Dan Budny

• Engineering Education
• Retired at University of Pittsburgh

Our data shows that over the past 15 years over 75% of the entering first year students change their selected major between the start of classes in August and the time they need to register for the second year classes in March. To help improve the retention of engineering students in the freshman year we created a number of writing assignments in t...

This paper presents a proposal to integrate the learning skills and professional awareness in an engineering education course for the Professional School of Software Engineering at the National University of San Augustine, Arequipa-Peru. The known problems of writing and oral communication in technical careers from other engineering programs are ou...

This paper presents a MATLAB program that was used to combine two separate data files: a video file and a text file. The video was a recording of an experiment and the text file was temperature data. By superimposing the temperature on the relevant features in each frame, both sets of data could be examined simultaneously, and relationships between...

In the 2013-2014 school year, we implemented the "flipped classroom" as part of an initiative to drive active learning, student engagement and enhanced learning in our school. The flipped courses consisted of freshman through senior engineering classes in introductory programming, statics/mechanics, mechanical design, bio-thermodynamics, facilities...

International exposure as well as project-based service learning for undergraduate students has gained much attention for their positive impact on students. Additionally, ABET engineering criteria require international exposure for all undergraduates. As such, a goal of the University of Pittsburgh is to have fifty percent of our students directly...

Our data shows that over the past 15 years over 75% of the entering first year students change their selected major between the start of classes in August and the time they need to register for the second year classes in March. This movement of students has many impacts on student retention and on students' success across 4 years of engineering edu...

We employed the " flipped classroom " in a freshmen engineering programming course taken by nearly 700 first-time freshmen and transfer students during the 2013-2014 academic year. In the " flipped classroom, " students are encouraged to watch video lectures outside of class. This enables more class time for active learning, practice and demonstrat...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. The authors believe that parents can advocate on behalf of their children by educating themselves on particular transitional challenges their children potentially face, as well as by helping these fresh-men daughters and sons establish realistic educational and soci...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. The authors believe that parents can advocate on behalf of their children by educating themselves on particular transitional challenges their children potentially face, as well as by helping these freshmen daughters and sons establish realistic educational and socia...

!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Within the Department of Freshman Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a study was conducted to assess the value of a service learning course for freshman honor’s engineering students. This venture was based on the success of using service learning as an educational tool for...

Within the Department of Freshman Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a study was conducted to assess the value of a service learning course for freshman honor's engineering students. This venture was based on the success of using service learning as an educational tool for undergraduate engineering students at many universities world wide...

Within the Department of Freshman Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a pilot program was conducted to assess the value of a service learning course for freshman honor's engineering students. This venture was based on the success of using service learning as an educational tool for undergraduate engineering students at many universities wo...

International service-learning projects are an effective educational tool for universities striving to meet the ABET engineering criterion, while also providing transformational experiences to their students and a service to needy populations in the world. This paper discusses the benefits of international service-learning projects for the students...

International service-learning projects are an effective educational tool for universities striving to meet the ABET engineering criterion, while also providing transformational experiences to their students and a service to needy populations in the world. This paper discusses the benefits of international service-learning projects for students, th...

Collaborations between engineering faculty and skilled experts outside of engineering proper build strong undergraduate engineering curricula that clearly emphasize professional skills and ABET program outcomes (Criteria 3 d, f, g, h, i,). With shared goals of providing undergraduates with a rich educational experience in which research, communicat...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering, we have developed a freshmen seminar and concurrent system of mentoring that addresses the changes and difficulties students experience during this transitional time. All first-year University of Pittsburgh Scho...

A set of new experiments that include the use of a Pasco force and pressure transducer were created to demonstrate the basic concepts of fluid properties, pressure versus depth, force on a gate and the conservation of mass. By designing a simple multipurpose apparatus all of these basic principles were shown to the students. Preliminary results sho...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component of our program is a process to help the freshman cope with academic failure. This paper d...

Freshmen engineering retention rates are low in universities across the country even though recruiting efforts target the highest quality high school students. This study addresses the effect helping students cope with academic failure and if this can be used to increase student retention. This paper discusses an approach by the University of Pitts...

Writing can be a unique way for students to learn topics in physics and engineering. A unique writing activity for students in a second-level physics course at American University and a freshman engineering course at the University of Pittsburgh involves having students prepare a formal research paper for presentation at a student conference. The a...

Most fluid labs were built back in the 1960-1970 time frames and consisted of large facilities that included flumes, wind tunnels, pump stations, wet wells, etc. Today these labs are out dated and the need for lab space is forcing the closing of large scale labs. This same basic problem exists within the Engineering School at the University of Pitt...

Joint motion simulators (JMS’s) have been developed for many applications enabling the repeatable testing of prostheses, scientific investigations of joint mechanics and the study of surgical procedures.[1–4] Although Morrey has reported that radial head implants have lower post-operative satisfaction than other joint implants[5] and Dunning has ex...

The educational benefits of adapting a writing approach in the classroom have been widely documented. Writing can serve as an effective tool to improve the quality of teaching through the promotion of deeper and more meaningful student learning. This paper will explore strategies in which writing can be used to enhance student understanding within...

Within the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a pilot program was conducted during the spring semester of 2006 and 2007 to assess the value of a research service learning course for freshman engineering students. This venture was based on the success of using service learning as an educational tool for undergraduate engineer...

In search of a complete understanding of a joint’s function, one must understand both the anatomic parameters and how the brain controls the joint’s actuation. Accurate measurements of anatomical parameters are critical to non-linear biomechanical modeling and control and also to a clinical understanding of orthopaedic reconstruction. Likewise, new...

Abstract The transition from,high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses...

The many muscles crossing the elbow joint allow for its motions to be created from different combinations of muscular activations. Muscles are strictly contractile elements and the joints they surround rely on varying loads from opposing antagonists for stability and movement. In designing a control system to actuate an elbow in a realistic manner,...

COPEC is offering a new activity called "Cultural Immersion in Brazil" that is a 15 days in Atlantic Forest Region at the Sao Paulo State, South of Brazil. It is dimensioned for students in engineering, technology and business administration fields. The program includes visit to enterprises and universities and social activities, which will provide...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses that the...

An active noise control device called active noise absorber (ANA), which is based upon damped, resonant filters is developed and demonstrated. It is similar to structural positive position feedback (PPF) control, with two exceptions: 1) acoustic transducers (microphone and speaker) can not be truly colocated, and 2) the acoustic actuator (loudspeak...

CMOD (in) FE-25 load 1 FE-25 load 2 FE-25 load 3 FE-25 load 4 FE-25 load 5 1 Ci Cu Load (lbf) Abstract -Premature cracking of concrete pavements is a major concern in the performance of rigid pavements. Cracking occurs when stresses, caused by several sources within the slab, exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. By studying the material pro...

Within the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a pilot program was conducted during the spring semester of 2006 to assess the value of a Research Service Learning course for freshman engineering students. This venture was based on the success of using service learning as an educational tool for undergraduate engineering stude...

The educational benefits of adapting a writing approach in the classroom have been widely documented. Writing can serve as a tool to improve the quality of teaching as well as to promote deeper and more meaningful student learning. In this workshop we will explore various strategies in which writing can be used to enhance student understanding in i...

The Plus 3 Program is an optional three-credit study abroad opportunity offered jointly by the school of business and engineering as a follow-up to the freshman year. The course consists of a field study trips to a number of locations including: Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France; or Germany. The course involves lectures at the local univ...

The educational benefits of adapting a writing approach in the classroom have been widely documented. Writing can serve as a tool to improve the quality of teaching as well as to promote deeper and more meaningful student learning. In this session, we explore various strategies in which writing can be used to enhance student understanding in introd...

A growing body of research suggests that increased learning gains can be achieved with college students when instruction is designed with learning styles in mind. In addition, several practitioners within the domains of science and engineering education have noted the importance of embedding a learning style approach within a variety of teaching st...

This article will discuss three years of collaboration between the Freshman Engineering Program and the Engineering Library of the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh. This collaboration has resulted in a library research project that is integrated into the freshman curriculum. The project ultimately provides the students with...

Low frequency Active Noise Control (ANC) has been found to work well for sound suppression in acoustic ducts. Feedforward and feedback are the two distinct methods in which to implement (ANC) schemes. A feedforward implementation is realized by utilizing a known disturbance measurement (e.g. with a microphone), and using the measurement to compute...

Helmhotz resonators are popular devices used for passive noise control. These apparatus can be designed to produce a maximum reduction over a narrow frequency range. The frequency of the resonator is dependent upon its volume and shape. Schemes have been proposed to adapt Helmholtz resonators, through changing physical parameters, such as volume an...

ENGR0035 is an optional three-credit study abroad opportunity offered jointly by the school of business and engineering as a follow-up to the freshman writing assignments. The course consists of a field study trip to Valparaiso, Chile; Nanjing, China; Prague, the Czech Republic; or Augsburg, Germany. The course involves lectures at the local univer...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses that the...

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The Blackboard Learning System™ is widely used on many college and university campuses today. This paper will explore the use of this system as a teaching and learning tool in introductory physics. Particular emphasis will be placed on the online chat feature available through blackboard. During the fall 2002 pilot semester, students enrolled in an...

Over the past 3 years the University of Pittsburgh has moved its freshman classes from a traditional classroom setting to a new computer assisted learning environment. This paper will discuss how math, chemistry, physics and engineering have modified their course content from a traditional lecture setting to a active learning environment and how th...

Active Noise Control (ANC) has been found to work well at low frequencies, thereby complementing passive noise control techniques. There are two distinct topologies for ANC: feedforward and feedback. Feedforward implementations work through the superposition of a primary and secondary sound field while feedback systems work by augmenting the dynami...

This paper explores relevant research documenting that a learning-style approach in the classroom leads to enhanced learning gains. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model. The basic tenets of this learning-style model are highlighted. The Dunn and Dunn model forms the basis of the Productivity Environmental Pre...

Summary form only given as follows. A long standing tradition of the FIE conference is to provide the attendees the opportunity to discuss any topic on engineering education in an open mic session. The concept of this session is to allow an open discussion on topics that are of importance to the people in the room. This moderated session allows for...

Our experience with teaching C programming has shown that the students have a problem understanding the concept of arrays, dealing with the sytanx of the language, designing the organization of the program and understanding the concept of flow control such as looping and branching or function calls. In a typical C programming course the instructor...

Our experience with teaching C programming has shown that the students have a problem understanding the concept of arrays, dealing with the syntax of the language, designing the organization of the program and understanding the concept of flow control such as looping and branching or function calls. In a typical C programming course the instructor...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help the student in this transition. One major component is a series of mentoring courses that the entering student can select for the f...

This paper describes some strategies for the educator seeking to better his/her classroom effectiveness. It was inspired by one of the technical sessions of the 29 th Annual IEEE/ASEE Frontiers in Education Conference in which over a dozen experienced college in- structors engaged in a roundtable discussion of ways to improve a classroom environmen...

Several approaches to teaching undergraduate physics and engineering students using both the Dunn and Dunn and the Kolb learning style models are discussed. The Dunn and Dunn learning style model is employed with nonmajors enrolled in introductory physics at American University and the Kolb learning style model is employed with freshman engineering...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help the student in this transition. One major component is a series of mentoring courses that the entering student can select for the f...

The educational benefits of adapting a writing approach in the classroom have been widely documented. Writing can serve as a tool to improve the quality of teaching as well as to promote deeper and more meaningful student learning. In this paper we explore strategies in which writing can be used to enhance student understanding in introductory phys...

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. The authors believe that students can advocate on their own behalf by educating themselves on challenges they may potentially face, as well as establishing realistic educational and social goals. Concurrently, parents can assist their children by becoming more aware...

This paper summarizes effective teaching techniques identified during one of the technical sessions of the 1999 Frontiers in Education Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The paper involves the perspectives of twelve experienced college teachers engaged in a round-table discussion of "Ways to improve a classroom environment" and "Behaviors to avoi...

The paper summarizes effective teaching techniques for engineering identified during one of the technical sessions of the 1999 Frontiers in Education Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico (A. Klinger, 1999). The paper involves the perspectives of twelve experienced college teachers engaged in a round-table discussion of “Ways to improve a classroom e...

A growing body of research suggests that increased learning gains can be achieved with adult learners when instruction is designed with learning styles in mind 1 -3 . The adoption of any type of new teaching and/or learning approach has the potential to require a good deal of valuable faculty time and energy. In this paper, the question of why scie...

In this paper, successful approaches to teaching undergraduate physics and engineering students using strategies developed from two independent learning style models will be described. The first learning style model to be described is the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model. The Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model is employed with non-science majors...

In this paper, successful approaches to teaching undergraduate physics and engineering students using strategies developed from two independent learning style models are described. The first learning style model described is the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model. The Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model is employed with nonscience majors enrolled in...

This paper will review two particular learning style models and their application to physics and engineering education. The first model to be described is the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model. The Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model is employed with non-science majors enrolled in introductory physics at American University. The second model to be...

The Computer Development Self-Appraisal Survey (CDS) was developed to measure computer literacy, knowledge and competency. The CDS scales have high reliability and differential validity. This report summarizes the results of assessing the computer backgrounds and achievements of over a thousand 1996 Purdue first year engineering students who comple...

Student self-reports provide information that is invaluable in assessing student backgrounds and achievements. These critical student inputs can be used to help place students in beginning courses; to identify high-risk and honors students; to evaluate the quality of courses, services, and resources; to initiate and evaluate existing and new progra...

This study is based on historical data for a 28 year period, from 1966 through 1993. The study evaluates if the freshmen engineering courses supply the entering engineering student with the necessary foundation to persist in engineering because of the skills he/she acquires in these courses. To measure this, the authors evaluate longitudinal data o...

For the past two decades, Purdue University has been using student self-reports to provide information that has proved to be invaluable in educational planning and development. These critical student inputs are used to help place students in beginning courses, to identify high-risk and honors students, to evaluate the quality of courses, services a...

Instituted in 1971, the Counselor-Tutorial (CT) program is an optional class offered by the Department of Freshman Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette campus, to beginning students whose high school academic backgrounds indicate high learning potential, but who also have the highest probability of having difficulty in completing the fr...

Purdue University entered into a study with Hewlett Packard in 1990 to determine if calculators could help high risk students in their battle with calculus. The use of plotting calculators within the Counselor-Tutorial (CT) program has been very successful. Individuals with a much lower incoming academic background are able to compete with individu...

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Since the early 1970s the Purdue Minority Engineering Program (MEP) has conducted a relatively comprehensive program of recruitment, retention, and evaluation directed at improving this data by the successful graduation of African American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and American Indian students. Program components have included motivational r...

A four equation model of axial wave propagation with Poisson coupling which includes viscous damping to account for structural energy dissipation is evaluated. Comparison of the predictions with experimental data indicates that the model can satisfactorily predict fluid pressure and structural velocity. The results show that structural damping redu...

The traditional approach to designing a piping system subject to internal dynamic pressure is to restrain the piping as much as possible, and the approximation made in the analysis is to assume no contribution of structural energy dissipation. To determine the validity of this concept and approximation, an experimental study of a piping system was...

Freshman engineering students have a number of writing assignments during the first year that are designed to meet the instructional objectives of the academic, advising, and library programs at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Engineering. The two semester writing projects are the result of a collaboration between the Freshman Program, Fre...

Freshmen engineering retention rates are low in universities across the country even though recruiting efforts target the highest quality high school students. If these retention rates are to be increased, one of the most basic concepts that must be addressed is how the students cope with academic failure. This paper discusses an approach to addres...

This paper will examine the benefit of an internship following a student's freshman year at the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Following a year of general engineering studies, many students still lack the capability to successfully choose the field of engineering they would like to purse. Even with an inclination towards one...