A framework for design engineering education in a global context

This paper presents a framework for teaching design engineering in a global context using innovative technologies to enable distributed teams to work together effectively across international and cultural boundaries. The DIDET Framework represents the findings of a 5-year project conducted by the University of Strathclyde, Stanford University and Olin College which enhanced student learning opportunities by enabling them to partake in global, team based design engineering projects, directly experiencing different cultural contexts and accessing a variety of digital information sources via a range of innovative technology. The use of innovative technology enabled the formalization of design knowledge within international student teams as did the methods that were developed for students to store, share and reuse information. Coaching methods were used by teaching staff to support distributed teams and evaluation work on relevant classes was carried out regularly to allow ongoing improvement of learning and teaching and show improvements in student learning. Major findings of the 5 year project include the requirement to overcome technological, pedagogical and cultural issues for successful eLearning implementations. The DIDET Framework encapsulates all the conclusions relating to design engineering in a global context. Each of the principles for effective distributed design learning is shown along with relevant findings and suggested metrics. The findings detailed in the paper were reached through a series of interventions in design engineering education at the collaborating institutions. Evaluation was carried out on an ongoing basis and fed back into project development, both on the pedagogical and the technological approaches

A reflective approach to learning in a global design project

This paper describes a three-week project run jointly between the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, MA and Stanford University, CA. The purpose of this class was to provide students with an understanding of the technological and organisational issues involved in global product development teams, and to provide an experience which would prepare them for work in such environments. Reflective learning techniques were applied, including reviews of relevant literature, analyses of case studies, and a critical review of the completed project. The main result of this approach was that students had a more considered attitude towards the project process than in typical, more output-focussed student design assignments. This was crucial given the cultural and pedagogical variations across institutions. The Global Team Design Project was successful, particularly for the first year of implementation, and provides a potential framework that other institutions could employ in similar project classe

Computational Design and Analysis of Beam-Generating Structures Made of Near-Zero-Index Materials

We present computational design and analysis of near-zero-index (NZI) shell structures, which can provide directional radiation characteristics when excited by isotropic sources. Alternative strategies are used to create symmetric and asymmetric beams, such as geometric shaping of internal cavities, applying curvatures on outer surfaces, using pyramidal textures to suppress undesired beams, and selecting suitable material properties.  The results show that, with well-designed geometric parameters, quite successful radiation patterns can be obtained with relatively simple NZI shells

Accurate and Efficient Broadband Simulations of Three-Dimensional Closed Conductors Using a Combined Potential-Field Formulation

A novel formulation involving a combination of potential and field formulations is presented for stable analyses of closed conductors with various sizes and discretizations

Accurate and Efficient Solutions of Densely Discretized Closed Conductors Using a Combined Potential-Field Formulation

We present an accurate, efficient, and stable formulation for rigorous analyses of electromagnetic problems involving closed conductors. The formulation, namely the combined potential-field formulation (CPFF), is constructed from the conventional potential integral equations and the magnetic-field integral equation, together with an additional integral equation using the boundary condition for the normal component of the magnetic vector potential. Being both low-frequency-stable and resonance-free, CPFF is a broadband formulation, which enables accurate and efficient solutions of objects with diverse dimensions and discretization sizes

Inkjet-printed frequency-selective structures based on improved arrangements of u-shaped resonators

We present design, simulation, and fabrication of thin inkjet-printed frequency-selective structures involving U-shaped resonators. In order to obtain both multiband and polarization-independent operation, resonators are carefully arranged to construct thin structures. The designed arrangements are fabricated in a very low-cost inkjet-printing setup that is based on conventional printers loaded with silver-based inks. Initial results demonstrate favorable properties of the designs and their prototypes, demonstrating the feasibility of low-cost, but effective, frequency-selective structures

Design and simulation of nana-optical beam generators based on zero-index materials

We present design and computational analysis of near-zero-index (NZI) structures that act as nano-optical beam generators when excited internally by isotropic sources. The designed structures have homogenized shell geometries with various modifications to generate asymmetric tridirectional, bidirectional, and unidirectional beams, in addition to symmetric ones. NZI properties make it possible to generate beams from planar surfaces, while numerical results show that the behavior of a shell is very sensitive to the geometric parameters and the nature of the NZI, i.e., permittivity and permeability values. We show that, by using asymmetric cavities and pyramidal textures, it is possible to generate asymmetric beams with suitable choices of dimensions and material properties