ELEC 400
Project Planning and Engineering Design

Bucknell University
Fall, 2001

Course Objectives:

Students finishing this course will have improved teamwork skills, will gain experience with the engineering design process, and will develop a plan for their senior design project for the following semester.


Instructors and Office Hours:

Richard J. Kozick
Office: Room 220 Dana
Phone: (570) 577-1129
FAX: (570) 577-1822
Email: kozick@bucknell.edu
Web: http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~kozick

Office hour schedule for Prof. Kozick is Monday 1-2 PM, Thursday 10-11 AM, Friday 1-2 PM.
Other times can be arranged -- call or send email.
(Refer to the course home page for the most up-to-date office hours)

E.J. Mastascusa
Office: Room 346 Dana
Phone: (570) 577-1234
FAX: (570) 577-1822
Email: mastascu@bucknell.edu
Web: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/


Course Meetings:

Monday and Wednesday, 10:00 - 10:52 AM, in Dana 103.

The Friday meetings will be optional in most cases, or we may announce a special activity for some Friday meetings. The meeting on the first Friday, August 31, is optional.


Prerequisite:

Senior status in electrical engineering.


Required Books:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, Robert M. Pirsig, Bantam Books, Reissue edition, April 1, 1984.

The Soul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder, Back Bay Books, June 2000.


Course Home Page:

The home page for the ELEC 400 course is located at the URL
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~kozick/elec40001
It can also be accessed by following the link from Professor Kozick's home page at
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~kozick

The course home page contains the syllabus, homework assignments, class notes, and other useful information.

Grading: 

Team projects (oral & written reports)    60%
Quizzes and class participation           20%
Homework                                  20%


Teamwork:

This course, along with ELEC 480 (Control Systems), will build your skills for effective participation in a team. Your grade will be determined based on your individual performance as well as your peformance of your team. You will have opportunities to evaluate the performance of your teammates. A sample peer evaluation form is available on the course web page under Class Notes.

The members of each team are listed on the course home page under Class Notes.


Quizzes:

Short quizzes (announced or unannounced) will be given regularly in class. There will be no hour-long exams or final exam.


Tentative Outline:

The following is a tentative list of topics for the course.


ABET Course Outcomes:

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to

  1. apply formal teamwork principles to monitor team functioning and correct team operation as needed. (d)

  2. produce a design strategy for an open-ended problem, with results documented in well-organized written and oral presentations. (a, c, e, g, k, l)

  3. develop a written proposal that contains a clear plan for the spring semester senior design project. (c, g)

  4. evaluate the feasibility of a technical proposal. (c)

  5. apply relevant aspects of professional codes of ethics when considering possible alternative decisions or solutions. (f)

  6. describe how "analytical" and "artistic" persons in society relate to each other and complement one another. (h)