EGR 494 (or 491/492)
“Senior Project-Computer Engineering”
or
CS 490
“
Syllabus
(Fall, 2009)
Professor: Joseph
T. Wunderlich, Ph.D.
Office: Esbenshade 284E
Phone: 717-361-1295
Email: wunderjt@etown.edu
Web site: http://users.etown.edu/w/wunderjt
Office Hours: http://users.etown.edu/w/wunderjt/schedules/Schedule
Card f09 joe w.htm
Calendar: http://users.etown.edu/w/wunderjt/schedules/CALENDAR3_f09_web.htm
EGR 494 Catalog Description: A demanding and perhaps original engineering project
performed under close supervision of a faculty member. Students usually work in
teams on the given project. For this course, the scope of the project typically
includes problem definition, development of requirements, and preliminary
design work. Progress reports, a final report, and a public seminar are
required. *Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
CS 490 Catalog Description: A directed project
or study requiring faculty acceptance of a proposal with a final report and
defense of work. *Prerequisites: Senior status or permission of the
instructor.
Course Credit: 4
Course
Outcomes:
Students
will leave this course with:
·
FOR
EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS: An ability to design and conduct project-based
experiments; analyzing, interpreting, and displaying the resulting data.
(ABET-b)
·
FOR
DESIGN PROJECTS: An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet
desired needs. (ABET-c)
·
An
ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams if possible, or to draw on the talents of others (ABET-d)
·
An
ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems. (ABET-e)
·
An
understanding of professional and ethical responsibility. (ABET-f)
·
An
ability to communicate effectively. (ABET-g)
·
A
broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in
a global, economic, environmental, and societal context (ABET-h)
·
An
ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary
for engineering practice. (ABET-k)
Required
Relevant readings will be assigned, and must
be cited in the final written report
.
Grading:
5%
Preliminary consultations with Professor
20% Proposal (due
on the first day of the fourth week of class)
15% Periodic progress reports
15% Final public presentation (due on announced day)
30% Written final paper (in completed Binder at the end of semester)
15% Poster
(due on announced day)
FUNCTIONALITY:
All projects must contain working hardware or software that must function at
the end of the semester to receive a grade higher than a B+
COURSE GRADE:
(60-62)=D-, (63-67)=D,
(68-69)=D+, (70-72)=C-, (73-77)=C, (78-79)=C+, (80-82)=B-, (83-87)=B,
(88-89)=B+, (90-92)=A-, (93-100)=A
(with
any fractional part rounded to the nearest integer)
A. Proposal:
·
A
word document printed and submitted in Professor’s mailbox including:
·
200 word abstract
·
List of referenced material from initial research
·
Timeline
·
Projected budget (assume that you will need to pay for
everything – however, if, for example, you are part of a funded club, or you
have a publication resulting from several years of work, the professor may help
you seek funding)
·
Discussion of some of the Social, Ethical, and
Environmental issues to be considered
·
A
PowerPoint presentation printed submitted in Professor’s mailbox -- six slides
per page (you may also be required to
present this to an audience)
B. Progress Reports:
·
Frequent
oral reports (e.g., Bi-weekly – weekly if asked for by instructor)
·
At
least two written reports (Word Documents)
o
WRITTEN
REPORT 1 (Done individually be each team member):
o
A
clear definition of your role as part of a team (or if approved to do a
sole-project, name individuals consulted with – and what you learned)
o
A
schedule update showing your individual progress as part of a team (or
sole progress if you are not on a team)
o
WRITTEN
REPORT 2 (Done individually be each team member):
o
A
list of professional industry standards that you have decided to adhere to
o
A
list of the code of Ethics that you believe is most relevant to your project,
and select and discuss two or three specifics relevant to your project
C. Final Presentation:
·
Length
of talk to be announced. You will be videotaped. Dress professionally.
D. Final Paper
§
10
point, two-column format, single-spaced
§
IEEE
formatting standards for citations, equations, and paper structure
§
Include
a paragraph on each:
·
State of the Art in the field
(i.e., where it stands with other research/designs/projects)
·
Constraints (e.g., financial and otherwise)
·
Major Decisions Made
·
Discussion of Social, Ethical, and Environmental
Impacts
§
Most referenced material should be scholarly (e.g.,
peer-reviewed Journals, Conference publications or books) or Industry standards
(e.g., IEEE,
§
All data spec sheets, code-listings, or any other
materials requiring multiple pages must be put in appendices immediately following
paper – or in another labeled binder if necessary.
E. Final Poster:
·
Using
PowerPoint
DOCUMENTATION (Both printed and
electronic submittals are required)
WRITTEN
·
You
must create a binder with:
o Your Name, Major,
Course Number, Course Title, and Date typed on both the edge and front of the
Binder
o Labeled tabs
separating each of the five major submittals (A to E) labeled by name, not letter (e.g., “PROPOSAL”)
o All marked-up (i.e.,
graded) materials must be included with professor’s comments.
o The “FINAL
PRESENTATION” section must contain
PowerPoint slides printed six slides per page, preferably in color
o
In the “FINAL PAPER” section, all data spec
sheets, code-listings, or any other materials requiring multiple pages must be
put in appendices immediately following paper – or in another labeled binder if
necessary.
o The “POSTER”
section must contain a “shrink-to-fit” copy of the poster (i.e., regular or
legal size paper).
o A CD containing all
material -- inserted in front sleeve of binder
·
A
full-size printed copy of poster to be used for display during final
demonstration (and possibly ABET visits, recruiting days, etc.)
ELECTRONIC (labeled conforming to all upper and lower case shown below)
§
Submit
all five sections into the J: drive “EngineeringPortfolio”
folder, in your personal folder, in a folder created by you and labeled: “Year_CourseNnuimber_ProjectTopic_YourName_PUBLICATIONIDENTFIER”
(e.g.,
“2008_EGR494_Wunderbot4PathPlanning_DavidColeman_PUBLISHED”)
with the PUBLICATIONIDENTFIER
being either “PUBLISHED” or “PAPERSUBMITTED “ -- or left off if not
applicable
§
Each
of the five submittals must be in this folder and labeled:
“Year_CourseNnuimber_ProjectTopic_YourName_SUBMITTALIDENTIFIER.fileextension”
(e.g.,
“2008_EGR494_Wunderbot4_PathPlanning_DavidColeman_PROPOSAL.doc”)
SPECIAL
VARIATIONS IN REQUIREMENTS FOR TEAM PROJECTS
1. Unless designated as a
“Special-Case Project” by professor, all required documentation of team work
(and special individual work; e.g., the first two progress reports), must be
represented by one final set of written and electronic documentation.
2. For “Special Case
Projects” (e.g., national competition team projects with typical EGR 280 special “Engineering Research”
courses undertaken for preliminary and concurrent research – especially those
leading to publications):
o Each team member must
create all of their own documentation including “(D) Final Paper” written to
the standards outlined above; however the single report that may be required
for a competition can certainly effect the content of the individual report so
as to not cause unnecessary extra documentation.
o “Extra” work beyond
that required for this course (e.g., creating a special report for a national
competition) is certainly a candidate for EGR 280 “Engineering Research” work.
Academic Honesty:
Disabilities:
If you have a documented disability and need
reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or to meet
course requirements, you must:
1.) Contact the Director of Disability Services, Dr.
Kristin Sagun, in the Center for Student Success,
2.) Meet with me (the instructor) within two weeks of
receiving a copy of the accommodation letter from Disability Services to
discuss your accommodation needs and their implementation.
REMINDER: Students
must bring to my attention accommodations they may use in order complete this
course. Students will be accommodated as law requires, but remember, by
law, initiation must be made by the individual student, not the instructor.
Changes:
This
syllabus provides a guideline to the expectations for the course; minor changes
may be made during the semester
TIPS
ON PRESENTATIONS:
Your visuals:
Ø
Minimize unnecessary details
Ø
Less
than 30 words per slide.
Ø
Not
too many slides for allotted time.
Ø
Good
contrast between text and background on visuals (will the lights be on?)
Ø
A
picture is worth a thousand words -- an equation or graph can be worth much
more.
Ø
Consider
putting an image on every page (e.g., clip-art, photo, animation) which is an
abstraction of the subject matter on the slide (i.e., invoke an idea!).
Ø
Don’t
read from a script.
Ø
Don’t
have too many (or annoying) sound effects.
Ø
Don’t
speak monotonically.
Ø
Make
eye contact with audience.
Overall game-plan:
Ø
Minimize unnecessary details
Ø
Emphasize
that “DESIGN IS A DECISION MAKING PROCESS”
Ø
Have
a clear objective (e.g., show design methodology).
Ø
Have
a good “opener” (e.g., an agenda, a quotation, a question, or a
declaration)
Ø
Be
organized and logical (e.g., present problem then solution; or have priorities
– least-to-most or most-to-least).
Ø
Have
the audience’s expectations understood (e.g., provide meaning and/or
motivation).
Ø
Have
good transitions between main points.
Ø
Have
a good “closing” (i.e., summarizes main ideas, restates purpose of
presentation, show results, outcomes, etc.).
Ø
Be
flexible (i.e., to modified on the fly if questions are allowed during
presentation)
Ø
Refer
audience to “Paper” for detailed discussion