The Student Projects Lab and Shop (SPLASh) - Program Proposal
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SPLASh is a model program to demonstrate the practical application of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education to develop technologists. Introduction ! SPLASh is a program organized by the DeAnza Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering (PSME) Division intended to encourage and facilitate student interest in the fields of Engineering, Robotics, and Applied Science. Its goal is to encourage and foster an interdisciplinary environment that will give all students an outlet for individual creativity and team ingenuity. This environment will emphasize the use of technology and material recycling as a focus in the implementation of student ideas to practical projects. ! SPLASh is administered by PSME, but will not be restricted to PSME students. SPLASh is a multidisciplinary effort to enhance learning in all fields by introducing students to the practical, hands-on activities that use the concepts learned in the classroom. ! SPLASh participants will demonstrate the concepts and practice of environmental responsibility to the Foothill – DeAnza campuses and surrounding community. SPLASh will be an inspiration for the practical, small scale implementation of green technology and sustainable living, as well as a benefit to traditional science laboratories across the DeAnza campus. ! SPLASh is a showcase for the ingenuity and dedication of DeAnza students, and a preparation and development of skills essential to their continuing education. ! This document gives the basic requirements to establish the SPLASh program, broken down into several general areas: setting up the SPASh facility, a practical justification for SPLASh, a proposed SPLASh curriculum, and funding SPLASh. It is focused on the materials and facilities required for SPLASh. The document will give insight into the potential benefit of SPLASh to the entire campus community. A background for SPLASh ! One of the precursors to SPLASh can be seen in the Engineering Technology Club and Robotics club (ETC). The club has constructed some student-inspired projects such as a Tesla coil, trebuchet, photoelectric demonstrator, and a compact disk parabolic mirror / solar cooker. The club has participated in intra-campus competitions with neighboring community college campuses. However, the clubʼs demonstration projects are largely unknown and unseen by much of the DeAnza community. Some projects have continued over several years solely due to the difficulty of procuring new equipment from vendors. Some club efforts have been made possible by personal equipment and supplies provided by staff and faculty, but if the club advisors are not able to provide equipment and funds as needed, the club is in danger of stagnating because of the lack of activities to keep members interested. ! Clearly, students have the inspiration and are willing to put in the effort to accomplish engineering projects. The ETC website lists many former members and
officers who credit ETC activities as a factor in their acceptance to prestigious four-year colleges and universities. At the same time, initial ETC interest after club day has fallen off due, in part, to the long lead time between planning projects and getting materials, and the unavailability of facilities outside of Friday afternoons and some weekday evenings. ! SPLASh takes student involvement to a new level by providing them with the guidance, materials, and the facilities to channel the energy they have demonstrated. SPLASh expands the STEM educational movement outside the classroom into large, practical, interdisciplinary projects to inspire and encourage other students into the program. SPLASh provides equal opportunity for practical experience to students who have not been selected for internship programs. ! SPLASh provides the facilities and materials to students without the worry that they must rely on club advisors. SPLASh will coordinate its resources and those of faculty and staff to ensure that there is no “single-point failure” if an advisor is not able to provide the equipment necessary or provide time when the students are able to work. SPLASh will facilitate creativity by providing a center of coordination for faculty, staff, and students to provide time and expertise, not only as ideas, but practical, hands-on proposals, methods, and solutions. ! SPLASh offers the focus to link disciplines through practical projects. Just as the Learning in Communities (LinC) program presents students with interdisciplinary concepts, SPLASh offers the opportunity for cooperative efforts, particularly among the sciences, which can be displayed and demonstrated to the DeAnza community. ! SPLASh provides a history for DeAnza student achievements. Student projects will be documented and not be one time events that are displayed once and then forgotten. SPLASh will provide the expertise to submit articles and editorials to professional journals and local newspapers/magazines to promote DeAnza college and its student activities, not only documenting student successes, but giving students a sense of pride in seeing their name in print. ! With the current budget situation, students are often not able to find the classes they need to work toward their goals past DeAnza College. SPLASh would give students an alternate way to channel their energy and gain practical knowledge and experience that they are unable to get with the traditional community college curricula and class schedule. ! Transfer students are often at a disadvantage because four-year universities offer established, comprehensive programs, such as the University of California Berkeleyʼs Robotics and Intelligent Machines Lab, which give students a continuous exposure to and immersion in the use of technology. By the time transfer students enter such a program, they are behind their peers who started in such a program from the beginning. The Student Projects Laboratory and Shop ! The essential component of the SPLASh program is the Student Projects Lab and Shop facility. Outside of DeAnza Club activities and other exceptions, the practical hands-on learning experience is restricted to the laboratory schedule and in most cases,
there is no laboratory available. SPLASh will give students the opportunity to use these facilities on their own time with the proper supervision. ! Unlike traditional laboratories, SPLASh will be an open facility. This is essential for fostering creativity and ensuring efficient work practices. While some students are be productive during regular school hours, other student engineers are most active and get their best inspiration in the evening hours. Also, some students are frustrated when restricted to fixed activity periods. SPLASh offers the opportunity for efficient learning. Some students would prefer to keep working on a project if they feel they are making good progress, rather than interrupting the process and waiting until the next day or next lab period before being able to continue. Some students need time to absorb and process concepts and their creative process is stifled if they get their understanding and inspiration at the end of the period, but cannot continue to develop their insight. ! Even before the recent California budget cuts, access to engineering, robotics, and other project materials is a very expensive proposition. By using recycled material such as car parts, discarded electronic apparatus like printers, VCR players, computer components, etc., the student has access to sophisticated electronic/robotic materials such as sensors, harnesses, motors, and gearboxes at minimum cost. This will also encourage recycling by creating very sophisticated projects out of discarded materials, i.e., “Junk”. ! In addition to giving students the opportunity to work with technology, SPLASh would give students a way to document their experiences which will enhance their acceptance at a four year institution. SPLASh will also give the student the chance to earn credit for their studies. If interested faculty members can be found, SPLASh facilities can be used to offer the students 0.5 credit hour courses in special/advanced projects. ! A primary emphasis of SPLASh is the concept of recycling and reuse of waste material. Once SPLASh facilities have been put into place, SPLASh activities will continue at low cost because, with few exceptions, many project materials will come from electronic equipment which is scheduled for surplus and disposal, as well as car sensors, motors, regulators, fuses, etc. These materials can cost hundreds of dollars new, but just a few dollars in a junk yard. ! Finally, SPLASh can give DeAnza College laboratories in traditional subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science) an opportunity to use advanced technology sooner than would be available through regular funding sources. One of the purposes of SPLASh would be to build laboratory equipment that can be used in laboratories around the DeAnza campus. Laboratory programs have equipment needs that are difficult to fund. Some equipment is too expensive to purchase without years of proposals and advanced planning, and some funding sources, such as Measure C, have restrictions that prevent the purchase of equipment that does not meet a threshold amount or fall within specific categories. Some equipment is needed in a more timely fashion than can be obtained through regular funding sources to incorporate world events as “teaching moments” such as the recent tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan. SPLASh provides the capability for DeAnza instructors to request customized instrumentation systems and the facilities to manufacture them to the instructorsʼ needs and specifications. These systems include area monitors for environmental studies, detectors for geologic and meteorological events, and mass and motion triggered
sensors for physics experiments. Such specialized equipment uses basic sensors. A light sensor might incorporate a filter to detect a certain energy of light or substance in the environment, or can be combined with a light source to form a gate for detecting motion. Implementing the concept of recycling and reuse, this technology would be available at a fraction of the cost of purchasing it from a vendor.
Cost estimate for establishing the SPLASh ! A detailed cost estimate is provided in the attached appendices. The following is a summary of the estimated costs. Some categories are rounded upwards to account for sales tax and shipping expenses. These costs do not account for any discounts or incentives negotiated with the vendors. Setting up SPLASh SPLASh facilities ! A key component of SPLASh is a dedicated room or rooms for the storage of equipment and, more importantly, a space where students may work, uninterrupted, on their projects. While students are responsible for keeping SPLASh facilities clean and organized, they would not have to completely disassemble a project or experiment at the end of a session. It is imperative that students take responsibility for the integrity and smooth operation of the lab. The laboratory Storage ! Storage in SPLASh will be wall mounted shelving units. The project shelving units will be configured to allow a laboratory cart to be wheeled in. The shelves will be installed above the laboratory cart and have doors for security and earthquake safety. There will also be tools and equipment storage on heavy duty shelves, also with doors for security and safety. There will be two sets of tilt storage bins mounted on the wall or on the back of a door, as space permits. SPLASh will have four laboratory work benches. Large storage bins will be available for student projects sized such that they will completely contain the project with no disassembly required. Equipment ! SPLASh will have the electronic, mechanical, and electrical tools to support building projects and recycling equipment. – Electronic equipment ! SPLASh will have the equipment required to build student projects and recycle electronic equipment.
– Mechanical equipment ! SPLASh will have the equipment necessary to build mechanical projects. – Computer equipment ! SPLASh will have one FHDA district computer to run FHDA licensed software. SPLASh will have several computers for design and testing of projects with unrestricted software, and these computers will be surplus or donated equipment. – Software ! SPLASh computers will have software necessary for the design of mechanical, electronic, and electrical components, and for computer and microprocessor programming. – Startup Supplies ! SPLASh will acquire basic supplies to begin student projects. After the initial issue, the SPLASh will obtain components and raw materials from surplus equipment. – Recommended equipment ! Two critical pieces of equipment are essential, if the budget allows. The first is a laser cutter which is used for manufacturing precision pieces from wood, plastic, or metal. The laser cutter should be as powerful as allowed within the budget. The second is a large format display. SPLASh manager and instructors will use this board as a teaching tool. This will enable them to display prepared lectures and demonstrations, and also retain any modifications made during the class or teaching sessions. – Safety equipment ! SPLASh will have safety equipment available for small groups. – Support ! SPLASh will be supported by manager who will act as a dedicated technical assistant, and act as a contractor for SPLASh facilities, as required.
Summary Category Estimated cost Storage $10,000 Electrical/electronic equipment $7,500 Mechanical equipment $7,500 Computer equipment $2,500 Software $1,000 Startup supplies $5,000 Recommended equipment $12,500 Safety equipment $5,000 SPLASh manager / contracting costs $100,000 Total $151,000 Faculty support ! SPLASh will solicit support from faculty willing to supervise selected students for academic credit for advanced projects. Funding SPLASh ! SPLASh will probably be funded from multiple sources for flexibility. Some sources may allow SPLASh to purchase surplus equipment or scrap materials.
Sample SPLASh program Laboratories and tutorials ! ! The 3 Basics of robotics “RMD, PAI, RES” ! ! Robotics mechanical design (RMD) ! ! ! Gearing ! ! ! Servo installation ! ! ! Basic mechanical design, legs, arms, bodies, etc ! ! ! Motion tracking and balancing ! ! Programming and AI (PAI) ! ! ! Requires Basic programming skills ! ! ! Understanding AI modules ! ! Robotic Electronic Systems (RES) ! ! ! Sensors ! ! ! Step motors ! ! ! Servos ! ! ! Primitive CPUs ! ! ! Circuit design and testing ! ! Reverse engineering ! ! Mechanical ! ! Electronic ! ! Environmental systems ! ! Power generation ! ! Solar ! ! ! Parabolic mirrors ! ! ! Solar Panels ! ! ! Evaporation methods ! ! Wind ! ! ! Turbines ! ! ! Kites ! ! Water ! ! ! Turbines ! ! ! Water wheels! ! ! ! ! Material recycling ! ! Car parts “Sensors, Harnesses, Motors, Gearboxes, etc” ! ! Waste “Cans, Bottles, Inner tubes, Construction waste, etc” Components “Printers, VCRs, TVs, etc”
SPLASh anecdotes Ernest Rutherford ! One of the inspirations for SPLASh is Ernest Rutherford, known as the father of nuclear physics. Rutherford was known for constructing experimental apparatus from ordinary materials, and inspired the experimental work of his laboratory assistants. Robotics competition ! The Robotic Competition, originally funded by the University of California at Santa Cruz under the Developing Effective Engineering Pathways (DEEP) project, is an example of the need for SPLASh facilities at all community college practices. ! One recent example of this is the Robotics Competition. DeAnza College students were able to work on their robots in the evening with the supervision of a staff member. Ohlone College students were restricted to times when they could be directly supervised by a faculty member, except for the night before the competition when the faculty advisor allowed the student to work in his garage so that they could finish the project in time. This gave the DeAnza Engineering Technology Club an edge and may have been a factor in their success. Wind assisted propulsion system ! Fortunato, the originator of the SPLASh concept, was contracted to build a prototype, shipboard, wind propulsion system. This system used various sensors to monitor the the ship and the sail, and employed a robotics system to adjust the sail for optimum operation. The project was almost deemed as impractical due to the estimated $7000 cost of the prototype system, but Fortunato used recycled auto parts to build the system for $900. Physics laboratory equipment ! The DeAnza Physics Department long term plan is to incorporate the use of computerized data acquisition and analysis (DAQ) in the laboratory program. One way of obtaining this equipment is by purchasing an equipment package from a vendor. This package would contain the proper sensors to monitor any experiment that an instructor might design, and would meet funding restrictions of the intended source, Measure C. However, with any package, some unnecessary material would be included, and purchase of only the equipment needed would not meet the Measure C funding restrictions. In order to equip a full laboratory section with DAQ, the expense would be over $42,000. SPLASh would provide the same capability for 1/3 the cost or less.
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