New Approach to Teach Product Design that Breaks the Disciplinary Boundaries

This paper presents an initiative and a strategy to teach product design to students in different engineering technology fields through cross departmental collaboration and cooperation between faculty members in the Mechanical Engineering Technology and the Computer Engineering Technology Departments. The work is funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Division (Award No. DUE-1003712) recently awarded to New York City College of Technology. Traditional approach to teach product design in a college setting was mostly confined by disciplinary boundaries. There were very little or no collaborations among various engineering departments. Advances in computer technology and semiconductor electronics have created a new product design field called mechatronics. Mechatronics treats product design as system design that requires the tight integration of mechanical components, electrical/electronic systems, industrial design ideas, computer-control systems, embedded systems, and intelligent software into the product design and development processes. Most of the products now being developed are mechatronics in nature. To help students to understand the multidisciplinary nature of the product design, various hands-on product design projects have been developed by the faculty members in the two engineering departments. Students from four different fields of the two departments (mechanical engineering technology, industrial design technology, electromechanical engineering technology and computer engineering technology) have been involved in these projects. Students are divided into design teams. Each design team consists of students from different fields. Joint class sessions are being held and taught by faculties from the two departments at different stages of the design project. Students started to gain important experience in team work, time management, and collaboration and cooperation through various design activities. This concurrent engineering and mechatronic design approach, which emphasizes team collaboration, has become the new industry standard in product design and development. Students were given specific mechatronic/robotic design projects that required them to use actual mechanical, electrical/electronic hardware and software that are being currently used by the industry. This enable the instructor to simulate actual product design activities occurred in the industry. Not only were students exposed to the latest mechatronic technology, they also learn the concurrent engineering design approach in the process. Students were provided with a framework of fundamental design knowledge with hands-on cross-disciplinary activities that allow them to develop an interdisciplinary understanding and integrated approach to product design. Through these hands-on activities, students will also learn the concept of product lifecycle management and sharpen their teamwork skills

A Novel Approach in Teaching STEM Subjects through Cross-departmental Collaboration in Capstone Courses

In today’s higher education, use of state of the art technology in the classroom and laboratory plays a vital role in hands-on cross-disciplinary activities and demonstration for students to learn the interconnection of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) concepts. To implement these activities, the capstone courses present an ideal opportunity for cross-departmental collaboration. The hands-on robotic design project is introduced in the capstone courses to teach interconnected STEM concepts. This type of project, which has proven very effective in engaging students, is used in many areas of technical courses as hands-on activities and demonstration and, in addition, lab work. Additionally, the focus of robotic project is on hardware/software interface, data communication, electrical circuits, and mechanisms which reflect actual engineering activities in a company. These areas provide a tight integration of many STEM concepts and activities for capstone course. In general, the capstone course is a parent course that has inherited the knowledge of many feeder (pre-requisite) courses, and is usually offered in the last or second to last semester of the senior term

Introduction of Mechatronic Technology into Cross-Department Product Design Curricula

This paper presents the work that is currently engaged by faculty in the departments of mechanical engineering technology and computer engineering technology to introduce mechatronic technology into product design curricula of both departments. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation (Award No. DUE-1003721) recently awarded to New York City College of Technology. Advances in computer technology and semiconductor electronics have created a new product design field called mechatronics. Mechatronics treats product design as system design that requires the tight integration of mechanical components, electrical/electronic systems, industrial design ideas, computer-control systems, embedded systems, and intelligent software into the product design and development processes. It requires engineers, technicians, and designers from various disciplines to possess broader knowledge beyond their specialized fields and to work together concurrently. This concurrent engineering and mechatronic design approach, which emphasizes team collaboration, has become the new industry standard in product design and development. Mechatronic technology has been identified as one of the top10 highly influential emerging technologies of the 21st century by MIT’s Technology Review and by the International Center for Leadership in Education. Students were given mechatronic/robotic design projects that required them to use actual mechanical, electrical/electronic hardware and software that are currently been used by the industry. This enabled the instructor to simulate actual product design activities occurred in the industry. Not only students were exposed to the latest mechatronic technology, they also learned the concurrent engineering design approach. Students were given a framework of fundamental design knowledge with hands-on cross-disciplinary activities that allows them to develop an interdisciplinary understanding and integrated approach to product design. Through these hands-on activities, students will also learn the concept of product lifecycle management and sharpened their teamwork skills.The curricula of the three programs will be modified to create cross-departmental design projects. Students will learn how to design, construct, evaluate, operate, and test mechatronic products. Activities include: 3D design and modeling, materials and manufacturing process selection, mechanical and structural design, electrical/electronic design, computer control with embedded systems, interfacing, programming, and project management. These simulated product design activities will give our students a better understanding of product design processes and provide them with much needed hands-on experience

Utilizing Project-based Multidisciplinary Design Activities to Enhance STEM Education

This paper discusses the use of project-based interdisciplinary design activities to enhance the STEM education in City Tech’s School of Technology and Design. STEM education has been a key in producing qualified individuals to work in today’s fast paced, highly competitive companies. Unfortunately, the supply of qualified workforce has been reduced due to the steady drop of enrollment of college and high school students in STEM related fields for the past twenty years. To tackle the dwindling enrollment of STEM students and low quality of STEM graduates, in a report submitted to Congress in 2007, the National Science Board suggested that measures be taken so that all students can develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past with an increased emphasis on technology and engineering at all levels in the Nation’s education system. The Board gave two priority recommendations: (1) Ensure Coherence in Nation’s STEM Education System; (2) Ensure that Students Are Taught by Well-Prepared and Highly Effective STEM Teachers. There is a need to change the perception of STEM education. STEM education cannot be viewed as teaching four unrelated subject matters. STEM education should be treated as an integral education. Mathematics, science, technology and engineering are taught in classes in hope that students will use these subjects simultaneously to make new discoveries, to explore new ideas, to make new products and to provide better services. As such, more project-based activities, that enable students to apply the knowledge and skills they learn from STEM courses should be implemented into curriculums. Practical hands-on learning-by-doing activities go hand-in-hand with STEM education. They complement each other. If a person does not have a good STEM knowledge, it is difficult for him/or her to become a competent innovator and designer. However, if a person demonstrates excellent STEM knowledge on exams, it does not mean this individual can be a competent designer or engineer overnight. Any successful designer or engineer would agree that it takes many years of experience and setbacks for him or her to reach that level. A top-down “reverse engineering approach” is used to tie design activities to various elements in STEM. Currently, most traditional STEM projects aimed at improving the STEM education address only one or two elements of STEM education and lack suitable activities to keep students engaged. Project-based design activities have proven to be very effective in attracting and motivating young people to study. The top-down learning-by-doing approach gives students a sense of accomplishment at each stage of their course work. That in turn, will inspire the students to continuously engage and focus on the STEM subject matter. Faculty members from multiple engineering technology departments are involved to address the multidisciplinary natures of the project and to develop teaching materials to improve STEM education as a whole. Rubrics to assess the effectiveness of the practice on student’s learning will be developed and compared with existing ABET’s program criteria in technology education

Attracting College and High School Students to Study Engineering Technology through Hands-on Mechatronics Product Design Projects

Attracting College and High School Students to Study Engineering Technology Engineering technology encompasses many engineering technology fields: mechanical engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, and computer engineering technology, etc. This poster presents the work on using hands-on mechatronics design activities to attract high school and college students to study engineering technology. Technology education has been a key in producing college graduates to work in today’s fast paced, highly competitive public and private enterprises. Unfortunately, the supply of qualified workforce has been reduced in the United States due to the steady drop of enrollment of college and high school students in STEM related fields for the past twenty years of which technology is an important component. To tackle the dwindling enrollment of STEM students and low quality of STEM graduates, the National Science Board submitted a report to Congress in 2007 suggesting all students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past with an increased emphasis on technology and engineering at all levels in the Nation’s education system. The Board gave two priority recommendations: (1) Ensure Coherence in Nation’s STEM Education System; (2) Ensure that Students Are Taught by Well-Prepared and Highly Effective STEM Teachers. This poster aims at addressing the two issues that many educational institutions are facing through the introduction of mechatronics technology into undergraduate students as well as to high school students. To change the landscape of technology education in the US, many things must be done. Hands-on engaging activities have been proven as important tools for attracting young people. In his keynote speech called “21st Century Skills - From Industry to Education and Back” at 2010 NSF ATE Principal Investigator Conference, Mr. Charles Fadel, Global Education Research Lead at Cisco Systems, presented a study which indicates that students learn well in teams, in project based activities, and in collaborative environments. The hands-on project based activities will also strengthen students’ skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity/innovation. These skills have been identified by top U.S. companies as priorities for employee development, talent management and succession planning. It is only natural for the technology education to incorporate hands-on practical applications at every stage of a student’s education. This connection should be made earlier during a student’s high school years and be reinforced every semester during student’s college years so as to allow the student to reach a level of maturity expected by companies for entry level or junior level positions. In August 2010, the college received a grant from National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technology Education (ATE) division to establish a Mechatronics Technology Center (MTC) to introduce the mechatronics technology to college as well to high school students. Our ATE project focuses on Integrated STEM Education using mechatronics products as vehicles to build student interest and to emphasize the intrinsic relations among various STEM fields. Robotics competitions held regularly at different levels enabled students to immerse themselves in STEM and to build their STEM skills gradually. This helped create, sustain, and foster long lasting interest on STEM. College students served as mentors to help faculty members conduct the training in various engineering topics as well as in learning the 21st century skills

Pooling sputum testing to diagnose tuberculosis using xpert MTB/RIF and xpert ultra: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) using molecular tests, such as Xpert MTB/RIF (MTB/RIF) or Xpert Ultra (Ultra). These tests are expensive and resource-consuming, and cost-effective approaches are needed for greater coverage. Methods: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of pooling sputum samples for TB testing by using a fixed amount of 1,000 MTB/RIF or Ultra cartridges. We used the number of people with TB detected as the indicator for cost-effectiveness. Cost-minimization analysis was conducted from the healthcare system perspective and included the costs to the healthcare system using pooled and individual testing. Results: There was no significant difference in the overall performance of the pooled testing using MTB/RIF or Ultra (sensitivity, 93.9% vs. 97.6%, specificity 98% vs. 97%, p-value > 0.1 for both). The mean unit cost across all studies to test one person was 34.10 international dollars for the individual testing and 21.95 international dollars for the pooled testing, resulting in a savings of 12.15 international dollars per test performed (35.6% decrease). The mean unit cost per bacteriologically confirmed TB case was 249.64 international dollars for the individual testing and 162.44 international dollars for the pooled testing (34.9% decrease). Cost-minimization analysis indicates savings are directly associated with the proportion of samples that are positive. If the TB prevalence is ≥ 30%, pooled testing is not cost-effective. Conclusion: Pooled sputum testing can be a cost-effective strategy for diagnosis of TB, resulting in significant resource savings. This approach could increase testing capacity and affordability in resource-limited settings and support increased testing towards achievement of WHO End TB strategy

Pooling sputum samples for Xpert® MTB/RIF and Xpert® Ultra testing for TB diagnosis

Background The use of molecular amplification as-says for TB diagnosis is limited by their costs and cartridge stocks. Pooling multiple samples to test them together is reported to have similar accuracy to individual testing and to save costs. Methods Two surveys of individuals with presumptive TB were conducted to assess the performance of pooled testing using Xpert® MTB/RIF (MTB/RIF) and Xpert® Ultra (Ultra). Results A total of 500 individuals were tested using MTB/RIF, with 72 (14.4%) being MTB-positive. The samples were tested in 125 pools, with 50 pools having 1 MTB-positive and 75 only MTB-negative samples: 46/50 (92%, 95% CI 80.8–97.8) MTB-positive pools tested MTB-positive and 71/75 (94.7%, 95% CI 86.9–98.5) MTB-negative pools tested MTB-negative in the pooled test (agreement: 93.6%, κ = 0.867). Five hundred additional samples were tested using Ultra, with 60 (12%) being MTB-positive. Samples were tested in 125 pools, with 42 having 1 MTB-positive and 83 only MTB-negative samples: 35/42 (83.6%, 95% CI 68.6–93.0) MTB-positive pools tested MTB-positive and 82/83 (98.8%, 95% CI 93.5–100.0) MTB-negative pools tested MTB-negative in the pooled test (agreement: 93.6%, κ = 0.851; P > 0.1 between individual and pooled testing). Pooled testing saved 35% (MTB/RIF) and 46% (Ultra) of cartridges. Conclusions Pooled and individual testing has a high level of agreement and improves testing efficiency

Inhibition of cell motility by troglitazone in human ovarian carcinoma cell line

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Troglitazone (TGZ) is a potential anticancer agent. Little is known about the effect of this agent on cancer cell migration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human ovarian carcinoma cell line, ES-2 cells were treated with various concentrations of TGZ. Cell migration was evaluated by wound-healing and Boyden chamber transwell experiments. PPARγ expression was blocked by PPARγ small interfering RNA. The effects of TGZ on phosphorylation of FAK, PTEN, Akt were assessed by immunoblotting using phospho-specific antibodies. The cellular distribution of paxillin, vinculin, stress fiber and PTEN was assessed by immunocytochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TGZ dose- and time-dependently impaired cell migration through a PPARγ independent manner. TGZ treatment impaired cell spreading, stress fiber formation, tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), and focal adhesion assembly in cells grown on fibronectin substratum. TGZ also dose- and time-dependently suppressed FAK autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of the C-terminal of PTEN (a phosphatase). At concentration higher than 10 μM, TGZ caused accumulation of PTEN in plasma membrane, a sign of PTEN activation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate that TGZ can suppress cultured ES-2 cells migration. Our data suggest that the anti-migration potential of TGZ involves in regulations of FAK and PTEN activity.</p