Engineering Education Commons^™

Review Of Living Learning Communities And Their Impact On First Year Engineering College Students, Samantha Schauer, Krishna Pakala, Kim M.B. Tucker

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditionally, first-year college students do not have a community of like-minded peers with whom they are able to learn. Adding to first-year engineering college students’ (FYECS) struggles is the fact that many students do not have a mentor in their related field and are unable to start building their professional repertoire, network, and/or practical skills. Living Learning Communities (LLC) can offer a platform for postsecondary institutions to increase recruitment, engagement, and sense of belonging for students who live in an LLC. LLCs have been described in the literature as themed living and learning communities where students take a common course(s), …

Concrete Beam Design: Pouring The Foundation To Engineering In T&E Classrooms, Andrew J. Hughes, Chris Merrill

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

Ask a middle or high school student if they could design a concrete beam that weighs only 20 pounds and is 36” long but must hold 600 pounds without failing. What is the student likely to say? What if the student was told that, with some optimized decision making based on relatively straightforward mathematics, their beam could hold 2400 pounds or more? The focus of this article is not on concrete beam design, it is rather an introduction to engineering principles in beam design using a lab activity. The concepts and skills learned in this article will lead students into …

Analyzing Concrete Beam Design: Verifying Predictions In T&Ee Classrooms, Andrew J. Hughes, Chris Merrill

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

Design is often accepted as a fundamental aspect of engineering (Dym, et al., 2005). The design process is frequently portrayed as a set of steps. However, the design process is more complex than just a set of steps in a relatively fixed process. The complex nature of design, design thinking, questioning, and decision-making is exactly what technology and engineering classrooms are well suited to address. When addressing the question—“Why is technology and engineering education (T&EE) so important?”—the authors believe T&EE’s importance relates to our discipline’s ability to solve complex problems by balancing theory and practice in engaging hands-on learning scenarios …

Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, Bryan Kennedy

All Undergraduate Projects

Renewable energies, and fuels that are not fossil fuel-based, are one of the prolific topics of debate in modern society. With climate change now becoming a primary focus for scientists and innovators of today, one of the areas for the largest amount of potential and growth is that of the capturing and utilization of Solar Energy. This method involves using a mechanical system to track the progression of the sun as it traverses the sky throughout the day. A dual-axis solar tracker such as the one designed and built for this project, can follow the sun both azimuthally and in …

Virtual Experiments For Engineering Education, Amy P. Lebanoff

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In-person engineering instruction relies on the availability of equipment and space. Cost, safety, and scheduling may pose barriers to conducting in-person labs. Virtual experiments may be used to enhance the student experience by, for example, incorporating pre-labs for in-person experiments and providing access to equipment that cannot be safely used in-person. Virtual learning is used in many fields, but there remain questions as to how it should be employed in engineering, an area largely reliant on in-person lab and classroom setups. Earlier studies reviewed the advantages of virtual labs such as demonstrating hard-to-observe phenomena and allowing unlimited trials. This project …

A Mobile Learning Community In A Living Learning Community: Perceived Impact On Digital Fluency And Communication, Devshikha Bose, Krishna Pakala, Lana Grover

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Though mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and tablet computers have an immense potential for improving student learning, there is little empirical research which reports ways in which students actually use these technologies for learning, especially in fields like Engineering. Based on a social-constructivist approach to learning, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate student perceptions regarding changes in mobile device based digital fluency and communication, after participation in a Living Learning Community (LLC) based Mobile Learning Community. This study contributes to existing literature in the field in that it reports student perceptions of how mobile devices can …

Partnering Undergraduate Engineering Students With Preservice Teachers To Design And Teach An Elementary Engineering Lesson Through Ed+Gineering, Kristie Gutierrez, Stacie I. Ringleb, Jennifer Jill Kidd, Orlando M. Ayala, Pilar Pazos, Krishnanand Kaipa

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Major challenges in engineering education include retention of undergraduate engineering students (UESs) and continued engagement after the first year when concepts increase in difficulty. Additionally, employers, as well as ABET, look for students to demonstrate non-technical skills, including the ability to work successfully in groups, the ability to communicate both within and outside their discipline, and the ability to find information that will help them solve problems and contribute to lifelong learning. Teacher education is also facing challenges given the recent incorporation of engineering practices and core ideas into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and state level standards of …

Mechatronics Education At Kettering University: Development Of Learning- Specific Hardware And Software, Jeffrey Hargrove, Theodore J. Stokes

Jeffrey Hargrove

A series of learning-specific electronic circuit boards and associated software has been developed to support mechatronics education in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Kettering University. The boards are designed to interface to the Toshiba TLCS-900H Microprocessor Trainer and Evaluation Board. The purpose of these boards is to provide mechanical engineering students of mechatronics with robust hardware that readily permits interfacing of sensors and actuators to microcontrollers used in mechatronic applications. Further, the boards feature signal conditioning circuits for use in conjunction with sensors, and driver circuits for operating high-current actuating devices. Supporting software has been written to permit ready use …

The Benchtop Hybrid - Using A Long-Term Design Project To Integrate The Mechanical Engineering Curriculum, Eric Constans, Krishan Bhatia, Jen Kadlowec, Tom Merrill, Hong Zhang, Bonnie Angelone

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

This paper describes the use of a large-scale, multi-semester design project as a means of integrating six courses in the mechanical engineering curriculum. The project, a bench-scale hybrid powertrain, is built up - component by component - as students advance through the curriculum. The authors used the project to test two research hypotheses: 1) that a long-term, large-scale design project would increase long-term subject matter retention and 2) that a long-term, large-scale design project would increase students' design and problem-solving skills. The authors found that the design project had no measurable effect on long-term subject matter retention, but did have …

Teaching Top-Down Approaches To The Engineering Design Process, Joshua E. Katz, Joshua E. Katz

STAR Program Research Presentations

One of the main focuses of metacognition is to have students think about their learning. By bringing the engineering design process with educational psychology together, it can lead to a society that thinks more in-depth on various topics. The goal of the internship was to utilize and teach top-down educational and instructional objectives. Throughout the project, we followed a modified progression of the System Architecture Methodology to help other interns think in a top-down fashion. The purpose of this procedure is to create and induce new innovative and creative ideas for different projects. As teaching this methodology was tasked, research …

Ole Miss Engineer 2019

Ole Miss Engineer

No abstract provided.

(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) 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 …

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 …

Review Of Educational Technology: Closing The Gap Between Modern Technology And The College Engineering Classroom, David Pinkerton, Krishna Pakala

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper aggregates information from past and current studies regarding the implementation of technology in engineering classrooms and identifies the most promising ideas, technologies, and techniques. This paper provides insight into best practices for implementing technologies to improve the education of engineering students. This paper provides recommendations to adopt non-traditional teaching methods. Educational tools and techniques are evaluated on the basis of: Adoption and Assimilation, Access, Community, Intellectual Presence, Student Perception, and Development of Social and Professional Skills. Best practices are highlighted with descriptions of the technologies and techniques that were found most promising.

What Is A Bim Design Model?, James Peters, Malachy Mathews

Conference papers

The recent report into Building Information Management or BIM, by construction law experts May Winfield and Sarah Rock entitled “Winfield Rock Report” [1] gives reason to state that the UK architectural, engineering and construction industry or AEC, is hindered by the absence of a clear definition of Level 2 BIM. The ISO 19650-2 standard published in 2019, is based upon PAS1192-2:2013. The intent of ISO 19650-2 is to provide a road map to facilitate the standardisation of BIM process in a uniformed fashion. A key pillar of ISO 19650 is the “information cycle” and central to this is a federated …

Toward Building Resilient, Sustainable, And Smart Infrastructure In The 21st Century, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

In recent years, as a result of significant climate change, stringent windstorms are becoming more frequent than before. Given the threat that windstorms bring to people and property, wind/structural engineering research is imperative to improve the resilience of existing and new infrastructure, for community safety and assets protection. The Windstorm Impact, Science and Engineering (WISE) research program at Louisiana State University (LSU) focuses on creating new knowledge applicable to the mitigation of existing and new infrastructure, to survive and perform optimally under natural hazards. To achieve our research goals, we address two imperious challenges: (i) characterization of realistic wind forces …

2018-19 Tla Application - Thermal Fluid Sequence, M. A. Rafe Biswas

M. A. Rafe Biswas

No abstract provided.

A Study On The Student Success In A Blended-Model Engineering Classroom, Vimal Viswanathan, John Solomon

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

One of the primary concern that many engineering educators face is the lack of engagement of students in their classroom. While literature suggests a variety of factors that might negatively influence student engagement, the theory of “Tailored Instructions and Engineered Delivery Using Protocols” (TIED UP) specifically addresses the lack of engagement arising from a weak pre-requisite base. TIED UP is a blended teaching model where the content delivery follows a set of protocols inspired by the brain-based learning approach. In a typical TIED UP classroom, content delivery is performed using short, animated and scripted concept videos that are generated before …

Application Of Brain-Based Learning Principles To Engineering Mechanics Education: Implementation And Preliminary Analysis Of Connections Between Employed Strategies And Improved Student Engagement, Firas Akasheh, John Solomon, Eric Hamilton, Chitra Nayak, Vimal Viswanathan

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

In a pilot study supported by NSF, an instructional model that uses brain based learning principles as instructional protocols has been developed and successfully implemented in the course Introduction to Fluid Mechanics at a HBCU. Motivated by that success, we extended a similar intervention to another course, Dynamics, in the same school. In this paper, we report preliminary data from this intervention. The main strategies implemented in this intervention include: organization of the course into specific concepts and sub-concepts, which are concisely presented by short (limited to 2-6 minutes) content-rich lectures (diagrams, animations, narrations), active learning through in-class worksheets, and …

Creating The Fleet Maker - Lessons Learned From The First Series Of Workshops On Maker Concepts For Active Duty Personnel, Karina Arcaute, Michel Albert Audette, Vukica Jovanovic, Anthony Dean, Dipankar Ghosh

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The US Navy has supported research related to the 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing area for more than 20 years. More recently, efforts like the Print the Fleet initiative and Marine Makers are exploring ways to design and create solutions to future problems with the possibility of reducing maintenance costs, increasing equipment readiness, and improving combat effectiveness. The Creating the Fleet Maker project is an effort supported by the Navy and Marine Corps Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, Outreach and Workforce Program of the Office of Naval Research. It examines the concept of making in order to develop skills …

Introduction Of Mechatronics Specialization Through Concentration Areas In The Mechanical And Electrical Engineering Technology Programs, Otilia Popescu, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Sanjeevi Chitikeshi, Isaac L. Flory Iv

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The last few decades have experienced an explosion of technology, both in industry and in customer products. A large variety of embedded systems from various areas of applications, digital electronics, internet of things, automatically controlled products, and ultimately mechatronics systems are part of the everyday life. The changes in the industries, consumer markets and implicitly in the job markets, impose changes in the academic programs and curricula. Recently, mechatronics undergraduate programs started being developed in 2 or 4 years colleges across the nation, mainly driven by international companies operating in countries that already offer mechatronics degrees ranging from high school …

Hawai'i Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Clean Water Act provides jurisdiction over indirect discharges of pollutants from a point source into groundwater that is shown to be connected to navigable waters. The court found that studies confirmed pollutants entering the Pacific Ocean were fairly traceable to the County of Maui’s sewage disposal wells. In affirming the district court’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Maui County violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigable water without the required permit. The court also concluded the …

Kinesthetic Learning Experience Simulation Using An Online Intervention To Improve Hands-On Ability, David Leach

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Students enrolled in mechanical and manufacturing engineering programs employ differing levels of mechanical aptitude and practical hands-on ability. Many students lack practical experience tinkering with mechanical devices and mechanisms prior to entering their post-secondary years. Student attention spans in traditional classroom environments appear to be decreasing with the ever-increasing addiction to immediate gratification provided by electronic devices, gaming software, and social media platforms. The question is then raised whether or not modern engineering students have the ability to improve mechanical aptitude by simulating a kinesthetic or tactile learning experience through an online tutorial. This project describes the development and testing …

Extending Maneuverability Of Internally Actuated Underwater Gliders, An Attempt To Develop An Open Platform For Research And Education, Saeedeh Ziaeefard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Increasing maneuverability of internally actuated Underwater Gliders (UGs) is inevitable due to high demands in underwater surveillance and reconnaissance missions where agility and stealthiness are the keys to success. High maneuverability is needed to provide the opportunity for optimal trajectory planning, planar motion smoothness, and re-planning adapting to the dynamic environments.

This work explores extending the maneuverability of underwater gliders through coupled improvement in mechanical design, efficient use of internal actuation, and motion planning strategy utilizing flight concatenation. The existence of five flight patterns ``advanced flight", inspired by air gliders, enabled solely by utilizing internal actuation are investigated: Circle, Oval …

Ole Miss Engineer 2017-2018

Ole Miss Engineer

No abstract provided.

Animated Otto-Langen Atmospheric Engine, Keiran M. Hansen, Lance Hodgson, Rachel A. Jakob, Chris J. Splees

Mechanical Engineering

Based on an existing relationship between Dr. Owen and the Deutsches Museum, Otto-Mated was given the opportunity to collaborate with the two in a year-long senior design project. Otto-Mated was tasked with modeling and simulating the Otto-Langen Atmospheric Engine as a form of preservation and education. The model was created in SolidWorks and animated in Blender, effectively providing the museum with accurate and educational videos demonstrating the engine’s function. Within this document are the plans, decisions, and processes used to create our final product for Deutsches Museum.

Answering Food Insecurity: Serving The Community With Food And Knowledge Using Technology, Courtney Simpson

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The courses of Tech120, CGT110, and ENGT 180/181 and Red Gold at Purdue collaborated to design a robot that would plant and water a garden for a local community charter school. The students centered the project on the users’ needs for fresh food, nutrition education, and early exposure to STEM for children. The school, Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA), is comprised of many children who come from low-income families and are in the free or reduced lunch program. Inspired from “Farm Bot,” a similar system that allows for almost hands-free gardening, the “Boiler Bot” is designed to be scalable so children …

The Girl Scout Climbing Wall Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Project, Margaret Pinnell, Corinne M. Daprano, Gabrielle Williamson

Corinne M. Daprano

The Girl Scout Wall (GS Wall) project was implemented in two classes at the University of Dayton (UD): a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) course, and a Health and Sports Science (HSS) course, and Sport Facility Management. The MAE course, Introduction to Materials, is a three-credit, third-year required course where students learn about the basic structure and properties of materials as well as the principles of material selection. The Sport Facility Management course is a three-semester hour, required HSS course where students are introduced to the processes of planning, constructing, equipping, maintaining, and managing sport facilities.

Reasoning Strategies In The Context Of Engineering Design With Everyday Materials, Marcelo Worsley, Paulo Blikstein

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

‘‘Making’’ represents an increasingly popular label for describing a form of engineering design. While making is growing in popularity, there are still open questions about the strategies that students are using in these activities. Assessing and improving learning in making/ engineering design contexts require that we have a better understanding of where students’ ideas are coming from and a better way to characterize student progress in open-ended learning environments. In this article, we use a qualitative analysis of students’ responses (N = 13) in order to identify the origins of their ideas. Four strategies emerged from this analysis: unexplained …