Innovative teaching of IC design and manufacture using the Superchip platform

In this paper we describe how an intelligent chip architecture has allowed a large cohort of undergraduate students to be given effective practical insight into IC design by designing and manufacturing their own ICs. To achieve this, an efficient chip architecture, the “Superchip”, has been developed, which allows multiple student designs to be fabricated on a single IC, and encapsulated in a standard package without excessive cost in terms of time or resources. We demonstrate how the practical process has been tightly coupled with theoretical aspects of the degree course and how transferable skills are incorporated into the design exercise. Furthermore, the students are introduced at an early stage to the key concepts of team working, exposure to real deadlines and collaborative report writing. This paper provides details of the teaching rationale, design exercise overview, design process, chip architecture and test regime

Active Analog Circuit Design: Laboratory Project and Assessment

It is very important that undergraduate teaching of analog circuits be rigorous, involve a laboratory component and stimulate student interest. This paper describes a three week module on active circuits that incorporates circuit design, analysis and testing. The lectures are integrated with the laboratory component and all appropriate concepts in mathematics are covered. Assessment results are based on running the project at three universities, namely, Rowan, Bucknell and Tennessee State. Quantitative results based on student surveys, a concept inventory test and faculty formulated rubrics demonstrate the accomplishment of the learning outcomes

Configuration and Assessment of a Senior Level Course in Biometric Systems

It is very important that modern topics be covered at the senior undergraduate level in order that students benefit from (1) advanced STEM concepts, (2) project based learning, (3) a systems level perspective and (4) real world applications. This will help students that proceed to graduate school and who take up employment in government or industry. This paper describes a senior level undergraduate course in biometrics, a multidisciplinary area that is highly relevant to society and which has a rapidly growing global market. The course objectives, broad learning outcomes and curricular plan are described. Assessment results based on the analysis of a concept inventory test and student surveys (target versus control group) related to the learning outcomes show that the course was very successful

Research Naval Postgraduate School, v.13, no.1, February 2003

NPS Research is published by the Research and Sponsored Programs, Office of the Vice President and Dean of Research, in accordance with NAVSOP-35. Views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Department of the Navy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

LSS4.0 - Creating Opportunities from existing Limitations

Abstract Purpose: This research explores Lean Six Sigma (LSS) limitations identified in previous studies and underpins the need to integrate Lean Six Sigma with Industry 4.0. Furthermore, this paper presents a use case for an opportunity offered by data-driven tools. Method/Approach: Expert Interviews were conducted with senior Lean Six Sigma practitioners and academics in Europe. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis and NVivo software. Findings: This paper reveals limitations experienced by practitioners and their causal relationships. Additionally, new limitations have emerged, reinforcing the urgency to inject data-driven technologies into the traditional LSS Framework. Associated with this is the need for an LSS curriculum update. Research limitations/implications: A new limitation found was the waterfall nature of the DMAIC framework. Therefore, an integration of Lean Six Sigma and Agile could be an emerging trend. Further research is planned by the primary author, i.e., designing an LSS4.0 framework including data-driven tools. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to examine causal relationships among LSS limitations. The authors present a use case as an initial remedial strategy to alleviate Lean Six Sigma limitations

Between the Lines: documenting the multiple dimensions of computer supported collaborations

When we consider the possibilities for the design and evaluation of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) we probably constrain the CS in CSCL to situations in which learners, or groups of learners collaborate with each other around a single computer, across a local intranet or via the global internet. We probably also consider situations in which the computer itself acts as a collaborative partner giving hints and tips either with or without the addition of an animated pedagogical agent. However, there are now many possibilities for CSCL applications to be offered to learners through computing technology that is something other than a desktop computer, such as the TV or a digital toy. In order to understand how such complex and novel interactions work, we need tools to map out the multiple dimensions of collaboration using a whole variety of technologies. This paper discusses the evolution of a documentation technique for collaborative interactions from its roots in a situation where a single learner is collaborating with a software learning partner, through its second generation: group use of multimedia, to its current test-bed: young children using digital toys and associated software. We will explore some of the challenges these different learning situations pose for those involved in the evaluation of collaborative learning

Building for Beyond: Designing Courses to Empower Longer-Term Student Projects

Panel session on using Historiography and other intermediate prerequisites as launch courses toward longer-term late-collegiate, graduate-level, and preprofessional skill-, resource-, and contact-building

Planning and Assessment of a Workshop on Undergraduate Education in Biometric Systems

Biometrics is the science of recognizing and authenticating people using their physiological features. Border and immigration control, restricted access to facilities and information systems, cybersecurity, crime investigations and forensic analysis are just a few of the primary application areas of biometrics used by commercial, government and law enforcement agencies. The global biometrics market has a compound annual growth rate of 21.3 percent. There is much research interest in different biometric systems and this has led to increasing efforts in ensuring that biometrics is taught at the undergraduate level. The authors are in the final year of an NSF TUES Type 2 grant that is based on the theme of vertically integrating biometrics experiments throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Three universities have joined together in this effort. This paper is about the planning and assessment of a 3 day workshop that is based on the NSF funded effort. Fifteen faculty from across the country participated in this workshop. Undergraduate and graduate students also attended. The key points of the workshop included invited lectures and hands-on laboratory activities. The invited lectures included a tutorial on biometrics, detailed lectures on speaker recognition and a lecture on how to assess an educational intervention. The hands-on activities were presented such that the attending faculty could take them back to their respective universities. They were based on the following learning outcomes: • Enhanced application of math skills • Enhanced software implementation skills • Enhanced interest in biometrics • Enhanced ability to analyze experimental results • Enhanced communication skills • Comprehension of the importance of vertical integration, in that students realize that their experiences are part of a flow that contributes to a unified knowledge base. The workshop assessment results are very positive with respect to organization, quality of the invited lectures, quality of the hands-on activities and the social program

A Primer on Software Defined Radios

The commercial success of cellular phone systems during the late 1980s and early 1990 years heralded the wireless revolution that became apparent at the turn of the 21st century and has led the modern society to a highly interconnected world where ubiquitous connectivity and mobility are enabled by powerful wireless terminals. Software defined radio (SDR) technology has played a major role in accelerating the pace at which wireless capabilities have advanced, in particular over the past 15 years, and SDRs are now at the core of modern wireless communication systems. In this paper we give an overview of SDRs that includes a discussion of drivers and technologies that have contributed to their continuous advancement, and presents the theory needed to understand the architecture and operation of current SDRs. We also review the choices for SDR platforms and the programming options that are currently available for SDR research, development, and teaching, and present case studies illustrating SDR use. Our hope is that the paper will be useful as a reference to wireless researchers and developers working in the industry or in academic settings on further advancing and refining the capabilities of wireless systems

Sub-lunar Tap-Yielding eXplorer, STYX

To diversify the idea pool that NASA has to draw from for future manned and unmanned missions to the Moon and Mars, a design/build competition has been posed to collegiate teams across the country. The challenge is to reach, extract, and purify underground ice reserves in a setting analogous to mars. Along the way, teams will be collecting telemetry to mimic prospecting objectives on the moon. The Sublunar Tap-Yielding eXplorer, STYX, is the team’s proposed design for the 2020 NASA RASC-AL competition. Some novel design features STYX will use are a rotary tool changer with swappable tools, a sleeve driving mode, and a pivoting heating probe. The STYX drill head will translate on two axes, use a rotary hammer drill to bore holes, sleeve boreholes with pipe to prevent collapse, and deliver water via a peristaltic pump and a two stage filtration system. Several of these design elements are innovative and conceptually proven through preliminary testing. These efforts are expected to net increased performance and differentiate STYX from other prototype submissions