Engineering Commons^™

Aquaponics Art, Alexander Horton

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Aquaponics has enormous potential to change the way we farm. I wanted to connect more people to Cal Poly's first aquaponics club by creating a functioning aquaponics art installation that allows people to plant their own plants. This paper is catalog of the design process as a reflection of what this project hopes to accomplish.

Development Of Workforce Skills: Student Perceptions Of Mentoring In First Robotics, Katie Joan Veal Wallace

Dissertations

In today’s global economy, new workforce competencies are needed for success at both individual and societal levels. The new workforce skills extend beyond basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to include higher order processes such as critical thinking and problem solving. Technical job opportunities have grown by approximately 17%, yet the United States continues to decline in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Further, U.S. students earn average or below average test scores when compared to other developed countries. Researchers cite the need to incorporate the learning of workplace skills into secondary education curriculum, and advocates call for new teaching …

Developing Professional Skills In Stem Students: Data Information Literacy, Lisa Zilinski, Megan R. Sapp Nelson, Amy S. Van Epps

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Undergraduate STEM students are increasingly expected to have some data use skills upon graduation, whether they pursue post-graduate education or move into industry. This project was an initial foray into the application of data information literacy competencies to training undergraduate students to identify markers of data and information quality. The data consumer training appeared within two courses to help students evaluate data objects, including databases and datasets available on the Internet. The application of the Data Credibility Checklist provides a foundation for developing data reuse competencies. Based upon the initial presentation of the content, it became obvious that students need …

Integrating Cognitive Science With Innovative Teaching In Stem Disciplines, Mark A. Mcdaniel, Regina F. Frey, Susan M. Fitzpatrick, Henry L. Roediger Iii

Books and Monographs

This volume collects the ideas and insights discussed at a novel conference, the Integrating Cognitive Science with Innovative Teaching in STEM Disciplines Conference, which was held September 27-28, 2012 at Washington University in St. Louis. With funding from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the conference was hosted by Washington University’s Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE), a center established in 2011. Available for download as a PDF. Titles of individual chapters can be found at http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/circle_book/.

Slides: Regulating Oil And Gas Emissions In The Denver Julesberg Basin, Garry Kaufman

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Garry Kaufman, Deputy Director, Colorado Air Pollution Control Division

25 slides

An Exploration Of The Factors That Motivate Gifted And Talented Black Males To Engage In Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics In A Gifted, Residential Community, Adrienne L. Coleman

Publications & Research

This study was an exploration of the factors that motivated gifted and talented Black males to engage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The specific problem addressed was the lack of motivation among Black males to become gifted and talented learners engaged in STEM. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the factors that motivate gifted and talented Black males to engage in STEM at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), a residential academy for gifted/talented students. Qualitative methodology was used to interview focus groups of 20 gifted and talented Black males who currently attended IMSA …

Algae: Opportunities For Biomass Feedstock Production, Wastewater Treatment And Educational Outreach, Trina Cassandra Halfhide

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Algae are a diverse group of simple organisms that lack roots, stems or leaves and are able to use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to produce complex compounds, such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. These compounds, especially lipids, are highly sought-after by agricultural, nutraceutical and energy interests. Although there is great potential for algae derived biofuels, there are technical and economic challenges associated with their cultivation. Relevant to this dissertation, the environmental impacts associated with algae cultivation can be reduced by using municipal and agricultural wastewaters as a water and nutrient source. This research was divided into three sections to …

The Nucleus 2013-2014, Rosalie A. Richards

Science Education Center

No abstract provided.

Fearless Friday: Kirsten Crear, Kirsten Crear

SURGE

Even in her last semester here at Gettysburg, Kirsten Crear ’14 is fearlessly working to make changes for the future of the campus community. This semester, Kirsten introduced a STEMinists club on campus that will give female students who are STEM (an acronym for Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) majors the opportunity to come together and create a community, share and discuss the difficulties they face as women in their fields of study, and support and mentor each other as they prepare to enter their fields.

Kirsten is passionate, driven, and determined, taking the initiative to bring this group of women together on campus …

Identification Of Silver And Palladium In Irradiated Triso Coated Particles Of The Agr-1 Experiment, I. J. Van Rooyen, T. M. Lillo, Y. Q. Wu

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Evidence of the release of certain metallic fission products through intact tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles has been seen for decades around the world, as well as in the recent AGR-1 experiment at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). However, understanding the basic mechanism of transport is still lacking. This understanding is important because the TRISO coating is part of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor functional containment and critical for the safety strategy for licensing purposes.

Our approach to identify fission products in irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Energy Filtered TEM (EFTEM), …

The Aeronautics Education, Research, And Industry Alliance (Aerial) 2002 Report, Brent D. Bowen, Mary M. Fink, Jocelyn S. Nickerson

Brent Bowen

UNOAI Report 02-7 The NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium (NSGC) & EPSCoR programs at the University I of Nebraska at Omaha are involved in a variety of innovative research activities. Such research is supported through the Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL) and collaborative seed funds. AERIAL is a comprehensive, mulch-faceted, five year NASA EPSCoR initiative that contributes substantially to the strategic research and technology priorities of NASA while intensifying Nebraska’s rapidly growing aeronautics research and development endeavors. AERIAL includes three major collaborative research teams (CRTs) whose nexus is a common focus in aeronautics research. Each CRT - Small …

What Matters In College For Retaining Aspiring Scientists And Engineers From Underrepresented Racial Groups, Mitchell J. Chang, Jessica Sharkness, Sylvia Hurtado, Christopher B. Newman

Christopher B. Newman

This longitudinal study examined factors that contribute to the persistence of underrepresented racial minority (URM) undergraduates in STEM fields. The primary source of data came from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s 2004 The Freshman Survey (TFS) and 2008 College Senior Survey (CSS). The sample included 3,670 students at 217 institutions who indicated on the TFS that they intended to major in a STEM field, 1,634 of whom were underrepresented minority (URM) students. Findings indicate that Black and Latino undergraduates were significantly less likely to persist in STEM majors than were their White and Asian American counterparts. Background characteristics and college …

African American And Hispanic Stem Students' Engagement At Predominantly White Institutions, Terrell Lamont Strayhorn, Fei Bie, Leroy L. Long Iii, Blossom A. Barrett

Publications

Although research has shown that involvement is a helpful predictor of students’ future success, underrepresented minorities (i.e., African Americans and Hispanics) face unique obstacles at predominantly White institutions, which limit their engagement in educationally purposeful activities. Survey data from a 2007 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) were analyzed to measure African American and Hispanic students’ engagement in educationally purposeful activities. Results from the present study found that student satisfaction in college is positively related to time spent preparing for class and frequency of interactions with faculty members about careers. Furthermore, African American and Hispanic science, technology, …

Open Source Software To Enhance The Stem Learning Environment, Maurice E. Dawson Jr., Imad Al Saeed, Jorja Wright, Festus Onyegbula

Maurice Dawson

This chapter examines the use of Open Source Software (OSS) technologies that can be used to improve the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Explored are the various methods that can be utilized to improve the percentage of STEM majors in the American educational system with resources such as: Open Source as Alternative (OSALT), virtualization, cloud computing, Linux distributions, open source programming, and open source hardware platforms. Increasing the amount of students that pursue STEM majors is important because the projected job growth in the STEM field compared to non-STEM jobs is 33%. OSALT provides cost-effective alternatives to …

An Interactive Exploration Of Gender And Engineering: Unpacking The Experience, Debbie Chachra, Lynn Stein, Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, Caitrin Lynch, Yevgeniya Zastavker

Alisha L. Sarang-Sieminski

The engineering student experience is understood to differ for male and female students; gendered interactions affect the development of academic and professional role confidence, as well as engineering identity. The purpose of this session is twofold. First, we aim to introduce participants to concepts of gender schemas, privilege, and identity using a range of interactive activities, including brainstorming and structured discussion. Second, we intend to share information about and obtain feedback on a Gender Discussion Exploration Kit, which the participants will be encouraged to review, use, and share at their home institutions.

Strengthening The Pathway To Stem Research Leadership At Hope College, Catherine Mader

Faculty Presentations

Over the past 20 years, awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have supported Hope's efforts to conduct STEM research and to prepare students to pursue careers as STEM researchers. The current program is building upon prior successes to create a deliberate pathway for students as they enter Hope as novices, build STEM Researcher skills through coursework and summer research and eventually become student leaders in STEM Research groups.

Stemsat: An Iss Cubesat Program Based On Spare Parts, Anders Nervold, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

With the national government’s focus on driving STEM-education, it is important to provide hands-on ave-nues where students can engage with, and accumulate ex-perience working directly with projects within their fields of interest. The Student Technology Emersion Satellite (STEMSat), provides an avenue for students to become in-volved in CubeSat design and development with only mi-nor hardware and monetary resources, and without being dependent on a launch.

STEMSats are CubeSat satellites that are created from spare parts, residual tools and equipment, obsolete mate-rials, and other types of trash aboard the ISS. A list of all the excess items available for such a …

90° To 360°, Holly Paronelli

The STEAM Journal

When I hear STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Art I think of Math and value. Even though there is value in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) the value as a whole cannot be fully calculated. Art is too indefinite, to vast, too infinite to be calculated, but aspects of STEM can be. Yet even then what we think we know comes down to interpretation, fact is fact for only a while.

Towards A “Cloud Curriculum” In Art And Science?, Roger Malina

The STEAM Journal

Recently an email hit my desk from Paul Thomas in Australia with a proposal to work together on a “Cloud Curriculum for Art and Science”. I immediately agreed to collaborate. I don’t yet have a clue of what a cloud curriculum is, but what I do know is that we are ‘backing into the future’ in educational institutions and we desperately need a ‘cloud curriculum.’ We need to look over the ten year horizon. And in the emerging art-science field I doubt that the usual approach to curriculum development will work.

Steam...Now!, John Eger

The STEAM Journal

With America slowly awakening to the need to turn out creative and innovative workers who can join the 21^st century (its already 2012) workplace -- because they have the new thinking skills --we have to change the current emphasis on STEM, for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to STEAM, by insuring that the whole brain is nurtured through the arts: thus STEAM.

On Cultural Polymathy: How Visual Thinking, Culture, And Community Create A Platform For Progress, Whitney Dail

The STEAM Journal

Within the last decade, the commingling of art and science has reached a critical mass. Science has long infused the arts with curiosity for natural phenomena and human behavior. New models for producing knowledge have given rise to interaction and collaboration across the globe, along with a renewed Renaissance.

Getting Real About The E In Steam, James Catterall

The STEAM Journal

STEM and STEAM are in the news. Researchers and educators in my field (cognition, art, and creativity) argue reasons for adding the A to STEM. While I visit this below, my focus is elsewhere. In this brief essay, I want to explore the meaning and importance of the E appearing in both STEM and STEAM. What’s engineering doing in this mix? And what are some reasons for affirming the arts when the role of engineering is clarified?

Developing A Stem Teacher Recruitment Pipeline, Kimberly Shaw, Cindy Ticknor, Tim Howard

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

The Columbus Region Academy of Future Teachers of STEM (CRAFT-STEM), a Phase I Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, combines internships and scholarships, an exciting summer STEM Honors Camp, a new Teaching Connections Seminar, and an impressive array of existing resources to recruit, prepare, and graduate an increasing number of STEM teachers committed to serving high need high schools.

Joining & Using Google Plus Communities: Georgia Stem Teaching & Learning Conference Community, Daniel Rivera

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

The 2nd Annual Georgia STEM Teaching & Learning Conference has chosen Google Plus Communities as the designated tool for encouraging communication among university faculty, K-12 teachers & administrators, research institutions, and businesses. The purpose of this session is to show participants how to get connected and then how to use Google Plus Communities for collaboration.

Research Participants Discuss Stem Conference Participation And Impacton Thinking And Practice, Colleen Beyer, Thomas Koballa, Delena Bell Gatch, Leslie S. Jones, Sharmistha Basu-Dutt, Farooq Khan

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

Last spring, Georgia Southern University hosted its first Scholarship of STEM Teaching and Learning conference. Conference participants were asked to respond to a survey and a subset of participants was selected for an in-depth study. In this session, an overview of the research project will be presented and current research participants will discuss the impact of conference participation on their thinking and practice.

I2StemE - What, Who, Where?, Kania Greer, Bob Mayes

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

I²STEM^e is a new Institute on the campus of GSU whose focus is to increase opportunities for K-20 students, teachers, and businesses to partner together to improve STEM Education in Georgia around the tenets of place-based learning, problem based learning and teaching for understanding.

Building, Refining & Defining Stem Learning Outcomes: K-16 Implications, Richard A. Duschl

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

The July 2012 release of the National Research Council Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas heralds ‘a new vision of science in education.’ The Framework sets out a comprehensive agenda for the reform of science and engineering education coordinated around 3 Dimensions: Science & Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. While the Framework’s central mission is to impact K-12 education through implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, there are important but less understood implications for higher education, informal science education and publics’ understandings of science communication efforts. In this talk, I will provide …

The Nucleus 2012-2013, Rrosalie A. Richards

Science Education Center

No abstract provided.

Academic And Social Barriers To Black And Latino Male Collegians' Success In Engineering And Related Stem Fields, Terrell Lamont Strayhorn, Leroy L. Long Iii, Joseph Allen Kitchen, Michael Steven Williams, Meg E. Stenz

Publications

Historically underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (i.e. African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans) have experienced barriers to their success in engineering and related STEM fields. These student populations have had lower degree attainment rates, switch to non-STEM majors more frequently, and experience unique social challenges when compared to White and Asian Pacific Islander counterparts. To examine these findings, nearly 50 interviews were conducted and analyzed in the present study to better understand the academic and social experiences of African American and Latino American men in these fields. Interviews revealed that these students tend to (1) feel alone and invisible, (2) lack same …

How Relationships With Faculty And Peers Affect Value Development In Undergraduate Engineering Education: A National Survey Analysis, Leroy L. Long Iii, Michael Steven Williams, Terrell Lamont Strayhorn

Publications

To prepare students for the serious ethical dilemmas encountered in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), higher education educators strive to influence students’ value development. Despite this goal, little is known about value development in undergraduate engineering education. Survey data from the 2008-2009 national administration of the revised College Student Experiences in STEM Questionnaire (CSESQ) was analyzed to examine the relationship between students’ engagement with faculty and peers and their perceived value development. Findings from the present study offer insight into (a) engineering students’ value development in college, and (b) the influence of relationships with peers and faculty members on …