A maximum likelihood reconstruction method for an asymmetric reconstruction of the infectious P22 bacteriophage virion is described and demonstrated on a subset of the images used in [Lander, G.C., Tang, L., Casjens, S.R., Gilcrease, E.B., Prevelige, P., Poliakov, A., Potter, C.S., Carragher, B., Johnson, J.E., 2006. The structure of an infectious P22 virion shows the signal for headful DNA packaging. Science 312(5781), 1791–1795]. The method makes no assumptions at any stage regarding the structure of the phage tail or the relative rotational orientation of the phage tail and capsid but rather the structure and the rotation angle are determined as a part of the analysis. A statistical method for determining resolution consistent with maximum likelihood principles based on ideas for cylinders analogous to the ideas for spheres that are embedded in the Fourier Shell Correlation method is described and demonstrated on the P22 reconstruction. With a correlation threshold of .95, the resolution in the tail measured radially is greater than 0:0301 Å−1 (33.3 Å) and measured axially is greater than 0:0142 Å−1 (70.6 Å) both with probability p = 0:02.

Our collective experience in comparing the results of teaching three courses using a variety of flipped classroom formats and the traditional format showed no compelling improvement of student learning results using the flipped format. Specifically, comparison of student outcomes in the form of grades does not show a consistent difference between a flipped classroom environment and a traditional teaching environment.The results we observed have made us aware of the need to be more systematic in the pedagogy pursued to determine how we can improve student learning. The process of teaching, regardless of traditional or flipped, is a dynamic one, dependent on a number of variables, the impact of which are not always readily discernable. Hence, "testimonials' regarding the success of flipped courses can range widely, possibly all true to some degree, but may need further investigation.It is our contention that student engagement outside the classroom is the most crucial element in the learning process. If a flipped classroom format does not provide effective student engagement outside of the classroom, flipping will simply be a different process in comparison to the standard lecture format, and there is no reason to expect improved student learning results. Hence, a key issue is whether a flipped format increases such engagement. If that were to happen, the flipped format has the potential to yield improved results. For us this is the key item that warrants further study. Each of the three courses discussed had previously been taught in a traditional lecture format by the same instructor. Our results were very positive in terms of student reactions. Most students strongly preferred the flipped format. But from an impact standpoint the grades earned were reasonably similar between the flipped and standard delivery modes. The reason for that, in our opinion, is that the level of student engagement outside the classroom did not materialize to the degree necessary.

To date, the electrical engineering education literature has presented the Digilent Analog Discovery board with a focus on usage in lower-level circuits courses and as merely a low-cost replacement for bench-top signal generators and oscilloscopes. This work broadens the domain of the Analog Discovery board beyond introductory courses, and demonstrates its use as a powerful educational tool for junior and senior level coursework. By utilizing its full suite of measurement features, sophisticated laboratory experiments are possible in courses such as electromagnetics, digital signal processing, signals and systems, communication systems, and control systems. In addition, its inherent mobility allows insightful in-class demonstrations and "lab-like" activities to be incorporated into theory-focused courses that otherwise do not have a lab, an impossible feat with traditional anchored, expensive laboratory equipment. In this paper, the unique measurement features of the Analog Discovery that are especially appropriate for upper-level courses are detailed, such as the network analyzer and spectrum analyzer modes. Selected demonstrative lab experiments from upper-division courses at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) are then presented. Emphasis is placed on how these experiments are both enabled by the Analog Discovery board as well as constrained by the performance limits of the board, such as limited frequency response and power supply rails. As a result, careful experiment design is shown to be critical to the classroom success of these projects.

He earned his BSEE degree from MSOE in 2001 and his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2006. Prior to joining MSOE in 2009, he was a Technical Staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He teaches courses in the signal processing, communication systems, and embedded systems areas.

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