In the middle of the year 2022, a big media attention was created by the introduction of a new version of the AI tool, ChatGPT chatbot. Basically, a chatbot is a computer program that simulates and processes human conversation (either written or spoken), allowing humans to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person. Even though the launch of ChatGPT was not felt by the common public, the technical circle knew about its inauguration, and the media space was flooded with shocked reactions. Anyone can open the ChatGPT program and type in the word or phrase about something he/she wants to know, then the ChatGPT is going to spit out a short or long essay or summary of what is being asked. Suppose a student is asked to submit a report or an essay on a particular topic for a class, then the ChatGPT can be used to write that essay or report. This paper is going to discuss the details of the impact on Engineering Education by ChatGPT and other AI tools. Some people argue that AI and ChatGPT are going to bring down traditional education style and a new way of disseminating the subject knowledge may be introduced. Some educators think that the teachers may lose their jobs. Many people started to test the limits of the released software. The tool is able to produce high-quality texts of various focuses even with the ability to respond in various languages (internally, they are machine-translated into English similar to "Google Translate"). Another strength of ChatGPT is contextual querying, where ChatGPT remembers previous queries and creates new results based on an earlier conversation. This paper is going to talk about the pros and cons of using ChatGPT and AI tools in Engineering Education.

The addition of a bicycle sharing program into an urbanized environment can have many societal benefits. These benefits include increased personal and communal health as well as a decrease of harmful effects on the surrounding environment. Greenhouse gas emissions and gasoline consumption will be reduced because of fewer cars on the roadways. This, coupled with an increase in bicycle usage will generate a more communal sense of well-being and cleanliness. However, the implementation of such a program does not come free of charge. In this paper, the various costs associated for a successful system are analyzed in detail such as the cost to the individual and the cost to the city or university. The individual has the potential to save money when compared to other forms of available transportation. The safety of the individual users is addressed along with solutions of how to ensure their well-being by reducing the interaction between vehicles and cyclists. Finally, various programs already in place as well as past programs that have failed are analyzed. The most modern programs have embraced technology to not only increase security, but also create a more accessible system for riders who want to get around short distances with less cost, live healthier lifestyles, and make an impact on green transportation. Recommendations are made with regard to the execution of programs in different settings. Various cities and universities will have to overcome various obstacles such as existing infrastructure to meet the needs of the users and to maintain successful operation. Specifically, the University of Florida is an ideal place to implement a bicycle sharing program. The existing infrastructure offers a model environment to ensure the safety of the users as well as to sustain a lasting program. Given the conditions at the University of Florida, a bicycle sharing program will be a particularly beneficial investment.

Contractors constantly have to make decisions about maximizing profits while considering risks associated with choosing construction target levels for various acceptance quality characteristics (AQCs). With more and more states adopting incentive–disincentive pay adjustment provisions for quality as measured by various AQCs, a contractor likely has to evaluate several options before selecting an optimum target quality that will maximize profit at an acceptable level of risk. The greater the number of AQCs, the more complex the assessment that the contractor is required to perform and the less intuition and experience can be relied on. The updated Probabilistic Optimization for Profit (Prob. O. Prof. 2.0) is a computer program used as a probabilistic-based tool designed to assist portland cement concrete and hot-mix asphalt paving contractors in evaluating statistical quality assurance specifications. In addition, it assists the highway agencies in evaluating the appropriateness of their specifications and ensuring that they have no undesirable consequences. This procedure allows the agency to adjust pay factors accordingly while developing specifications. The Prob. O. Prof. 2.0 program is discussed, and examples of its use are provided.

Statistical quality assurance specifications containing pay adjustment provisions for quality let the contractor decide what levels of quality to target during construction. A procedure and accompanying computer program have been developed to address the optimization of target quality levels. This dual-purpose procedure will help contractors intelligently set target quality levels and help highway agencies validate their quality assurance specifications and pay adjustment provisions. By using the proposed procedure, a contractor can answer the question, "What target quality levels will lead to maximum profit in my specific situation?" The informal procedure contractors currently use does not consider probability and risk. Also, by following the same proposed procedure by using its own data, an agency can answer the question, "What quality levels are the specifications forcing our contractors to deliver?" This important question must be properly answered for the agency to determine the impact of its pay adjustment provisions on contractors. An exercise is presented to compare the current and proposed procedures. The two procedures may identify different optimal target values, leading to sizeable differences in a contractor's profit.

Overruns can result in loss of money and time in highway construction projects. Numerous delay factors such as utility, weather damage, changed conditions, and design errors can cause the costs of construction to exceed the budget and extend contract time. Literature review and personal contact have been focused on a case study of completed projects from the Florida Department of Transportation over the past fiscal years to determine the types of delay factors that have caused the overruns. The goal and objective of this paper is to identify the main factors that have caused cost and time overruns and use the study results and criteria to minimize these costs in future highway projects. The results of this study provide the parties involved in highway construction projects with information that can assist them in their design, overall planning, scheduling, and project implementation prior to project construction.

Failure rates are higher in some classes within the college environment than others. Different learning techniques, within and across colleges, have different impact on the student's performance as it is measured by their test scores. The paper presents various learning techniques such as non -active learning in classrooms (traditional), active learning in classrooms, and individual learning outside of the classrooms. Each of these technique has it's own merit and their applicability depends on the type of course and course content, class room size, availability of new technology in the class room environment, knowledge and availability of new technology to both students and teachers. allocated class room time, teachers and students attitudes, and students behaviors, students and teachers characters, etc. Teaching and learning is a continuous process. Today's technological advancement places greater challenges on teachers to create a new learning environment that should motivate their student's learning.

In 2011, STEM faculty members at Penn State Harrisburg applied and were awarded an NSF grant in order to increase and retain under-represented, female, first-generation, and low-income STEM college students, due to demonstrated national and regional needs to augment these populations in higher education STEM programs. In a recent ASEE paper, the authors published the steps taken in implementing a university STEM scholarship program to attain the simultaneous goals of increasing STEM enrollment and increase diversity in the STEM fields. In particular, the authors evaluated the necessity of strong and broad-based (peers, faculty, industrial) mentoring. Initial results were encouraging with regards to STEM scholarship student retention. Based on this initial work, the authors paired freshman STEM scholars with a peer mentor in the same or a similar major, in addition to pairing every STEM scholar with a faculty mentor. After conducting a brief mentor/mentee training session, the peer mentoring teams met on a monthly basis throughout the semester. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of the mentoring programs through a series of pre-, mid-, and post-year assessments. The authors used a combination of assessment tools from the NSF-approved Assessing Women and Men in Engineering and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. These tools are designed to identify longitudinal changes in the self-efficacy of undergraduate students studying engineering. Results obtained indicate a significant improvement in metacognitive strategies, goal orientation, resource management, and academic performance. Additionally, many STEM scholars expressed interest in participating in future mentoring programs. In addition to the traditional peer and faculty mentors, industry mentors have provided the opportunity to share their passion for their profession and help STEM students develop communication and leadership skills. This has shown to generate excitement and enhance students’ success. The success of the mentoring program, coupled with Learning Center initiatives and support from the NSF STEM club, enhances the STEM experience of women and underrepresented population at Penn State Harrisburg. The authors thank the National Science Foundation Award 1154516 for their support.

Reflections on Experiences of a Successful STEM Scholarship Program for Underrepresented GroupsThe Executive Summary of “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and EmployingAmerica for A Brighter Economic Future,” pointed out that “scientific and technologicalbuilding blocks critical to our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many othernations are gathering strength”. In order to prevent this decline, the Executive Summary offeredfour recommendations “that focus on the human, financial, and knowledge capital necessary forUS prosperity. The four recommendations focus on actions in K–12 education (10,000 Teachers,10 Million Minds), research (Sowing the Seeds), higher education (Best and Brightest), andeconomic policy (Incentives for Innovation).” In addition, the 2010 report of the President’sCouncil of Advisors on Science and Technology stated that “there is a large interest andachievement gap among some groups in STEM, and African Americans, Hispanics, NativeAmericans, and women are seriously underrepresented in many STEM fields.” Furthercomplicating this issue is the low level of interest of American students in the science, incomparison with other countries. There are also several concerns with the cost of highereducation which is a detriment to students wishing to acquire a STEM-related education.Recognizing these problems, some STEM faculty members at this University1 applied and wereawarded an NSF grant in order to ameliorate the effects of the problems discussed. This NSFgrant is tailored to increase and retain under-represented, female, first-generation collegestudents, and low-income STEM students due to demonstrated national and regional needs toaugment these populations in higher education STEM programs. In order to increase theawareness of STEM fields, a new initiative, the creation of STEM Clubs at High School andMiddle Schools, is being pursued. To attract the targeted students, scholarships were created andnew services and processes are being implemented, such as improved early progress report,mentoring by role model faculty members and working professionals in STEM fields and peermentoring through the new STEM scholarship club. Our activities are being accomplishedthrough a synergetic collaboration of expert staff from the Office of Multicultural Recruitment,Student Services, the Outreach Office, this University1, the Commission for Women at thisUniversity1 and seasoned role model faculty members. The project team has extensiveexperience working with female and minority undergraduate students. Rigorous evaluations werebuilt in the management plan to assess targeted enrollment goals, retention rates, and the impactof mentor/mentee activities, taking into account the unique characteristics of the targeted groups.This proposal was further strengthened by leveraging the resources of the Office of Developmentat this University1 to sustain this effort over time. This paper deals with reflections in how tosuccessfully implement a university STEM scholarship program to attain the simultaneous goalsof increasing STEM enrollment and increase diversity in the STEM fields. In particular, thenecessity of strong and broad-based (peers, faculty, industrial) mentoring. Initial results areencouraging with regards to STEM scholarship student retention.1 This University name will be given in the full paper.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has led to the integration of chatbots like ChatGPT into various sectors, including education. This study investigates the impact of many AI tools on engineering education, focusing on their potential to enhance learning outcomes and improve student engagement The integration of AI tools has the potential to significantly impact student learning, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This paper aims to explore the impact of AI tools on student learning in engineering education. AI tools offer numerous benefits in engineering education, providing students with interactive and immersive learning experiences. These tools enable students to apply their theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios, enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills. By utilizing a student survey, educators can gather invaluable feedback on the effectiveness of these AI tools, allowing for continuous improvement and customization to meet individual student needs. Through the data collected from the student survey, educators can gain insights into the specific areas where AI tools have positively impacted student learning. This information can guide curriculum development, ensuring that the incorporation of AI tools aligns with the desired learning outcomes. Furthermore, the student survey can provide vital feedback on areas where improvements are needed, allowing educators to address any challenges faced by the students in utilizing AI tools effectively.

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract International Aspects of Communication Technologies as a Tool for Learning Abstract There is a belief in the education community that the traditional teaching-learning models do not scale to meet the new challenges created by emerging technologies in every nation. Educational institutions are looking for ways to reach students when faced with increased competitions, shifting demographics, and delivering education to isolated areas. One way this problem has been tackled is through communications technologies as a mean to enhance flexible delivery and student learning on-line. As Internet has become a way of life, web-based educational course management systems have become popular. WebCT, BlackBoard, and ANGEL are among few popular learning web-based tools. These tools enable faculty to post documents and files, securely post grades, track students’ activities, interact with their students through e-mail and instant messaging. In addition, students can also use these tools to engage in group work and collaboration, online note-taking, take practice quizzes with immediate feedback, keep up progress tracking, and constant access to grade information at the instructor’s discretion. The focus of these web-based tools is to aid instructors develop meaningful learning experiences and improve learning outcomes which will aid students in their course. The objective of this paper is to present the advantages and disadvantages of these three common types of computerized tools used on-line in reaching customers and institutions of higher learning around the world. Moreover, this paper will help individual faculty members and instructional designers who are considering course management systems. The results of this study indicated that using these web-based tools assisted both distance and on-campus students and their learning levels are comparable. Introduction When the World Wide Web was launched in 1991, there was a surge of interest in the possibilities of electronic leaning (or e-learning). The use of the Web as an educational medium was just the beginning and today electronic learning offers online degree programs and online courses, for both on and off campus courses 1. This has allowed an access to education that can be always expanded and has also impacted student enrollment throughout many universities. Today, instructors around the world are being encouraged to utilize alternative and flexible delivery methods within a number of universities in North America and in other countries. In North America, virtually every institution of higher education conducts some form of e- learning. Australia has adopted e-learning technology on a broad scale to bridge the distances separating its population centers. In addition, UK, Europe, and Japan are steady adopters, while interest is continuing to grow in many other regions around the world 2. This paper will evaluate three learning management systems (LMS): WebCT, Blackboard, and a new global environment for learning (ANGEL). Each LMS program is based on the ability to