Engineering Commons^™

"Whole-Brained" Engineering Education In Undergraduate Studies At The University Of Dayton, Kylie Moellering

Undergraduate Voices

This inquiry is a case study which explores, explicates, and summarizes the recent shift to “whole-brained” engineering education for undergraduate-level students at the University of Dayton. This case study is primarily structured around the experiences and insights of an interviewee, Dr. Ken Bloemer, who is the Director of the Visioneering Center at the University of Dayton. The Visioneering Center is principally focused on promoting the progress of engineering education at the university. Voices from scholarly literature pertaining to this vision and other undergraduate engineering curricula are then used to reinforce the interviewee’s views and give deeper insight into the various …

Undergraduate Voices, Volume 1 (2018): Addendum, Amir Kalan

Undergraduate Voices

Additional articles approved for publication in December 2018 in Volume 1.

Performance Analysis Of Feature Selection Techniques For Support Vector Machine And Its Application For Lung Nodule Detection, Barath Narayanan, Russell C. Hardie, Temesguen Messay Kebede

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Lung cancer typically exhibits its presence with the formation of pulmonary nodules. Computer Aided Detection (CAD) of such nodules in CT scans would be of valuable help in lung cancer screening. Typical CAD system is comprised of a candidate detector and a feature-based classifier. In this research, we study and explore the performance of Support Vector Machine (SVM) based on a large set of features. We study the performance of SVM as a function of the number of features. Our results indicate that SVM is more robust and computationally faster with a large set of features and less prone to …

Applications Of Passive Solar Energy And Reclaimed Heat From Livestock Manure Decomposition, Naomi Elizabeth Schalle

Honors Theses

One energy intensive part of raising livestock in colder climates is keeping water warm and easily accessible to the animals in the winter. The objective of this project is to increase the sustainability of livestock farms by developing and implementing an energy conservation measure to decrease electric energy usage on the heating of water for livestock in the winter. One thing farmers have in excess is manure, an abundant and renewable resource for the farmers. This project will capitalize on that excess to encourage a creative use of resources often seen as waste, through implementing aspects of sustainability and conservation …

Modeling Socio-Economic Determinants Of Traffic Fatalities, Amin Azimian, Deogratias Eustace

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Over several decades, traffic growth has caused an increased number of traffic crashes, which are associated with economic losses and human sufferings. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [1] in 2016 there were a total of 34,247 fatal traffic crashes in the United States that resulted into 37,133 fatalities. Risk factors relating to the occurrence of fatal and injury severity of motor vehicle crashes have been extensively studied. Most studies [2-7] that have attempted to model the occurrences of traffic crashes and fatalities have been mainly confined to factors related to driver characteristics, roadway geometry characteristics, traffic characteristics, …

Development Of A Simple Lab-Scale Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (Vartm) Process, Donald A. Klosterman

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of the current study was to develop and demonstrate a simple and quick lab-scale VARTM process for the purpose of making flat panels for subsequent characterization, for example in new materials development efforts. This process was not intended to be optimized for final production, rather it served as the quickest way to make lab-scale composite panels using VARTM while maintaining all the salient features of typical VARTM processes used in larger scale manufacturing. There is a wide variety of ways to implement VARTM, as well as a diverse list of potential materials and supplies from which to choose. …

Sustainability In Chemical Engineering, Alec T. Raber

Undergraduate Voices

For much of the past century, the world has seen industrial and technological progress that has helped make life better for humans but hurt the environment while doing so. Once people realized the damage that was being done, it was observed that this kind of development was not sustainable, meaning it did not “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987, p. 3). While different experts may define the term “sustainability” (or “sustainable development”), differently, they will all share the substance of Brundtland’s definition. Ever since the light …

Discrimination Against Women In The Field Of Engineering, Julia Weber

Undergraduate Voices

This article focuses on the position of women in the field of engineering, specifically why the field is male-dominated and why this condition should change. When I state the field is male-dominated, I am addressing both the proportion of men in the field in comparison to women and discrimination towards women in the workplace.

Throughout this article, I will be focusing on women in the field of engineering. I will look into why the field is so male-dominated (Chu, 2005; Hunt, 2016; Ramirez & Wotipka, 2001) and how this has begun to change over time (Hill, Corbett, & St Rose, …

Formal And Informal Undergraduate Ethics Education In Engineering, Grace Ports

Undergraduate Voices

This literature review attempts to answer the question of whether formal education or informal education of ethics within civil engineering is more beneficial. If there is a lack of structured education of ethics in civil engineering, then another area of interest is to discover where engineers are being informally educated. Another area of inquiry is whether it is more beneficial to teach engineers ethics prior to the time when they are required to study the code of ethics for their certification exam, or should engineers wait until moments before the exam to study the code. This article examines the potential …

Engineering's Effects On Communities Through An Ethical Framework, Bailey A. Reid

Undergraduate Voices

Engineering is at the forefront of innovation and progression in our society, but often has various impacts on the communities in which projects take place. This article focuses on several ethical guidelines established through education and engineering’s effects on surrounding communities. Ethics inside of community actions and approach will also be explored.

Ethics Education In Engineering: Practices On And Off The Campus, Katherine Theis

Undergraduate Voices

This paper will focus on two major methods for educating engineers in ethics. It is important to realize that two sets of standards exist within the field of engineering, both from the professional standards set within industries and from the personal moral standards held by engineers themselves. This article first examines the education of ethics within the workplace as some engineers have no previous training in ethics. Second, it discusses how ethics is introduced to engineers through university undergraduate and graduate courses. It will also evaluate whether ethics courses are more effective than the real-world application found through the professional …

Aircraft Generator Design And Analysis, David Gross

Honors Theses

Aerospace electrical power demands have been growing due to an increased amount of electrical load onboard aircraft. This increased load has come about as electrical power sources for various aircraft subsystems, such as pumps, compressors and flight controls, replace mechanical power sources. The main source of electrical power for an aircraft is a generator. The nature of emerging power demands on an aircraft causes increased temperatures and complex/dynamic loads; many contemporary generators are not necessarily designed to repeatedly tolerate such phenomena. Due to the need for high amounts of reliable electrical power among current and future aircraft, aerospace generators should …

Influence Of Reverse Shoulder Implant Positioning On Patient-Specific Muscle Forces: A Simulation Study, Kayla Marie Pariser

Honors Theses

A reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) is a common treatment used to stabilize the shoulder and improve range of motion in patients with torn rotator cuff muscles. Shoulder stability relies on the shoulder muscles. With rotator cuff tears, the RTSA enables the deltoid muscle to become the primary stabilizer of the shoulder joint. To improve stability, RTSAs increase the deltoid muscle moment arm and decrease the required torque about the shoulder joint for movement. Currently, there is not standardized, objective method for a surgeon to position an implant on a specific patient. This study is part of a larger, ongoing …

The Application Of Neurologically-Controlled Robotics To Actuated Feeding Arms, Timothy Dombrowski

Honors Theses

The medical industry is constantly performing research and trying to combat various diseases that afflict humans. Despite advancements in technology, there still remain diseases that have no cure but seem prime candidates for neurologically controlled robots. One such category of diseases consists of various muscular dystrophic diseases. Diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s have limited options regarding treatment, but by brain controlled interfaces (BCI’s), robotics can help mitigate the impact on a patient’s quality of life. By utilizing a functioning mind, an electroencephalographic (EEG) helmet can be used to control various exoskeletal systems and even prosthesis in order to compensate …

Development Of A Self-Orienting Cubesat Solar Array, Eric Mcgill

Honors Theses

The sponsor of this conceptual design project was the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. AFIT was striving to give CubeSats more capability to conduct research, reconnaissance, and other functions. One of the major barriers for AFIT to overcome to give CubeSats more capability was the ability of the CubeSat to generate usable power while in orbit. All of AFIT’s CubeSats generated the power needed while in orbit with solar panels that are rigidly mounted to the outside of the craft. AFIT believes that a new design for the solar array used …

Special Issue: Selected Papers From Idetc 2017, Andreas Mueller, Andrew Murray, Venkat N. Krovi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The Mechanisms and Robotics Conference has traditionally provided a vigorous and stimulating international forum for the exchange of technical and scientific information on the theory and practice of mechanical systems. The topical coverage has span areas central to mechanical systems including design (novel mechanisms and robots, synthesis), analysis (kinematics, dynamics, computational approaches, and software systems), applications (from micro-air vehicles, modular robotics, origami applications, medical robotics, to exoskeleton-assistive systems), and educational practices.

Iact Undergraduate Certificate In Applied Creativity (Year 1 - 2018), Brian Laduca

IACT Certificate Program

At the Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT) at ArtStreet, we seek to empower a creatively confident 21st-century student with the ability to discover, invent and innovate ambiguous ideas through a disruptive design process that will impact today’s ever-changing global world regardless of degree focus.

IACT is home to the nation’s first undergraduate certificate in Applied Creativity for Transformation. Open to undergraduate students of any major, the certificate is a first step in achieving the University of Dayton’s vision of innovation, applied creativity, entrepreneurship and community engagement for the common good.

Multivariate Analysis Of Students Perception On Teaching With Client Based And Non-Client Based Team Projects, Philip Appiah-Kubi

Engineering Management and Systems Faculty Publications

The classroom experience has evolved from traditional lecture, PowerPoint and whiteboards to a more active environment where students and instructors work together on hands-on activities to achieve the course objectives. Various names have been given to this pedagogy; experiential learning, project based learning (client based versus non-client based), active learning, and problem based learning are a handful of names used to describe this evolving pedagogy. The main challenge faced by educators in educating undergraduate students to be independent thinkers and problem solvers has been the driving force fueling the shift in pedagogy. This research looks into student’s perception on project …

Performance Analysis Of A Computer-Aided Detection System For Lung Nodules In Ct At Different Slice Thicknesses, Barath Narayanan, Russell C. Hardie, Temesguen Messay Kebede

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We study the performance of a computer-aided detection (CAD) system for lung nodules in computed tomography (CT) as a function of slice thickness. In addition, we propose and compare three different training methodologies for utilizing nonhomogeneous thickness training data (i.e., composed of cases with different slice thicknesses). These methods are (1) aggregate training using the entire suite of data at their native thickness, (2) homogeneous subset training that uses only the subset of training data that matches each testing case, and (3) resampling all training and testing cases to a common thickness. We believe this study has important implications for …

Super-Resolution In The Presence Of Atmospheric Optical Turbulence, Russell C. Hardie, Michael A. Rucci, Barry K. Karch, Alex J. Dapore, Douglas R. Droege

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The design of imaging systems involves navigating a complex trade space. As a result, many imaging systems employ focal plane arrays with a detector pitch that is insufficient to meet the Nyquist sampling criterion under diffraction-limited imaging conditions. This undersampling may result in aliasing artifacts and prevent the imaging system from achieving the full resolution afforded by the optics. Another potential source of image degradation, especially for long-range imaging, is atmospheric optical turbulence. Optical turbulence gives rise to spatially and temporally varying image blur and warping from fluctuations in the index of refraction along with optical path. Under heavy turbulence, …

Handwritten Bangla Character Recognition Using The State-Of-The-Art Deep Convolutional Neural Networks, Md Zahangir Alom, Paheding Sidike, Mahmudul Hasan, Tarek M. Taha, Vijayan K. Asari

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In spite of advances in object recognition technology, handwritten Bangla character recognition (HBCR) remains largely unsolved due to the presence of many ambiguous handwritten characters and excessively cursive Bangla handwritings. Even many advanced existing methods do not lead to satisfactory performance in practice that related to HBCR. In this paper, a set of the state-of-the-art deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) is discussed and their performance on the application of HBCR is systematically evaluated. The main advantage of DCNN approaches is that they can extract discriminative features from raw data and represent them with a high degree of invariance to object …

Datanet: Deep Learning Based Encrypted Network Traffic Classification In Sdn Home Gateway, Pan Wang, Feng Ye, Xuejiao Chen, And Yi Qian

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A smart home network will support various smart devices and applications, e.g., home automation devices, E-health devices, regular computing devices, and so on. Most devices in a smart home access the Internet through a home gateway (HGW). In this paper, we propose a software-defined- network (SDN)-HGW framework to better manage distributed smart home networks and support the SDN controller of the core network. The SDN controller enables efficient network quality-of-service management based on real-time traffic monitoring and resource allocation of the core network. However, it cannot provide network management in distributed smart homes. Our proposed SDN-HGW extends the control to …