Engineering Commons^™

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 60 Number 4, Summer 2019, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - PROTECTING THE HEART To grow the campus, we must care for the thing unchanging at its center—its Mission. Take a journey through the restoration of Mission Santa Clara de Asís. By Lander Eicholzer ’19.

22 - A LOBBY FOR JUSTICE What do you do when it is impossible for the innocent to prove their innocence? Change the law. The Northern California Innocence Project teamed up with state lawmakers and others to do just that. By Deborah Lohse.

26 - FINDING CENTER Outgoing Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts Taye Diggs reflects on celebrating who are you, where …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 60 Number 3, Summer 2019, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - PROTECTING THE HEART To grow the campus, we must care for the thing unchanging at its center—its Mission. Take a journey through the restoration of Mission Santa Clara de Asís. By Lander Eicholzer ’19.

22 - A LOBBY FOR JUSTICE What do you do when it is impossible for the innocent to prove their innocence? Change the law. The Northern California Innocence Project teamed up with state lawmakers and others to do just that. By Deborah Lohse.

26 - FINDING CENTER Outgoing Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts Taye Diggs reflects on celebrating who are you, where …

Community Involvement And Leadership In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Rural Poll Research Report 19-1, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Community leadership and involvement are important parts of community development. Rural communities rely on volunteers for many community development activities as well as local leadership positions. In smaller communities in particular, community members often take on multiple roles. Given these challenges, how involved are rural Nebraskans in community and political activities? How do they feel about the leadership in their community? How often do they have social interactions with others during a typical month? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 1,776 responses to the 2019 Nebraska Rural Poll, the 24th annual effort to understand …

A Study To Determine How To Measure The Laser Safety Climate At Academic Institutions, John Settlemyer

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Statement of Problem

The purpose of this study was to determine if the laser safety climate can be measured at academic institutions and what factors would provide valid measures of the laser safety climate at academic institutions. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions:

Research Questions

RQ1. Can laser safety climate be measured at academic institutions using a climate survey instrument?

RQ2. What factors should be measured by a laser safety climate instrument?

RQ3. What measures would provide actionable data for prescriptive intervention by laser safety professionals at academic institutions? (p. 4)

Nuclear Engineering At The Air Force Institute Of Technology: A Unique Graduate School Experience For A Unique Set Of Students, Michael B. Shattan

Faculty Publications

In August 2018, the Air University Commander formed a task force to review the Air Force’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduate education programs that are delivered and administered through the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). The study was rooted in strategies to support the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and provided the necessary technologically equipped personnel for the 21st century. The study was commonly referred to as “reimagining AFIT”. Several themes emerged from the study, which include reaching a broader community of Airmen through alternate educational modes (e.g. distance learning, short course etc.), forming strategic educational and research …

English Language Proficiency And Aviation Safety, Robert Fowler Jr.

Student Works

The goal of this research study is to determine if aviation incidents and accidents due to deficiencies in English language proficiency have increased in the last 10 years based on data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). In addition, this study will determine whether deficiencies in English language proficiency have a significant impact on aviation safety. There are currently 184,636 student pilots according to the Federal Aviation Administration Airmen Certification System. Included in this number are 11,776 student pilots with a foreign address (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], 2019). Findings presented at a NASA …

Graphs And Cad: Analyzing The Experience Of A Mechanical Engineering Intern, Matthew Des Biens

Celebration of Learning

A reflection on the experiences of a mechanical engineering intern at Bergstrom Inc., this presentation, by Senior Matt Des Biens, will discuss what it was like working for a manufacturing and design company making HVAC units for large customers across the world. The highlights will be on the projects he worked on, the things that he learned, and his views on working for the company as a whole.

Workforce Development Through Online Experiential Learning For Stem Education, Arefeh Mohammadi, Kevin Grosskopf, John Killingsworth

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The U.S. workforce is increasingly comprised of older adults, women, and minorities who lack basic skills and are unable to acquire these skills through traditional educational and training programs. New approaches are needed to provide effective training to the adult learner and flexible support for nontraditional students who must balance work-life demands with limited educational opportunities. Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) is a form of experiential learning that blends both basic skills and occupational training together in environments that allow students to relate subject matter to real-world situations. Virtual CTL environments can be created to better engage students, provide immediate …

Quantifying The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale And The Functional Performance Measures, Chelsea Rene Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friedreich Ataxia (FA) is a debilitating autosomal-recessive neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by ataxia of all four limbs, difficulty walking, areflexia, and dysarthria. Further complications of FA include diabetes, scoliosis, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Approximately three-quarters of people with FA have onset before the age of 25 and in most instances, affected individuals will require the use of a wheelchair within ten years after symptoms emerge.

The current advancements in clinical trials have escalated the developmental demand for a scale which validates adjustments in FA. The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS) is a disease-specific semi-qualitative assessment which includes three subscales (functional …

Connecting With Deans And Chairs: Tools And Success Stories, Daniel Christie, Sally Fell, Kari Kozak, Anne E. Rauh

Librarian Publications

No abstract provided.

Iron Range Engineering - An Overview Of Design And Open-Ended Problem Solving Activities In An Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Learning Program, Elizabeth Pluskwik

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Project-based learning (PBL) in engineering education is growing at a rapid pace. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) Program of Minnesota State University Mankato, is an upper division (3rd and 4th year) undergraduate engineering education program based on the Aalborg, Denmark PBL model. Students work in teams to solve industry-sourced projects each semester. The learning of engineering is accomplished in three domains - technical learning of engineering concepts, professionalism, and design, which we call the “three-legged stool” of engineering education. The program promotes entrepreneurial mindset and innovative open-ended problem-solving in context. Fifty students are enrolled in 3rd and 4th-year studies at …

Steady State Hydroplaning Risk Analysis And Evaluation Of Unsteady State Effects, Menna Yassin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydroplaning is a major concern on high speed roadways during heavy rainfall events. Hydroplaning tools are widely used by designers to reduce their roadway’s hydroplaning potential, therefore reducing the possibilities of severe crashes. This dissertation presents two methodologies for improving the prediction of hydroplaning potential.

The first phase focused on improving an existing widely used software called PAVDRN. Using multiple datasets from the Florida Department of Transportation, the author filtered the data using specific criteria to leave only truly dynamic hydroplaning crashes. The author then evaluated PAVDRN’s prediction capabilities and assessed its reliability in predicting a hydroplaning crash. Using past …

Engineering Students’ Perceptions Of Belongingness In Civil Engineering, Lisa Benson, Candice Bolding, Jennifer Harper Ogle, Catherine Mcgough Spence, Joseph Murphy, Rachel Lanning

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Prior research shows that engineering students with low feelings of belongingness tend to switch to non-technical majors. With the understanding that aspects of student motivation, identity, and personality, as well as their academic performance, affect their sense of community in engineering, this study seeks to assess these student attributes over time. The context for this study is a single civil engineering program that is undergoing both curricular and cultural changes as part of an NSF-funded project. The data and findings presented here are part of a larger study of how student attitudes and beliefs change during their experiences in a …

Using Reflection To Facilitate Writing Knowledge Transfer In Upper-Level Materials Science Courses, Jennifer C. Mallette, Harold Ackler

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

When students enter upper-level engineering courses, they may bring with them unclear or inconsistent approaches to writing in engineering. Influenced by their past experiences with writing, students encountering engineering genres such as reports and proposals may struggle to write successfully. They may struggle in part because of the messiness inherent in writing knowledge transfer: a student who successfully completed freshman composition may still be unable to transfer skills, habits of mind, and approaches to writing from that setting to engineering because the rhetorical situations look drastically different. Yancey, Robertson, and Taczak define transfer as a “dynamic rather than a static …

Increasing The Interest Of Elementary School Girls In Stem Fields Through Outreach Activities, Jennifer Bastiaan, Roger Bastiaan

Mechanical Engineering Presentations And Conference Materials

Despite the known value of a diverse Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, women and minorities continue to be under-represented in these fields. Engineering undergraduate degrees, in particular, are awarded to women engineering students in the United States and Canada at a lower rate compared to their male counterparts. For the past 20 years, less than 20% of engineering degrees have been awarded to women students, and this stubborn trend is not changing much. The outcome is worse for black and Hispanic students, who usually comprise less than 10% of engineering graduates. Research has shown that low self-confidence in …

Voices Of Our Students: Using Evidence-Based Methods To Inform A Multidisciplinary Engineering Program Design, Vicki Stieha, Noah Salzman, Amy J. Moll

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Listening carefully to our students and integrating the variables that matter to them is a step that we can take to increase the number of women and underrepresented minority graduates in engineering. This paper shares an evaluative case study as we report findings from data gathering tools guiding our continuous improvement process. The findings illuminate students’ perceptions of their engineering design course and curriculum. We conclude by discussing the pedagogical decisions the teaching team is making as a result of listening to our students’ voices.

Advanced Design And Fabrication Of Prosthetic And Medical Devices, Gaffar Gailani, Andy S. Zhang, Yu Wang, Sidi Berri

Publications and Research

The department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design Technology (MEIDT) at City Tech is seeking to strengthening the skills of its students in manufacturing and design to respond to the urgent needs of the manufacturing industry in general and the prosthetic and medical devices (P&MD) industry in particular to high-skilled engineers and technicians and to provide a national model for advanced technology education. Medical Devices will include: (a) Surgical and Medical Instruments; (b) Surgical Appliances and Supplies; and (c) Dental Equipment and Supplies. The educational merit of the project is that it motivates students to do engineering rather than studying …

Implementation Of Visual Supplements To Strengthen Pedagogical Practices And Enhance The Physical Understanding Of Fundamental Concepts In Engineering Mechanics, Eleazar Marquez, Samuel Garcia, Samuel Molina

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Mechanical Engineering is a discipline highly dependent on designing and implementing mechanical, thermal, or energy systems for the improvement of the human environment. Thus being a proficient Engineer involves having a strong mathematical background and a thorough physical understanding on how systems operate in order to apply analytical or numerical schemes during a design process. However, most of the students’ academic development is centered on deriving tedious equations and solving textbook problems, which are difficult to visualize and physically understand, and cloud their intuitive nature to comprehend a problem on its entirety. These conventional approaches and methods of disseminating content …

Board 63: Work In Progress: Adapting Scrum Project Management To Ece Courses, Branimir Pejcinovic, Phillip Wong, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scrum is a popular form of Agile project management. Its applications now include diverse areas such as software development, engineering, urban planning, and law. Scrum has also been used in software engineering educational programs, but its use in other engineering education is lagging. Within our electrical and computer engineering program, we introduced Scrum to help students improve their teamwork efficacy in projects and courses. Earlier, we have presented some initial experiences and observations when implementing Scrum in ECE courses. In this paper we will elaborate on how Scrum is applied across different years and how we scaffold student learning. Scrum …

Fossil Mobiles: Exploring The Process Of Art As Science Inquiry For Elementary Students Through A Grounded Theory Study, Jolene K. Teske, Courtney Clausen, Harun Parpucu, Phyllis Gray, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Arts integration into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subject areas is currently an important area of investigation. This study developed a grounded theory of how artmaking of a mobile related to fossil life of the Devonian period engendered geoscience inquiry. Data were collected from elementary students entering fourth to sixth grade (7 male, 9 female) attending a week-long summer camp at a Midwestern university. Students engaged in a daily hour-long class creating fossil mobiles and learning geoscience content through illustrated slide shows, form and function sets of materials related to Devonian fossils, fossil books, and a fossil hunter- fossil …

Exploring Preservice Teachers’ Still-Life Paintings Of Crystals With Artist-Focused Compared To Science-Focused Introductions, Mahjabeen Hussain, Dessy Stoycheva, Audrey C. Rule, Denise A. Tallakson

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This experimental study was undertaken with preservice teachers to test whether the use of science integration into arts education increases demonstration of science details and creative features in artwork. Two conditions were created: arts-focused and science-focused; gouache still-life paintings were produced and analyzed, and an attitude survey was completed. The results suggested that science integration into visual arts classes increased creativity for the arts-focused condition and increased science concepts in the science-focused condition. Participants in both conditions reported positive attitudes, specifically, high levels of enjoyment, alluded to lack of experience with arts and creative projects, and expressed desire for more …

A Content Analysis Of Thirty Children’S Picture Books About Ecology, Natalia Martín Martín, Jennifer L. Hageman, Sarah E. Montgomery, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study presents a content analysis of 30 ecology-themed children’s picture books published in English and Spanish from 1994 to the present. Books were analyzed for the following aspects: 1) Nature appreciation, 2) Interrelatedness of Nature, 3) Realistic ecology problem, 4) Differing perspectives, 5) Hope for a solution, 6) Reflection and responsibility, 7) Steps for a solution, 8) Positive tone, 9) Representation of diversity, 10) Appropriate illustrations, 11) Story appeal, and 12) Developmental appropriateness. Scoring guidelines are provided in an appendix. Content analysis results revealed that most books raise awareness about the impact of human action on the environment, although …

Ocean Underwater Scene Dioramas Of First Graders With Submarine Porthole Views, Ksenia Zhbanova, Audrey C. Rule, Denise A. Tallakson

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Ecology education of the younger generations is vital for worldwide change of people’s attitudes toward nature warranted by the current global ecological crisis. Yet, this goal needs to be addressed through age-appropriate activities that are educational and engaging. This practical article focuses on dioramas of ocean reef life made by first graders. This arts-integrated project served two main purposes: 1) education of primary students about ocean ecology and helping students realize their roles in saving nature 2) increasing student science content knowledge. Additionally, several other benefits of making dioramas emerged during this project, including highly creative student products, genuine interest …

Slime Bash Social: A Tactile Manipulative For Child And Youth Play, Joyce A. Levingston, Marie E. Adebiyi, Brian Hadley, Younis Al-Hassan, Dongyub Back, Michelle Cook, Christopher R. Edginton

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The play product of slime has gained increasing popularity amongst children and youth throughout the United States. Slime can be thought of as a tactile manipulative that can be shaped, stretched, expanded, lumped together, twisted, squeezed, squashed, folded, rolled, shredded, twirled, swirled, pounded, and cut or pulled apart. As a learning tool, slime can and does support STEM initiatives and programs. Slime can be created using simple ingredients that are easily measured, combined, and prepared by children and youth. In addition, slime can incorporate components such as glitter, beads, shaving cream, color dyes and other items. This paper offers an …

Practical Art Projects Related To Children’S Picture Books About Ecology, Jennifer L. Hageman, Natalia Martín Martín, Sarah E. Montgomery, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study presents art projects that reinforce scientific content presented in children’s picture books about ecology. Ten K-6 students from varying socioeconomic classes, and different cultural and language backgrounds from the United States and Spain participated. Next Generation Science Standards were identified and addressed in these art projects. Students’ understanding and engagement were evaluated through teacher observations, photographs, and a student attitude survey. Upper- and lower-elementary students evidenced increased understanding of environmental issues, and high level of enjoyment and engagement through these art projects integrated with science content. Researchers encourage educators to incorporate picture books and art in science lessons …

Editorial: Developing Creativity Through Stem Subjects Integrated With The Arts, Ksenia Zhbanova

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This issue of the Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions is focused on creativity - one of the most highly-desirable 21^st Century skills on personal and global levels. Time, pedagogical knowledge, and resource constraints limit the number of opportunities for teachers to develop creativity in students. In this editorial, creativity development steps and strategies are illuminated along with specific roles of STEM subjects and the arts in development of student creativity. The processes of creativity development used in STEM and the arts are compared to each other and to the non-subject-specific creative process model of Root-Bernstein and Root- …

”Cyberworld” As A Theme For A University-Wide First-Year Common Course, Kristen Przyborski, Frank Breitinger, Lauren Beck, Ronald S. Harichandran

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

Nowadays we all live in a cyber world and use the internet for emailing, banking, streaming video, shopping, reading news, or other activities. Given all the time people spend online, it is important that all students (regardless of their major) learn some basics about living in a cyber world, e.g., strategies for online safety, impact of artificial intelligence, digital forensics or ancestry.com. To facilitate students from many majors to learn about important issues related to the internet, eight faculty from a variety of disciplines at the University of New Haven integrated the theme of Cyber World into our team-taught, first-year …

An Exploratory Study Of Engineering Students’ Misconceptions About Technical Communication, Cheryl Q. Li, Judy Randi, Jenna Sheffield

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

This paper reports results of a mixed methods study that examined engineering students’ acquisition of technical communication skills over time. In particular, this exploratory study aimed to identify persistent errors, lingering misconceptions, and challenges engineering students faced when they attempted to apply their knowledge and skills in new contexts. The 12 participants were drawn from engineering courses in which students were required to compose technical memoranda in response to requests for information from supervisors or clients. This integrated approach addresses content and communication in the same course. The study included a longitudinal analysis of four technical memoranda written across two …

Motivating Students For Learning Using Scaffolding And A Variety Of Assignments, Nadiye O. Erdil

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the impacts of various course assignments and activities that were used to increase student motivation and learning. The courses selected for the study are Quality Analysis and Design of Experiments courses, which are offered as required courses in the industrial engineering graduate program at the University of New Haven. The assignments and activities include term project, term paper, homework, in-class exercises, quizzes, exams, library training and factory visit. In an earlier pilot study in the Quality Analysis course, scaffolding -an instructional strategy that enables students to build on prior experience and knowledge as they work towards mastering …

Investigation Of Grout - A Comparison Of Standard Grout Mix To Self-Consolidating Grout Mix, Rachel Garcia Chandler

Architectural Engineering

Masonry is a major structural material for low rise buildings, however the design of masonry buildings is rarely taught as a formal course at most universities. As part of the educational experience and to become familiar with the specifications and testing procedures for grouted masonry, a student run experiment on varying the water to cement ratio of masonry grout was conducted. The purpose is to report on the effects of changing the water-to-cement (W/C) ratios in a standard grout mix. The typical W/C ratio is approximately 0.80:1.00. In order to show the effects of increasing water in a grout mix, …