Engineering Commons^™

How Engineering Teams Select Design Concepts: A View Through The Lens Of Creativity, Christine Toh, Scarlett Miller

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Publications

While concept selection is recognized as a crucial component of the engineering design process, little is known about how concepts are selected during this process or what factors affect the selection of creative concepts. To fill this void, content analysis was performed on student engineering design team discussions during a concept selection task. Our results indicate that student design teams typically focus on the technical feasibility of concepts during the selection process. However, teams that identified useful elements of ideas or continued to generate new ideas during this process had a tendency towards selecting creative ideas. These results add to …

Integration Of Mechatronics Design Approach Into Teaching Of Modeling Practices, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Tatiana V. Goris, Ana M. Djuric, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Nathan J. Luetke, Moustafa R. Moustafa, Basim Matrood

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Engineering design has transformed significantly due to advances in embedded system design and computer technologies. Almost every mechanical design today has some electrical and electronic components. Many products manufactured today contain both electrical and mechanical components and systems. Mechatronics is a design process that is multi-disciplinary in nature and integrates principles of many engineering disciplines including, but not limited to, mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering technology, electrical engineering and electrical engineering technology, and controls engineering. Mechatronic systems can be found in many different places today. These range from computer hard drives and robotic assembly systems, to washing machines, coffee makers, …

Design Practices Of Preservice Elementary Teachers In An Integrated Engineering And Literature Experience, Kristen Bethke Wendell

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The incorporation of engineering practices and core ideas into the Next Generation Science Standards at the elementary school level provides exciting opportunities but also raises important questions about the preparation of new elementary teachers. Both the teacher education and engineering education communities have a limited literature base on the resources that novice elementary teachers bring to learning and teaching engineering. The purpose of this descriptive exploratory research study was to characterize the design practices used by preservice elementary teachers during an integrated engineering and literature experience. Using a modification of the Design Activity Coding Scheme (Atman et al., 2007), we …

High School Student Information Access And Engineering Design Performance, Nathan Mentzer

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Developing solutions to engineering design problems requires access to information. Research has shown that appropriately accessing and using information in the design process improves solution quality. This quasi-experimental study provides two groups of high school students with a design problem in a three hour design experience. One group has access to the internet while the other does not. Quality of design solution was measured and the two groups were compared. Solution quality did not change significantly. Student information requests were categorized and the most commonly requested piece of information related to cost of materials. Students spent substantially more time in …

A Study On The Role Of Physical Models In The Mitigation Of Design Fixation, Vimal Viswanathan, Olufunmilola Atilola, Nicole Esposito, Julie Linsey

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

Designers implement a variety of models and representations during the design process, yet little is known about the cognitive impacts of various representations. This study focuses on how physical models can assist novices in mitigating design fixation on undesirable features. During idea generation, designers tend to fixate on examples they encounter or on their own initial ideas. The first hypothesis states that designers tend to duplicate features of provided examples. The second hypothesis states that this fixation can be mitigated with appropriate warnings. The last hypothesis is that building and testing physical models can help designers in mitigating fixation. To …

Exploring The Role Of Empathy In A Service-Learning Design Project, Nicholas D. Fila, Justin L. Hess

Design Thinking Research Symposium

The emergence of empathic design has inspired growing discourse on the role of empathy within design. While research on empathic design acknowledges the presence of empathy in design practice, little attention has been paid to its underlying mechanisms and how these mechanisms operate within the designer’s mind throughout the design process. In this study, we used the service-learning data set to develop an emergent empathic design model. We collected and analyzed any instances in which designers evidenced empathy for the end users. We kept empathy loosely defined due to the exploratory intent of this study and the recognition that empathy …

Integrating Information Into The Engineering Design Process, Michael Fosmire, David Radcliffe

Purdue University Press Books

Engineering design is a fundamental problem-solving model used by the discipline. Effective problem-solving requires the ability to find and incorporate quality information sources. To teach courses in this area effectively, educators need to understand the information needs of engineers and engineering students and their information gathering habits. This book provides essential guidance for engineering faculty and librarians wishing to better integrate information competencies into their curricular offerings. The treatment of the subject matter is pragmatic, accessible, and engaging. Rather than focusing on specific resources or interfaces, the book adopts a process-driven approach that outlasts changing information technologies.

After several chapters …

Measuring The Impact Of Internships On Design Using A Materials Activity, Craig Johnson, Charles O. Pringle, Nathan Davis

Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction Faculty Scholarship

Our research question focused on how previous student experience, like a job internship, affects an ability to demonstrate engineering design skills. Principal student experience focused on prior industrial experience (e.g. internships), but also included annual project participation (e.g. ASME Design Challenge Teams). The scope of this effort included the creation and application of a design activity, resulting in documents that were evaluated with a metric. The activity focused on the effect of material selection and analysis with regard to ‘design performance’. Creating these activities, and using them to assess design skills is the novel aspect of this effort. Two classes …

The Decline Of The Car Enthusiasts: Implications For Undergraduate Engineering Education, Mary P. Cardenas

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Hands-on, project-based engineering education is alive and well. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that we are seeing fewer undergraduate engineering students who arrive on campus already knowing how to ‘use their hands’—having familiarity with tools and mechanical devices, knowing how to connect things, savvy about avoiding leaks in fluid systems, wary of stripping a screw thread or shearing a bolt head—the kinds of things that an archetypal car enthusiast would have learned in high school. For design-build-test project-based engineering educational experiences, having at least one car enthusiast has proven invaluable: more time can be spent on testing and re-designing, rather than …

Don't Just Cover The Engineering Design Process, Patent It!, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article discusses the importance of understanding intellectual property (IP) concept for students of engineering design process. It highlights that IP classification are of four types which includes patent, trademarks and copyright. The article further offers brief information on process of obtaining a utility patent for technological inventions.

Analysis Of Engineering Content With Technology Education Programs, Todd D. Fantz, Petros J. Katsioloudis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Working With The Engineering Design Process, Thomas Gralinski

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

No abstract provided.

A Design-Build-Test-Fly Project Involving Modeling, Manufacturing, And Testing, Scott Post, Shankar Seetharaman, Sree Abimannan

Publications

This paper describes a junior-level semester-long class project for students in Fluid Mechanics courses. The goals of the project are to introduce students to engineering design, project management, and to incorporate material from other courses in engineering graphics, numerical methods, instrumentation and measurements, and manufacturing processes in a single project. The project focuses on airfoil design using computational tools, and the main emphasis lies on verification of results obtained from computational methods with experimentally measured values. Students will use the airfoil shape they select to make wings to go on a model foam glider. The final part of the project …

Pltw And Epics‐High: Curriculum Comparisons To Support Problem Solving In The Context Of Engineering Design, Todd Kelley, Daniel C. Brenner, John T. Pieper

Reports of Center Studies

A comparative study was conducted to compare two approaches to engineering design curriculum between different schools (inter-school) and between two curricular approaches, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPIC High) (inter-curricular). The researchers collected curriculum materials, including handouts, lesson plans, guides, presentation files, design descriptions, problem statements, and support guides. The researchers conducted observations in the classrooms to collect qualitative indicators of engineering/technology reasoning, collect data on the nature of students‟ questions, how students define problems, and operate within the constraints of a design problem.

Observational studies were conducted with students participating in Project Lead …

Optimization, An Important Stage Of Engineering Design, Todd R. Kelley

Publications

The presents information on optimization, an important stage of engineering design. Criteria and design constraints are used in the optimization stage of the engineering design process to allow the designer to locate the optimal solution. Before initiating a prototype work, both analysis and optimization are done in designing a product. Optimization is done to create the best design relative to a set of prioritized criteria or constraints, including maximizing factors such as productivity, strength, reliability, longevity, efficiency and utilization.

An Evaluation Of Function-Based Representations And Information Archival In Engineering Design, Benjamin Caldwell

All Theses

Recent research in function-based design includes the development of a vocabulary of functions, the Functional Basis, and a repository of products and their functions. Many design tools are being developed around this vocabulary and repository to support conceptual design. The usefulness of these tools, however, is dependent on the quality of the vocabulary and the information contained in the repository. In this research, both the vocabulary and the repository are empirically evaluated to understand their strengths and limitations. A statistical analysis is performed on function models in the repository to determine the frequency of usage of Functional Basis terms. It …

The Arctic Solar Challenge, Rob Snyder

IPY STEM Polar Connections

Design, build, and evaluate the performance of a portable, temporary, passive solar structure that can be used as a shelter for researchers who will be in Kotzebue, Alaska around the time of a summer solstice.

Engineering Design Activity: Understanding How Different Design Activities Influence Students' Motivation In Grades 9-12, Oenardi Lawanto, Gary Stewardson

Reports of Center Studies

The objective of this study was to evaluate grade 9-12 students’ motivation while engaged in two different engineering design projects: marble-sorter and bridge designs. The motivation components measured in this study were focused on students’ intrinsic (IGO) and extrinsic (EGO) goal orientations, task value (TV), self-efficacy for learning and performance (SELP), and control belief (CB). After finishing each project, students were asked to complete an Engineering Design Questionnaire (EDQ) survey instrument. The instrument consisted of 26 items modified from motivational scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ).Besides the motivational scales, five demographic and two open-ended questions exploring students’ …

Integrating Engineering Design Into Technology Education: Georgia's Perspective, Cameron Denson, Todd Kelley, Robert C. Wicklein

Publications

This descriptive research study reported on Georgia’s secondary level (grades 6-12) technology education programs capability to incorporate engineering concepts and/or engineering design into their curriculum. Participants were middle school and high school teachers in the state of Georgia who currently teach technology education. Participants completed a Likert-type online-survey which reported on technology education teacher’s (a) current instructional practices to teach engineering-based instruction, (b) curricular value placed on engineering-based instruction, and (c) instructional needs to teach engineering-based topics. General demographic information was collected from all participants. The results from the study aided in informing the educational community on the perspective of …

Teacher Challenges To Implement Engineering Design In Secondary Technology Education (Part 3), Todd R. Kelley, Robert C. Wicklein

Publications

This descriptive study examined the current status of technology education teacher practices with respect to engineering design. This article is the third article in a three-part series presenting the results of this study. The first article in the series titled Examination of Engineering Design Curriculum Content highlighted the research findings regarding engineering design curriculum content delivered by technology education teachers. The second article in the series titled Examination of Assessment Practices for Engineering Design Projects in Secondary Technology Education reported technology education teachers’ assessment practices when implementing engineering design projects in the classroom. The sample for this study was drawn …

Features Of Engineering Design In Technology Education, Paul A. Asunda, Roger Hill

Reports of Center Studies

The purpose of this study was to find critical features of engineering design that can be incorporated within technology education learning activities, and develop a rubric for assessing these features. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three professors actively involved in engineering education. Supporting documents such as engineering design course outlines and rubrics were also examined. Using a phenomenological approach, this study identified the concept of engineering design, key features of the engineering design process, and critical elements that should be assessed in an engineering design activity in the context of technology education. A key product of the study …

Curricular Value And Instructional Needs For Infusing Engineering Design Into K-12 Technology Education, David K. Gattie, Robert C. Wicklein

Publications

An overarching objective of Technology Education in the U.S. is to improve technological literacy among K-12 students (DeVore, 1964; Savage and Sterry, 1990; International Technology Education Association, 1996, 2000, 2003). This is addressed in part through a focus on end-product technology and the use and importance of various technologies in society (Savage and Sterry, 1990). While such a focus is certainly necessary, it may not be sufficient if the objective is to infuse engineering into the technology education field. Current efforts at the University of Georgia propose adjusting the focus of Technology Education to a defined emphasis on engineering design …

Critical Features Of Engineering Design In Technology Education, Paul A. Asunda, Roger Hill

Publications

The purpose of this study was to find critical features of engineering design that can be incorporated within technology education learning activities, and develop a rubric for assessing these features. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three professors actively involved in engineering education. Supporting documents such as engineering design course outlines and rubrics were also examined. Using a phenomenological approach, this study identified the concept of engineering design, key features of the engineering design process, and critical elements that should be assessed in an engineering design activity in the context of technology education. A key product of the study …

Improving Efficiency In Engineering Design Using Augmented D-Optimal Designs 'Synthetic Jet' Design Optimization Study, Fatih Erdogan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to study the efficiency of several "design of experiments" (DOE) approaches used for the analysis and optimization of engineering designs. A literature review is conducted to study various "design of experiments" methods and the advantages and limitations of each method are discussed.

As an application, Augmented D-Optimal designs are utilized for a design study of 'synthetic jet'.

With the objective of improving efficiency and providing a minimum point experimental design model, computer-aided D-optimal method is preferred for this study. For setting up the design of the experiments and for performing the analysis of results, …

New Perspectives: Technology Teacher Education And Engineering Design, Roger B. Hill

Publications

Initiatives to integrate engineering design within the field of technology education are increasingly evident (Lewis, 2005; Wicklein, 2006). Alliances between technology education and engineering were prominent in the development of the Standards for Technological Literacy (International Technology Education Association, 2000), and leaders from both disciplines have expressed support for the outcomes described in the Standards (Bybee, 2000; Council of the National Academy of Engineering, 2000; Dugger, Meade, Delany, and Nichols, 2003; Gorham, Newberry, and Bickart, 2003). The National Science Foundation (NSF) has also encouraged and funded opportunities for technology educators and engineers to work collaboratively. The Bridges for Engineering Education …

Coming To Terms With Engineering Design As Content, Theodore Lewis

Publications

This article addresses the challenges posed by engineering design as a content area of technology education. What adjustments will technology teachers have to make in their approach to teaching and learning when they teach design as engineering in response to the new standards? How faithful to engineering as practiced must their approach be? There is already some advocacy in the literature that greater attention will need to be paid to mathematics and science, where these subjects underpin design. Cotton (2002) proposed that mathematical theories should be applied to design in technology education classrooms, and that students should be encouraged to …

Design, Fabrication And Testing Of A Shape Memory Alloy Based Cryogenic Thermal Conduction Switch, Vinu Bala Krishnan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) can recover large strains (e.g., up to 8%) by undergoing a temperature-induced phase transformation. This strain recovery can occur against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators. The SMA elements in such actuators integrate both sensory and actuation functions. This is possible because SMAs can inherently sense a change in temperature and actuate by undergoing a shape change, associated with the temperature-induced phase transformation. The objective of this work is to develop an SMA based cryogenic thermal conduction switch for operation between dewars of liquid methane and liquid oxygen in a common bulk head arrangement …

Use Of "Studio" Methods In The Introductory Engineering Design Curriculum, Patrick Little, Mary P. Cardenas

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A number of themes, including interest in first year design courses, commitment to active learning approaches, and desires for changes in course structures and costs have come together in a variety of teaching approaches. Some of these approaches have been referred to as using “studio” methods, although the particular pedagogy appears to vary greatly. In this paper, some of these experiments are briefly reviewed and placed in a larger context of studio education in other disciplines. The paper seeks to differentiate studio education from other active learning approaches. An introductory engineering design course was taught using an architecture studio model …

Use Of "Studio" Methods In The Introductory Engineering Design Curriculum, Patrick Little, Mary P. Cardenas

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A number of themes, including interest in first year design courses, commitment to active learning approaches, and desires for changes in course structures and costs have come together in a variety of teaching approaches. Some of these approaches have been referred to as using “studio” methods, although the particular pedagogy appears to vary greatly. In this paper, some of these experiments are briefly reviewed and placed in a larger context of studio education in other disciplines. The paper seeks to differentiate studio education from other active learning approaches. An introductory engineering design course was taught using an architecture studio model …

Languages For Engineering Design: Empirical Constructs For Representing Objects And Articulating Processes, Clive L. Dym, Philip Brey

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Design knowledge incorporates knowledge and information about designed objects and their attributes, as well as about methods and means for undertaking the design process. Such design knowledge is articulated in several different representations or languages. This paper presents a typology of the languages of engineering design, emphasizing the representation of designed objects and the articulation and representation of the cognitive processes of design. Design languages include verbal or textual statements, drawings and graphics, formulas, and numbers. Still other design languages follow from computational styles. The languages of design and their computer-based implementations are empirical in origin, since observation reveals that …