Elizabethtown College

 

EGR 494 (or 491/492)

 “Senior Project-Computer Engineering”

or
 CS 490

 Readings and Projects in Computer Science and Information Systems”


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 Readings:

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, ASTM, etc.). Excessive use of wikipedia will be penalized.

§   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:

Elizabethtown College Pledge of Integrity: "Elizabethtown College is a community engaged in a living and learning experience, the foundation of which is mutual trust and respect. Therefore, we will strive to behave toward one another with respect for the rights of others, and we promise to represent as our work only that which is indeed our own, refraining from all forms of lying, plagiarizing, and cheating

 

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, BSC room 228 by calling 361-1227.

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