Category Archives: faculty

The Power of Innovation

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If you were to ask an educator to name one of the biggest trends of today, they might point to the ever-increasing number of programs on campuses dealing with entrepreneurship and innovation.  UMass Lowell has been a leader in this movement, with its DifferenceMaker program set to host its sixth Idea Challenge this spring, awarding $50,000 in prize money to deserving student teams that generate (and sell) ideas with appeal and potential.

In an effort to further prepare our students for the Idea Challenge, the Francis College of Engineering hosts a Prototyping Competition each Fall.  The finals were held last week, with winning prototypes that included an inexpensive wound dressing for use in the field; a smart pill dispenser; an automated paint mixer (matching color to a digital picture); and an app for students to more easily find a job on campus.  As novel as the potential products were, I saw more potential in the students – ranging from freshmen to graduate students from across the University. They were not competing because it involved a grade or was required – they were participating because they had an idea that they wanted to pursue and share.

A few years ago, UMass Lowell was invited to be an inaugural participant in the Pathways to Innovation program created by the NSF-funded Epicenter and VentureWell.  It was through this program that entrepreneurial endeavors, such as our Prototyping Competition and Interdisciplinary Senior Design Program, were started.  It was also through this program that faculty, such as Dr. David Willis of Mechanical Engineering, were encouraged to integrate innovation and entrepreneurship into the engineering curriculum.

Yesterday, I attended our MECH.1070 Project Expo – 45 teams of Mechanical Engineering freshmen showing off products built in their “Introduction to Mechanical Engineering” class (taught by Dr. Willis).  Specifically, students were asked to build a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine.  While we normally think of a CNC machine as a lathe or mill, the students were tasked with being creative and turning their 2- or 3-axis machines into something “useful”.  Cleverly coupled with multiple sensors, I witnessed machines that: read text and printed braille; dispensed ideal amounts of toothpaste and mouthwash; folded a shirt; dispensed medication; mixed vaccines; played chess; and whimsically made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (just to name a few projects).  I learned, and laughed, and was extremely impressed, as each team “pitched” the value of their product.

It was clear that the students had learned a lot – about design (and CAD), manufacturing (machining and additive), and control (sensors and lots of MatLAB code).  But it was also clear that the students had fun – and had a purpose.  When asked about their motivation, they all had good answers – usually wanting to solve a problem or making the world a better place.  That is the power of innovation.

 

The Perfect Capstone Experience

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ABET, formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, requires an integrative experience for all accredited programs. Specifically, according to abet.org:

Baccalaureate degree programs must provide a capstone or integrating experience that develops student competencies in applying both technical and non-technical skills in solving problems.

To me, the key to this experience is the application of both technical and non-technical skills. Interestingly, when employers are asked to rank the importance of different skills for new workers, they generally focus on non-technical skills. In a recent survey of employers, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) ranked leadership; ability to work in a team; communication skills (written); problem-solving skills; communication skills (verbal); strong work ethic; and initiative, ahead of quantitative and technical skills in terms of importance.

This is why it is critical that students gain experience during their schooling, and why I champion co-ops and internships. However, if designed properly, the capstone experience that is required by ABET provides another opportunity to develop integrated technical and non-technical skills. The key ingredients to these capstone projects are:

  • Complex design problem defined by external stakeholder and faculty mentor.
  • Teams of interdisciplinary teams working towards a solution.
  • Significant and ongoing opportunities for written and oral communication between the student teams, mentor and stakeholder.

I truly believe that the best projects come from outside the ivory tower. This is not to say that a Professor cannot define a great project for a student team to tackle – surely they can. However, they cannot provide an “outsider’s perspective” on the provided solution. That is, if a problem is defined by an external stakeholder (i.e., company, government entity, non-profit agency, etc.) that has a vested interest in the solution, then the students will be required to communicate the development of the solution over time with that entity. This is an important skill for students to develop – even engineers have to learn to “sell” their solutions, to co-workers, administrators, and clients. Furthermore, this generally requires both written and oral communication. (Note: it is assumed that the design problem posed by an external stakeholder is properly vetted and scoped, and that a faculty mentor will also work with the team.)

Our Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program has been working with non-profit agencies for years through its Assistive Technology Program. Through these projects, students develop technological solutions for people in need (i.e., physical or learning disabilities, etc.). The program continues to grow in scope, with projects starting to reach beyond just ECE capabilities.

Other Departments work with external partners too. Our Civil and Environmental Engineering Department has completed projects with the Massachusetts State Police while our Mechanical Engineering Department has completed projects with the National Parks Association. ME has also partnered with Physics to work on satellite design projects for NASA.

Turning to industry for that “outsider’s viewpoint”, we launched a new Interdisciplinary Senior Design program two years ago with great success. This year, we ran 16, year-long projects for Computer, Electrical, Mechanical and Plastics Engineering majors with sponsors that included Analog Devices, BAE Systems, Brooks Automation, Dell EMC, MACOM, MKS Instruments, Nypro (A Jabil Company), Raytheon, Skyworks, Symbotic and UTC Aerospace Systems. In general, the students proposed a solution in the first semester (after significant research) and built a prototype in the second semester.

While the solutions were great, I was more excited about the ongoing communications during the semester. The student teams were required to write a memo each week, detailing the advances for the week, next steps, and current (or potential future) concerns. This provided a running development log (augmenting project management plans as well as student engineering notebooks) and introduced the concept of risk analysis to students (by forcing them to identify current or potential concerns). It also served as a basis for weekly discussions between the students, the stakeholder, and the faculty mentor.

In addition to the memos and engineering notebook logs, the students were required to write multiple reports, develop a summary poster, and deliver numerous presentations. The final presentations were delivered in front of all teammates, classmates, faculty advisors, and stakeholder liaison engineers. It was the perfect culminating experience to the capstone program for this year. And it illustrated that a properly defined and executed capstone design project can advance those skills identified by NACE to be highly desirable by industry.

 

 

UMass Lowell Wins ADVANCE Grant

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With great pride, I want to share that the National Science Foundation has awarded UMass Lowell an ADVANCE-IT grant for its proposal “ADVANCE: Institutional Transformation: Making WAVES: Disrupting Microaggressions to Propagate Institutional Transformation.” According to the proposal’s abstract, the goal is

“to create an academic environment that supports STEM women to achieve to their highest potential by disrupting interpersonal and institutional microaggressions that undercut their productivity and well-being. Despite increasing numbers, women faculty are still underrepresented in academic STEM, predominantly at higher ranks and in leadership. Recent research suggests that microaggressions, as a particular expression of subtle biases, have a powerful, cumulative negative impact on access to research support and advancement.”

The Institutional Transformation program WAVES (Women Academics Valued and Engaged in STEM) proposes to holistically tackle this critical barrier for women in STEM with interventions including surveys, an informational campaign, bystander training, alternative networks for STEM women, and increased transparency and accountability initiatives.

meg-sobcowicz-kline_opt_tcm18-38785Congratulations to the investigator team, including UMass Lowell Chancellor  Jacqueline Moloney, Ed.D.; Julie Chen, Ph.D.; Meg Bond Ph.D.; Marina Ruths, Ph.D.; and Meg Sobkowicz-Kline, Ph.D.

Dr. Sobkowicz-Kline, Plastics Engineering, will serve as Engineering’s liaison for the WAVES program. To date, $1.6 million has been awarded for this effort.