Engineering Commons^™

Research Experiences Instrument Scoring Guide, Eric Holloway, Kerrie Anna Douglas, William Charles Oakes, David Radcliffe

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This document is a scoring guide to assist higher-education administrators, faculty, and researchers who wish to use the Research Experiences Instrument (REI). There are five aspects, or factors, that the REI is intended to measure relative to engineering Ph.D. students’ opportunities to practice being a professional in their research experiences, and an overall REI score. Detailed scoring instructions are provided. The REI was developed to assess how the research experiences of engineering Ph.D. students are preparing them for practice. Utilizing a rigorous instrument development process, the REI was shown to be a tool that can reliably and validly be used …

Black Unicorns: Stem Access For Black Student-Athletes In Non-Revenue Sports, Leroy Long Iii, Sharnnia Artis, Morris Council Iii

Publications

There is a shortage of literature investigating access to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for Black student-athletes who pursue careers in engineering or a related field in STEM. Particularly, individuals who participate in non-revenue generating sports. This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of six (6) Black student-athletes (two male, four female) pursuing degrees in engineering or a related field in STEM, while participating in soccer and lacrosse at their respective institutions. Through personal narratives, the authors critically analyze Black STEM student-athletes’ access to college preparatory courses and STEM camps. Findings and recommendations are discussed.

Jcati - Drive System, Tim Boswell

All Undergraduate Projects

Each year, Mechanical Engineering Technology students receive a grant from The Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI) to engineer a device that is capable of breaking down carbon fiber trimmings for recycling. The students who received the grant this year have redesigned portions of the existing system in an attempt to solve issues that have kept the system from working properly in the past. Though much collaboration between group members has been needed, each member has been responsible for their own portion of the project. The purpose of this portion of the project has been to address binding and …

Rc Baja, Ryder Satak

All Undergraduate Projects

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) hosts an RC Baja competition yearly at Central Washington University where schools from around the state gather to compete. The competition is based and scored from three different events: drag race, slalom, and a Baja course. Performing well in both the competition and other various tests will deem the car successful. The differential and drive train are two important features that allow the car to function properly. Using Solidworks 3D software and a 3D printer, the engineers were able to design functional components. The differential is designed to allow the rear wheels to spin …

Thermal Conductivity Measuring Device, Kyle Saalfeld

All Undergraduate Projects

The thermal conductivity measuring device is used to measure thermal conductivity of solids, liquids, and food products. Thermal conductivity is a material property that determines the rate at which heat disperses through a material. This determines how well insulation works, what materials are used as heat sinks, refrigeration, and how thoroughly food is cooked. The device measures thermal conductivity by heating up a thermistor bead using a high magnitude current for a measured duration and allowing the given heat to disperse; meeting the goal of designing a device that can easily measure the conductivity. Additional requirements of this device include …

Application Of Analogical Reasoning For Use In Visual Knowledge Extraction, Kara Lian Combs

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

There is a continual push to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) as human-like as possible; however, this is a difficult task because of its inability to learn beyond its current comprehension. Analogical reasoning (AR) has been proposed as one method to achieve this goal. Current literature lacks a technical comparison on psychologically-inspired and natural-language-processing-produced AR algorithms with consistent metrics on multiple-choice word-based analogy problems. Assessment is based on “correctness” and “goodness” metrics. There is not a one-size-fits-all algorithm for all textual problems. As contribution in visual AR, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is integrated with the AR vector space model, Global …

Effect Of Cloud Cover On Optimum Orientations Of Fixed Solar Panels For Maximum Yearly Energy Collection, Prethew Prasad

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The amount of cloud cover present in the sky is a significant factor when determining the solar radiation impinging on a solar panel. The optimum tilt required to achieve maximum energy impingement on a surface is also influenced by the amount of cloud cover. This work presents a method for determining the optimum tilt angle for a fixed solar panel when a set amount of cloud cover is present in the sky. Fixed tilt angles that have the most incident solar energy over the course of a year as a function of cloud cover, latitude, and azimuthal angle orientation are …

Creation Connections: Visualizing And Utilizing A Ravine, Bryce Bundens, Alex Newell, Hannah Smith

Student Papers and Reports

Creation Connections sought to provide access for students of all mobility levels at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School (GRCMS) to outdoor learning spaces through the design of a 20-year masterplan.

Application Of Analogical Reasoning For Use In Visual Knowledge Extraction, Kara Lian Combs

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

There is a continual push to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) as human-like as possible; however, this is a difficult task because of its inability to learn beyond its current comprehension. Analogical reasoning (AR) has been proposed as one method to achieve this goal. Current literature lacks a technical comparison on psychologically-inspired and natural-language-processing-produced AR algorithms with consistent metrics on multiple-choice word-based analogy problems. Assessment is based on “correctness” and “goodness” metrics. There is not a one-size-fits-all algorithm for all textual problems. As contribution in visual AR, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is integrated with the AR vector space model, Global …

Hydraulic Balsa Wood Rising Bridge, Kaitlyn Greenfield

All Undergraduate Projects

What is the solution to allowing tall vessels to navigate past a vehicle bridge that is less than 10 [ft] above the water? To answer this question, a balsa wood bridge was designed, constructed, and tested. The bridge needed to articulate by mechanical means, allow for travel through the bridge, and be able to withstand ample force while the main structure only being constructed of balsa wood and glue. The project was analyzed in sections. These sections include: the bridge structure and its members, the hydraulic lift, and the pins needed for the bridge and hydraulic lift to operate. The …

The Technology Transfer Network Dynamic In The Information Technology Industry Of Yucatan, Mexico, Francisco Cima, Pilar Pazos, Ana Maria Canto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper explores the technology transfer linkages among universities, research centers, and private companies in Yucatan, Mexico's information technology industry. Social network analysis (SNA) was used as a method to identify the structural characteristics of the technology transfer collaborations, and the changes in the patterns of interactions among institutions over the years. Data were obtained from the National Council for Science and Technology repository (CONACYT). Associations formed to enhance technology advancement and innovation practices between 2010 and 2018 were analyzed in this study. Network transitivity, the patterns of triadic configurations, and heterophily were compared to uncover the evolution of …

Material Handling System For An Advanced Flexible Manufacturing Environment, Con Cronin

Theses

A Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) is a method of production that is designed to easily adapt to changes in the type and quantity of the product being manufactured. Machines and computerised systems can be configured to manufacture a variety of parts and to handle the changing levels of production that is required. The aim of this project was to investigate the current manufacturing processes of Kostal Ireland GmbH with the aim of developing a bespoke prototype material handling system to achieve flexible manufacturing. Kostal Ireland GmbH currently do not have the ability to change their manufacturing operations easily when a …

Arab American Women In Engineering: How Did Their Culture Influence Their Achievement?, Iktimal Bia Hamed

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This body of research examined the Arab American culture and its impact on women who studied the male-dominated major of engineering. Through a qualitative approach, women born and raised in an Arab American home unpacked their experiences since childhood that made them who they are today. The 10 female Arab American participants shared how they made it through and successfully completed their major in engineering. This study focused on engineering, since there has been little to no growth in women who major in this male-dominated subject. This research examined how the participants’ parents, extended family, friends, community, and both K-12 …

Rees/Aaee Special Focus On Ethics: Introduction By Guest Editor, Shannon Chance, Shannon Chance

Articles

Today, more than ever, we see the significance of ethics in developing and sustaining the built, social, and natural environments around us. We also recognise the need to develop engineering students’ knowledge, skills, and values regarding engineering, innovation, design, production, and the like. Engineers’ actions can have intended as well as unintended consequences, and we as a community need to become more aware of the outcomes and implications of our work. In response to the many topics presented at the REES 2019, the REEN Board selected ethics as the focus for this special issue and joined with AAEE to publish …

The Theory And Design Of Class E Power Amplifiers For Impulse Excitation In Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Owen D. Riemer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

A new method for analyzing the effectiveness of NMR impulse power amplifiers was developed using a classical linear systems approach to NMR. The method demonstrates a way to compare NMR power amplifiers and outputs. Thermodynamic calculations and the harmonic content of NMR amplifiers is presented to provide a complete description of the NMR power amplifier design problem. A design procedure for class E NMR power amplifiers with a pi-impedance matching network is outlined for matching the amplifier to the transmitter coil. The thesis concludes with the presentation of a 53 MHz power amplifier developed with the procedure. The complete amplifier …

Let's Collaborate! The Importance Of Cybersecurity Pathways And Their Accessibility, Vukica Jovanovic, Otilia Popescu, Murat Kuzlu, Petros Katsioloudis

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

[Introduction] I am very passionate about inspiring a new generation of the STEM workforce. Going through the engineering pathway myself since 9th grade, I have seen the value of technical education and early career choice. In high school, I learned so much about math and science, but also about the technical and applied aspects of STEM professions. I had one apprenticeship in electrical power and aluminum mill companies where I explored how the concepts from the classes convey to the real world. It was so much easier to learn all the equations and different aspects of technology from the textbook …

Modeling Conductive Properties Of Highly Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube And Graphene Thin Films, Mark Joseph Foster

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Properties of layered material systems have been investigated since the 1940s and are currently very well understood. Classical mechanics combined with the well-developed lamination theory enable the prediction of multi-layered system properties once the properties of its constituents are known. The ability of the lamination theory to predict the conductive properties of multi-layered highly aligned single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and graphene thin films is investigated. Experimental results showed that the classical lamination theory is not valid in the case of the investigated nanofilm system. Using experimental results, we developed a closed form model using MATLAB which enabled the correct prediction …

Customizable Armor Set, Olivia Reedy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is intended to help people who make costume armor by reducing the amount of time and money it takes to create a set of armor. Making armor can take a lot of resources for beginners, and this project is intended to help hobbyists with that process. This customizable armor set goes through the engineering design process, from the initial design of the parts to creating the prototype using vacuum forming. The prototype armor can be painted and adhered to using acrylic paint and contact cement, respectively, and fits three sizes of small, medium, and large.

Camper Conversion, Owen Christian Hafler, Zebediah Paul Benedict Zehentbauer, Madilyn Beatrice Willis, Zachary Eli Owen, Justin Robert Nicholas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 has seen hundreds of thousands sequestered in quarantine for long periods of time. When quarantined in an urban setting, many cannot leave their respective apartment buildings which only adds to the strain of isolation. In the context of isolation, the design team of Hafler, Nicholas, Owen, Willis, and Zehentbauer personally sought to incorporate their individual enthusiasm for nature with the benefits of living off-grid. After initial research and deliberation, the team discovered the “Skoolie” community and the plans for a mobile tiny home began production.

The team outlined the design project as the full design, …

Influence Of Build Direction On Interface Regions In Additive Manufacturing Of Multi-Material Refractory Alloys, Cherish Christina Clark Lesko

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In the pursuit of optimum performance, materials engineering seeks to design the microstructure and thus the properties of a material through the control of the material composition and processing. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are designed to incorporate location-specific material properties through compositional changes within the part. Moving toward location-specific design of material properties requires the ability to produce material gradients in three dimensions which can be accomplished through the use of additive manufacturing (AM). This research examines the composition-process-structure-property relationship of early iteration titanium (Ti) and tantalum (Ta) graded alloys built in a novel laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process …

Influence Of Build Direction On Interface Regions In Additive Manufacturing Of Multi-Material Refractory Alloys, Cherish Christina Clark Lesko

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In the pursuit of optimum performance, materials engineering seeks to design the microstructure and thus the properties of a material through the control of the material composition and processing. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are designed to incorporate location-specific material properties through compositional changes within the part. Moving toward location-specific design of material properties requires the ability to produce material gradients in three dimensions which can be accomplished through the use of additive manufacturing (AM). This research examines the composition-process-structure-property relationship of early iteration titanium (Ti) and tantalum (Ta) graded alloys built in a novel laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process …

Texture Evolution In Materials With Layered Crystal Structures, Vamsi Krishna Vempati

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Materials with a layered structure consist of crystalline layers that are bonded to each other with secondary bonds (van der Waals interactions). The bonding between crystalline layers is relatively weak compared to the interatomic bonding within the crystalline layers. This research hypothesizes that under appropriate conditions, such as elevated temperature, the deformation of layered materials occurs like the classic “deck of cards” with no preferred direction of slip on the slip planes. The motivation for this study is from the experimental texture evolution of one such material, Bismuth Telluride ,(Bi2Te3), commonly used materials for thermoelectric applications in the range of …

Integrating Online Discussions Into Engineering Curriculum To Endorse Interdisciplinary Viewpoints, Promote Authentic Learning, And Improve Information Literacy, Lisa Bosman, Kurt Paterson, Margaret Phillips

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Engineering is very much an applied discipline where math and science concepts, skills, and tools can be used to design products or processes with new and/or increased value. Research suggests active learning is an effective method for teaching and learning in the engineering classroom. Moreover, students continue to express increased satisfaction when taught using this experiential pedagogical approach. One approach to active learning gaining traction in the engineering classroom is the use of online discussions. The purpose of this paper is to offer a structured approach for engineering educators to develop online discussion prompts aimed to prepare engineering students for …

Integrating The Entrepreneurial Mindset Into The Engineering Classroom, Lisa Bosman, Margaret Phillips

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

CONTRIBUTION: This paper highlights one approach to fostering the entrepreneurial mindset in the engineering classroom. BACKGROUND: Entrepreneurship and innovation are currently trending topics in engineering education and will continue developing for the foreseeable future. INTENDED OUTCOMES: The guiding research question is: How can an entrepreneurial mindset focused learning experience improve student self-regulation, seeing value, and lifelong learning through metacognitive reflections? APPLICATION DESIGN: The study is implemented within a five-week module focused on developing the entrepreneurial mindset as part of a required course on supply chain management technology. The supporting pedagogical interventions include authentic learning, information literacy, a mix of low …

The Life Of A Roundabout In Colorado Springs, Alexis M. Yoder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Colorado Springs is an up-and-coming area where many people have decided to move to for multiple opportunities. With more people, comes more traffic flow and unfortunately, more accidents. Throughout the state, there is a large attempt to lower accidents, especially at intersections. One type of intersection that can be of great benefit is the roundabout. In fact, Colorado was an early adapter of the roundabout in order to improve traffic flow and decrease fatal accident statistics. When designing a roundabout, although good intentions are planned, complications can still arise. In most scenarios, roundabouts are able to reduce the number of …

Theoretical Design Of A 360 Degree Pendulum Ride, John William Elliott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project uses several areas of study: mechanical physics/design of moving parts, electrical power, and human comfort. It is based on the pendulum ride at Cedar Point called "maXair." One of the goals with this project is to create a theoretical, simpler version of a 360 Degree Pendulum Ride that operates on the same principles of a conventional pendulum rides. The velocity, forces on the shaft in the middle of the ride, the accelerations, the g force on the riders, and all the other forces associated with the pendulum ride were analyzed as well.

Silk Hydrogels Incorporated With Melanin, Anne Lutz

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Melanin is a naturally produced pigment found within the human body. Melanin is known for its ability to protect against Ultra Violet light, but also its ability to allow for mechanical protection. Making melanin a good addition to biomedical devices such as hydrogels. Silk hydrogels are weak in their load bearing capabilities but are known for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and porosity. This makes the silk hydrogel a good material to incorporate melanin into in order to improve the mechanical properties. For the silk solution to form a solid, there must be a presence of both a catalyst and an oxidizer …

Bayesian Inspired Multi-Fidelity Optimization With Aerodynamic Design, Christopher Corey Fischer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In most engineering design problems, there exist multiple models of varying fidelities for use in predicting a single system response such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models constructed using Potential Flow, Euler equations, or full physics Navier Stokes implementation. Engineering design is constantly pushing the forefront of the field through imposing stricter and more complex constraints on system performance, thus elevating the need for use of high-fidelity models in the design process. Increasing fidelity level often correlates to an increase in cost (financial, computational time, and computational resources). Traditional design processes rely upon low-fidelity models for expedience and resource savings. …

Unraveling The Etiologies Of Discrete Subaortic Stenosis: A Focus On Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Hemodynamics, Jason A. Shar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS) is an obstructive cardiac disease characterized by the formation of a thin fibromuscular ring of tissue in the left ventricular (LV) outflow tract (LVOT). Although its etiology is unknown, the association between DSS, pediatric age, and morphological LVOT abnormalities points to a potential hemodynamic etiology. Here, altered subaortic flow dynamics, stemming from deviated LVOT anatomy, may promote lesion formation through local fluid shear stress abnormalities triggering membrane formation. The assessment of this hypothetical pathway requires elucidation of the complex LV wall shear stress (WSS) environment. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that altered LV hemodynamics, …

Development And Application Of A Computational Modeling Scheme For Periodic Lattice Structures, Abdalsalam Fadeel

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Sandwich structures are widely used for aerospace, marines and other applications due to their light-weight, strength, and strain energy absorption capability. The cores of the sandwich structure are typically fabricated by using high strength cellular materials such as aluminum and titanium alloys, or polymer foams, and honeycombs. Lattice cell structures (LCS) of different configurations such as body centered cubic (BCC), tetrahedron and pyramidal are being investigated as core material due to their design freedom and periodic nature. Due to the recent advent of additive manufacturing (AM), new research is being sought in the areas of designing and developing application-specific LCS …