He is an inventor on a dozen patents and patent applications and has published over 30 papers and book chapters on topics including ceramic processing, Pb-free solder development, experimental design, and biomechanics. His current research focuses on rocket propellant characterization, fin flutter, and heat transfer. AbstractIn our institution, we offer a one-quarter long MATLAB class for the Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) curriculum. This course teaches computational methods to solve engineering problems using the program MATLAB. The coursework involves teaching fundamental programing along with engineering principles to build the concept, analyzing simple structural problems using matrix algebra and then solving a wide variety of engineering problems dealing with statics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Students enrolled in this class solve a variety of problems by setting them up analytically then programing them and solving them in MATLAB. As we are in a quarter system, it is challenging to solve multidisciplinary complex engineering problems in regular class lectures. Therefore, students enrolled in this class are required to program a variety of engineering problems within a short time. These problems must have adequate engineering complexity and themes conveying interesting knowledge or technical concepts, and at the same time be concise enough to be completed during the course. While a course in MATLAB could be a common offering in many universities, the authors of this paper presents the pedagogical approaches undertaken to successfully implement the course objectives to the undergraduate engineering students. The topics and techniques applied to teach different topics of engineering problems to enhance students learning outcomes are addressed in this paper. The paper also presents how different topics taught in this class fulfill the targeted course objectives, which are mapped with ABET Engineering criteria.

The Engineering & Design Department of Eastern Washington University (EWU) recently added a Mechanical Engineering (ME) degree to the existing Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program. The ME program is more theoretical and requires more advanced mathematics where the MET program is more hands-on with mathematics requirements up to Calculus II. However, the programs are taught side-by-side and complement each other. When we developed the ME program we wanted to maintain as much of the strong hands-on aspect of MET program as possible. Therefore, we teach the required Capstone Design and Senior project courses with a mix of ME and MET students. Prior to creating the ME program, we taught these courses to a mixture of MET, Applied Technology, and Manufacturing option students where the emphasis was given to product development and completion of a small production run. With the development of the new ME program, we decided to teach these classes with a combination of ME and MET students and take advantage of the strong research and development approach. We designed the stronger R&D approach to expose the MET students to applications of the theories taught to the ME students. On the other hand, we expose the ME students to the hands-on shop skills involved in prototype development taught to the MET students. We have taught these courses four times with the new R&D focus, and would like to present our findings and plans. Literature Review of Capstone ProjectsYousuf and Mustafa [1] at Savannah State University conducted a capstone project that dealt with Electronic Name Tag (ENT) system that can be used for conferences, visitors' badges, and other purposes. The basic project requirement was to design and build an ENT system using the PIC16C57 microcontroller. The main objective of the project was to familiarize students with Embedded Systems, which is a combination of computer hardware and software, and additional mechanical and electronic parts. Students were required to design the system to perform a dedicated function. The 3D modeling software called Autodesk Inventor was used to design and assemble the case for the ENT system. Students provided the formal presentation with the opportunity to conduct tests with a Stamp Microcontroller, PBASIC compiler and other interfacing devices. This capstone project was implemented within one semester in the Department of Engineering Technology in Spring 2012 for the Civil and Electronics Engineering Technology majors. This project served as a reference for providing students with challenging and exciting hardware and software design experiences that are involved with various fields of 3D modeling, electrical, and physical layout design concept. It provided opportunity for both faculty and students to work in an application oriented environment.

Jason Durfee, Eastern Washington University Professor DURFEE received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. He holds a Professional Engineer certification. Prior to teaching at Eastern Washington University he was a military pilot, an engineering instructor at West Point and an airline pilot. His interests include aerospace, aviation, professional ethics and piano technology.

Homework assignments have always been an integral part of learning in all majors and disciplines. These assignments are usually selected from the textbook as these provide a variety of problems related to the topic at hand. Before the advent of internet, the solution manuals to these problems where confidential as they were in most cases hard copies mailed directly to the professor. Nowadays almost any problem in a textbook can have its solution available over the web, and many students are believed to have access. Since homework are sometimes used to assess the student learning outcomes, it is important to make sure the work presented by the students is descriptive of their understanding. The objective of this paper was to compare and analyze the grades on homework assigned directly from the textbook and those created and assigned for the first time by the instructor. In the latter case, the solutions were impossible to find by the students. The aim was to investigate the differences in performance between the different cases. To this end, a number of instructors in several courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department were alternating homework assignments between those never seen before and the ones from the assigned textbook. The average class grades on these assignments were considered as the performance indicator examined to determine if there is a particular trend. The result of this study shows that the average for the inhouse homework was less than that of textbook and the standard deviation for the in-house homework was higher than that of the textbook assigned. It indicates that in-house homework can be used to assess the student learning outcomes. In addition, this study also shows that the difference was higher for Dynamics than the Statics and Strength of Materials. It suggests that for more challenging courses, the differences are more pronounced.

A few years ago, members of our Engineering & Design Department began a study to determine the effects of class attendance on student success. Today's engineering and technology students have grown up in an environment that is very different from the students of 20 years ago. They access information, engage in social contact through digital media, and often have almost instant access to this digital media through portable, wireless devices. There is a thought that with this greater connectivity they may not respond in the same manner to the teaching methods of past generations of students. In addition, the students of today may not feel the same need to be physically present in their classes in order to be successful. Initial results presented at American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) AnnualConference and Exposition in 2012, determined that attendance does correlate with student success and the correlation changes during the progression of a student throughout their undergraduate experience. Results presented at the ASEE 2013 Conference indicated that an instructor's attendance policy did not significantly affect overall attendance rates of students that earned high grades in a course, but that it did affect the students that earned lower grades.This current paper discusses the relationship between student attendance and success based on whether the course is math intensive or not, and tracks and analyzes the attendance behavior of students throughout their entire undergraduate studies. Combined attendance data, collected since 2008 by a variety of instructors, is tracked and analyzed for approximately 20 classes per year, ranging from freshman to senior students. The types of programs covered in this current paper include: Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Technology, Design Technology, Construction Management, Applied Technology, and a service course to the general student body.