A project based approach to learning for first year engineering students

Support for transition from Leaving Certificate and entry to college for 1st year engineering students can be difficult to achieve. This new course offers an innovative project based approach to learning for 1st years with an introduction to design to build confidence in student ability and give motivation in research and discovery skills. The project takes place in small groups and relies heavily on presentation, group and individual skills. The Mechanical and Manufacturing and the Electronic Engineering Schools at Dublin City University offered this new module for all first year Engineering Students in 2006. The course entitled, ‘Project and Laboratory Skills’ was an immediate success with increased participation and retention rates and a high level of academic success in assessment. This paper highlights the overall module concepts, teaching and learning outcomes and the resources required for such a module

Spintronics-based Reconfigurable Ising Model Architecture

Published in the International Symposium On Quality Electronic Design (ISQED), March 2020The Ising model has been explored as a framework for modeling NP-hard problems, with several diverse systems proposed to solve it. The Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ)-based Magnetic RAM is capable of replacing CMOS in memory chips. In this paper, we propose the use of MTJs for representing the units of an Ising model and leveraging its intrinsic physics for finding the ground state of the system through annealing. We design the structure of a basic MTJ-based Ising cell capable of performing the functions essential to an Ising solver. A technique to use the basic Ising cell for scaling to large problems is described. We then go on to propose Ising-FPGA, a parallel and reconfigurable architecture that can be used to map a large class of NP-hard problems, and show how a standard Place and Route tool can be utilized to program the Ising-FPGA. The effects of this hardware platform on our proposed design are characterized and methods to overcome these effects are prescribed. We discuss how two representative NP-hard problems can be mapped to the Ising model. Simulation results show the effectiveness of MTJs as Ising units by producing solutions close/comparable to the optimum, and demonstrate that our design methodology holds the capability to account for the effects of the hardware.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation(NSF) under Grant 164242

Enhancing the learning environment using classroom response systems

Classroom response systems (CRS) offer a management tool for engaging students in the classroom. These systems have been used in a variety of fields and at all levels of education. Typical goals of CRS questions are discussed, as well as the advantages to both students and instructors as a result of using them. These systems are especially valuable as a means of introducing and monitoring peer learning methods in the large lecture classroom. But the efficacy of using these systems depends strongly on the quality of the questions used. The integration of a CRS in an introductory physics module is discussed along with examples of questions used and the student assessment carried out

A review of stencil printing for microelectronic packaging

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a detailed overview of the current stencil printing process for microelectronic packaging.Design/methodology/approachThis paper gives a thorough review of stencil printing for electronic packaging including the current state of the art.FindingsThis article explains the different stencil technologies and printing materials. It then examines the various factors that determine the outcome of a successful printing process, including printing parameters, materials, apparatus and squeegees. Relevant technical innovations in the art of stencil printing for microelectronics packaging are examined as each part of the printing process is explained.Originality/valueStencil printing is currently the cheapest and highest throughput technique to create the mechanical and electrically conductive connections between substrates, bare die, packaged chips and discrete components. As a result, this process is used extensively in the electronic packaging industry and therefore such a review paper should be of interest to a large selection of the electronics interconnect and assembly community.</jats:sec

Health Figures: An Open Source JavaScript Library for Health Data Visualization

The way we look at data has a great impact on how we can understand it, particularly when the data is related to health and wellness. Due to the increased use of self-tracking devices and the ongoing shift towards preventive medicine, better understanding of our health data is an important part of improving the general welfare of the citizens. Electronic Health Records, self-tracking devices and mobile applications provide a rich variety of data but it often becomes difficult to understand. We implemented the hFigures library inspired on the hGraph visualization with additional improvements. The purpose of the library is to provide a visual representation of the evolution of health measurements in a complete and useful manner. We researched the usefulness and usability of the library by building an application for health data visualization in a health coaching program. We performed a user evaluation with Heuristic Evaluation, Controlled User Testing and Usability Questionnaires. In the Heuristics Evaluation the average response was 6.3 out of 7 points and the Cognitive Walkthrough done by usability experts indicated no design or mismatch errors. In the CSUQ usability test the system obtained an average score of 6.13 out of 7, and in the ASQ usability test the overall satisfaction score was 6.64 out of 7. We developed hFigures, an open source library for visualizing a complete, accurate and normalized graphical representation of health data. The idea is based on the concept of the hGraph but it provides additional key features, including a comparison of multiple health measurements over time. We conducted a usability evaluation of the library as a key component of an application for health and wellness monitoring. The results indicate that the data visualization library was helpful in assisting users in understanding health data and its evolution over time.Comment: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 16.1 (2016