Aaron Carpenter, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
The primary goals for my Henry C. Lord Professorship proposal were centered on helping student projects succeed where they otherwise may have had trouble succeeding without the funds. That has so far taken a few different forms: undergraduate research stipends and salary, student course and senior design project materials, professional conference attendance, and student conference presentation funding.
Undergraduate Research: In the spring semester of 2019, I provided small stipends for four undergraduate student co-op projects, including projects in computer architecture, mobile device security, and Cadence software installation and exploration. An iPod touch was also purchased for hardware testing, which is still in use today for the mobile device security project. In the fall, the mobile device security project was continued by a new co-op student whose salary was paid by the Lord fund. His results have led to new projects, including a senior design project in the same area.
Additionally, Professor Marisha Rawlins (my mentee at the time) and I discussed the groundwork for her research project building a robot for STEM education and outreach to underserved children. Along with her co-op student (BSCO), they have designed the robot with parts purchased through the Henry C. Lord Professorship.
Senior Design Projects: Senior design courses provide students with real-world hands-on project experience. As one of the instructors, I have made the funding opportunity provided by the Henry C. Lord Professorship available to all student groups in the ECE program. As these projects are typically self-funded by the students, in some cases, this has not only taken the financial burden off of the students but has allowed them to improve their projects with the proper equipment and components.
Additionally, since the program now owns the parts, they can either be repurposed for future teams and projects or be used to help recruit students who come to visit our campus. These types of projects have already been used on display at open houses to show prospective students the type of things we work on in ECE Senior Design.
Senior Design Event: Prior to this year, senior design courses exist largely in their major’s silo, with minimal, if any, communication between programs. At the August showcase, students often see projects from other programs that are similar to their own. In order to help break down these silos and foster communication between programs, I organized an event for all the CECS Senior Design courses. At this event, students posted their ideas for projects and were able to talk to others about it. I also included information about Intellectual Property (with Joe Martel-Foley) and invited the library to provide information on their resources.
MATE ROV: As the IEEE faculty advisor and MATE ROV advisor, I have committed some funds to their project and travel. First, every month, we pay fees for a website for their documentation. I have committed to the team going forward for additional funding.
Dearborn STEM Academy Workshops: In April of 2020, along with other faculty, we hosted thirty high school students who are interested in engineering. As part of the day, we planned to have workshops, which required materials. Some inexpensive, easy-to-use parts were purchased so students could take them home with them (Chibitronics). The professorship helped pay for these materials to give these students a hands-on experience. After the parts were purchased, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event, but the parts will be repurposed for future workshops.
Student Conference Travel: As a faculty member, I strongly encourage students to get involved with professional societies and publishing their research in conferences. To provide support, I partially funded two ECE seniors to separately present papers at conferences.
In 2020, I sponsored a student to virtually attend the ASEE national conference. This student completed a co-op with me in the summer of 2019 and published a paper at the conference, where the student was the presenting author. Other plans for student travel were cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
Conference Travel for Professional Development: As part of my own professional development, I attended the NASPA Multicultural Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. I attended workshops on improving our campus culture for historically underrepresented communities. I also attended the ASEE national conference in June.
Teaching Technology Supplies: As part of my dedication to providing new and improved educational opportunities, I have recently decided to explore competency-based learning and grading for all of my courses. In these styles, students aren’t trying to achieve a grade based on partial-credit or an ability to partially know concepts or skills; rather they earn a competency score. To facilitate this, it was necessary to create new lecture videos, example/tutorial videos, and new assignments. When the university went to remote learning, this process was accelerated, so I purchased hardware and software to facilitate the change. As of the end of 2020, all courses will be shifted to these new modalities with over one hundred videos being created and posted.
The Henry C. Lord Professorship is furthering my professional goals in regard to student projects and experiences, professional development, student research, and hands-on educational opportunities. I believe that all of the funds have been used to further Wentworth’s goals of improving the lives and educations of our students, both directly and indirectly. I am grateful for the funds, and I am sure they have a direct positive impact, for me and for the students involved.