Barbara MacAlpine
Mahbub Uddin
Trinity University/San Antonio, TX
Eight Semester
Engineering Design Sequence
First
Year
Design
competitions:
•Wooden truss
•Water balloon
launcher
Eight Semester
Engineering Design Sequence
Second
Year
Team design
project:
Adaptive
equipment
for Goodwill
Eight Semester
Engineering Design Sequence
Third
Year
Electrical &
thermal:
•Traffic light
control system
•Home appliances
Eight Semester
Engineering Design Sequence
Fourth
Year
Capstone team
design:
•Year-long project
•Industry/Trinity
partnerships
Expanding Horizons:
Using Information in the 21st Century
A Quality
Enhancement Plan
For Trinity University
2008--2013
Expanding Horizons Goals
UNDERSTAND
ACCESS
USE ETHICALLY
EVALUATE
CREATE
ABET Criteria
Criterion 3. Program Outcomes
… students attain
(i) a recognition of the need for, and
an ability to engage in life-long
learning
Information Literacy Instruction
First
Year
•Databases &
patents
•Exercise on
written
communication
•Research log
My Mini-Design Problem
A
Patented
Solution
Information Literacy Instruction
Second
Year
•Adaptive
literature
•Product sources
•Govt. standards
•Patent review
LibGuide for ENGR 2182
LibGuide (detail 2)
When designing a product,
you must follow standards
that are set within the
industry and/or by the
government. Standards
sites include:
ASTM (American Society for
Testing and Materials)
ANSI (American National
Standards Institute)
…
Information Literacy Instruction
Third
Year
•Safety
requirements
•Component
specifications
•User manuals
Who is George Foreman?
Research Log
Literature Search for Design VI Appliance
Sources Searched
Terms Searched
Citation for Best Item(s)
What source was most useful and why?
Time spent on research:
Information Literacy Instruction
Fourth
Year
•Consultation
appointments
•More to come …
•Literature review
and paper
Senior design project
RESULT: “Red Rover”
1:6 scale rover model
for manned Martian
exploration, tested
(in earth gravity),
with results scaled to
a full-scale rover in
Martian gravity.
Anecdotal Assessment
“Google Scholar gathered articles from a lot of
different journals and patents.”
“The patent information and the books offered
lots of historical background.”
“The Patent Office website gave more specific
descriptions of actual products.”
“… library database (Academic Search
Complete) really helped.”
More Anecdotal Assessment
“The library databases did not have very
current information about our product.”
“Thomas Register was the least helpful.”
“Google, usually the Premiere search engine,
wasn’t very useful at narrowing our search
terms.”
“Research proved to be an important part of
the design project.” 
Most Problematic Question
5. Periodicals (magazines, journals, and
newspapers) may be found in the Coates
Library
a. on the first floor
b. on the second floor
c. on the third floor
d. on the fourth floor
e. all of the above
f. A and B and C
Early Problematic Question
1. Where is the first place you would search for
authoritative information related to an
engineering materials topic?
a.
b.
c.
d.
howstuffworks.com
Google
A library database of technical articles
Your professor’s bookcase
Faculty Assessment
More up-to-date information
Students have better understanding of
available bibliographic sources
Improved identification, retrieval techniques,
and organization of information
Students are optimizing search techniques
Future Plans
 Add ethical use to second year instruction
 Meet with all senior design teams
 Require research logs for senior designs
 Systematize assessment
 Make more rigorous
 Include patents
 Start with first year students
 Develop faculty assessment mechanism
Acknowledgements
Bird feeder Patent # 5,937,788 (Google Patents)
George Foreman ad courtesy of Flickr (eskeleton)
George Foreman Grill picture courtesy of Flickr
(nwistheone)
Red Rover (http://www.trinity.edu/departments/engineering/Program.html)
Squirrel picture courtesy of anonymous (apologies)
Weed eater picture courtesy of Flickr (tstadler)