As virtual reality (VR) technologies continue to mature and with VR headsets becoming widely available on the consumer market, more people are using VR for gaming, entertainment and skill training. It is inevitable that VR simulations have permeated sports training as a tool to enhance athletic performance. The present study is part of an ongoing program at Purdue University where short VR modules are routinely used by the coaching and sports medicine staff to train baseball players. For the present study, three VR simulations were developed to train a player’s ability to recognize ball colors, type of ball trajectories, and strike vs. ball. Twenty-four baseball players took part in the study where half served as the control group and the other half received 12 sessions of VR training. The participants also completed two tasks before and after the main experiment. Although no significant difference was found between the pre- and post-tests, the participants did respond positively to a survey and found the VR training fun and useful for training their eyes. Future work will continue to assess the efficacy of VR training with Purdue baseball team players.

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Session 2155 A Look at Representative Templates for Professionally Oriented Faculty Reward Systems in Other Service Professions G. R. Bertoline, 1 D. R. Depew, 1 M. J. Dyrenfurth, 1 A. L. McHenry, 2 E. M. DeLoatch, 3 P. Y. Lee, 4 D. D. Dunlap, 5 S. J. Tricamo, 6 D. A. Keating, 7 T. G. Stanford 7 Purdue University 1/ Arizona State University East 2/ Morgan State University 3 California Polytechnic State University 4 / Western Carolina University 5 New Jersey Institute of Technology 6/ University of South Carolina 7 Abstract This is the second of three papers prepared for a special panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force on Engineering Graduate Education Reform that addresses the need for reform of faculty reward systems to advance professional education for creative engineering practice and technology leadership. This paper examines representative templates for professionally oriented faculty reward systems in other service professions in order to identify the commonality which should be reflected any faculty reward system for professional engineering education. As a result, three unifying themes among other professions have emerged which address teaching, professional scholarship, and service/engagement in practice. 1. Introduction To be successful in any academic department, it is necessary to survive the promotion and tenure process. Success is based on successful growth and contributions in teaching, research, and service. Promotion and tenure at universities that emphasize theoretical research expect faculty to engage in scholarly research with the goal of finding new knowledge. This criterion is fine and has worked well in many disciplines, such as science, engineering, and social science. However, the proposed reform of engineering graduate education would change the emphasis of the work of faculty from pure research to other forms of scholarship. Although this would be a new to most engineering colleges at universities, it is not new to other service professions, such as clinical medicine and law schools. To develop a promotion and tenure system that aligns well with the goals of a reformed engineering graduate education program, it is helpful to look at other professionally oriented faculty reward systems as a possible guide to develop a system to reward faculty. 1.1 Law School Faculty Promotion and Tenure Criteria One method of determining the promotion and tenure process that would be necessary for engineering graduate education that is more practically oriented as proposed by this reform would be by looking at other professional disciplines, such as law and the preparation of lawyers. Typically, law schools do not expect their faculty to be engaged in theoretical research in the classic sense as you would have in engineering and science. Their research might be related to law review articles for example. 1.2Criteria for Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure After reviewing a number of promotion and tenure criteria and procedure documents from law schools, there was a relatively consistent theme and criteria used for promotion and tenure. Promotion and tenure committees are not bound by limiting quantitative criteria but considered the overall quality of the teaching, scholarship and service of each person under review and the contributions of that person to the “Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition 1 Copyright  2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract PC-based Photo Realistic Virtual Environments to Facilitate Construction Design and Non-Destructive Testing Magesh Chandramouli, Gary Bertoline, Ph.D., La Verne Abe Harris, Ph.D. Computer Graphics Technology Purdue University, IN 47906 USA ABSTRACT –Virtual Reality (VR)-based visualization offers a wide range of capabilities whereby several versions for a design can be generated, viewed, and manipulated before narrowing down on the final blueprint that can be chosen for implementation. More importantly, hierarchical modeling of the scene in 3D facilitates facile project management, and is economical, considering the rising costs of materials, equipment, and labor. Besides, VR-based visualization offers a wide range of advantages including testing the positioning of component elements of a scene (construction project), verifying line of sight or other visibility issue, and enhancing the aesthetics of construction. This study demonstrates using appropriate 3D scenarios the various aforementioned advantages of VR-based scene-tree visualization and proposes the use of a OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) Interface for enhanced interaction with clients. I. Introduction Despite the tremendous advancements made in the domain of construction design, due to the increasing number of factors to be considered in designing any construction, the overall process of construction design has become a complex and multifaceted process. Every construction project has specific purposes or objectives to meet; for instance, an office would have certain requirements, such as space for a set number of computers, reception, meeting rooms, and washroom. A restaurant would accommodate a particular number of patrons, should have spaces for spreading buffet, restrooms, etc. Similarly, every construction inherently should be driven by the needs of the consumer and there should be a means to verify if the proposed plan will meet all the demands. It amounts to a tremendous waste of time, effort, and money to build some project and finally realize that it falls short or fails to meet the objectives. Hence, considerable care has to be taken in planning and designing phases. Visualization is a very useful tool that holds immense potential in the domain of planning and designing (Berry et al., 1998, Tufte, 1990, 1992). Visualization enables observing beyond the individual elements or scene components and aids comprehending the scene in its entirety as an interlinked framework. In real world systems, objects do not subsist in absolute isolation, but are interrelated to each other, either directly or indirectly. Visualization enables viewing the constituent elements of a construction framework in whole as well as in parts. This kind of object-based visualization is of significant value to planners, designers, and decision makers (Church et al. 1994, McGaughey, 1998). McCormick et al. (1987) very appropriately points out that “Visualization is a method of computing. It transforms the symbolic into the geometric, enabling researchers to observe their simulations and computations. Visualization offers a method for

This study implements a prototype graphics visualization framework to visualize multidimensional data. This graphics design framework serves as a ‘visual analytical database’ for visualization and simulation of economic models. One of the primary goals of any kind of visualization is to extract useful information from colossal volumes of data and more importantly, communicate the extracted information. Using a multidimensional framework not only significantly enhances the ability to view multiple variables, but also brings together diverse data formats on one canvas. Economists cope with huge multi-dimensional data sets on a day-to-day basis. Various graphic and tabulation methods have been used for methodically representing and analyzing such colossal data. However, not much effort has been directed towards applying desktop Virtual Reality (dVR) based technologies to visualize such multidimensional economic data sets. Such procedures enable data visualization without compromising the richness of preserving multiple dimensions relevant to the analytic questions in consideration. We demonstrate the possibility of such an application to a widely used time-series bilateral multi-sector trade dataset. Usefulness of this framework and application is shown using several analytical and numerical examples.

This study proposes an innovative solution to the problem of multiobjective engineering design optimization by integrating desktop VR with genetic computing. Although, this study considers the case of construction design as an example to illustrate the framework, this method can very much be extended to other engineering design problems as well. The proposed framework generates optimal solutions for the problem of construction design, which is becoming an increasingly complex problem due to the multitude of factors involved in the process. This study places special emphasis on the modeling of the scenes within the virtual world from the design perspective. Even though genetic algorithms (GA) have been used by professionals in diverse disciplines to optimize conflicting objectives, these provide the end user with a pool of solutions rather than a unique solution that can be implemented. Hence, this study proposes a desktop VR framework that serves as a visualization tool to aid decision makers to better evaluate the alternative solutions from the Pareto set resulting from the GA process. Modeling alternative scenarios is formulated as an optimization problem wherein design configurations are generated using genetic algorithms. With the goal of sustainable and non-destructive construction design and planning, the algorithm is intended for multiple objectives. The study also presents an innovative perspective on this whole process by presenting the qualitative evaluation of the scene based on human evaluation and incorporating changes. The results demonstrate the robustness of the GA framework and also substantiate the utility of the virtual scenarios.

The purposes of higher education have been debated ever since tertiary education emerged. Not surprisingly these discussions have also addressed the purposes of Business, Engineering and Technology (BE&T) programs in higher education. Furthermore, given the obvious and frequently threatening challenges of contemporary society, there have been multiple voices calling for attention to the social welfare of all of the world citizens and their quality of life. The intersection of these concerns with the pragmatic nature of BE&T programs has engendered some calls for change. The authors of this chapter examine the extent to which the actual undergraduate plans of study reflect any evidence of attention to ethics, corporate social responsibility, and conscious capitalism – collectively referred to as larger outcomes. In addition to an analysis of the plans of study of BET programs, the authors interviewed thought leaders, reviewed literature, and conducted two case studies/vignettes of exemplary programs to see what the future might hold. The chapter ends with a provocative set of conclusions, recommendations for practice and for further research.

In this paper desktop VR is used as a medium to deliver Project-based Learning (PBL) curricula to Engineering and technology students. Recently, several courses in engineering and technology education seem to be focusing more on proprietary software tools for modeling, visualization, and animation. While learning a software tool surely will add to the skill sets of students, this cannot replace theoretical knowledge. A strong understanding of the fundamental mathematical, geometric, trigonometric, and physics fundamentals plays a crucial role in determining the career-success of students. Students, especially those at the beginner's level, typically tend to associate theoretical knowledge with 'textual information' involving substantial reading. Hence, this paper puts forth a novel PBL-based approach wherein an interactive portable desktop Virtual (pdVR) framework is used to methodically organize and present such foundational information. The application is being built using web-friendly XML-based technologies such as VRML/X3D and Java/JavaScript to facilitate online dissemination. This is presented using a low-cost portable VR system so that the overall system remains cost-effective. This way, technology and engineering schools that would like to implement such a system for teaching fundamental Engineering & Technology (ET) theory to students will not be deterred by the high costs of immersive facilities (e.g. CAVE). This framework can be included in the form of PBL-based exercises or within course curriculum in ET departments/schools. PBL involves efforts on part of the students that involves active learning and solving real-world like problems. The proposed prototype framework can be used for such PBL exercises as demonstrated with examples in this paper.

This paper presents the design and implementation of a Desktop VR (Virtual Reality) framework for generating and evaluating Pareto-optimal alternate 3D spatial configurations using GA (genetic algorithms). The 3-tier framework involves the generation of the Pareto-optimal plans using GA which are subsequently visualized first using a Java-based 2D Interface and finally in the form of a 3D VR scene. The search spaces (function domains) are extremely large in today’s multifaceted interior design situations, and the optimization procedure involves conflicting objective functions, and limitations in the form of constraint functions. The interior space allocation problem is formulated and implemented as the “optimal configuration of artifacts”. When using GAs, a group of Pareto-optimal solutions (Pareto set) are available for the planners and decision-makers, wherefrom one solution ought to be picked. Therefore, this study applies a tool to not only visually evaluate the plans, but also to interact with those plans to develop them further if needed. Besides enabling the optimal spatial configuration of the scene elements, this framework also facilitates evaluation and interaction via the 3D VR worlds. The framework aids the proactive exploration, analysis, and finalization of design aspects such as color, size, lighting, etc. of the various elements prior to the actual construction. The results demonstrate the robust performance of the GA and the final 3D VR environment with dynamic interactive capabilities. This final interface facilitates “GA-Compliant” transformations and scene modifications thereby facilitating the exploration and examination of alternative scene configurations.

In this paper geometry and graphics are employed to design and implement a multidimensional dVR (Desktop Virtual Reality) framework to stimulate interest in technological/engineering literature. Students, especially those at the beginner’s level, typically tend to associate literature with ‘textual information’ and huge volumes of books. While a seasoned faculty member or a researcher is quite used to reading voluminous literature, students and non-domain audience may find this challenging. Hence, this paper puts forth a novel approach wherein an interactive multidimensional dVR framework is used to methodically organize and present engineering and technological literature. Technological literature is represented as geometry objects embedded in a graphic interface that facilitates viewing from multiple perspectives (literature-wise) and sort and re-structure the literature as required. Users can navigate within this 3D environment and interact with scene elements. The Virtual scene elements represent various elements of technological literature in different formats that include 3D representations as well as conventional files such as word documents, web pages, etc. One primary drawback with a vast majority of visualization systems is that information is presented to the audience in a pre-determined fashion. Nevertheless, there may be times when the information receiver may want to view the information in other ways. A good visualization platform should be flexible enough to allow the user (audience or the information receiver) to interact with the information. The user should be able to dynamically interact, manipulate, modify, and re-arrange the information in accordance with their particular needs. Hence, the authors have enabled dynamic interaction capabilities within this framework that facilitates ‘re-arranging’ the way in which the information is presented. The application is being built using web-friendly technologies such as VRML/X3D and Java/JavaScript to facilitate online dissemination.

Technologist and Engineer Role Mapping to Product Life Cycle Model Phases: A Natural DerivationIn a recent National study, predominate roles and titles assigned to technologists and engineeringBachelor of Science graduates were reported. The study received responses from nearly 200business and industry technology-oriented companies. The study reflected that while there wereroles that were assigned to both; the roles of design engineer, senior engineer and engineer werepredominately assigned to engineering graduates. This, while the roles of engineeringtechnologist, technologist, engineering technician and technician were predominantly reservedfor technologists; i.e., BS Engineering Technology (BSET) graduates.The findings of this study validate the experience of many in business and industry. The naturalderivation of this previous study is to enhance our understanding of the identified roles for each;the technologist and the engineer.This paper maps the predominately defined roles of the technologist (BSET) and the engineer(BSEng) to the generally accepted product life cycle model phases; concept exploration,demonstration and validation, full scale development, production and deployment, and,operations and support. This mapping heightens our awareness and better allows bothcommunities to appreciate the natural roles assigned to each graduate cohort.In the final analysis, it can readily be argued technology graduates are in fact applied engineers.While it may be questionable to argue whether they should be called engineers or not, their roleis clearly defined throughout the product life cycle model. We should focus on moving forwardin a positive manner to integrate our educational foundations to incorporate these much needed,required and highly utilized individuals. In the final analysis, two questions are offered as areasfor future thought, research and development:  Is Technology a discipline in and of itself? If so, then its body of knowledge may reside in the systems integration engineering domain; and has yet to be uniquely defined.  Should technology exist as an independent, stand-alone unit? Conceivably, without much visualization, tremendous synergy would come from a unified engineering and technology curricular approach where a basic underlying agreement resides in the research, design, development, test and integration product life cycle model understanding. In this manner, technology would be provided with an overlap of engineering knowledge and then the subsequent applied knowledge required to perform in their respective life cycle phases of the product life cycle model. Technologist and Engineering Roles Mapping to Product Life Cycle Phases Demonstration and Production and Operations and Concept Exploration Full Scale Development Validation Deployment Support Functional and Concept Analysis Concept Development Preliminary Design Detail Design Test and Evaluation Manufacturing and Systems Engineer Operations Research Engineer Fielding and Design Engineer On-Going Support Senior Engineer Engineer Technician and Engineering Technician and Engineering Technician Technician Technologists and Engineering TechnologistsFigure 1.0 – Technologist and Engineering Roles Mapping to Product Life Cycle Phases

The development of a scholarly model of technology leadership necessitates a global component for the modern technology and technology education organization. The authors conduct qualitative research of four key concepts around globalization and innovation in technology higher education, as well as issues in organizational change implementation and the evolution of ‘global technology leadership’ as a new scholarly discipline. Via a process of on-site visits for observation and face-to-face interviews with both academic and industry organizations in multiple countries, participant scholars utilized ethnographic research methods ( Lindlof & Taylor, 2002 ) to gather detailed qualitative data on the development and status of implementing technology innovation and global technology leadership strategies. Results of content analysis conducted manually and via NVivo qualitative data analysis software revealed bifurcation in programmatic approaches and conceptualizations on these topics between established and relatively younger higher educational programs, as well as critical considerations in industry-academic partnerships and the role of leadership and management scientific training in higher education.

The following review will provide a historical recap of the United States response to child pornography as it relates to the ever-evolving technological world. Specifically, a review of the child pornography laws, at the federal level, as well as the sentencing guidelines will reveal the delicate balance between criminalizing child pornography and upholding the United States’ constitution. In addition, discussing the role of Internet Service Providers will expose a trend toward using the same technology, which has proliferated the child pornography industry, to identify and censor the illegal content on the Internet. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the current laws and regulation tactics, as well as, the suggested amendments will be discussed.

Assessing the Applicability of Technology Studies through an Examination of Innovation, the Systems Integration Model and Systems Integrator RoleThis paper will examine the role of a major tier 1 research university in defining and developingthe 21st Century Technologist through graduate technology studies. To assess the role oftechnology studies, and the attendant definition and development of the 21st CenturyTechnologist, requires an understanding of innovation, the systems integration model and therole of the systems integrator. This paper, therefore, will examine a model for, and a definitionof, innovation, the innovation process, the systems integration model (both general and functionspecific) and its connection to the innovation process, and, the role of the systems integrator.Technology and the process of creating it, innovation, is moving at a thunderous pace throughoutworld societies. Our rate of technological advancements dwarfs any previous period in ourworld history. It is nearly inconceivable what will be created next, as organizations small andlarge are busily working to create the next iPhone, robotic life-like animal, electric car, clonedDNA structure, or, death ray.What is innovation? Is there a process to follow for innovation? How do you measure thesuccess of following an innovation process? If innovation is a process, then it possesses multipleactivities with attendant products as output of the process. To a large extent, innovation and themanifestation of the innovation process is intrinsically interconnected to the role of the systemsintegrator. Systems integration is the higher level of cognitive understanding of the manyseparate, yet highly related disciplines/functions of a product or service. The basic element ofsuccessful systems integration is the vision of interrelatedness of these many attendantknowledge domains; vision, that acts as the common thread through the innovation process. Theevolution of this concept resides between the philosophical underpinnings of leadership andinnovation, and, the tactical realities of curriculum design, development and implementation.To fully appreciate the value of our world’s collective knowledge in advancing U.S. innovation,we must first accept a definition of technology and innovation; one that stands aside from that ofscience and engineering. To truly have a discipline, there must be a body of knowledge.Technology leadership is no different. But what does it mean to have a discipline in technologyleadership? What would the basic body of knowledge in technology leadership look like?Systems Integration, as a discipline, is well founded in industry and exists at many levels. Tothis end, the tactical implementation with courses and curriculum implications is hinged on astrategic decision of which level of systems integration one is most interested in pursuing;namely, discipline-specific systems integration (e.g. software systems integration), or, the higherlevel systems integration function (systems integration).If one chooses the path of a discipline-specific systems integrator, then the core curriculum willbe domain-specific and offer courses as an umbrella which provides systems integrationknowledge. If, on the other hand, the strategic interest is to educate graduates in whole systemsintegration, then we would want to pull together into a single curriculum those related disciplineswithin the college or university.

The Engineering Technology National Forum (ETNF) was launched in 2008 by three engineering technology colleagues at Purdue University as an action team to address significant issues of the day affecting the ET educational community and alumni in the professional world of industry, government, and business. A primary goal of the Forum was to provide a continuity of effort in taking internal anecdotal discussions to a higher level to investigate them factually, turning high-level issues into action items for national impact. This article introduces the ET National Forum, its growth and its activities over the past four years, essentially serving as a report to the ET community at this juncture.

Shweta Chopra is a doctoral in Technology, Leadership, and Innovation program at Her research interests include technology and education, global supply chain management, and lean manufacturing principles. A recipient of the 2011-2012 Bilsland Strategic Initiatives Fellowship, she is investigating ways to increase female participation in STEM education and careers. As a graduate instructor for the introductory course in lean manufacturing (IT-214), she has received Com-mittee for the Education of Teaching Assistants Award for excellence in graduate teaching and is currently developing novel delivery processes for imparting online education in lean principles through engagement with industry professionals. Chad Laux is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Technology Department at Purdue in Lafayette, Ind. He teaches courses in lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma quality. His research interests include quality management, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and agriculture biotechnology systems. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt from General Electric, Co., Caterpillar, Inc., and the American Society for Quality. He is also a certified Senior Technology Manager from the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering. He is a member of the ASEE, ASQ, and ATMAE, and is also an active leader in the international arena by serving as a delegate for the United States for the creation for food quality management standards.

In the fall of 2010, under the Purdue University College of Technology's academic Center for Professional Studies in Technology and Applied Research (ProSTAR), was the inaugural program offering of a distance learning hybrid Master of Science degree with an area of concentration in Leadership. This program evolved from the collective experience and knowledge of an intense industry-academia partnership. The program was intentionally differentiated from a traditional MBA-type of program. The program was designed to provide successful transitional training and education to those individuals evolving from an individual contributor technical position to a leadership/management opportunity.Through a focused and intentional alignment of key courses in three primary areas; leadership, business/technology management and application, the enrolled students are provided the opportunity for discovery, assimilation and subsequent application of acquired knowledge and skills applicable to industrial settings both nationally and internationally. The program has experienced significant enrollment in excess of previously forecasted pro forma expectations, and, is expected to form the foundation for future similar program offering opportunities.

Globalization, competitiveness, and innovation are frequently employed themes as governments, business and industry and universities attempt to respond to the challenges facing them. Clearly business as usual is not likely to be successful in the future. One strategic response for universities has been a significant impetus – in many parts of the world – towards dual, joint or concurrent degree programs involving international partners. It is perhaps not surprising that engineering is among the disciplines that make most use of international collaboration but it seems that engineering technology programs do not yet participate as extensively in this aspect of international education. Furthermore, it seems that much of the movement towards such collaborative degrees is occurring at the Master’s level. At the 2010 ASEE Conference, the core of this author team presented an overview of the purposes and aspirations of a new concurrent Masters degree project funded jointly by the European Union and the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education.

The present study investigated the use of visual trajectory and haptic force information in learning concepts involving force. Specifically, learning modules for instructing buoyant forces were developed for use with a computer monitor and a force feedback device. Students from an elementary school at the fourth and sixth grades were recruited to participate in the study. The students were separated into visual and visuohaptic groups to measure the possible benefits haptic feedback might provide as compared to the vision-alone condition. A 10-question content test was developed and administered before and after the learning activities. The pretest and posttest scores showed that all students benefited from the computer simulations. The visuohaptic group did not perform significantly better than the visual group. An important finding was that the fourth graders learned as much as the sixth graders, despite their younger age and little prior exposure to concepts such as density and volume, which are important for understanding buoyancy. Future work will design instructional and assessment materials that focus more on the haptic modality.