Barbara MacAlpine Mahbub Uddin
Trinity University/San Antonio, TX
Eight Semester Engineering Design Sequence
First Year
Design competitions:
•Wooden truss•Water balloon
launcher
Eight Semester Engineering Design Sequence
Second Year
Team design project:
Adaptiveequipment for Goodwill
Eight Semester Engineering Design Sequence
Third Year
Electrical & thermal:
•Traffic lightcontrol system
•Home appliances
Eight Semester Engineering Design Sequence
Fourth Year
Capstone team design:
•Year-long project•Industry/Trinity
partnerships
Expanding Horizons:Using Information in the 21st Century
A QualityEnhancement PlanFor Trinity University2008--2013
Expanding Horizons GoalsUNDERSTANDACCESSUSE ETHICALLYEVALUATECREATE
ABET CriteriaCriterion 3. Program Outcomes
… students attain(i) a recognition of the need for, and
an ability to engage in life-long learning
Information Literacy Instruction
First Year
•Databases & patents
•Exercise on written
communication•Research log
My Mini-Design Problem
A Patented Solution
Information Literacy Instruction
Second Year
•Adaptive literature
•Product sources•Govt. standards •Patent review
LibGuide (detail 2)When designing a product,
you must follow standards that are set within the industry and/or by the government. Standards sites include:
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
…
Information Literacy Instruction
Third Year
•Safety requirements•Component specifications
•User manuals
Who is George Foreman?
Research LogLiterature Search for Design VI Appliance
Sources Searched
Terms Searched Citation for Best Item(s)
What source was most useful and why?Time spent on research:
Information Literacy Instruction
Fourth Year
•Consultation appointments
•More to come …•Literature review
and paper
Senior design project RESULT: “Red
Rover”
1:6 scale rover model for manned Martian exploration, tested (in earth gravity), with results scaled to a full-scale rover in Martian gravity.
Anecdotal Assessment“Google Scholar gathered articles from a lot of
different journals and patents.”“The patent information and the books offered
lots of historical background.”“The Patent Office website gave more specific
descriptions of actual products.”“… library database (Academic Search
Complete) really helped.”
More Anecdotal Assessment“The library databases did not have very
current information about our product.”“Thomas Register was the least helpful.”“Google, usually the Premiere search engine,
wasn’t very useful at narrowing our search terms.”
“Research proved to be an important part of the design project.”
Most Problematic Question5. Periodicals (magazines, journals, and
newspapers) may be found in the Coates Library
a. on the first floorb. on the second floorc. on the third floord. on the fourth floore. all of the abovef. A and B and C
Early Problematic Question1. Where is the first place you would search
for authoritative information related to an engineering materials topic?
a. howstuffworks.comb. Googlec. A library database of technical articlesd. Your professor’s bookcase
Faculty AssessmentMore up-to-date information
Students have better understanding of available bibliographic sources
Improved identification, retrieval techniques, and organization of information
Students are optimizing search techniques
Future PlansAdd ethical use to second year instructionMeet with all senior design teamsRequire research logs for senior designsSystematize assessment
Make more rigorousInclude patentsStart with first year students
Develop faculty assessment mechanism
AcknowledgementsBird feeder Patent # 5,937,788 (Google Patents) George Foreman ad courtesy of Flickr (eskeleton)George Foreman Grill picture courtesy of Flickr
(nwistheone)Red Rover (http://www.trinity.edu/departments/engineering/Program.html)Squirrel picture courtesy of anonymous (apologies)Weed eater picture courtesy of Flickr (tstadler)