Lessons in On-Campus and Distance Learning Delivery of an Introductory Naval Architecture Course

This paper describes the author’s experiences in multi-mode (face-to-face and online) delivery of an introductory-level course on the topic of Naval Architecture geared towards anaudience of engineering and engineering technology undergraduate students with no previousmaritime background. The goal of this course is to expose talented undergraduate engineering students to the marine industry and to prepare those interested in pursing a career in this field with an introductory understanding of the complex nature of designing and building ships and other marine vessels. This course was offered in Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 to a group of engineering and engineering technology students. The course was offered as hybrid course with students enrolled both as on-campus and distance-learning students.The paper touches on experiences and feedback from the instructor and students related tolectures, labs, assignments, project-based learning and site-visits

Clarifications of a Datum Axis or Centerplane Specifying in Maximum Material Condition of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing

Engineering and Engineering Technology students and professionals learning the processes and standards in computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) should learn and understand the methodology of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) to describe the intent and requirements for part and assembly geometries. Correct application of GD&T ensures that the part and assembly geometry defined on the drawing will have the desired form and fit (within limits) and function as intended. One learning difficulty in understanding GD&T is the concept of defining a datum axis or center plane using Maximum Material Condition (MMC). To overcome this difficulty, a new approach is presented that uses a modifier ○V (Virtual Condition) instead of ○M (MMC). A thorough rationalization of using ○V in datum axis specification is discussed. The paper also provides a convenient table on how to use this modifier

Initial Investigation of Analytic Hierarchy Process to Teach Creativity in Design and Engineering

This paper investigates the use of Analytic Hierarchy Process to teach design creativity and innovation in undergraduate engineering students. Examples are included to assess its effectiveness in the classroom. The purpose of this research is to investigate the suitability of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to teach design innovation and creativity in undergraduate engineering classrooms. AHP is a very structured, multi-criteria, decision-making process and traditionally has been used to solve complex problem sets. This investigation takes a fresh look at how AHP provides the framework to engage and encourage students to think creatively and innovatively in design and engineering. This paper presents several separate case studies that incorporate the AHP technique in the classroom to teach design innovation and creativity to undergraduate engineering students, including introduction at the freshmen engineering level. These case studies include: the design of a robotic water vehicle; the design of a coffee maker; and the design of a website. These diverse case studies explore the suitability of this decision-making technique across abroad range of design problems to assess how AHP can be utilized to give students a better understanding of the design process, to foster a personal motivation towards creative and innovative thinking and to equip students with a strategy for creative problem solving theycan use through their engineering careers. Students who participated in the case studies completed questionnaires to assess the application of AHP and its effectiveness to understand the problem and to reach a creative and innovative solution. Based on the results of these student questionnaires, there is positive evidence that AHP can be utilized to remove barriers that inhibit creativity and to foster an environment for students to achieve more design creativity and innovation in engineering classrooms. This study has implications to change the pedagogical approach used to teach engineering design and provides a methodology for design creativity that students will carry with them throughout their career

Speaking as a woman: Female bodily transformations and the divine

This thesis explores French feminist philosopher and psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray's articulation of the divine as a means of the reinscription of female bodies in "western" culture. According to Irigaray, the physical excess constituted by female bodies in the patriarchal "west" is denied specific expression through the symbolic function of the Christian God as man's transcendent, disembodied representative. And yet Irigaray's work implies that the "excess" of both female bodiliness and the cultural construction of the divine is ultimately uncontainable and open to symbolic transformation and political use. In this study I read Irigaray as a visionary theorist and supplement consideration of her own reworking of the concept of God in the ~'west" with a reading of The Book of Margery Kempe, a fifteenth-century mystical text by an English woman. In Kempe's Book the mystic's body, understood by her culture as dangerously excessive, is the primary agent of her representation of God, whereas Irigaray rereads the divine as the means of rearticulating female bodiliness. The Introduction connects Irigaray's writings .with the discourse of late medieval female mysticism and the psychoanalytic category of hysteria, in terms of the destabilising representations of female bodiliness present in all three discourses. Chapter One pursues this connection in more depth, while Chapter Two focuses on The Book of Margery Kempe and considers the presentation of the female body in Kempe's text. In Chapter Three I read Kempe and Irigaray together as "hysterical" writers in terms of the interaction of female body and written text which is highlighted in their work. Chapter Four explores in more depth the ethical dimension of the Irigarayan reworking of the divine as an agent of symbolic exchange between sexually specific subjects, and Chapter Five (re )approaches this topic from the angle of women's experience of mothering and "madness" in patriarchal culture, returning to the conjunction of the divine, mysticism and hysteria set out in the beginning

Improvements to the single screw extruder

The extrusion on a single screw extruder is examined. The process is divided into several steps: the dosage of the materials to be conveyed; the modification of the shape of the feeding opening which influences the feeding process and consequently the throughput of the extruder; optimizing the shape of the feeding zone to meet the specific material requirements; and plasticizing and homogenizing

Quantum kinetic approach to the calculation of the Nernst effect

We show that the strong Nernst effect observed recently in amorphous superconducting films far above the critical temperature is caused by the fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter. We employ the quantum kinetic approach for the derivation of the Nernst coefficient. We present here the main steps of the calculation and discuss some subtle issues that we encountered while calculating the Nernst coefficient. In particular, we demonstrate that in the limit T=0 the contribution of the magnetization ensures the vanishing of the Nernst signal in accordance with the third law of thermodynamics. We obtained a striking agreement between our theoretical calculations and the experimental data in a broad region of temperatures and magnetic fields.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figure

Quantum kinetic approach for studying thermal transport in the presence of electron-electron interactions and disorder

A user friendly scheme based on the quantum kinetic equation is developed for studying thermal transport phenomena in the presence of interactions and disorder. We demonstrate that this scheme is suitable for both a systematic perturbative calculation as well as a general analysis. We believe that we present an adequate alternative to the Kubo formula, which for the thermal transport is rather cumbersome.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figure

The Transcriptome of the Human Pathogen Trypanosoma brucei at Single-Nucleotide Resolution

The genome of Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis, was published five years ago, yet identification of all genes and their transcripts remains to be accomplished. Annotation is challenged by the organization of genes transcribed by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) into long unidirectional gene clusters with no knowledge of how transcription is initiated. Here we report a single-nucleotide resolution genomic map of the T. brucei transcriptome, adding 1,114 new transcripts, including 103 non-coding RNAs, confirming and correcting many of the annotated features and revealing an extensive heterogeneity of 5′ and 3′ ends. Some of the new transcripts encode polypeptides that are either conserved in T. cruzi and Leishmania major or were previously detected in mass spectrometry analyses. High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was sensitive enough to detect transcripts at putative Pol II transcription initiation sites. Our results, as well as recent data from the literature, indicate that transcription initiation is not solely restricted to regions at the beginning of gene clusters, but may occur at internal sites. We also provide evidence that transcription at all putative initiation sites in T. brucei is bidirectional, a recently recognized fundamental property of eukaryotic promoters. Our results have implications for gene expression patterns in other important human pathogens with similar genome organization (Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania sp.) and revealed heterogeneity in pre-mRNA processing that could potentially contribute to the survival and success of the parasite population in the insect vector and the mammalian host

A Pilot Program For The Recruitment and Education of Navy Veterans Based on System-Level Technical Expertise and Leadership Maturation Developed During Service

The project, Stern2STEM, aims to advance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through the preparation of student veterans to pursue baccalaureate STEM degrees and support the re-employment of these veterans into the Department of Defense (DoD) and the wider defense support industry. The program builds on the training that veterans have received in highly skilled technical areas, both in the classroom and “on-the-job”, to develop system level expertise in their respective technical disciplines. Key components of the program include: (1) establishing a mechanism for outreach and recruitment; (2) providing leveling, tutoring, mentoring, and support for students; (3) teaching and learning through proven pedagogical practices and through sound academic advising; (4) partnering with the DoD community to facilitate student career placement in the DoD STEM workforce; (5) providing workforce development for DoD STEM professionals. This paper will discuss the academic challenges that student veterans face while in higher education and the current STEM pipelines as students move through their college to professional careers. The early impact of academic tutoring, professional advising, mentorship, career placement, and recruitment of current service members into STEM disciplines through involvement with Stern2STEM will be discussed. Through Stern2STEM’s systematic interventions, the project has the potential to have a significant impact on the broader STEM education community as many of the principles, lessons learned, and tools developed will prove valuable for institutions which have a large population of student veterans

Overview of Game and Content Design for a Mobile Game that Will Prepare Students in Calculus and Physics Prerequisites to the Engineering Curriculum

As part of a research project which assists veterans as they exit the military, complete engineering degrees, and enter the workforce as engineering professionals, a range of serious games for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is under development. The current focus of this development is CAPTIVATE, a serious game to assist student veterans in mastering the calculus and physics skills that are necessary prerequisites to the main engineering curriculum. Building on the development and lessons learned from MAVEN, a game developed previously to help student veterans master precalculus skills, the design and initial implementation for CAPTIVATE involves careful consideration regarding game and instructional design. Many of the positive aspects from the design of MAVEN will be implemented in CAPTIVATE. First, the overall framework developed for MAVEN will be reused in CAPTIVATE. This modular framework involves both a model and process that combine game, instructional, and software design in a way that supports adaptability throughout the design and development cycle. Additionally by embedding concepts in game play similar to well-known board games such as Battleship, computer games such as Minesweeper, and console or mobile games such as Guitar Hero, students will use their calculus and physics skills to complete tasks in a familiar environment. In addition, the game itself will consist of a series of sub-games each focusing on a topic that students traditionally struggle to understand. Furthermore, students will be offered access to learning resources and assessed regularly as they progress through the game. CAPTIVATE will also overcome some shortcomings from the previous development. While MAVEN was developed for desktop deployment, CAPTIVATE is targeted for deployment on a variety of mobile device including Apple and Android phones and tablets to engage students in interactive games that support their endeavor to build a solid foundation in mathematics and science topics. Additionally by creating games that are short and easily accessible, students will be able to engage with the material at a time and place convenient for them. The development of CAPTIVATE supports student veterans as they transition from the military to engineering degree programs and helps to accelerate them through their STEM prerequisite courses