Renewable energy based capstone design applications for an undergraduate engineering technology curriculum

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Session 2548 Impact of Simulation Software in the Engineering Technology Curriculum Stanley J. Pisarski University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Abstract The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ) offers the Bachelor of Science degree in Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering Technology Many of the courses offered in UPJ's Engineering Technology Program rely on laboratory experiments to supplement the lectures. Although there is no substitute for the experience that a laboratory environment provides, various software packages allow the user to simulate and predict with great accuracy how a system will react under actual laboratory conditions. The Electrical Engineering Technology Department (EET) at UPJ utilizes several software simulation programs for supplementing laboratory work in the areas of circuits, electronics, digital systems, industrial electronics, digital signal processing, and control systems. Software packages such as PSpice, Logic Works, MATLAB and Simulink are heavily used to verify manual calculations and laboratory results. Additionally, these packages are used to solve theoretical problems which would be too complicated to solve by other means. This paper provides examples of current engineering simulation software usage in the EET curriculum at UPJ, and identifies the ramifications of these experiences in the courses, student's college education and beyond. I. Introduction The objective of this paper is to provide examples of circuits and systems that the electrical engineering technology students simulate with various software simulation packages. Specific courses have been chosen to examine the effect that the software has on student learning of circuit analysis and design concepts. Software simulation has been used in the electrical engineering technology program at UPJ since the early 1970's. Early circuit software was executed on an IBM 1130 mainframe computer that relied on hand-coded information for the circuit, punched computer cards, and submission of the card deck to the computer operator for the initial run. The next day the printed numerical results were obtained from the computer center. Advances in computer technology in the areas of computer software and hardware have paved the road for instant results for circuit simulations. The new computer software packages stimulate the senses with colorful, accurate circuit waveforms in graphical and tabular formats. No longer must the user of this software enter hand-coded data for circuits or systems, but a nudge of the computer mouse is all it takes to create a

Many students from structurally disadvantaged groups who are interested in a career in engineering choose an engineering technology (ET) college major over one in engineering. The need to identify the reasons for the over-representation of African American (AA) students in particular in ET, and to better understand the extent to which the apparent popularity of ET results from systemic racism and restricted access to engineering frame this project. The central goal of this project is to gain insight into the racial equity implications of the ET pathway- informed by the voices and experiences of African American ET students, technologists, and engineers. According to data from the ASEE [1], the enrollment in both bachelor's and master's programs in ET has been increasing over the past ten years. Despite this, many in academia, K-12 education, and industry are not familiar with ET and the differences and similarities between technologists (graduates of 4-year bachelors programs in ET), engineers, and technicians. The 2016 report "Engineering Technology Education in the United States" published by the National Academies Press examined many aspects of the status, role, and needs of ET education [2]. The percentage of students earning 4-year ET degrees who are AA is almost three times that of students earning 4-year degrees in engineering who are AA [2]. ASEE annual data shows that there is a significantly higher percentage of AA students enrolled in four-year ET programs than in engineering programs at many of the institutions that offer ABET accredited programs in both engineering and ET [1]. The NAE report recommended that agencies consider funding research 'to better understand the reasons for the preference for ET over engineering of African American students'. Indeed, issues associated with African American students' career pathways within STEM and the choice of ET versus engineering remain largely underexplored in the literature. We conjecture that the factors influencing the choice of ET over engineering for many of these students include systemic issues related to the quality of pre-college mathematics and science preparation, career counseling received (or not received) in high school and college, a preference for a more 'hands-on' curriculum, as well as socioeconomic, institutional, and psychological factors. In addition, hidden stereotypes in the branding and marketing of engineering and ET, and implicit bias in advising may contribute to students' perception that their cultural perspectives are more aligned with ET than with engineering. Here we present preliminary results based on focus group interviews of African American ET students at a predominantly White institution (PWI) where engineering technology is housed within the college of engineering. We also discuss the planned next phases of the research that include focus groups at a large PWI where ET is in its own college which is separate from the college of engineering, as well as a survey which will be informed by the focus group data. This survey will be disseminated to ET students at the two institutions in the study as well as other universities with ABET accredited ET programs. Through this research, we have to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence the decisions of AA students to pursue degrees in ET over engineering and how these relate to systemic racism will contribute to the existing knowledge of how the pipeline to engineering careers and the professoriate might be strengthened. It will help inform strategies and new approaches toward full participation of engineering technologists in engineering. Potential strategies might include the facilitation of pathways from a bachelor's degree in ET to advanced engineering degrees, the engineering professorate, and professional engineering registration, [1] ASEE Editorial Board, "Profiles of engineering and engineering technology colleges," 2018: American Society for Engineering Education, 2018. [2] G. Pearson, R. M. Latanision, and K. G. Frase, Engineering Technology Education in the United States. National Academies Press, 2017.

Summary form only given. Today's competitive need to develop high quality products has redefined the development role of engineering technologists. Today, engineers and engineering technologists assume much broader responsibilities. Responsibility for achieving specific technical performance requirements is now coupled with achieving requirements for project management, concurrent engineering, interdisciplinary problem solving, and teamwork. In effect, a technologist assumes two development roles; project designer and project manager. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Engineering Technology (ET) department has implemented a senior project course which is responsive to the changing role of engineering technologists. Specifically, the senior project course for NJIT's Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program emphasizes two aspects of project development: project design; and the development process associated with design and implementation.

Distance learning has gained in popularity not only as a way to offer instruction in locations without local expertise, but also as a cost-effective method where limited enrolment at one location would not normally warrant offering the course. In engineering technology programs, where most courses have a lab component, distance learning offers many new challenges in course delivery. This paper discusses the authors' experiences with distance learning in two electrical engineering technology courses, each with a lab component. One course offered via the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System used one-way video and two-way audio for the lecture. The professor lectured to 16 students locally, and to two remote sites with three and five students, respectively. Each remote site had a lab instructor who was a member of the faculty at that campus, but neither were familiar with the subject matter prior to the course offering. Due to scheduling conflicts, the involvement of the coordinators was different. One instructor had another class to teach during the lecture broadcast, while the other attended the lectures and completed many of the assignments. A second scenario involving distance learning is using video-taped lectures with remote lab instructors. We present two models. In one case, the lab was taught by an instructor who had taught the lab at the originating site. In the other case, the instructor had some knowledge of the material but no experience with the lab exercises. We make suggestions on ways to improve the delivery of both the lecture and local offering of the distance course lab.

Microcomputer tools have been used in the Manufacturing and Plastics Engineering Technology programs at Western Washington University to support freshman through senior level design projects for the past three years. An additional sophomore level course, Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools, has also been developed and added to the curriculum in the programs as a required course. These microcomputer tools range from solids modeling packages, first introduced in the freshman year, to finite element analysis and injection MoldFlow analysis, in the senior year. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) packages are introduced in the sophomore year and are emphasized in the junior year. Since microcomputer tools have changed the way engineers and technologists perform their jobs, current engineering and engineering technology curricula must also evolve so that the students are prepared to face a very competitive world market place. This paper describes the applications of microcomputer tools that have been integrated into the curriculum at Western Washington University and also the application of those tools to support engineering design projects. Concurrent engineering is emphasized in these design projects in the engineering technology and industry design programs.

Statistics is a critical tool for robustness analysis, measurement system error analysis, test data analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and many other fields in the engineering world. Traditionally, however, statistics is not extensively used in undergraduate engineering technology (ET) programs, resulting in a major disconnect from industry expectations. The research question: How to effectively integrate statistics into the curricula of ET programs, is in the foundation of this paper. Based on the best practices identified in the literature, a unique “learning-by-using” approach was deployed for the Electronics Engineering Technology Program at Texas A&M University. Simple statistical concepts such as standard deviation of measurements, signal to noise ratio, and Six Sigma were introduced to students in different courses. Design of experiments (DOE), regression, and the Monte Carlo method were illustrated with practical examples before the students applied the newly understood tools to specific problems faced in their engineering projects. Industry standard software was used to conduct statistical analysis on real results from lab exercises. The result from a pilot project at Texas A&M University indicates a significant increase in using statistics tools in course projects by students. Data from student surveys in selected classes indicate that students gained more confidence in statistics. These preliminary results show that the new approach is very effective in applying statistics to engineering technology programs.

In this paper, an integrated approach to sustainability-focused instruction in undergraduate engineering curricula has been presented. Teaching sustainability-focused contents currently stands as a demand for the present world. Therefore, the field of engineering education needs to address this for the betterment of future generations of humankind. Several sustainability-focused instruction models that could potentially be incorporated within engineering curricula have been discussed in this paper. Case studies from the current undergraduate engineering curricula, particularly in the general education (Gen Ed), electrical engineering (EE) and electrical engineering technology (EET) programs at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Green Bay, USA, have been presented. The paper also includes an overview of opportunities and challenges of including sustainability-focused instruction in undergraduate engineering curricula. While it is acknowledged that the concept of sustainability is quite broad, interdisciplinary, and, therefore, may have discipline-specific scenarios and requirements, it is strongly believed that the instructional approaches presented in this paper should be helpful in designing similar sustainability-focused learning materials at other academic institutions within and beyond undergraduate engineering curricula.

Increase enrollment and retention with NSF S-STEM Scholarship GrantBridgemont Community and Technical College (BCTC), in Montgomery, West Virginia,received NSF S-STEM grant award for $600,000 over a period of five years to establishBridgemont STEM Scholars program to increase annual full-time enrollment in targetedengineering technology and applied technology fields, increase retention of participating STEMmajors from the first to second year, increase the number of participating students who completetheir degree within two years, and increase the number of graduating Bridgemont STEMScholars who become employed in their field or continue their education in their field. Thispaper intends to share the insight gained about issue of retention and enrollment in engineeringtechnology programs from demographics, baseline data and survey conducted solely to learnabout impact of financial and academic barriers on student enrollment and retention during grantwriting process. Demographics and baseline data shows that the communities served aredisadvantaged; on average, 43% of students attending the “feeder” high schools for BCTC arelow-income, and over 65% of entering students require developmental courses upon enrollment.Most of the students require financial assistance, with 76% receiving financial aid. Over 96% ofthe students come from West Virginia, and approximately one-third come from within 50 miles.The survey shows that approximately 84% receive financial aid, 55% stated that a lack offunding at least partially delayed or slowed their progress toward getting a college education, and88% expressed at least some concern over having sufficient funds for college. Many students areemployed: 63% work during the school year for 27 hours per week on average, and 89%expressed at least some concern that employment prevents them from studying and completingassignments. All the details about demographics and baseline data, grant application process willbe shared in this paper.

In this paper, the authors examine the migration and skill level of information technology (IT) engineers and highlight the characteristics of the labor market in the information service industry in provincial regions. The study is based on a questionnaire survey of IT engineers working in Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Kyushu.Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Kyushu each gain IT engineers who have their origin in other regions. Within the regions, prefectures that contain a regional capital obtain an inflow of IT engineers who grew up in prefectures near the regional capital. Some move to regional capitals when they enter a college or university; others do so when they are employed for the first time. Most job changes are occurred within a prefecture, and several respondents returned to their hometown or a regional capital near the hometown after they had experience in working in metropolitan regions. Those who moved from an adjacent prefecture to a regional capital incidental to a job change were few. These findings show that the labor market for job changers is divided into a local labor market corresponding to a prefecture and a national labor market wherein those who once migrated to metropolitan regions return to provincial regions. A comparison of our study with those of the Japan Institute of Labor (2000) reveals that the skill level of IT engineers is lower in provincial areas than in metropolitan regions. The authors thus assume that the spatial feature of one's working career differentiates the skill level of IT engineers; concretely speaking, IT engineers who have once worked in a company located in a metropolitan region have higher skills than those who have not. However, the results of log-linear analysis does not support the authors' assumption. In other words, the skill level of respondents is independent of the spatial feature of one's working career. The skill level of respondents is related to regions where workplaces were located at the time of the survey. Because the industrial structure of Hokkaido is poor in the manufacturing industry, firms in the information service industry can recruit engineers rather easily in Hokkaido. In addition, people of Hokkaido tend to have an attachment to their birthplace. These can be the reasons why IT engineers working in Hokkaido have relatively high skills. Within Hokkaido, Sapporo gains IT engineers from other areas whose skill levels are relatively high, whereas in Tohoku there is no difference in skill level between those who stay in their home prefecture and those who migrate to Miyagi, which is the prefecture containing Sendai, the regional capital of Tohoku. As mentioned above, some respondents moved between metropolitan and provincial regions, but a small number of IT engineers move between provincial regions. Therefore if there is a difference in the skill level of IT engineers among provincial regions, it is likely that regions with highly skilled IT engineers will attract human resources from other regions. The problem lies in migration between metropolitan and provincial regions and in differences in the skill level of IT engineers between two regions. Every year, many IT engineers move from provincial to metropolitan regions when they enter an university/college or when they graduate and are employed immediately after. Some return to provincial regions after some years of working in metropolitan regions, but few act as a vehicle to transfer the higher skills learned from the experience of working in metropolitan regions. It is rather the case that IT engineers who migrate from provincial to metropolitan regions and have acquired higher skills tend to stay in metropolitan regions. In short, selective migration in terms of skill level can sustain or even expand the difference in skill levels of IT engineers between metropolitan and provincial regions.

The Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) caters to a unique and diverse population of students. The students entering the program are divided between individuals fresh out of high school and preparing to pursue degrees full-time with an expectation of completion in four years and those who have already begun careers in industry and are seeking to improve their opportunities for advancement and whose expectation for graduation is further in the future. Thus, in catering to this diverse community of students, IUPUI's MET program has experimented with some innovative, and non-traditional, approaches to course design. One area where this innovation has proved noteworthy is in the design of the MET capstone course, where three different formats are employed in an effort to meet the needs of the student population. This paper discusses one of those options which stretches the boundaries of capstone pedagogy and tradition.

The mission of the Engineering Research, Development, and Technology Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is to develop the knowledge base, process technologies, specialized equipment, tools and facilities to support current and future LLNL programs. Engineering`s efforts are guided by a strategy that results in dual benefit: first, in support of Department of Energy missions, such as national security through nuclear deterrence; and second, in enhancing the nation`s economic competitiveness through our collaboration with U.S. industry in pursuit of the most cost- effective engineering solutions to LLNL programs. To accomplish this mission, the Engineering Research, Development, and Technology Program has two important goals: (1) identify key technologies relevant to LLNL programs where we can establish unique competencies, and (2) conduct high-quality research and development to enhance our capabilities and establish ourselves as the world leaders in these technologies. To focus Engineering`s efforts technology {ital thrust areas} are identified and technical leaders are selected for each area. The thrust areas are comprised of integrated engineering activities, staffed by personnel from the nine electronics and mechanical engineering divisions, and from other LLNL organizations. This annual report, organized by thrust area, describes Engineering`s activities for fiscal year 1996. The report provides timely summaries of objectives, methods, and key results from eight thrust areas: Computational Electronics and Electromagnetics; Computational Mechanics; Microtechnology; Manufacturing Technology; Materials Science and Engineering; Power Conversion Technologies; Nondestructive Evaluation; and Information Engineering. Readers desiring more information are encouraged to contact the individual thrust area leaders or authors. 198 refs., 206 figs., 16 tabs.

Continuous improvement is an important requirement for Engineering Technology programs that are undergoing the accreditation review process by Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET. This issue will remain important in the future as ABET emphasizes the importance of a continuous improvement process in their review process as it benefits both instructors and their students. The faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) developed a general assessment method to evaluate the student outcomes of the ABETEngineering Technology Accreditation criteria (a) through (k) as a part of their accreditation process [1]. Different courses in the MET program are used to evaluate and assess these student outcomes. The indirect student self-assessment scores and the direct student performance scores are correlated to assess the student outcomes. In addition to describing the general assessment method, this paper describes a specific course to explain the assessment process. We selected the first year computer graphics course to satisfy the student outcome (f) of the Associate of Science (AS) degree. The student outcome (f) places significant emphasis on written, oral, and graphical communication. Though the assessment method is general, this paper describes how it is applied to computer graphics course. In this paper, we present the course structure, assessment method and continuous improvement process.

Engineering technology students either are studied under the auspices of research focused on engineering students, or are excluded from engineering research in its entirety. Even when they are included in research, our understanding of engineering technology students is either missing or obscured. The lack of available research focused on engineering technology students in particular has prompted an effort to contribute to the greater body of knowledge of engineering technology education. The lack of research, as compared to other STEM fields, presents a challenge to practitioners in engineering technology programs when making discipline-specific decisions regarding these particular students. The need to delineate and determine the differences in the engineering technology student population and that of the engineering student population has become increasingly evident to practitioners and researchers in the technology area. To explore the learning styles of the engineering and engineering technology students, the Gregorc Style Delineator was completed by students in both programs. This instrument is relatively well known and is designed to investigate how adults order their thoughts and perceive the world around them. This study is designed to understand the differences in the engineering technology and engineering student populations by examining their mediation channels and their psychological learning styles. By furthering our conceptual understanding of both populations, we will inform those involved with teaching, curriculum development, and administration of programs how to best interact with and teach these students. Engineering technology students think differently than engineering students and that should be reflected in how we teach them.

Nationally, students who are academically under-prepared for the rigors of two-year engineering technology programs, have a poor level of academic achievement and a high attrition rate.The problems reported at a national level are also true at New York City College of Technology (NYCCT), which is the bi-level technical college of the City University of New York (CUNY).NYCCT has an enrollment of greater than 11,800 students.The Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EM) program is the largest of the college's two-year programs in engineering technology.This

With rapid advancements and popularity of embedded devices in the digital systems market, undergraduate students in various majors, specifically computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering technology, and electrical engineering technology, have shown increased interest in learning more about embedded computing systems. Typically, students accumulate knowledge of computing systems through introductory courses that focus on computer arithmetic, microcontroller-based design and computer organization. This paper presents experiences from teaching and redesigning an advanced embedded systems course that integrates various hardware and software concepts to accommodate the needs of interdisciplinary engineering education.