Recently I was invited to present our dyssynchrony model to several engineers and a physiologist at the Medtronic facility in Moundsview, MN. The presentation went well, I received valuable input and insightful critiques from the Medtronic engineers and scientist. Another positive note to that meeting was that IRE strengthened one of it's industry partnerships. One of the Medtronic scientists, DR. Larry Mulligan, is planning to visit IRE to collaborate on our dyssynchronny project. I look forward to the input we will receive and to the strengthened relationships we are building with industry partners on the Iron Range and across Minnesota.
As for the project itself, the fourth iteration of our model is now showing some results. We have added inertia into the model, increasing the accuracy by taking into account the kinetic energy and dynamic pressure developed by the blood being pumped through the heart. We are still checking and testing to verify the accuracy of the model. Soon, and with the help of our industry partner, Medtronic, and specifically Dr. Larry Mulligan, we will be able to make more progress, perhaps in leaps and bounds.
Proofed by Janelle McNally
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Today we (IRE interns) had our first design review. Here we established a base idea of the work we are going to accomplish this summer. This includes continuing our design projects, IRE program development, community service, as well as professional and technical improvement. We also developed a time budget for all these areas. Finally we determined the next steps in our designs to set a scope for the next few weeks.
Also, Iron Range Engineering received an award from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for Excellence in Curriculum Programming.
Proofed by: Deric
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Power Trowel Prototype Test 1
We spent today at ICC building and testing the first prototype of the Power Trowel Solution Applicator. We ran the pump to check our system for weak points where further improvements are needed. We checked the current draw for the pump under a load, as well as the actual voltage produced by the battery. The next step will be to modify the system and check again with the actual chemical solution rather than only water.
Proofed by Erin
Proofed by Erin
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
High School Visit.
Today, ten students from Hill City High School came to visit ICC Engineering. These students were prospective engineering students. They came here to learn what engineering is and how to do some simple experiments. When they first got here, Cory and I greeted them at the door and then brought them into our classroom for a presentation. We told them about ICC Engineering and IRE and a little about the process we went through in our education. After that, we gave a presentation on our project with Spring Creek Outfitters. We showed them our process and experiments we have done so far. They seemed very interested in the way we learn and how are curriculum is set up. After our presentation, the students learned some chemistry and did a bio-diesel experiment with Gordy Savela. Before the students headed back home they had a demonstration on the process of printing using the rapid prototype printer, and were able to see some finished products. Overall, the students seemed very interested in engineering and the ICC program.
Proofed by: Cory
Monday, May 24, 2010
IRE Summer Interns
Iron Range Engineering (IRE) has hired 5 interns to work on summer projects this year. We will be keeping you updated throughout the weeks on what we are working on and what next year will entail for the students. We will be working on and finishing up projects from the previous semester. These projects include the Body Scanner, Power Trowel Solution Applicator, and the Pedal-Powered Canoe. These three projects have also been entered into the student division of the MN Cup; the MN cup is an annual, statewide competition that seeks out aspiring entrepreneurs and their breakthrough ideas. Other projects that need finishing up are the Condenser testing at MN Power, where a few students this summer will be going over there to take numerous tests, as well as the Dust Collector project at UTAC where one of our Interns there will be working on and hopefully finishing up. One Intern may also be spending some time working at Polymet.
Other jobs for the summer include doing community service. We will be going up to the North Shore, hopefully a few times this summer to help with some work in the state forests. A group goes this week for the first trip up there. We will also be helping at ICC with camps and projects as well as designing and building some equipment for IRE. We also plan to do some editing and rewriting of some of the grading rubrics. Another possible work opportunity is oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. So as it looks, we plan to have a pretty busy summer ahead of us and will keep you updated.
Proofed by: Alexander Learmont
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Raising the Bar: Employers' Views on College Learning
If a person could design an education to look like that described in this study. It would look a lot like IRE!
Raising the Bar: Employers' Views on College Learning in the Wake of
the Economic Downturn
On behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities,
Hart Research Associates interviewed 302 employers whose organizations
have at least 25 employees and report that 25% or more of their new
hires hold either an associate's degree from a two-year college or a
bachelor's degree from a four-year college. The interviews were
conducted from October 27 to November 17, 2009, Respondents were
executives at private sector and non-profit organizations, including
owners, CEOs, presidents, C-suite level executives, and vice
presidents.
Employers want their employees to use a broader set of skills and have
higher levels of learning and knowledge than in the past to meet the
increasingly complex demands they will face in the workplace. Within
this context, to the degree that employers' emphasis on hiring will be
affected by the economic downturn, the shift will be toward greater
emphasis on hiring four-year college graduates.
● Only one in four employers thinks that two-year and four-year
colleges are doing a good job in preparing students for the challenges
of the global economy. A majority of respondents think that both two-
and four-year colleges need to make at least some improvements to
prepare students for the global economy, including one in five who
thinks that significant changes are needed.
● Employers endorse learning outcomes for college graduates that
are developed through a blend of liberal and applied learning.
● Employers believe that colleges can best prepare graduates for
long-term career success by helping them develop both a broad range of
skills and knowledge and in-depth skills and knowledge in a specific
field or major.
● Employers endorse several emerging educational practices that
two-and four-year colleges are implementing to ensure that students
graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed after
graduation. They are most supportive of practices that demonstrate a)
students' acquisition of both depth of knowledge in their major and
broad skills; b) students' ability to apply their college learning in
real-world settings; and c) their development of ability to conduct
research and develop evidence-based analysis. They also see potential in
practices that require focus on ethical decision-making and require
direct experience with methods of science to understand how scientific
judgments are made.
● A majority of employers believe that colleges should place
greater emphasis on a variety of learning outcomes developed through a
liberal education, which include the following:
Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world
Concepts and new developments in science and technology (70%)
The ability to understand the global context of situations and
decisions (67%)
Global issues and developments and their implications for the
future (65%)
The role of the United States in the world
Cultural diversity in America and other countries (57%)
Intellectual and practical skills
The ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing
(89%)
Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills (81%)
The ability to analyze and solve complex problems (75%)
Teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in
diverse group settings (71%)
The ability to innovate and be creative (70%)
The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from
multiple sources (68%)
The ability to work with numbers and understand statistics (63%)
Personal
and social responsibility
The ability to connect choices and actions to ethical decisions
(75%)
Civic knowledge, civic participation, and community engagement
(52%)
Integrative learning
The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings
through internships or other hands-on experiences (79%)
Employers indicate that, just as the challenges facing their employees
are more complex today than in the past, their expectations of employees
also have increased. The vast majority of employers say their
organizations are looking for employees to use a broader set of skills
and have higher levels of learning and knowledge than in the past.
Nearly 88% of employers agree that the challenges their employees face
within their organization are more complex today than they were before,
and a similar proportion say that to succeed in their organization,
employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge today than they
did in the past.
In thinking about what they ask of their employees today compared with
in the past, nine in 10 (91%) employers acknowledge that they are asking
their employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader
range of skills. A similar proportion (90%) expect their employees to
work harder to coordinate with other departments. This more complex
environment and resulting increased expectations are reported by
employers across the board-regardless of the number of employees and
whether they experienced layoffs over the past year.
Hart Research Associates for the Association of American Colleges and
Universities
January 10, 2010
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf
Raising the Bar: Employers' Views on College Learning in the Wake of
the Economic Downturn
On behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities,
Hart Research Associates interviewed 302 employers whose organizations
have at least 25 employees and report that 25% or more of their new
hires hold either an associate's degree from a two-year college or a
bachelor's degree from a four-year college. The interviews were
conducted from October 27 to November 17, 2009, Respondents were
executives at private sector and non-profit organizations, including
owners, CEOs, presidents, C-suite level executives, and vice
presidents.
Employers want their employees to use a broader set of skills and have
higher levels of learning and knowledge than in the past to meet the
increasingly complex demands they will face in the workplace. Within
this context, to the degree that employers' emphasis on hiring will be
affected by the economic downturn, the shift will be toward greater
emphasis on hiring four-year college graduates.
● Only one in four employers thinks that two-year and four-year
colleges are doing a good job in preparing students for the challenges
of the global economy. A majority of respondents think that both two-
and four-year colleges need to make at least some improvements to
prepare students for the global economy, including one in five who
thinks that significant changes are needed.
● Employers endorse learning outcomes for college graduates that
are developed through a blend of liberal and applied learning.
● Employers believe that colleges can best prepare graduates for
long-term career success by helping them develop both a broad range of
skills and knowledge and in-depth skills and knowledge in a specific
field or major.
● Employers endorse several emerging educational practices that
two-and four-year colleges are implementing to ensure that students
graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed after
graduation. They are most supportive of practices that demonstrate a)
students' acquisition of both depth of knowledge in their major and
broad skills; b) students' ability to apply their college learning in
real-world settings; and c) their development of ability to conduct
research and develop evidence-based analysis. They also see potential in
practices that require focus on ethical decision-making and require
direct experience with methods of science to understand how scientific
judgments are made.
● A majority of employers believe that colleges should place
greater emphasis on a variety of learning outcomes developed through a
liberal education, which include the following:
Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world
Concepts and new developments in science and technology (70%)
The ability to understand the global context of situations and
decisions (67%)
Global issues and developments and their implications for the
future (65%)
The role of the United States in the world
Cultural diversity in America and other countries (57%)
Intellectual and practical skills
The ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing
(89%)
Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills (81%)
The ability to analyze and solve complex problems (75%)
Teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in
diverse group settings (71%)
The ability to innovate and be creative (70%)
The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from
multiple sources (68%)
The ability to work with numbers and understand statistics (63%)
Personal
and social responsibility
The ability to connect choices and actions to ethical decisions
(75%)
Civic knowledge, civic participation, and community engagement
(52%)
Integrative learning
The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings
through internships or other hands-on experiences (79%)
Employers indicate that, just as the challenges facing their employees
are more complex today than in the past, their expectations of employees
also have increased. The vast majority of employers say their
organizations are looking for employees to use a broader set of skills
and have higher levels of learning and knowledge than in the past.
Nearly 88% of employers agree that the challenges their employees face
within their organization are more complex today than they were before,
and a similar proportion say that to succeed in their organization,
employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge today than they
did in the past.
In thinking about what they ask of their employees today compared with
in the past, nine in 10 (91%) employers acknowledge that they are asking
their employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader
range of skills. A similar proportion (90%) expect their employees to
work harder to coordinate with other departments. This more complex
environment and resulting increased expectations are reported by
employers across the board-regardless of the number of employees and
whether they experienced layoffs over the past year.
Hart Research Associates for the Association of American Colleges and
Universities
January 10, 2010
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Raft Cart Completion
I just thought I would show everybody how the raft cart turned out. We all had a lot of fun building our own design, getting first hand experience in the welding shop.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Final Grading
The students at IRE just took their second practice FE exam. This was an eight hour test, and the primary purpose of doing this is to find the areas where we need to study. It will also show the areas that are already known—much like a demonstration. Both cases are going to help justify our grade. We are also preparing to take our last written and oral exams (10th-13th). After the exams, we will have a chance to negotiate our grade. Overall, the next week and a half is going to be filled with learning material and receiving our final grade for the first time in IRE.
Proofed by Dan Huju
Proofed by Dan Huju
Medtronic Project Update
The goal of the project Matthew and I are working on this semester is to create a computational model for dyssynchrony (a medical condition where part of the heart does not beat at the same time or strength as another) in the heart. We are up to our third edition of this model--each edition removes assumptions and adds variables, which increases accuracy of the model as compared to a real heart. We created this model and found that it was not giving us answers that correlate with the physiology of the heart. We thought this meant that there was either a problem with our math, or we made a mistake when constructing the computer model. We fixed a few mistakes, but for about the last ten days, we have been troubleshooting trying to find the problems in the model because it still is incorrect.
We finally brought in our instructor, Dan Ewert, to take a good look at the model. Together, we tried to trace the problems to where we thought they should be. No luck. Then, we fiddled with a few settings to get a clearer picture of some very specific parts of the model, and miraculously, the problem was fixed. The whole time we were looking for problems in the math and the model, but the program was the issue. MATLAB was trying to make logical leaps that caused several of the equations to fall apart.
Our project will now conclude with an accurate model describing a heart with dyssynchrony, and I learned to never eliminate any possible source of error--just because it is supposedly infallible.
Proofed by Dan Huju
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Mankato Presentations
On Thursday April, 29th we traveled to Mankato to present our junior projects to the engineering students and faculty at MNSU. While we were there, we had the chance to watch a few senior design projects. It was fun to see what the students have been working on the last year. It opened our eyes to different tools and processes we can incorporate into our own projects. After our presentations the Mankato faculty had a few useful suggestions of ways we can improve our designs. Though we were a little nervous to be in front of a new crowd, we all presented well. In the end it proved to be a positive experience we can use to improve upon.
Proofed by Tyler Bartek
Proofed by Tyler Bartek
The End Draws Near
With a mere 7 days left to wrap up our first semester at IRE our days will most likely start to grow longer. Austin and I's Power Trowel project still needs a corresponding tech paper, a polished power point for our final design reviews, and a whole bunch of related learning. This tech paper will set the stage for the summer interns to continue on our work on the project and bring it to completion. On thursday we have our final design reviews with some extra guest to critique and pick apart our designs. We need our power point to answer most of their questions before they are asked. Next week is when we get to prove our learning so finding some related competencies will help tremendously. It is important to pass after all. Four days of written testing and oral examinations will decide so very much for our grades that learning is the number one concern on my mind right now.
Proofed by: Deric
Proofed by: Deric
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