoring services) and student development programs and extracurricular activities to foster student communities and a student’s sense of belonging. In addition, evidence indicates that implementing curricular changes across an engineering program and within specific courses, such as implementing active learning, instructional innovations, and high-impact practices, …