Engineering programs need to prepare the next generation of engineering professionals for tackling sustainability challenges that impact the social, environmental, and economic progress of the nation. This paper describes how the sustainable design concept was integrated into a freshman-level engineering gateway course that emphasized creative…

Many have argued for the importance of continuing engineering education (CEE), but relatively few recommendations were found in the literature for how to use multimedia technologies to deliver it most effectively. The study reported here addressed this gap by investigating the multimedia category preferences of working engineers. Four categories…

Even though engineering outreach to K-12 schools initially seemed to be a simple undertaking, it proved to require complex design solutions related to a variety of issues. The purpose of this design case is to tell the story of our National Science Foundation (NSF) supported engineering outreach project, that took place between the years of…

The ability to print a 3-D object may sound like science fiction, but it has been around in some form since the 1980s. Also called rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing, the idea is to take a design from a computer file and forge it into an object, often in flat cross-sections that can be assembled into a larger whole. While the printer on…

Spatial visualization is a fundamental skill in technical graphics and engineering designs. From conventional multiview drawing to modern solid modeling using computer-aided design, visualization skills have always been essential for representing three-dimensional objects and assemblies. Researchers have developed various types of tests to measure…

An innovative concept of an electronic learning system has been established in an attempt to achieve a technology that provides engineering students with an instructive and affordable framework for learning engineering-related courses. This system utilizes an existing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package, Active Server Pages programming,…

Over the past decade the software products available for solid modeling, dynamic, stress, thermal, and flow analysis, and computer-aiding manufacturing (CAM) have become more powerful, affordable, and easier to use. At the same time it has become increasingly important for students to gain concurrent engineering design and systems integration…

Cubic symmetry is used to build the other four Platonic solids and some formalism from classical geometry is introduced. Initially, the approach is via geometric construction, e.g., the "golden ratio" is necessary to construct an icosahedron with pentagonal faces. Then conventional elementary vector algebra is used to extract quantitative…

To evaluate the use of computer graphics for illustrating kinematics in an undergraduate course, a student project of mechanism simulation and analysis was carried out using a recently acquired workstation. This project is described. (JN)

Described is an inexpensive apparatus, consisting of a microcomputer, a magnetostrictive digitizing tablet, and a teletype terminal, that accurately and quickly measures positions, lengths, and areas. Particular emphasis is given to interfacing, software, and to some applications in education and research of this minimum configuration system.…

A computer program which allows the solution of a Monte Carlo simulation (probabilistic sensitivity analysis) has been developed for the Vic-20 microcomputer. Theory of Monte Carlo simulation, program capabilities and operation, and sample calculations are discussed. Student comments on the program are included. (JN)

Describes development of an interactive computer graphics program for use in teaching digital signal processing. The program allows students to interactively configure digital systems on a monitor display and observe their system's performance by means of digital plots on the system's outputs. A sample program run is included. (JN)

The method of phase-plane presentation as an educational tool in the study of the dynamic behavior of systems is discussed. In the treatment of nonlinear or piecewise-linear systems, the phase-plane portrait is used to exhibit the nature of singular points, regions of stability, and switching lines to aid comprehension. A technique is described by…

A technique is described for the generation of perspective views of three-dimensional models using computer graphics. The technique is applied to models of familiar thermodynamic phase diagrams and the results are presented for the ideal gas and van der Waals equations of state as well as the properties of liquid water and steam from the Steam…

In this paper, results from a subset of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test and a self-efficacy test developed by the authors are presented to determine whether certain object shapes, orientations, and types of rotations in standard spatial ability tests cause more difficulty than others and whether a solid object, which includes shading to…