Carbon Nanotube Capacitors

We introduce a vertical carbon nanotube capacitor with high capacitance per unit area. Using an electrical model of single-walled, metallic carbon nanotubes and the extracted capacitance values of a carbon nanotube bundle network, we develop an electrical model for the capacitor. The device can exhibit a capacitance greater than 175fF/mu m(2)

Relevance of First-Tier, Peer-Reviewed Journals in the Tenure and Promotion Process at Non-Doctoral Granting Engineering Institutions

ABSTRACT The IEEE (formerly the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world's largest professional society dedicated to the advancement of technology. While it is indeed growing into multiple technology areas, the IEEE is still first an organization of electrical, electronics, and computer engineering professionals. It has over 400,000 members and publishes nearly 100, first-tier, peer-reviewed journals. As such a large purveyor of scholarly works, engineering faculty at almost all academic institutions (doctoral granting and non-doctoral granting) are familiar with the IEEE. For this reason, the IEEE makes an excellent case study for the relevance of first-tier, peer-reviewed journals in the tenure and promotion process at non-doctoral granting engineering institutions. In our work, we surveyed editors of the 97 IEEE journals. 93% of respondents indicated that 10% or less of their submissions were from nonacademic institutions. None (0%) of the respondents believed that the number of non-doctoral granting institution submissions would be increasing over the next three years. In fact, a majority of the respondents (55%) see the number of nondoctoral granting institution submissions decreasing in the same time frame. To correlate this data, we examined a sample of 2,099 articles published in the first issue of each IEEE journal in 2009. 357 (17%) of these 2,099 articles were authored by individuals from academic institutions in the United States. Of the 357, only 35 were published by individuals from nondoctoral granting institutions (1.7%), with only 8 (0.38%) from institutions where a bachelor degree is the highest offered

A Pair of Dopamine Neurons Target the D1-Like Dopamine Receptor DopR in the Central Complex to Promote Ethanol-Stimulated Locomotion in Drosophila

Dopamine is a mediator of the stimulant properties of drugs of abuse, including ethanol, in mammals and in the fruit fly Drosophila. The neural substrates for the stimulant actions of ethanol in flies are not known. We show that a subset of dopamine neurons and their targets, through the action of the D1-like dopamine receptor DopR, promote locomotor activation in response to acute ethanol exposure. A bilateral pair of dopaminergic neurons in the fly brain mediates the enhanced locomotor activity induced by ethanol exposure, and promotes locomotion when directly activated. These neurons project to the central complex ellipsoid body, a structure implicated in regulating motor behaviors. Ellipsoid body neurons are required for ethanol-induced locomotor activity and they express DopR. Elimination of DopR blunts the locomotor activating effects of ethanol, and this behavior can be restored by selective expression of DopR in the ellipsoid body. These data tie the activity of defined dopamine neurons to D1-like DopR-expressing neurons to form a neural circuit that governs acute responding to ethanol

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

A Power Delivery and Decoupling Network Minimizing Ohmic Loss and Supply Voltage Variation in Silicon Nanoscale

di/dt and IR events may cause large supply voltage variations and ohmic losses due to system parasitics. Today, decoupling capacitance is used to minimize the supply voltage variation, and parallelism in the power delivery path is used to reduce ohmic loss. Future integrated circuits, however, will exhibit large enough currents and current transients to mandate additional safeguards. A novel, distributed power delivery and decoupling network is introduced that reduces the supply voltage variation magnitude by more than 66% or the future ohmic loss by more than 27% (compared to today\u27s power delivery and decoupling networks) using conventional processing and packaging techniques

Relevance of First-Tier, Peer-Reviewed Journals in the Tenure and Promotion Process at Non-Doctoral Granting Engineering Institutions

The IEEE (formerly the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world's largest professional society dedicated to the advancement of technology. While it is indeed growing into multiple technology areas, the IEEE is still first an organization of electrical, electronics, and computer engineering professionals. It has over 400,000 members and publishes nearly 100, first-tier, peer-reviewed journals. As such a large purveyor of scholarly works, engineering faculty at almost all academic institutions (doctoral granting and non-doctoral granting) are familiar with the IEEE. For this reason, the IEEE makes an excellent case study for the relevance of first-tier, peer-reviewed journals in the tenure and promotion process at non-doctoral granting engineering institutions. In our work, we surveyed editors of the 97 IEEE journals. 93% of respondents indicated that 10% or less of their submissions were from non-academic institutions. None (0%) of the respondents believed that the number of non-doctoral granting institution submissions would be increasing over the next three years. In fact, a majority of the respondents (55%) see the number of non-doctoral granting institution submissions decreasing in the same time frame. To correlate this data, we examined a sample of 2,099 articles published in the first issue of each IEEE journal in 2009. 357 (17%) of these 2,099 articles were authored by individuals from academic institutions in the United States. Of the 357, only 35 were published by individuals from non-doctoral granting institutions (1.7%), with only 8 (0.38%) from institutions where a bachelor degree is the highest offered

Can a First-year Professor be More Successful with a Flipped Classroom than with a Traditional Classroom?

We assessed the impact of the flipped classroom model on a first year faculty member’s performance. In the fall semester, the first year faculty member was responsible for teaching two sections of a junior-level, required class: ECE-360 / Signals and Systems (3 credits). The class has historically been taught in a traditional lecture format. In the spring semester, the first year faculty member was responsible for teaching two sections of another junior-level, required class: ECE-322 / Embedded Microcontrollers (3 credits). The class has historically been taught in a flipped format. First, the first year faculty member’s student performance on the ECE-360 (traditional format) and ECE-322 (flipped format) final exams were compared. Our results show that the first year faculty member’s student performance moved from a uniform distribution (traditional format) to a truncated normal distribution with a higher mean (flipped format). Second, the first year faculty member’s student performance on the two final exams was compared with previous years’ student performance. Our results show that the first year faculty member’s student performance in ECE-360 (traditional format) were more poorly distributed with a lower mean than previous years. However, in ECE-322 (flipped format) the first year faculty member’s student performance distribution and mean were commensurate with performance from previous years. Third, student surveys and faculty interviews were conducted. From our analysis, we find strong quantitative and qualitative evidence that the first year faculty member was more successful teaching in a flipped mode classroom. Additionally, the improvements in student performance seen in the flipped classroom required less preparation on the part of the first year faculty member, leading to higher levels of faculty and student satisfaction

Can a First-year Professor be More Successful with a Flipped Classroom than with a Traditional Classroom?

We assessed the impact of the flipped classroom model on a first year faculty member’s performance. In the fall semester, the first year faculty member was responsible for teaching two sections of a junior-level, required class: ECE-360 / Signals and Systems (3 credits). The class has historically been taught in a traditional lecture format. In the spring semester, the first year faculty member was responsible for teaching two sections of another junior-level, required class: ECE-322 / Embedded Microcontrollers (3 credits). The class has historically been taught in a flipped format. First, the first year faculty member’s student performance on the ECE-360 (traditional format) and ECE-322 (flipped format) final exams were compared. Our results show that the first year faculty member’s student performance moved from a uniform distribution (traditional format) to a truncated normal distribution with a higher mean (flipped format). Second, the first year faculty member’s student performance on the two final exams was compared with previous years’ student performance. Our results show that the first year faculty member’s student performance in ECE-360 (traditional format) were more poorly distributed with a lower mean than previous years. However, in ECE-322 (flipped format) the first year faculty member’s student performance distribution and mean were commensurate with performance from previous years. Third, student surveys and faculty interviews were conducted. From our analysis, we find strong quantitative and qualitative evidence that the first year faculty member was more successful teaching in a flipped mode classroom. Additionally, the improvements in student performance seen in the flipped classroom required less preparation on the part of the first year faculty member, leading to higher levels of faculty and student satisfaction

Creative Engineering for 2020

The United States National Academy of Engineering's seminal work, <i>The Engineer of 2020 – Visions of Engineering in the New Century</i>, was written to prepare industrial, governmental, and academic institutions for the future of engineering. The authors of the report state, "Emphasis on the creative process will allow more effective leadership in the development and application of next-generation technologies to problems of the future." In 2011, 2012, and 2013, engineering undergraduates from the Valparaiso University College of Engineering (Valparaiso, Indiana, USA) participated in a four-day off-site course focused on creativity, innovation, teamwork, and leading the creative process. The course was taught by members of the engineering faculty and included sessions and on-location tours (near Orlando, Florida) that were led by instructors from an external training organization. Pre- and post-course surveys identify a significant improvement in the students' understanding of the roles of creativity, innovation, and the roles of leadership, communication, and teamwork in the creative process