Nobuyuki Naoe

Learning through experience ∼ hands-on education at a technical college in Japan ∼

The technical college system is thought to be one of the most successful educational systems in Japan. One of the main reasons for this success is the hands-on education which the technical colleges have given to their students. In this paper, the authors present an outline of the hands-on education at Kanazawa Technical College, a private technical college in Japan. The most important classes for hands-on education at KTC are the “Creative Experiments” and “Capstone Project” classes. The curriculum of KTC is designed to be centered on those hands-on classes. Additionally, the students are encouraged to join extra-curricular projects such as the Robot Contest. Highly-motivated KTC students are joining those projects and are developing their skills and abilities. Four major features of the hands-on education at KTC are: focusing on creativity, emphasizing teamwork, employing kenkyu-sitsu system, and joining external contests. The authors believe that those features will help the graduates be creative engineers throughout their professional life. Despite the contribution of hands-on education towards producing creative engineers, there are many challenges that practitioners face. Among them are legal restrictions, shortage of resources, difficulty in evaluation, and collapse of the life-long employment system. To some extent, those features and challenges are common among technical colleges in Japan.

The use of the air temperature observation data as education resources

In urban areas, the thermal environment is characterized by the heat island phenomenon. To estimate by satellite the thermal conditions of land surfaces, it is necessary to find the relationship between surface temperature and landcover type. For this study, the area around Kenrokuen Park, located in the center of Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, was chosen. There are 32 schools within a 4-km radius of this park, each of which has an instrument screen in its yard. We installed a thermometer-hygrometer with a data logger in each instrument screen and have been measuring the air temperature and humidity at 1.5 m above the ground at 10-minute intervals each summer, from June to September, since 2003. The purpose of the observations is to demonstrate the correlation between the ASTER surface temperatures (ASTER level 2B products) and our observed temperatures. We decided to use our observational data not only for comparison with the satellite data but also for environmental education. Students at Ishikawa Prefectural Komatsu Commercial High School, Japan, used our data and instruction to develop a Web site about the heat island phenomenon. By using actual observational data in class, the students were able to understand the importance of the existence of vegetation in an urban area. KeywordsASTER; air temperature observation; educational resource

A brushless, exciterless, single-phase, sinusoidal wave synchronous machine having an auxiliary stator winding

Analytical and experimental studies of a brushless, exciterless, single-phase, sinusoidal-wave synchronous machine operating as a generator or a motor, derived from a three-phase machine, are reported. One phase armature winding of the three-phase machine is used as an auxiliary stator winding of the single-phase machine and is used to supply the exciting power for the other two-phase armature windings acting as the load winding of the single-phase machine. A 1.5 kW, 200 V, 60 Hz, four-pole synchronous machine was used the experiments. It is shown that the waveforms of the armature terminal voltage and the load current are nearly sinusoidal. The advantages of the single-phase machine as a portable generator or small-load motor are discussed. >

Using air temperature data of all the prefectural capitals in Japan as teaching material for introductory data-mining classes

In this research, the authors examined the value of air temperature data of big cities as data-mining introduction teaching material for schoolchildren and young students. The data examined in this research was the air temperature data of all of the 47 prefectural capitals in Japan. The results of the research showed that we can clearly see statistical patterns in the data using diagrams and graphs familiar to average people. It was also found that we can experience, through the analysis of air temperature data, that finding patterns in data leads us to additional findings. Moreover, we found that we can expect students to acquire important ideas of statistics through the analysis.

Use of air temperature data in education to develop statistical intuition

This paper proposes using air temperature data in education to develop statistical intuition. First, reservations about mathematical-statistical methods are presented. Then, educational strategy to develop statistical intuition employing air temperature data is proposed as a way to dispel those reservations. And finally, examples of programs using air temperature data are presented and examined.

Electric vehicle project for introduction to engineering Creation Experiment III

A Japanese engineer in a Japanese company is expected to perform many tasks within the employed company during the lifetime of their employment. The employee is expected to perform tasks such as circuit layout, material development, programming, quality control, and management. Young engineers will have to study many fields and have a good understanding of the fundamentals of all aspects of engineering to become a well rounded employee desired by industry upon graduation. At Kanazawa Technical College students will be participating in a new project shaped to fallow there new curriculum in accordance to Massachusetts Institute of Technology CDIO (Conceive - Design - Implement - Operate) initiative.

The Air Temperature Observation in Local City as Education Resources

In this study, we measured the air temperature and humidity in the vicinity of Kenrokuen Park in the center of Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. There are 44 schools within a 7km radius of the park, each of which has an instrument shelter in its yard. We installed a thermometer- hygrometer with a data logger in each instrument shelter. The purpose of the observations was to demonstrate the correlation between the ASTER surface temperatures (ASTER level 2B product) and our observed temperatures. We decided to use our observational data not only for comparison with the satellite data but also for environmental education. Therefore, we developed educational material for the thermal environment of Kanazawa City using our observational data.

Compensation for neutral current harmonics in a three-phase four-wire system by a synchronous machine

This paper presents a new method that passively reduces the neutral current harmonics in a three-phase four-wire system by a synchronous machine. Selecting 2/3 as the coil pitch of the armature winding can minimize the zero-sequence reactance of the synchronous machine. The proposed method utilizes such a characteristic, which allows harmonic compensation by the synchronous machine. For analysis and design, an equivalent circuit for the third harmonic component of the basic system is derived. Using this equivalent circuit, its harmonic compensation characteristics are theoretically analyzed, and design fundamentals are provided. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and validate the theoretical analysis.

Characteristic of core-less tubular type PM linear generator

In this paper the coreless tubular linear generator is analyzed by using finite element methods (FEM). The magnetic field distribution of the analysis model is shown with 2D and 3D FEMs. The prototype linear machine with the core of a polyacetal material is built. The EMF of the coreless tubular linear generator is verified by experiment results from the prototype linear machine. The basic low speed operations characteristics are carried out using the prototype linear machine.

SPA plant factory system construction for Technical College's engineering education

SPA (Speaking Plant Approach) is a comparatively modern cultivation method which grows plant according to their biological information. The SPA plant factory system has suitable elements for use in engineering education. In this paper, a new education trial in KTC (Kanazawa Technical College, a private technical college in Japan) through graduate study of the SPA plant factory system construction is introduced. The system includes five significant educational elements for engineers. They are: measurement, analysis, control, circuits, and algorithms. The importance of interdisciplinary education is also present since the system combines engineering and agriculture. The study program consists of five steps; researching literature and previous studies, system and algorithm design, hardware and software design, system construction, and system operation. The program was evaluated from the view point of CDIO and student feedback. The study contents satisfy the Conceive, Design, Implement, and Operate elements of CDIO. The students have identified advantages to this type of interdisciplinary program, such as an interest to investigating other study fields, the novelty of combining life sciences and engineering, and the awareness of trial and error. From the survey, it was concluded that the trial is effective for engineering education.