DEVELOPMENT OF ON-LINE NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS COURSES: A CASE STUDY Sohail Anwar Pennsylvania State University-Altoona College Altoona, Pennsylvania Jane LeClair Excelsior College Albany, New York Abstract Excelsior College, a well known distance learning higher education institution, has recently started implementing nanotechnology and power systems concentrations in its on-line Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology Program (BSEET). In addition to the electronics concentration which already exists in the BSEET Program, students will have the option of a 15 credit-hour concentration in nanotechnology or power systems. All the courses in either concentration will be taught on-line. In each of these concentrations, students will be required to complete five on-line 3 credit-hour upper division courses. Two of them will include on-line laboratories. The Excelsior College s nanotechnology and power systems concentrations will address the technical workforce shortage in the disciplinary areas of nanotechnology and electrical power systems by providing education and training at the undergraduate level to the technicians and the technologists. The program will be geared to adult learners, and features distance delivery of courses including laboratories, as well as opportunities for assessment of the current level of students proficiency for course credit. This manuscript focuses on a description of the on-line courses which the students will need to take as a requirement for the completion of Excelsior College BSEET (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology) program concentrations in the disciplinary areas of nanotechnology and electrical power systems. The manuscript also provides information regarding several issues to be dealt with during the development and on-line delivery of the above mentioned courses. The strategies used by Excelsior College to deal with these issues are described in the manuscript.
Introduction The numerous developments in the emerging field of nanotechnology and the potential for more in the future underscore a need for educating the future technical workforce in nanoscience and technology. It is necessary that science and technology graduates develop a good understanding of this rapidly developing technology. They should be able to integrate the key concepts of nanotechnology into their knowledge bases. Academic programs in nanotechnology should be interdisciplinary in nature and need to include several academic disciplines such as materials science, chemistry, biology, physics, and electronics [1]. Realizing the need for providing nanotechnology education and training at the undergraduate level to technicians and engineering technologists. Excelsior College has recently started implementing a 15 credit-hour Nanotechnology Concentration within its on-line Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology Program (BSEET). Students will be required to complete five on-line 3 credit-hour upper division courses. Two of them will include on-line labs. Excelsior College s 15 credit-hour Power Systems concentration within its BSEET Program will help to address the workforce training needs of both the electric utility industry and the manufacturers of electrical systems. Electrical utility planning, design, and operation departments require a staff of engineers with a wide range of power systems skills to deal with systems that continue to grow in size and complexity. This engineering workforce need stems from the deployment of new and advanced technologies, changing customer expectations, and the addition of new services being offered by electric utilities. Faced with improving current employees skills, the industry must also prepare to rebuild its workforce. The graduates of Excelsior College BSEET Power Systems Concentration will have a strong foundation in measurement systems, power electronics, programmable logic controllers, rotating machinery, computers, control systems, and power generation, transmission, and distribution. They will learn how to integrate power electronics, energy storage, and renewable energy sources into the electric grid. They will also learn how to diagnose and control electric power system faults. General Description of Program Concentrations The curriculum for Excelsior College Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology (with concentrations in electronics, power systems, and nanotechnology) is presented in Figure 1. This undergraduate degree program requires 124 semester hours of credit including 60 credit hours in Arts and Sciences.
The key advantage of offering on-line nanotechnology and power systems courses will be a virtual classroom that is available anywhere: at school, at work, at home, or even on a trip. In addition to the geographic and temporal independence, the on-line nanotechnology courses being developed by Excelsior College will be of significant help in enhancing the communication skills of students. The students taking these courses will be able to communicate both synchronously and asynchronously using web-based electronic mail, chat rooms, and electronic whiteboards. As mentioned before, the planned Nanotechnology Concentration comprises five on-line upper level undergraduate courses listed as follows: Introduction to Nanotechnology Basic Nanofabrication Process Nanotechnology Process Equipment Introduction to Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) The five courses of the Power Systems Concentration are as follows: Programmable Logic Controllers Instrumentation and Data Acquisition Electrical Machines Generation and Transmission of Electric Power Power Electronics
Figure 1: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology Program with the Electronics, Power Systems, and Nanotechnology Concentrations
Nanotechnology Program Concentration and the On-line Courses At Excelsior College, the on-line instruction in nanotechnology is being phased in gradually. At present, four on-line nanotechnology courses have been developed. Two of them have been offered so far. The third one will be offered in 2011. The first on-line nanotechnology core course which was developed at Excelsior College is titled Introduction to nanotechnology. It is a 3 credit-hour on-line course that does not have a lab component. The course is offered at the junior level of a 4-year undergraduate degree. The topical coverage for this course consists of: Manipulation of Materials at Nanoscale Carbon Nanotubes Semiconductor Quantum Dots Nanoparticles Nanoshells Nanobiology Applications Nanosensors Applications Nanomedicines Molecular Nanomachines Since this is an on-line course, all the students are required to have access to the following computing resources: A reasonably up-to-date personal computer that runs Windows 98 or later. Availability to MS-Office, especially Word Capability to open and display PDF files A working and reliable internet connection with a current Web Browser. The second on-line nanotechnology course developed at Excelsior College is titled Introduction to Nanofabrication Processes (ELEC 310). This 4 credit-hour course provides an introduction and basic understanding of the fundamental principles of nanofabrication processes used in industrial and research applications of nanotechnology. This course describes the industrial scaling of nanofabrication techniques and showcases examples of specific industrial applications in electronics, photonics, chemistry, biology, medicine, defense, and energy. The course descriptions for the other three courses included in the on-line Nanotechnology Concentration within the BSEET Degree Program are as follows:
Nanotechnology Process Equipment This course is intended to provide a description and understanding of the equipment used in nanofabrication processes at the manufacturing level as well as at the research and development stages. Nanotechnology, 300-mm wafer processing, Green processes and devices, new fabrication advances, as well as non-vacuum processing tools will be discussed. Examples of equipment used in applications for micro/nanoelectronics and photovoltaics processing will be presented. Introduction to Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology (NMT). Students will learn the basic concepts of NMT and then study its applications. Micro-electromechanical Systems This course focuses on MEMS and NEMS. Topical coverage includes MEMS and NEMS architecture, synthesis, modeling, and control. The courses titled Introduction to Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology and MEMS will include on-line lab components. The lab experiences in these two courses will be provided through the use of on-line lab components. The lab experiences in these two courses will be provided through the use of on-line simulation techniques. The simulations will be conducted using the resources available at nanohub.org. The examples of such simulations include nanoscale device simulations, quantum dot simulations, and nanowire simulations. Power Systems Program Concentration and the On-line Courses The Excelsior College Power Systems Concentration will focus on the following three study areas: Power systems: Focusing on the most economic, most reliable ways to assemble and operate a large electric power network, given its inherent nonlinearities and uncertainties. Power Electronics: Concentrating on better, more reliable ways to design, analyze, and control switching power converters.
Electric Machines: Studying devices for converting motion into electromagnetic energy, and vice-versa, with a special emphasis on control issues. The five courses constituting the Power Systems Concentration are described as follows: Instrumentation and Data Acquisition Purpose: This course provides an introduction to virtual instrumentation and data acquisition. Topics covered include: LabVIEW Basics, Introduction to Virtual Instruments (VIs), Building Virtual Instruments, Math Script, Editing Virtual Instruments, Debugging Virtual Instruments (VIs), Introduction to Sub VIs, Creating and Saving Sub VIs, Structures, Charts and Graphs, and Data Acquisition. Lab Overview: Students will use LabVIEW to develop, edit, and debug virtual instruments. They will create virtual instrumentation applications. Also, they will develop data acquisition applications using LabVIEW. Course Objectives: This course will provide students with the ability to: 1. Develop virtual instruments. 2. Use different techniques to debug virtual instruments. 3. Create virtual instrumentation applications. 4. Develop data acquisition applications. Generation and Transmission of Electric Power Purpose: This course focuses on electric power generation and transmission systems. Topics covered include Power Flow, Economic Scheduling of Electric Power Generation, Transmission Operations, and Power System Faults. Course prerequisites include Electrical Machines. Lab Overview: Students will use LabVIEW to model transmission lines and to solve economic dispatch problems. Students will solve load flow problems. In addition, students will analyze the characteristics and performance of a given electric power system. Course Objectives: This course will provide students with the ability to: 1. Explain generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy. 2. Analyze operating characteristics of AC transmission lines. 3. Analyze the characteristics and performance of a given AC electrical power system.
4. Perform load flow analysis of a given AC electrical power system. 5. Explain various power system security issues. Power Electronics Purpose: This course will cover principles of operation of power semiconductor devices such as Thyristors and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors. It will also cover Power Diodes, Power Transistors, Single-Phase Rectifiers, Three-Phrase Rectifiers, DC Choppers, Inverters, and AC Voltage Controllers. Course prerequisites include: DC and AC Circuits, Analog Electronics (Electronics I and II). Lab Overview: Students will use LabVIEW to analyze power converter circuits. They will analyze the operation and characteristics of single-phase and three-phase rectifiers. In addition, they will analyze the characteristics of AC voltage controllers. Course Objectives: This course will provide students with the ability to: 1. Explain operating characteristics of power semiconductor devices. 2. Analyze and design power converter circuits. 3. Calculate losses in power devices. 4. Analyze characteristics of single-phase and three-phase rectifiers. Electrical Machines/Energy Conversion Purpose: This course will cover: Principles of Energy Conversion, DC Generators, DC Motors, Three-Phase Circuits, Transformers, Three-Phase Induction Motors, Synchronous Generators, Synchronous Motors, Single-Phase Motors, and Stepper Motors. Course prerequisites include: DC and AC Circuits. Lab Overview: Students will use LabVIEW to analyze the characteristics of motors and generators. They will analyze the characteristics of transformers. Course Objectives: This course will provide students with the ability to analyze: 1. Basic motor and generator systems. 2. The characteristics of three-phase transformers. 3. The characteristics of three-phase motors. 4. The characteristics of synchronous motors and generators.
Programmable Logic Controllers Purpose: This course introduces students to programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Topics covered include PLC programming, troubleshooting, networking, and industrial applications. Lab Overview: Students will use LogixPro PLC simulator to develop, edit, and debug PLC ladder logic programs. Course Objectives: This course will provide the students with the ability to: Develop an understanding of PLC hardware. Use modern PLC programming tools to develop functional ladder logic diagrams. Develop an understanding of the use of PLC digital and analog input modules to monitor the state of switches, pushbuttons, relays and other digital and analog indicators typical of PLC applications. Develop an understanding of the use of PLC digital and analog output modules to operate relays, lights, display modules, alarms, actuators, motors, and control circuits typical of PLC applications. Course Delivery and the Use of Multimedia With the advancement of the Internet, on-line instruction is becoming popular in engineering education [2]. Traditional and non-traditional colleges and universities are now using a variety of instruction tools to deliver on-line instruction to their students. WebCT is an on-line tool that facilitates the development of web-based educational environments. In the case of Excelsior College, delivery of instruction is achieved primarily through the use of WebCT distance learning tool. The key features of WebCT are listed in [3] and [4]. Excelsior College is planning to enrich the above mentioned courses with other open source simulations and demonstrations available through such sites as MERLOT and PhET at the University of Colorado. Those to be considered include: Power Electronics Simulation Software (PESIM) is a computer simulation package that delivers quick, efficient, and effective tools for learning power electronics circuit design and analysis. The PESIM package consists of the following three elements: (1) a schematic circuit editor that enables students to create and edit electronic circuits from a comprehensive set of components and function blocks; (2) a powerful calculation engine which uses efficient algorithms to speed up simulation and prevent convergency failure,
and (3) SIMVIEW, a waveform and post-processing tool that enables students to manipulate and observe simulations and their results. CASPOC provides a model of the power circuit and the control in one schematic. The simulation is extremely fast, and because special switch models are used, there are no convergence problems. The package also has: (1) special blocks for power electronics controls; (2) measurement of harmonics, RMS and average values during the simulation; and (3) a library of power electronic circuits. With CASPOC, the student can model any type of power electronics circuit as well as model switched mode power supplies, inverters and rectifiers. This software also includes and Educational Example Package for power electronics, offering more than 90 preprogrammed examples of Power Electronics simulations. A Solver for circuit Equations with User-defined Elements (SEQUEL) is a generalpurpose simulation package developed at IIT Bombay extensively used for research and development activities. It offers a large number of ready-made simulation examples that can be used in electronics and power electronics courses in a variety of ways: Assigning simulation exercises in which students tinker with parameter values and observe their effect on simulation results Assigning design problems (for which a simulation can be used to verify the design Assigning projects in which students design and simulate a complex circuit or system. Course Assessment For assessing the quality of subject matter content of each online course offered in the BSEET program, the Excelsior College School of Business and Technology (SBT) utilizes the Quality Matters Rubric developed by the Quality Matters Organization. There are several other Quality of Course rubrics available (e.g., California State University-Chico, Troy State University) and most of them are equally effective in relating the Seven Principles of Good Practice to the evaluation of the course content. The Quality Matters rubric appears to be somewhat easier to implement compared with other rubrics. Table 1 displays the quality elements used in this rubric to determine whether the course content and the student/learner support infrastructure possess the attributes that meet the standards for an acceptable online course. As shown in this table, course attributes such as the clarity of course, Overview/Introduction and Learning Objectives, quality of course Resources and Materials, the availability of adequate technology for the delivery of instruction, the infrastructure for learner support, the potential of the course for facilitating learner engagement in class activities, and the accessibility features of the course, are scored to decide whether the course being evaluated meets the Quality Matters standards.
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Conclusion Excelsior College s BSEET Nanotechnology Concentration will address the shortage of skilled workers in the emerging field of nanotechnology by providing education and training at the undergraduate level to technicians and engineering technologist members of the nanotech skills spectrum. This concentration will be geared to the training needs of adult learners and it will feature distance delivery of courses including laboratories. There are similarly pressing reasons for establishing a power system concentration. Just as oil is refined into gasoline, energy sources such as natural gas must undergo a conversion process to make electrical power. Improvements to electrical energy systems will drive the next revolution in generating, transmitting, and using electrical power, thus raising standards of living and better serving the environment. Electrical power makes the modern world run. The Excelsior College Power Systems Concentration will provide students with a high quality applications-oriented undergraduate education covering the topical areas of power electronics, rotating machinery, programmable logic controllers, and power generation, transmission, and distribution. The Power Systems Concentration is following a similar development trajectory for implementation, with the gradual introduction of optional courses augmenting the same core curriculum as the Electrical Engineering Technology Program. One of the key issues during the development of these on-line web based concentrations is the use of an appropriate software tool for the development and delivery of on-line instruction. This issue is addressed through the use of WebCT which facilitates the creation of a web-based educational environment. Another key issue is the assessment of the quality of course content. This issue is addressed through the use of an appropriate course evaluation instrument. Course attributes such as the clarity of course overview/introduction and learning outcomes, quality of course resources and materials, the availability of adequate technology for the delivery of instruction, the infrastructure for learner support, the potential of the course for facilitating learner engagement in class activities, and the accessibility features of the course are scored to assess the quality of a course. Bibliography 1. Anwar, S., J. LeClair, and A. Peskin. Development of Nanotechnology and Power Systems Options for an On-
line BSEET Degree. Proceedings of the 2010 ASEE Annual Conference. 2. Anwar, S., J. A. Rolle, and A. A. Memon. Development and Delivery of On-line Upper Division Engineering Technology Courses. Proceedings of the 2005 ASEE Annual Conference. 3. Sridhara, B. WebCT A Powerful Web-Enhanced Instruction Tool for Engineering Technology Courses. Proceedings of the 2006 ASEE Annual Conference. 4. Navaee, S. Use of WebCT in Delivering Instructions in Engineering. Proceedings of the 2001 ASEE Annual Conference. Biographical Information DR. SOHAIL ANWAR is an Associate Professor of Engineering at the Altoona College of The Pennsylvania State University. In addition, he is a Professional Associate of the Management Development Programs and Services at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Also, since 2009, he has been serving as an Invited Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Shanghai Normal University, China. Dr. Anwar is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Engineering Technology and as the Series Editor of the Nanotechnology and Energy Series, Taylor and Francis Group/CRC Press. Dr. Anwar recently edited a book titled Nanotechnology for Telecommunications published by the Taylor and Francis Group/CRC Press in June 2010. Moreover, he is co-editing a book titled Advanced Nanoelectronics and Graphene Nanoribbon Technology to be published by the Taylor and Francis Group/CRC Press in 2012. DR. JANE LECLAIR is currently the Dean of the school of Business and Technology at Excelsior College in Albany, New York. Following a 20 year career in the nuclear industry in various management positions with Constellation Energy, in addition to her position at Excelsior College, she continues to consult in the nuclear industry.