Important Course Matters

Course Goals

To have students working in multi-disciplinary teams, using engineering models and modern intermediate design methods, address real engineering design problems.
To have students improve their technical communication skills by writing and speaking about the design work being undertaken

Primary Course Topics (and Outcomes)

Conceptual Design Process

Determining customer needs and expectations for a new product
Generating alternative concepts
Selecting design alternatives using quantitative, engineering-analysis based criteria
Determining the relationship (impact) of design decisions on manufacturing (Design for Manufacturing - DFM)

Design Presentation Process

Determining what the reader or listener knows and expects (Audience and Analysis)
Establishing the relationship between the audience expectations and report features
Generating several report structures and contents
Selecting the appropriate report structure and material from the collection of team generated design material to create a report written or presented with quality

Secondary Course Topics

Multi-disciplinary activities

Increasing the value placed on using teams in design
Continuing team building work

Design capture

Writing a professional technical proposal
Presenting technical work
Developing a team design portfolio

Engineering design process

Using problem solving heuristics in the solution of design problems
Using modeling heuristics to develop engineering analysis models
Learning to create high quality work products

Course format

For the most part, we will not be handing out material in this class in the traditional manner. That is, the syllabus, class schedule, homework assignments, solutions, notes about the projects, etc., will be posted only on this webpage.

Reports are due at the beginning of the class on the day specified in the syllabus. We do not accept late papers unless you have a valid excuse such as a bone emerging from your skin. If you are sick on the day a paper is due, you should arrange to have a friend deliver the paper to us at the beginning of class.

There will be several peer revision/workshop sessions held throughout the semester during class time. These sessions are not optional and you will be graded on how you peer revise another student's work. On the day when a draft is due, you should have completed a word-processed draft that you will bring to class for peer revision. You must not miss these sessions. If you do miss a peer revision session, or if you come to class with an incomplete draft, the grade you earn on the final draft of that paper will be reduced appropriately, or the paper may not be accepted and you will earn a zero for that paper.

In previous semesters, my version of ECE300 has had the student teams construct actual physical projects as the "deliverable" for the course. This semester, we are going to try something different - the deliverable will be a proposal that meets the requirements of the Department of Defense Small Business Innovative Research solicitation. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the clearinghouse for all SBIR solicitations, and more information can be found this web address:

www.sba.gov/sbir/otagency.html

The DOD SBIR website is located here:

www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir

It is your responsibility to download and review the DOD SBIR 99.2 document, because all allowable topics, format details, and other pertinent information is located at this site.

Course requirements

2 individual memos
1 team memo
3 team reports
1 team midterm
1 team oral presentation
1 team portfolio
1 team proposal

Grading

Area	Writing Assignments	Design, Modeling, Analysis	Presentations, Discussions	Midterm Exam	Proposal
Value	30%	20%	15%	10%	25%

Other Items

Assignments must be submitted on time
A = 90.0 - 100.0; B=80.0 - 89.9; etc.
Last day to drop class without penalty is 09/17/99
Working together on homework, projects, etc. is expected and encouraged. You will work in teams both in the classroom and on the projects.