Robert Prins

An Innovative Engineering Curriculum at James Madison University: Transcending Disciplinary Boundaries Through Innovative Problem Based Learning Practices

Global competitiveness, outsourcing, and increased production of overseas engineers are issues that are becoming increasingly relevant in undergraduate engineering education and have prompted a number of calls to protect U.S. global competitiveness. Recent examples of such works include: Educating the Engineer of 2020 [1], Rising Above the Gathering Storm [2], and The World is Flat [3]. All these reports have challenged engineering institutions to increase the production and improve the education of engineering graduates. This is an increasingly important concern because, with the rapid pace of technological change, the future engineer is not only expected to offer technical ingenuity but also adapt to a continuously evolving environment while simultaneously being able to operate outside the narrow limits of one discipline in solving the complex problems of the future.Copyright

Special Session - engineering for a sustainable world: How do we incorporate sustainability in undergraduate engineering education?

Sustainability principles in engineering are currently taught and promoted through graduate programs and professional engineering societies. It is appropriate that sustainability principles are also addressed in undergraduate engineering education. Retooling an existing undergraduate engineering curriculum to include comprehensive coverage of sustainability may be outside of the expertise or purview of an individual educator. However, sustainability principles can still be introduced to different degrees and at different class levels within an existing curriculum. This Special Session seeks to facilitate discussion of how to best incorporate sustainability in undergraduate engineering education and also seeks to build a cohort of engineering educators that join James Madison University in a desire to bring sustainability education into the engineering classroom.

Design of a laboratory electric vehicle powertrain system

Engineering students at James Madison University have the opportunity for extra-curricular project work on electric vehicle systems. The focus of one such project is the development of a laboratory powertrain system that is typical to a range of electric vehicles. The system is comprised of components typical to an electric vehicle powertrain including a battery pack, battery management system (BMS), motor, and controller of specifications similar to those commonly found on existing electric vehicles. The system is mounted to an equipment cart and provides visual access to major and minor components as well as the wiring harness. The purpose of the laboratory powertrain system is to allow students to further understand details of the integration of subsystems within an electric motorcycle. This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of the laboratory system. The design process follows a bottom-up approach that includes assembly of the battery pack, integration of a BMS to regulate the pack, and integration of a system level controller to manage vehicle functions and drive the electric motor. Results of the project include documentation of the system design, system schematics, and data obtained from charging and discharging tests performed on the laboratory system.

Electric commuter bicycle

In the past decade there has been a substantial growth in numbers of commuters who are bicycling to and from work. Despite this fact, the most popular method of transportation in present-day society is the use of automobiles. One possible explanation for the fact that most commuters prefer automobiles to bicycles is that automobiles provide a level of comfort and protection from weather that is not typical of current bicycle technologies. With a growing market of commuter bicycles, however, there is an opportunity to improve existing technologies in order to attract potential automobile users to adopt this alternate means of transportation. This project aimed to develop a humanpowered, electric-assisted commuter vehicle for an interested client that will meet the collective needs of automobile and bicycle commuters. Six engineering students were tasked with designing, constructing, and testing an Electric Commuter Bicycle (ECB). This report will discuss the design and analytical methods used to develop the ECB including: information gathering and benchmarking, conceptual development, prototype modeling and fabrication, sub-system and full-scale testing, and analysis of testing.

Semester-Long Team Project Integrating Materials and Mechanics Concepts

The Madison Engineering Department is an undergraduate non-discipline specific engineering program. The program maintains the university-wide liberal arts core and blends engineering science fundamentals with sustainable design to integrate environmental, social, economic, and technical contexts plus systems thinking within the academic experience. Madison Engineering is dedicated to the development of engineering versatilists who can readily integrate knowledge from historically different fields of engineering. In support of this development, several courses within the curriculum integrate topics to provide space for future engineers to not be constrained by disciplinary boundaries but demonstrate the ability to adapt and work across disciplines within team atmospheres. The focus of this paper is on a course project that integrates concepts from the traditional content of stand-alone courses (materials science and mechanics of materials) via a semester long design project in which students must incorporate knowledge of both sets of content. Semester-Long Team Project Integrating Materials and Mechanics Concepts

Work in progress - a freshman engineering course designed to convey the essence of the engineering program at James Madison University

James Madison University has established a School of Engineering commencing in fall 2008. Students will earn Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering. The curriculum features a broad base of humanities coursework to accompany the traditional math, science, and engineering courses. The curriculum also features integrated business courses, a six semester sequence of engineering design courses, and a sustainability focus. The engineering program is designed to meet ABET criteria and prepare students for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. The introductory course is designed to be representative of the program content, teaching techniques, assessment techniques, and culture. As such the introductory course will contain material related to social context as well as engineering practice. This paper discusses the content and culture aspects of the introductory course.