Capturing the Cyclic Nature of Design with Multi-Generation Projects Department of Bioengineering University of California–San Diego Melissa Kurtis Micou, PhD Jeffrey H Omens, PhD BME IDEA Meeting September 26, 2007

Motivation Design experiences are most effective when authentic Survey of 360 design courses revealed commonalities: (Todd et al J Eng Ed 1995) –Real world problems: 59% solicit projects from industry –Time constraints: 60% have duration <1 year –Financial constraints: average funding <$200 / project –Teamwork: 83% offer team projects Cyclic nature of design not easily reproduced in a half- or full-year course needs assessment problem formulation brainstorming & synthesis analysis implementation

Objectives Highlight the cyclic nature of design in the new bioengineering design sequence at UCSD Improve professional skills critical to the success of lengthy, multi-generational projects

Course Overview Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation 1 unit lecture presentations of projects by faculty Brainstorming & Analysis 1 unit lecture & 3 unit lab develop multiple designs select the best design Implementation 1 unit lecture & 3 unit lab build & test prototype Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation 1 unit lecture presentations of projects by: -seniors (multi- generation) -faculty (new) Spring FallWinterSpring juniorsseniors juniors

Expected Outcomes Greater appreciation for the importance of and improvement in communication skills: – design notebooks – technical reports – presentations Improved ability to critically evaluate design work and identify opportunities for future improvements More effective and efficient integration of senior projects and ongoing research Juniors benefit from hearing first-hand about the experiences, successes, and failures of the senior teams

Ex: Multi-Channel Amplifier for Regional Cardiac Mapping Design Goals Record simultaneous signals from multiple locations of cardiac tissue Amplify and filter signals Objective: construct a low-cost multi-channel amplifier to measure regional electrical signals in a rat heart amplify & filter A/D conversion digital processing be-web.ucsd.edu/seniordesign/Past/studentpages/2006/Project11/Home%20Page.html

1 st Generation Successes: accurate ECG recorded from rat heart determined signal quality higher when leads inserted into the myocardium compared to surface recordings successful integration between amplifier and A/D converter 2 nd Generation Design Goals: improve filtering expand for simultaneous multi-channel recordings develop custom software to allow multiple real-time ECGs to be displayed simultaneously

Integration with Ongoing Research Spring FallWinterSpring Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation Identify instrumentation, device, etc needed for thesis project Recruit senior students Brainstorming & Analysis Seniors work closely with MS or PhD student “client” Implementation Seniors work closely with MS or PhD student “client” Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation MS or PhD student -finalizes testing and incorporates design into research - Identifies needed improvements or related instruments

Assessment: Technical Reports ABET CriteriaScore (out of 4) b. ability to design & conduct experiments… Student(s) able to design an experiment to validate solution. 3.4 ± 1.1 c. able to design a system, component, or process… Student(s) able to select appropriate design based on constraints. 3.4 ± 0.6 e. identify, formulate, & solve engineering problems Student(s) able to make recommendations for further improvements. 3.5 ± 0.5 g. ability to communicate effectively Student(s) able to write a report with appropriate content 3.3 ± 0.7

Summary Incorporating cyclic nature of design with multi-generation projects provides a more authentic design experience Multi-generation projects facilitate the integration of teaching and research Using established assessment methods we will measure whether multi-generation projects improve professional skills: –written communication –ability to critically analyze designs

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Assessment: Design Notebooks Each student maintains a design notebook including notes from meetings, research, calculations, data from testing, and sketches  name, date, , address and course # on cover  pages are numbered  entries are dated  meeting, individual work, & group work distinguished  participants listed  future steps indicated  clarity and quality of figures  quality of documented individual work  notebook is legible and neat  detail is sufficient AVE= 80 ± 17% (n = 42)

Assessment: Poster Presentations ABET Criteria 1 point2 points3 points4 points j. knowledge of contemporary issues authors do not understand the topic well or present irrelevant info authors demonstrate some understanding of the topic authors demonstrate a good understanding of the topic authors have a thorough understanding and provide insight h. understand impact of engineering solutions merely summarizes the poster flawed or ambiguous conclusions are drawn logical conclusions are drawn logical conclusions are drawn and significance is discussed g. ability to communicate unorganized or confusing adequateinformative and clear informative, clear, and to the point Presentation Discussion Background