John Merrill

Panel - nanotechnology curriculum and research opportunities in undergraduate engineering education

Nanotechnology concepts can be used to entice young students into science and engineering departments. Incorporating these concepts into engineering curricula in a useful fashion can be an expensive proposition. This panel provided a forum for discussion of different approaches and opportunities for including nanotechnology in the undergraduate curriculum at all levels ranging from required freshman courses to elective senior courses

A curriculum collaboration model. working with upper division students to inprove a first-year program

This paper presents an overview of a quarter-long design-build project in the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) course sequence, which is part of the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State University (OSU). The current design-build project is discussed along with a justification for the need to institute a replacement. The primary focus of this paper is a unique collaboration model which was developed to address this need. Faculty, staff, and graduate teaching associates from the First-Year Engineering Program joined with the Industrial, Welding and Systems Engineering (IWSE) Department to investigate possible solutions. The paper describes the curriculum research and design methods used by the curriculum team. The document also discusses the requirements and constraints of the project and presents a detailed timeline of the evaluation and feedback tools implemented. The evaluation and feedback tools used are explained along with sample worksheets. The results of the first quarter are discussed in light of the constraints and requirements of the FE program. Finally, the improvements from the second quarter trials are further explained. This paper will provide clear examples of the project’s various cycles, discussion of the planned implementation process, and examples of the final roller coaster design. The collaboration model is reviewed, with experiences gained and future plans presented. I. Introduction The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) course sequence is part of the First-Year Engineering Program at OSU, and is mandatory for all students not enrolled in the Honors equivalent. The FE sequence consists of two courses (ENG 181 and ENG 183), in which students are exposed to Engineering drawing, MATLAB, Excel, hands-on labs, and a quarter-long design-build project involving different fields of engineering. Enrollment in these courses is approximately 1000 students. The current design-build project is entering its third year of full-scale use, and the need to institute a replacement was identified as the result of a curriculum analysis. With up to 162 student teams using lab space and materials in a given quarter, the challenge is to create a replacement that is intellectually challenging while at the same time makes wise and economical use of space and materials.

Work in progress - evolution & implementation of a roller coaster (design-build) project for a first-year program

The fundamentals of engineering (FE) sequence at The Ohio State University consists of two courses that involve skill development applicable for all engineering disciplines. The second course includes a new design-build project, implemented in the winter of 2004. From a curriculum standpoint, the goal has been to create a project that is challenging, sustainable, and cost-effective. Total construction time for students was reduced by providing a set of interchangeable and interlocking parts - leaving students more time to experiment with multiple designs and orientations, and to solve real-world problems. In order to ensure the use of design methods that would result in accurate models, a physics-based approach was used, and all teams had to have a paper design approved before construction. Complete project documentation, a final systems test, and an oral presentation by each team serve as culminating events for the project.

Work in progress - roller coaster design conceptualization for first-year engineering students

Students in the first-year engineering program at The Ohio State University are required to complete a quarter-long course which incorporates a team-based, design-build final project. Students are assigned to four-person teams and given the job of designing, building and testing a functional model roller coaster. Like all engineering designs, this project is subject to specified time and material constraints. Students use preliminary test data to make informed design changes and arrive at final working solutions. The project has evolved to encourage and assist students in conceptualizing and creating complex, innovative designs, through rule changes and new measurement tools.

Work in Progress - A Service-Learning Collaboration between Engineering and Human Ecology

In Winter 2006, engineering and human ecology students from Ohio State University (OSU) completed a 10-week service learning course as a prerequisite to a week-long service trip to rural Honduras during Spring Break (March 18-25, 2006). The community partner, known as Montana de Luz, is based in Columbus, OH, and operates a home for children with HIV/AIDS in Honduras. The overall goal was to build upon engineering projects initiated the previous year and to assess educational needs for the establishment of a preschool. The educational opportunities for OSU students consisted of pre-trip planning, fundraising, materials acquisition, project implementation, cultural exchange, student reflection, post-trip assessment, and documentation. On-site challenges consisted of water supply and quality (agricultural and health concern), electrical safety and equipment function, communications (due to remoteness and mountainous conditions), computing needs (administrative and educational), as well as the cultural and communications challenges of implementing projects in another country

Work in progress - 'lab-on-a-chip' micromanufacturing with a nanotechnology component for a first-year engineering program: implementation results

A micromanufacturing lab-on-a-chip project with a nanotechnology component was introduced in Winter and Spring 2004 as a pilot laboratory experience at The Ohio State University for first-year engineering students as a voluntary alternative within the standard first-year engineering curriculum. Students enrolling in the course participated in a quarter-length design, build, and test problem utilizing project management skills found in the standard lab sections. This course offering represented a significant effort to transfer graduate level research findings to a freshman engineering setting. Further expansion of this project for winter and spring quarters of 2005 included three 72-student sections and one 36-student honors section. Pre- and post-tests on nanotechnology concepts in the 2005 offerings will help to gauge increases in student knowledge and understanding of fundamental nanotechnology topics. Pre- and post-surveys indicate the effects of the course on student interest and participation in research and nanotechnology-related issues at an undergraduate, graduate, or professional level

An honors program for freshman engineering students: development and long term evaluation

Summary form only given. In 1993, under funding provided by the NSF Gateway Engineering Education program, The Ohio State University College of Engineering (Department of Engineering Graphics) initiated an innovative freshman program with an emphasis on hands-on labs, teamwork, and concentrated design-build projects. This program was adapted from the Drexel E4 program that was developed under an earlier NSF curriculum grant and from other Gateway schools. The program is now a permanent part of the College, and is serving as a recruiting tool for highly talented students. Since its inception, the program has maintained an ongoing database of student characteristics and academic performance. Each participating group has been matched to a nonparticipating control group. Now in its sixth academic year, the program has a solid track record of positive results in retention, reducing time to major, grade point average, and co-op/internship participation. The College has the ability to analyze level of participation in the program, in co-op and internships, in industry and/or graduate school, as well as extra-curricular participation and graduation rates (i.e., time to graduate). Norm referenced data has also been collected to compare student performance with students at other major engineering institutions. This paper describes the program components developed by faculty and graduate students in Engineering, Physics, and Math, plus the results of assessment and longitudinal tracking.