Best Practices of Honor Societies

Academic honor societies are widely available within university communities. These student organizations can fill valuable roles within engineering departments. The inception of engineering-related honor societies followed the establishment of engineering education within American universities. Honor societies with their student focus grew as complementary organizations to the professional societies for engineering disciplines. The national or international structure of honor societies generally provides considerable resources for professional education, leadership training, and service activity. For departments, an honor society chapter can provide engagement with students, alumni, community, etc. However, the existence of an honor society chapter at an institution does not necessarily mean that the chapter is effectively serving the host department(s) and its engineering students. This paper describes commonalities among engineering honor societies, the possible roles of an honor society within an engineering department, and some best practices for effective honor society chapters. Specific examples from the operation of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN), the honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), are given.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Work in Progress -- Tailoring Optics Resources for K-5 Pre-college Outreach

Pre-college instruction in science, technology, Engineering; and mathematics (STEM) is critical to preparing a workforce and citizens for a technology-based society. The K-5 years are especially important to creating interest and instilling basic concepts. Engineering-based pre-college outreach can provide useful resources in the K- 5 education classroom. However, interaction among K-5 teachers and STEM professionals is more effective if outreach is tailored to the K-5 environment. In particular, resources and outreach should accommodate K-5 assessment standards, level-appropriate concept definition, and grade continuity. This work uses a set of optics resources as an example of tailored outreach. Example lessons and activities illustrate pedagogy appropriate for the unique K-5 education environment, e.g. auditory, visual, and kinesthetic components, concept definition, terminology, and grade continuity. Optical engineering topics are related to Missouri science standards, STEM relevance and inquiry, and measurement activities

Demodulation of Fiber-Optic Sensors for Frequency Response Measurement

The neural-network-based processing of extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) strain sensors was investigated for the special case of sinusoidal strain. The application area is modal or cyclic testing of structures in which the frequency response to periodic actuation must be demodulated. The nonlinear modulation characteristic of EFPI sensors produces well-defined harmonics of the actuation frequency. Relationships between peak strain and harmonic content were analyzed theoretically. A two-stage demodulator was implemented with a Fourier series neural network to separate the harmonic components of an EFPI signal and a backpropagation neural network to predict the peak-to-peak strain from the harmonics. The system performance was tested using theoretical and experimental data. The error for high-strain cases was less than about 10% if at least 12 harmonics were used. The frequency response of an instrumented cantilever beam provided the experimental data. The demodulator processing closely matched the actual strain levels

Patterns in Team Communication during a Simulation Game

The development of communication skills is a necessary preparation for effective engineering teamwork. Argyris\u27 Theory of Action provides a framework for understanding patterns in team dialogue. Students can benefit from an awareness of these patterns. The theory highlights the detection and correction of errors by sharing information during group collaboration and interactions. Quality decision-making can be enhanced when members of a team develop high degrees of openness and interdependence. Quality decision-making can be diminished when members of a team regulate the information shared within the team. This work analyzes team interactions from simulation games used in an interdisciplinary engineering course as a team training exercise. Communication patterns of the student teams are selected that model effective and ineffective behaviors. Positive and negative excerpts from actual student interactions are discussed as instructional vehicles for student training on teamwork skills and for guiding student understanding of simulation game dynamics

Work-in-Progress: Statistics Components in a Circuits Laboratory for ECE Sophomores

Statistics concepts are required for undergraduate curricula in electrical engineering and computer engineering (ECE). Accreditation guidelines specify that such instruction must include “applications appropriate to the program name” [ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2014-2015]. Curricula content in probability and statistics are commonly done in a stand-alone course, but additional exposure within engineering-content courses can provide great value. Many basic concepts can be introduced before the comprehensive stand-alone course. A good ECE context is an electrical circuits laboratory in which students need to understand electrical component tolerances and related design issues. Statistics-related assignments in a required, sophomore-level laboratory course are described for applications involving resistor tolerances. Exposure to basic statistics concepts and computer resources in an introductory in-major course facilitates more advanced instruction in follow-on in-major courses

Performance of a Quaternary Logic Design

This paper analyzes the performance of a quaternary logic circuit and its components. The multi-valued logic design consisting of two drivers and a transistor matrix is simulated using Mentor Graphic software. Functional operation of the circuit is shown and propagation delay and power consumption are determined. The design is dependent on the voltage values for the multi-valued logic. Three logic cases are investigated. The performance of the logic circuit as a quaternary difference calculator is described

Viewing the Learning Process: Assessment Via Usability Testing

Learning through Computer-Based Activities Provides a Multi-Modal Approach in Which the User Can Select the Educational Media and Process. Effective Development of These Activities Requires an Understanding of User Interactivity. Traditional Assessment, Such as Test Scores and Subjective Surveys, Looks at End Results and Attitudes. This Method Does Not Monitor the Learning Process. in Particular Developer Needs to Accommodate Diverse Usage Preferences and Choices. Hence, Assessment Should Involve Usability Measures that Are Quantitative and Qualitative. Usability Testing Records Usage Patterns and User Reactions. a Usability Laboratory Was Created at the University of Missouri-Rolla. It is Supplements the Traditional Assessment for Hypermedia Tutorials and Virtual Laboratories. the Laboratory is Designed to Provide Information on User Choices and Comfort. the Test Setup Provides (1) a Time Record and Progression of Intermediate Steps and (2) Visual and Auditory Clues to Subjective Factors. the Quantitative Measures Indicate How Efficiently and Accurately a User Comprehends and Navigates. the Qualitative Measures Indicate Satisfaction and Frustration during the Learning Process. an Example Test of a Prototype Virtual Laboratory is Described

Comparison of Binary and Multi-Level Logic Electronics for Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are dependent on low-power, miniaturized instrumentation. Comparator circuits are common elements in applications for digital threshold detection. A multi-level, memory-based logic approach is in development that offers potential benefits in power usage and size with respect to traditional binary logic systems. Basic 4-bit operations with CMOS gates and comparators are chosen to compare circuit implementations of binary structures and quaternary equivalents. Circuit layouts and functional operation are presented. In particular, power characteristics and transistor count are examined. The potential for improved embedded systems based on the multilevel, memory-based logic is discussed

RFID Instrumentation in a Field Application

The behavior of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags is investigated in a field application. The RFID instrumentation is used to mark the position of point strain sensors in a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP), short-span bridge. The tags are surface mounted on carbon FRP structural elements and covered with a resin wear layer, i.e. the deck of the bridge. The smart composite bridge was installed in 2000 and serves as a field testbed for various sensor technologies including the RFID tags. The operation of the RFID network is tested in the field and compared to laboratory tags. Specific research issues include long-term survivability after six years, behavior on carbon FRP material, and environmental effects of weather, especially the presence of water. The feasibility of short-range RFID tags as location markers is discussed. The results show the suitability of RFID technology for field environments

Fatigue Testing of a Composite Propeller Blade using Fiber-Optic Strain Sensors

The performance of surface-mounted extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) sensors during a seventeen-million-cycle, high-strain fatigue test is reported. Fiber-optic strain measurements did not degrade during the test. The sensors were applied to a composite propeller blade subject to a constant axial load and a cyclic bending load. Strain measurements were taken at four blade locations using two types of EFPI sensors and co-located electrical resistance strain gages. Static and dynamic strain measurements were taken daily during the 65 days of this standard propeller-blade test. All fiber-optic sensors survived the fatigue test while most of the resistive gages failed. The suitability of fiber-optic monitoring for fatigue testing and other high-cycle monitoring is demonstrated