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Focuses on the computer vision research for undergraduates in the United States. Ability of students to prepare and present papers in conferences; Accomplishments of students in journal publications; Continuance of students on graduate studies at various institutions.

Faculty in the College of Engineering at the University of Alabama developed a multidisciplinary course in applied spectral analysis that was first offered in 1996. The course is aimed at juniors majoring in electrical, mechanical, industrial, or aerospace engineering. No background in signal processing or Fourier analysis is assumed; the requisite fundamentals are covered early in the course and followed by a series of laboratories in which the fundamental concepts are applied. In this paper, a laboratory module on fault detection in rolling element bearings is presented. This module is one of two laboratory modules focusing on machine condition monitoring applications that were developed for this course. Background on the basic operational characteristics of rolling element bearings is presented, and formulas given for the calculation of the characteristic fault frequencies. The shortcomings of conventional vibration spectral analysis for the detection of bearing faults is examined in the context of a synthetic vibration signal that students generate in MATLAB. This signal shares several key features of vibration signatures measured on bearing housings. Envelope analysis and the connection between bearing fault signatures and amplitude modulation/demodulation is explained. Finally, a graphically driven software utility (a set of MATLAB m-files) is introduced. This software allows students to explore envelope analysis using measured data or the synthetic signal that they generated. The software utility and the material presented in this paper constitute an instructional module on bearing fault detection that can be used as a stand-alone tutorial or incorporated into a course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This two-phase mixed methodology study, relevant to STEM educational stakeholders and researchers in emergency remote teaching (ERT) and ICT for education, explored college students' and graduates' attitudes and usage patterns of educational ICT in the U.S. and Japan and identified affordances of the technology for both text and audio-based activities of various lengths. The research was divided into two phases, with the first a qualitative analysis utilizing a questionnaire and coding, which informed the second phase, a quantitative analysis of device and activity associations utilizing k-means analysis. The findings suggest that these participants have a sophisticated understanding of their personal digital ecosystems and practice a form of dynamic "affordance switching" that matches devices to activities. This is reassuring when considering the need for a sudden move to off-site teaching necessitated by an ERT. The k-means analysis identified three main devices out of six commonly used devices and associated those three with specific task characteristics. The Laptop PC was the most universally associated device, followed by the smartphone and traditional paper-based nondigital devices. These findings can inform administrators seeking to supply devices to students during ERT on a limited budget.

This paper discusses an all-encompassing approach to increase the number of students in engineering through innovative outreach, recruiting, and retention programs. Prior to adopting these programs, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Norman, experienced a reduction in engineering enrollment similar to the trend that has occurred across the U.S. over the last few years. As a result, the school investigated the key factors that influence selection of engineering as a career path and initiated a corrective program to reverse this trend. The program involves focusing on the present through retention, on the immediate future through recruiting, and on the distant future through outreach. The focus of all of these programs is to mobilize the OU-ECE faculty and student body to present advanced engineering technologies, innovative demonstrations, and hands-on activities at a level that the individual student can understand and appreciate. Student surveys and interviews are used to assess the program qualitatively, and OU-ECE enrollment numbers are used as a quantitative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electrical engineering (EE) is one of the largest engineering disciplines. Computer engineering (CpE) has a similar curriculum, but different demographics and student outcomes. Using a dataset from universities in the U.S. that includes over 70\,000 students who majored in engineering, this paper describes the outcomes for students matriculating in and migrating into EE and CpE so as to inform the decision making of faculty, department heads, and deans. Although men consistently outnumber women in EE and CpE, the rates of matriculation and six-year graduation vary by race and gender. EE is the most popular choice for Asian and Black students (males and females) at matriculation, but while Asians graduate at high rates, Blacks (particularly males) are not retained. Retention is higher in EE than in CpE despite the similarity of the curricula. Graduation rates are lower than expected for women of all races in CpE and for Hispanic women in EE. By the third semester, some students of all races and genders have left their matriculation major, but others have migrated in from other majors, compensating for some of this loss. CpE students are more likely than EE students to switch to another major. Trajectories of EE and CpE students are racialized and distinct. CpE loses more students and attracts fewer students than EE. These findings illustrate the importance of disaggregating by engineering major as well as race and gender to improve recruitment and retention overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes radio frequency identification (RFID) projects, designed and implemented by students in the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas, as part of their senior-design project requirement. The paper also describes an RFID-based project implemented at Rice Middle School in Piano, TX, which went on to win multiple prizes both at the school and regional level. The goal of the RFID endeavor is to develop an RFID elective course that is current, industry-oriented, and methodically built to enable faculty to design, develop, and deliver the course to a diverse group of engineering students. The sequence of events through which the course evolved was as follows: 1) conduct an industry-supported workshop for students in the College of Engineering with funding received from the National Science Foundation (NSF); 2) assign an RFID-based design project for the senior students who attended the workshop; 3) use the first senior design project as a model to encourage subsequent senior students to create their own RFID projects or enable the students to contact companies seeking to accomplish RFID solutions to a problem; 4) involve middle school students in RFID-based projects by using the senior design projects as an enticement; 5) use the successful projects as the basis for practical laboratory experiences to be created in a new elective course on RFID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber-physical systems are a genre of networked real-time systems that monitor and control the physical world. Examples include unmanned aerial vehicles and industrial robotics. The experts who develop these complex systems are retiring much faster than universities are graduating engineering majors. As a result, it is important for undergraduates to gain exposure to these kinds of complex systems. This paper describes upbot, a robotics testbed hosted at the University of Portland, Portland, OR. The testbed features an extensible robot built from an iRobot Create chassis and a computationally powerful embedded system equipped with a wireless card. In the Spring 2012 semester, the testbed was used for a course project designed and assessed in the style of contract learning. Overall, students were enthusiastic about the hands-on and self-paced nature of the course, but some were concerned by the level of freedom. The lessons learned may inform other educators in project design in robotics education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results of an analysis of indicators that can be used to predict whether a student will succeed in a Computer Science Ph.D. program. The analysis was conducted by studying the records of 75 students who have been in the Computer Science Ph.D. program of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Seventy-seven variables were extracted from each student's record, and the variables were correlated with whether the student did or did not successfully graduate from the program. A multivariate model was developed that predicts success with a high degree of accuracy. Importantly, the model relies on variables that can be determined reasonably early in a student's Ph.D. class work, enabling its use as a selection metric. Hypotheses about the composition of the model are also presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave engineering often involves extensive circuit analysis and design, typically requiring precise calculations. To expedite the handling of complicated design calculations, a Web-based design tool named Microwave Engineering Solutions (MES) was developed as a graduate student project in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo, and is described in this paper. JavaScript, PHP, and Perl were used to develop MES, which consists of three design tools: 1) FilTech—a design tool for analog filters, 2) LMatch—a design tool for impedance matching, and 3) MicroLines—a design tool for striplines and microwave network analysis. MES is used by Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students studying various aspects of electromagnetics and is freely available on the Web via the link at http://venus.ece.ndsu.nodak.edu/∼ronelson/MESLink/index.html. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The course of Electric Machinery has been one of the core courses in the Electrical Engineering (EE) curriculum at Texas A&M University—Kingsville (TAMUK). In the past, the course was designed to focus mainly on topics of transformers and electric machines and was typically presented under the assumption of steady-state conditions. Unfortunately, many students considered the course old-fashioned and unexciting, and this lack of interest, in turn, seriously limited their ability to understand and appreciate the wide-ranging applications of electric machines. More important, electric machines today have become widely integrated with power electronics, digital signal processing (DSP), and digital control technology. However, these technological changes were not adequately reflected in the traditional teaching structure of the course. This paper presents a new approach that, by integrating computer-assisted teaching methodology in classroom presentation, substantially restructures the course so that it provides a comprehensive treatment of electric-drive systems with discussions covering electric machines, power electronic converters, feedback controls, power supply systems, and mechanical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on an experiment at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island which enhanced the quality of undergraduate engineering education within the faculty reward structure. Educational approach that fostered creativity and design; Requirements of engineering design in the university's computer engineering program; Initial placements of experiment participants after graduation.

Describes the experience of New York City's Polytechnic University with the development and management of a data warehouse through the support of the National Science Foundation Gateway Coalition. System of organizing institutional data that can support the engineering educational assessment process; Monitoring of students' performance in their undergraduate career and after.

Describes the assessment of online learning modules in engineering design for first year students developed at Columbia University in New York City. Presentation formats and strategies for online engineering design problems; Improved student performance on design problems after module use; Modules incorporating animation and interactive design tools; Web-based curricula.

Contribution: This study contributes to efforts to diversify the field of engineering by studying the influence of co-curricular activities on African American students’ development of key nontechnical professional skills. Background: The 21st Century workforce requires significant collaboration and communication. For engineering graduates to meet workforce challenges, they must graduate with nontechnical skills. This study operationalized these skills using traits identified in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) “Engineer of 2020” report. The NAE also points to the urgent need for the United States to diversify its workforce; broadening the participation of African American engineers is key to doing so. Co-curricular activities help students develop nontechnical professional skills and are particularly important to African Americans at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Research Question: How do African American engineering students attending PWIs in the United States develop nontechnical professional skills through participation in ethnic-specific co-curricular activities? Methodology: This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 16 participants from one of six engineering disciplines. Each participant was a member of at least one of the following organizations: a Black fraternity or sorority (termed Black Greek Letter organizations), their campus student chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, or an institution-sponsored program for racially underrepresented students such as a minority engineering program. Findings: Data analysis revealed significant evidence that involvement in one or more of the studied ethnic-specific co-curricular activities enhanced African American engineering students’ educational experiences by providing resources and opportunities to help them develop professional skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This article discusses the use of manufacturing simulation games to study collaborative problem-solving skills in engineering students. The simulation represents the mass production paradigm in which large quantities of identical products are produced. Empirical data is collected from the simulation to evaluate the skills engineering students used in solving the problem and their group effectiveness. Background: The use of simulation games to teach problem solving in design and manufacturing is an effective approach to convey concepts to students. Simulation games engage students in experiential and collaborative learning with fun elements. Research Questions: How does hands-on simulation engage students in collaborative problem solving? How does participation in collaborative problem solving affect group effectiveness? Methodology: This work presents a study of 37 university-level engineering students in the United States. Participants worked in groups completing the simulation game and responded to surveys on their various skills used. Findings: Participants utilized analytical, metacognitive, and thinking skills in their engagement, reported that the simulation games enhanced their understanding of manufacturing concepts and active collaboration improved problem-solving effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about IEEE Education Society Awards and Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference Awards. THE IEEE Education Society and the FIE Conference annually recognize many outstanding engineering education. The conferences to provide these awards were held in Colorado and Georgia. Some of the recipients included in this list are: Warren B. Boast for 1978; Edwin C. Jones for 1980; Lyle D. Feisel for 1981; Roy H. Mattson for 1982 etc.

Comments on the educational activities of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in the U.S. Concerns on the history of the electrical and electronics engineers profession; Lists of members of the association; Goals of the organization.

Presents the development of an Internet-based system to allow monitoring of important process variables from a distributed control system in the U.S. Extraction of important characteristics of the physical system; Availability of laboratory infrastructure over the Internet; Aspects of setting up a distributed control system.

Presents a course on computer systems performance analysis for continuing education which has been adapted for distance education delivery options in Minnesota. Drop-out rate for remote and on-campus students; Preference for face-to-face instruction; Topics covered in typical offering of course; Completion rate for each category of student enrollment.

Focuses on curriculum development for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics Department of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. MEMS program in mechanical engineering; Weekly course topics for introduction to MEMS; Special topics in MEMS devices and fabrication; MEMS process and testing laboratories.

Focuses on an interdisciplinary core laboratory sequence at Auburn University's Electrical Engineering Department in Alabama. Laboratory curriculum design; Level of challenge provided in the course; Evolution of a multifaceted assessment strategy; Use of end-of-term student evaluations, retrospective student evaluations, student and faculty interviews.

Describes how the assessment process has been developed at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Process design's goal of minimizing additions to the state faculty workload; Academic program's similarity to civilian universities; How the USAFA methods can help electrical engineering programs at other schools.

Traces the evolution of the course evaluation process in Drexel University's College of Engineering in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Adaptation to the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology 2000 accreditation requirements; Development of course format used; Evaluation procedures; Support from the Gateway Engineering Education Coalition.

Examines the senior computer engineering capstone design course at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. Context of the course; Development of 8-bit microprocessor using hardware description language; Components of microprocessor architecture; Concept of logic synthesis and field programmable gate array; Relevance of the course on students.

Examines the role of information technology in enhancing the learning experiences of students in distance and conventional education in Florida. Relevance of Internet and World Wide Web on-campus and distance education students; Comparison between synchronous and asynchronous learning; Solutions for enhancing live and archived classes.

Presents the text of a presidential address given at the 19th Annual Convention of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in June 1902. Inclusion of the status of empirical science at the beginning of the 20th century; Needed improvements in college engineering programs in the United States; Components of an ideal engineering course.

Following the success of summer-camp-based programs, a new program has been developed for in-school sessions focused around LEGO robotics to foster interest in STEM topics at a young age. The program has been implemented in a very diverse school, and preliminary results on the efficacy of the program are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In response to a call from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for curriculum reform and elimination of legacy materials in engineering curricula, the faculty at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, has developed and offered a combined set of course modules in fluids and circuits. These modules consist of a two-credit interdisciplinary course in fundamentals, followed by two one-credit modules focusing on applications in fluids and in circuits, respectively. The course set reduces the overall number of credits from six (three in each of the standard fluids and circuits classes) to four through the 2 + 1 + 1 format. The fundamentals course, consisting of two credits, is based on conservation and accounting principles for the concepts of mass, momentum, energy, and charge. Two applications modules, each of one credit, develop these ideas in the respective disciplines. During the study, four challenges to implementation were uncovered: faculty and administrative buy-in, textbook selection, logistics, and stakeholders' acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of 2004 IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) Awards recipients. THE 2004 IEEE EAB chaired by IEEE Educational Activities Vice-President James M. Tien, upon the recommendation of the EAB Awards and Recognition Committee, have named the recipients of the 2004 IEEE EAB Awards. EAB awards recognize and honor individuals, companies, and IEEE Sections for major contributions to education in the areas of accreditation. The EAB Award Reception and Presentation was held on November 18, 2004 during the November 2004 IEEE Board of Directors Meeting Series in San Antonio, Texas.

An undergraduate digital signal processing (DSP) laboratory at Western Michigan University (WMU) is described. A sequence of hands-on laboratory experiments using Texas Instruments DSP evaluation modules has been incorporated into the existing DSP undergraduate course. The main objectives are to enhance the students' understanding of the theory taught in class, provide experience with DSP implementation issues, and to increase their interest and participation in this important field of electrical and computer engineering. A description of the course, laboratory sessions, and supporting tools are described. To monitor the acceptance and success of the new laboratory, student assessments and evaluations have been collected and are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the Summit of Deans of Education and Deans of Engineering on the issues of technological literacy in the U.S. Development of common or emerging themes and action plans; Enhancement of engineering teaching, learning and assessment; Creation of solutions to human problems.

Reports the integration of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board into a single agency in New York. Accreditation responsibility of the single organization on educational programs; Introduction of computer science on programming; Evaluation of baccalaureate degree programs on computer science.

Focuses on the use of learning style models in teaching college physics and engineering classes in the United States. Employment of Dunn and Dunn learning style with nonmajors enrolled in introductory physics; Application of Kolb style to freshman engineering students; Adaptation of approaches for computing and technology education.

Presents an engineering design course for the University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan, based on the integration of a capstone program with the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition. Performance and design competitions for autonomous land vehicles; Benefits and challenges of competition-driven vehicle design; Course requirements and criteria for evaluation.

Describes a set of experiments in optoelectronics for first-year engineering students. Design of hands-on laboratory experience; Equipment list for freshmen optoelectronics laboratory; Implementation at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and University of San Diego in California; Assessment of effectiveness of laboratory.

Discusses a hardware description language (HDL)-based design course offered at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Emphasis on the principles of digital system design; Adoption of HDL-based design methodologies; Role of the course in introducing NAU students to the underlying concepts behind modeling, simulating and verifying digital system design using hardware description languages.

Describes a collaborative effort between the Arizona State University and Motorola University to develop a software project management training course. Description of the software project simulator; Role of the project leader's management skill in the success of a software project; Importance of effective planning and tracking of software project.

Describes the implementation of a microprocessor design project in an introductory very large scale integration (VLSI) design course in the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Course philosophy, content and baseline architecture from which class projects begin; Key features of the course; Coordination of lectures and project activity; Prompt and regular feedback on design work; Course schedule.

Presents a case study to illustrate how outcomes-based assessment tools can be adapted and applied to develop a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process for an undergraduate mechanical engineering program. Mechanical engineering curriculum at the University of South Carolina, Columbia; Need for the systemic and systematic reform of educational programs.

Discusses an instrument developed and used at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan to assess learning and retention of basic circuit topics in an undergraduate electrical engineering program. Skills assessment tests; Development and administration of the tests; Cooperative education functions.

Describes the use of the scenario assignment tool in an upper division Mechanical Engineering course at the University of California-Berkeley. Challenge regarding finding effective qualitative tools to assess students' skills and knowledge of engineering practices; Learning outcomes associated with the scenario tool; Identification of students' strengths and weaknesses.

Discusses United States engineering educators' focus in undefined outcomes as a necessary step in the accreditation process. Development of a framework based on Bloom's taxonomy for better specifying outcomes; Enabling of engineering faculties to adapt the outcomes to their own program; How characterization of outcomes can be used as part of an assessment and feedback process.

Describes an undergraduate parallel programming course based upon network workstations offered on the North Carolina Research Education Network. Choices of computing platform; Course content; Description of the teleclass facility; Homepage materials.

Describes an innovative teaching technique consisting of pedagogy and motivation as instruments to gradually enhance the interest of Mechanical Engineering students for minoring in Electrical Engineering at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Performance of 87 students in four classes majoring in Mechanical Engineering; Gradual increase in electrical engineering content.

Describes the Intelligent Control Laboratory course at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Department of Electrical Engineering's control systems curriculum at the university; Students' execution of a series of laboratory exercises; Implementation of fuzzy control, adaptive fuzzy control and other intelligent control techniques; Emphasis on sensing and actuation technologies.

Provides information on the development of intervention programs at various levels in education to represent women in the fields of science and engineering in the United States. Information on a program offered at the George Washington University (GW); Who the program is funded by; Additional funds provided by the National science Foundation to conduct a follow up study of teachers and students after the project ended; Purpose of the follow up study.

Provides information on the development of a different approach in teaching and development and using electronic circuit fabrication skill by the Division of Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines as part of their undergraduate electronic laboratories. Creation of a vertically integrated facility with advanced computer aided design tools and other electronic tools.

Electrical engineering (EE) is one of the largest engineering disciplines. Computer engineering (CpE) has a similar curriculum, but different demographics and student outcomes. Using a dataset from universities in the U.S. that includes over 70,000 students who majored in engineering, this paper describes the outcomes for students matriculating in and migrating into EE and CpE so as to inform the decision making of faculty, department heads, and deans. Although men consistently outnumber women in EE and CpE, the rates of matriculation and six-year graduation vary by race and gender. EE is the most popular choice for Asian and Black students (males and females) at matriculation, but while Asians graduate at high rates, Blacks (particularly males) are not retained. Retention is higher in EE than in CpE despite the similarity of the curricula. Graduation rates are lower than expected for women of all races in CpE and for Hispanic women in EE. By the third semester, some students of all races and genders have left their matriculation major, but others have migrated in from other majors, compensating for some of this loss. CpE students are more likely than EE students to switch to another major. Trajectories of EE and CpE students are racialized and distinct. CpE loses more students and attracts fewer students than EE. These findings illustrate the importance of disaggregating by engineering major as well as race and gender to improve recruitment and retention overall. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

Low-cost personal computers, wireless access technologies, the Internet, and computer-equipped classrooms allow the design of novel and complementary methodologies for teaching digital information security in electrical engineering curricula. The challenges of the current digital information era require experts who are effectively able to counteract piracy, forgery, copyright infringement, and so on. Digital watermarking is one possible technique for fighting piracy, which consists of the insertion of invisible but robust information to protect the data. In this paper, a new teaching approach, designed for testing student skills and progressing in multimedia data protection, is presented. This consists of a distributed security game where students compete by first using the developed watermarking techniques and then attacking each other's methods, thus verifying their robustness. Groups of students from different universities and countries play against each other, trying to compromise other teams' hiding systems while protecting their own data from attacks. The proposed methodology can be considered as an appealing approach for stimulating learning, cooperation, and team competition. The effectiveness of the teaching method is verified by a student survey and their academic results. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

Since 2005, the first-year engineering program at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, has been significantly restructured to include more hands-on learning. A major grant (2004-2009) under the department level reform (DLR) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) facilitated this restructuring. A number of hands-on learning modules were developed and implemented within a required first-semester undergraduate course. One of the modules introduced mechatronics. The goal of this module is to introduce first-year engineering students to a portion of the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering disciplines within a collaborative setting. Interestingly, while the largest portion of engineering students in the United States are enrolled in electrical and mechanical engineering programs, there is a disparity between the percentage of male engineering students and female engineering students within those disciplines relative to the overall distribution of all students among the various engineering disciplines. By introducing all engineering students to mechatronics before students declare their specific discipline, the college hopes to attract more females to programs that suffer from a greater gender disparity than is already found within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This paper discusses the details of the implementation of the mechatronics initiative and gives student feedback that includes overall perception of the initiative and perception by gender. (Contains 2 tables and 20 figures.)