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- All Subjects: engineering
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
Description
Engineering education has long sought to incorporate greater diversity into engineering programs to prepare the profession to meet the engineering challenges of society. Increasing or retaining the conative diversity of engineering programs may help extend other kinds of diversity in the profession as well (Marburger, 2004). One measure of conation is the Kolbe ATM index.
Kolbe ATM is an index developed by Kathy Kolbe to measure the conative traits on an individual. The index assigns each individual a value in four categories, or Action Modes, that indicates their level of insistence on a scale of 1 to 10 in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004). The four Action Modes are:
• Fact Finder – handling of information or facts
• Follow Thru – need to pattern or organize
• Quick Start – management of risk or uncertainty
• Implementor – interaction with space or tangibles
The Kolbe A (TM) index assigns each individual a value that indicates their level of insistence with 1-3 representing resistant, preventing problems in a particular Action Mode; 4-6 indicating accommodation, flexibility in a particular Action Mode; and 7-10 indicating insistence in an Action Mode, initiating solutions in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004).
To promote retention of conative diversity, this study examines conative diversity in two engineering student populations, a predominately freshmen population at Chandler Gilbert Community College and a predominately junior population at Arizona State University. Students in both population took a survey that asked them to self-report their GPA, satisfaction with required courses in their major, Kolbe ATM conative index, and how much their conative traits help them in each of the classes on the survey. The classes in the survey included two junior level classes at ASU, Engineering Business Practices and Structural Analysis; as well as four freshmen engineering classes, Physics Lecture, Physics Lab, English Composition, and Calculus I.
This study finds that student satisfaction has no meaningful correlation with student GPA.
The study also finds that engineering programs have a dearth of resistant Fact Finders from the freshmen level on and losses resistant Follow Thrus and insistent Quick Starts as time progresses. Students whose conative indices align well with the structure of the engineering program tend to consider their conative traits helpful to them in their engineering studies. Students whose conative indices misalign with the structure of the program report that they consider their strengths less helpful to them in their engineering studies.
This study recommends further research into the relationship between satisfaction with major and conation and into perceived helpfulness of conative traits by students. Educators should continue to use Kolbe A (TM) in the classroom and perform further research on the impacts of conation on diversity in engineering programs.
Kolbe ATM is an index developed by Kathy Kolbe to measure the conative traits on an individual. The index assigns each individual a value in four categories, or Action Modes, that indicates their level of insistence on a scale of 1 to 10 in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004). The four Action Modes are:
• Fact Finder – handling of information or facts
• Follow Thru – need to pattern or organize
• Quick Start – management of risk or uncertainty
• Implementor – interaction with space or tangibles
The Kolbe A (TM) index assigns each individual a value that indicates their level of insistence with 1-3 representing resistant, preventing problems in a particular Action Mode; 4-6 indicating accommodation, flexibility in a particular Action Mode; and 7-10 indicating insistence in an Action Mode, initiating solutions in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004).
To promote retention of conative diversity, this study examines conative diversity in two engineering student populations, a predominately freshmen population at Chandler Gilbert Community College and a predominately junior population at Arizona State University. Students in both population took a survey that asked them to self-report their GPA, satisfaction with required courses in their major, Kolbe ATM conative index, and how much their conative traits help them in each of the classes on the survey. The classes in the survey included two junior level classes at ASU, Engineering Business Practices and Structural Analysis; as well as four freshmen engineering classes, Physics Lecture, Physics Lab, English Composition, and Calculus I.
This study finds that student satisfaction has no meaningful correlation with student GPA.
The study also finds that engineering programs have a dearth of resistant Fact Finders from the freshmen level on and losses resistant Follow Thrus and insistent Quick Starts as time progresses. Students whose conative indices align well with the structure of the engineering program tend to consider their conative traits helpful to them in their engineering studies. Students whose conative indices misalign with the structure of the program report that they consider their strengths less helpful to them in their engineering studies.
This study recommends further research into the relationship between satisfaction with major and conation and into perceived helpfulness of conative traits by students. Educators should continue to use Kolbe A (TM) in the classroom and perform further research on the impacts of conation on diversity in engineering programs.
ContributorsSmith, Logan Farren (Author) / Seager, Thomas P. (Thesis director) / Adams, Elizabeth A. (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A robotic exploration mission that would enter a lunar pit to characterize the environment is described. A hopping mechanism for the robot's mobility is proposed. Various methods of hopping drawn from research literature are discussed in detail. The feasibilities of mechanical, electric, fluid, and combustive methods are analyzed. Computer simulations show the mitigation of the risk of complex autonomous navigation systems. A mechanical hopping mechanism is designed to hop in Earth gravity and carry a payload half its mass. A physical experiment is completed and proves a need for further refinement of the prototype design. Future work is suggested to continue exploring hopping as a mobility method for the lunar robot.
ContributorsMcKinney, Tyler James (Author) / Thangavelautham, Jekan (Thesis director) / Robinson, Mark (Committee member) / Asphaug, Erik (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis investigates the viability of a solar still for desalination of a personal water supply. The end goal of the project is to create a design that meets the output requirement while tailoring the components to focus on low cost so it would be feasible in the impoverished areas of the world. The primary requirement is an output of 3 liters of potable water per day, the minimum necessary for an adult human. The study examines the effect of several design parameters, such as the basin material, basin thickness, starting water depth, basin dimensions, cover material, cover angle, and cover thickness. A model for the performance of a solar still was created in MATLAB to simulate the system's behavior and sensitivity to these parameters. An instrumented prototype solar still demonstrated viability of the concept and provided data for validation of the MATLAB model.
ContributorsRasmussen, Dylan James (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis director) / Trimble, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
To supplement lectures, various resources are available to students; however, little research has been done to look systematically at which resources studies find most useful and the frequency at which they are used. We have conducted a preliminary study looking at various resources available in an introductory material science course over four semesters using a custom survey called the Student Resource Value Survey (SRVS). More specifically, the SRVS was administered before each test to determine which resources students use to do well on exams. Additionally, over the course of the semester, which resources students used changed. For instance, study resources for exams including the use of homework problems decreased from 81% to 50%, the utilization of teaching assistant for exam studying increased from 25% to 80%, the use of in class Muddiest Points for exam study increased form 28% to 70%, old exams and quizzes only slightly increased for exam study ranging from 78% to 87%, and the use of drop-in tutoring services provided to students at no charge decreased from 25% to 17%. The data suggest that students thought highly of peer interactions by using those resources more than tutoring centers. To date, no research has been completed looking at courses at the department level or a different discipline. To this end, we adapted the SRVS administered in material science to investigate resource use in thirteen biomedical engineering (BME) courses. Here, we assess the following research question: "From a variety of resources, which do biomedical engineering students feel addresses difficult concept areas, prepares them for examinations, and helps in computer-aided design (CAD) and programming the most and with what frequency?" The resources considered include teaching assistants, classroom notes, prior exams, homework problems, Muddiest Points, office hours, tutoring centers, group study, and the course textbook. Results varied across the four topical areas: exam study, difficult concept areas, CAD software, and math-based programming. When preparing for exams and struggling with a learning concept, the most used and useful resources were: 1) homework problems, 2) class notes and 3) group studying. When working on math-based programming (Matlab and Mathcad) as well as computer-aided design, the most used and useful resources were: 1) group studying, 2) engineering tutoring center, and 3) undergraduate teaching assistants. Concerning learning concepts and exams in the BME department, homework problems and class notes were considered some of the highest-ranking resources for both frequency and usefulness. When comparing to the pilot study in MSE, both BME and MSE students tend to highly favor peer mentors and old exams as a means of studying for exams at the end of the semester1. Because the MSE course only considered exams, we cannot make any comparisons to BME data concerning programming and CAD. This analysis has highlighted potential resources that are universally beneficial, such as the use of peer work, i.e. group studying, engineering tutoring center, and teaching assistants; however, we see differences by both discipline and topical area thereby highlighting the need to determine important resources on a class-by-class basis as well.
ContributorsMalkoc, Aldin (Author) / Ankeny, Casey (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Recurring incidents between pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles at the intersection of Rural Road and Spence Avenue led to a team of students conducting their own investigation into the current conditions and analyzing a handful of alternatives. An extension of an industry-standard technique was used to build a control case which alternatives would be compared to. Four alternatives were identified, and the two that could be modeled in simulation software were both found to be technically feasible in the preliminary analysis.
ContributorsFellows, Christopher Lee (Author) / Lou, Yingyan (Thesis director) / Zhou, Xuesong (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The following document addresses two grand challenges posed to engineers: to make solar energy economically viable and to restore and improve urban infrastructure. Design solutions to these problems consist of the preliminary designs of two energy systems: a Packaged Photovoltaic (PPV) energy system and a natural gas based Modular Micro Combined Cycle (MMCC) with 3D renderings. Defining requirements and problem-solving approach methodology for generating complex design solutions required iterative design and a thorough understanding of industry practices and market trends. This paper briefly discusses design specifics; however, the major emphasis is on aspects pertaining to economical manufacture, deployment, and subsequent suitability to address the aforementioned challenges. The selection of these systems is based on the steady reduction of PV installation costs in recent years (average among utility, commercial, and residential down 27% from Q4 2012 to Q4 2013) and the dramatic decline in natural gas prices to $5.61 per thousand cubic feet. In addition, a large number of utility scale coal-based power plants will be retired in 2014, many due to progressive emission criteria, creating a demand for additional power systems to offset the capacity loss and to increase generating capacity in order to facilitate the ever-expanding world population. The proposed energy systems are not designed to provide power to the masses through a central location. Rather, they are intended to provide economical, reliable, and high quality power to remote locations and decentralized power to community-based grids. These energy systems are designed as a means of transforming and supporting the current infrastructure through distributed electricity generation.
ContributorsSandoval, Benjamin Mark (Author) / Bryan, Harvey (Thesis director) / Fonseca, Ernesto (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This work describes the numerical process developed for use of rocket engine nozzle ejectors. Ejector nozzles, while applied to jet engines extensively, have not been applied to rockets, and have great potential to improve the performance of endoatmospheric rocket propulsion systems. Utilizing the low pressure, high velocity flow in the plume, this secondary structure entrains a secondary mass flow to increase the mass flow of the propulsion system. Rocket engine nozzle ejectors must be designed with the high supersonic conditions associated with rocket engines. These designs rely on the numerical process described in this paper.
ContributorsGibson, Gaines Sullivan (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis director) / Takahashi, Timothy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility of a water tunnel designed to meet certain constraints. The project goals are to tailor a design for a given location, and to produce a repeatable design sizing and shape process for specified constraints. The primary design goals include a 1 m/s flow velocity in a 30cm x 30cm test section for 300 seconds. Secondary parameters, such as system height, tank height, area contraction ratio, and roof loading limits, may change depending on preference, location, or environment. The final chosen configuration is a gravity fed design with six major components: the reservoir tank, the initial duct, the contraction nozzle, the test section, the exit duct, and the variable control exit nozzle. Important sizing results include a minimum water weight of 60,000 pounds, a system height of 7.65 meters, a system length of 6 meters (not including the reservoir tank), a large shallow reservoir tank width of 12.2 meters, and height of 0.22 meters, and a control nozzle exit radius range of 5.25 cm to 5.3 cm. Computational fluid dynamic simulation further supports adherence to the design constraints but points out some potential areas for improvement in dealing with flow irregularities. These areas include the bends in the ducts, and the contraction nozzle. Despite those areas recommended for improvement, it is reasonable to conclude that the design and process fulfill the project goals.
ContributorsZykan, Brandt Davis Healy (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis director) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The focus of education in the classroom traditionally is one of fact memorization and recall. The teaching process of linear knowledge progression is not always in tune with the way that the human brain actually processes, conceptualizes, and comprehends concepts and information. In an introductory engineering class, focused on materials engineering and its related concepts, a system of lecture interventions has been put in place to increase concept comprehension by supplementing lecture units with various activities, from additional worksheets, explicit concept discussions, and most recently, YouTube videos showcasing specific concepts and situations. In an attempt to correct the lack of actual concept comprehension, these interventions seek to interact with the human mind in a way that capitalizes on its ability to process and interpret non-linear knowledge and information.
Using a concept test given prior to the lecture unit, and after, the difference in scores is used to recognize if the concepts presented have actually been comprehended. Used specifically in a lecture unit on solubility and solutions, the concept test tested student’s knowledge of supersaturated, saturated, and unsaturated solutions. With a visual identification and a written explanation, the student’s ability to identify and explain the three solutions was tested.
In order to determine the cause of the change in score from pre- to post-test, an analysis of the change in scores and the effects of question type and solution type was conducted. The significant results are as follows:
The change in score from pre- to post-test was found to be significant, with the only difference between the two tests being the lecture unit and intervention
From pre- to post-test, solution type had a significant effect on the score, with the unsaturated solution being the most easily recognized and explained solution type
Students that felt that the YouTube videos greatly increased their concept comprehension, on average, performed better than their counterparts and also saw a greater increase their score from pre- to post-test
Using a concept test given prior to the lecture unit, and after, the difference in scores is used to recognize if the concepts presented have actually been comprehended. Used specifically in a lecture unit on solubility and solutions, the concept test tested student’s knowledge of supersaturated, saturated, and unsaturated solutions. With a visual identification and a written explanation, the student’s ability to identify and explain the three solutions was tested.
In order to determine the cause of the change in score from pre- to post-test, an analysis of the change in scores and the effects of question type and solution type was conducted. The significant results are as follows:
The change in score from pre- to post-test was found to be significant, with the only difference between the two tests being the lecture unit and intervention
From pre- to post-test, solution type had a significant effect on the score, with the unsaturated solution being the most easily recognized and explained solution type
Students that felt that the YouTube videos greatly increased their concept comprehension, on average, performed better than their counterparts and also saw a greater increase their score from pre- to post-test
ContributorsLinich, Christopher Graham (Author) / Krause, Stephen (Thesis director) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The action/adventure game Grad School: HGH is the final, extended version of a BME Prototyping class project in which the goal was to produce a zombie-themed game that teaches biomedical engineering concepts. The gameplay provides fast paced, exciting, and mildly addicting rooms that the player must battle and survive through, followed by an engineering puzzle that must be solved in order to advance to the next room. The objective of this project was to introduce the core concepts of BME to prospective students, rather than attempt to teach an entire BME curriculum. Based on user testing at various phases in the project, we concluded that the gameplay was engaging enough to keep most users' interest through the educational puzzles, and the potential for expanding this project to reach an even greater audience is vast.
ContributorsNitescu, George (Co-author) / Medawar, Alexandre (Co-author) / Spano, Mark (Thesis director) / LaBelle, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Guiang, Kristoffer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05