Fall Forum showcases faculty scholarly projects
The annual MSOE Professional Development Fall Forum is Thursday, Nov. 13 from 12 to 1 p.m. in Diercks Hall Atrium. The forum showcases the exciting scholarly projects faculty are leading across campus. Presenters represent three groups through Protracted Leave, Summer Development Grants and KEEN Grants. Learn more about projects in the abstracts below.
Protracted Leave Projects
1. Executive Retirement – Understanding the expectations, realities and needs of executives preparing for and experiencing “retirement”
What is it like to prepare for and then “retire” from an executive leadership role? What do executives expect to lose and to gain—and what surprises them most once they step away from their positions of title, power and influence? Do men and women experience this transition differently? And how does retirement from an executive role differ from that of non-executives? When an executive retires, how do they introduce themselves? What do they focus on in retirement?
These questions guided a mixed-methods study involving 35 in-depth semi-structured interviews and a survey of over 100 executives across diverse industries and sectors who were either within five years of retirement or had retired within the past five years. With an intentional 50/50 gender balance, the research illuminates stratified patterns by gender, revealing how men and women focus on, anticipate, and experience retirement in subtle yet distinctly different ways.
Findings from this groundbreaking research highlight the expected losses such as identity, status, and title, as well as the unexpected such as loss of collegiality, structure, and “perks” of the role. Anticipated gains include time, freedom, and decreased stress while unexpected gains include redefining self, health and cultivating curiosity.
2. Understanding Issues in Introductory Programming Classes
Over the past 40 years, numerous studies have been done to better understand gender and racial disparities in computing. However, despite this work, the gaps haven’t closed and have remained steady. We know that some introductory programming students at MSOE struggle. Sometimes those are students who haven’t programmed before, sometimes students who are minoritized due to their gender or race. Our DFW rate for the Introductory Java course has been 27-35%, which is high. During protracted leave, an NSF proposal was created for a Building Capacity in Stem Education Research (BCSER) grant and existing survey responses were analyzed culminating in a paper on Feeling Behind in Introductory Programming. The goals of the grant and the survey work have been to better understand the student experience in introductory classes to provide meaningful targeted interventions and ensure that more students successfully complete the introductory programming courses at MSOE.
3. Contributing to LSST Science Verification
4. Authoring A Textbook: Fundamentals and Design of Drug Delivery Systems: A Textbook with Lab Activities
Courses on drug delivery systems have become increasingly common in pharmacy and engineering programs. However, many of the classic textbooks in this field are now outdated, particularly given the rapid advancements in the pharmaceutical industry. To address this gap, a new textbook entitled Fundamentals and Design of Drug Delivery Systems: A Textbook with Lab Activities has been written, revised, and edited, and will be officially published by Academic Press (an imprint of Elsevier) on November 4, 2025 (https://shop.elsevier.com/books/fundamentals-and-design-of-drug-delivery-systems/zhang/978-0-443-23521-4). In addition, an invited, peer-reviewed journal article titled “Advanced Delivery Systems for Oxygen Therapeutics: Center Around Red Blood Cells” has been published in Therapeutic Delivery.
Summer Development Projects
1. Electromagnetic Absorbers: Fundamental Bandwidth Limits and Magneto-Dielectric Absorbers
Electromagnetic absorbers are engineered structures that capture incident electromagnetic waves and dissipate the wave energy as heat. These structures are used to provide shielding from electromagnetic interference, control reflections in wireless networks, and provide stealth capabilities that can hide an object or vehicle from typical radar systems. One primary goal of this work is to experimentally verify the fundamental theoretical bandwidth limits for electromagnetic absorbers that currently exist in the literature, by conducting an extensive comparison of over a hundred published absorber designs against these theoretical limits, as well as to explore alternative formulations of these limits. An additional goal is to study the electromagnetic absorber performance benefits that may be enabled by magneto-dielectric materials, which are becoming commercially viable due to recent material science advances. A performance study and an example magneto-dielectric absorber design are presented that demonstrate a clear benefit of these new materials.
2. Improving a Parallel Computation Platform Based on Embedded Microcontrollers
Differential equations are frequently used to describe the behavior of dynamic systems. These equations can be used in control systems to describe the system being controlled, and they need to be solved in real-time to ensure that the control system keeps up with the active dynamics of the system. These types of systems can use embedded microcontrollers to solve the differential equations. Unfortunately, embedded microcontrollers are computationally constrained compared to a traditional laptop or server, which slows down the computation of the differential equations and limits the ability of the controller to control the physical system. To address this limitation an earlier project developed a parallel computing architecture comprised of multiple microcontrollers networked together through an FPGA. That work had several limitations that this new project sought to remedy. First, we switched to a new microcontroller since the microcontroller that was previously used reached end-of-life is no longer available. Second, we changed to a new serial communication protocol in an effort to speed up communication between the microcontrollers and the FPGA. Third, we modified our input code so that we can now use open source software to create our models instead of commercial software. Finally, we investigated supporting variable step simulation as a means to reduce simulation time. An additional benefit to this project is that it provided one of our contributors, Mr. Lwin, with a platform to perform his Undergraduate Research experiments.
3. Support Committee: Academic Skills Integration Taskforce Summer Module Pilot
MSOE students enter with varying levels of readiness for university-level work. Integrating embedded learning skills (ELS) into courses fosters an inclusive learning environment that supports student development rather than relying on a deficit-model (Burgess, 2025; Cervin-Ellqvist, et al., 2021; Karp, et al., 2013; Wingate, 2006). This project developed resources, training, and assessment to help faculty integrate these ELS into their courses with an emphasis on first-year courses. A Canvas course that hosts three modules focused on exam preparation, self-assessment, and accountability. To date, two first-year course coordinators have incorporated these modules across all sections they teach, while two others have integrated them into selected sections, totaling 26 participating sections. Faculty surveys will be implemented in the fall semester, with recruitment of additional instructors in spring 2026 to expand participation and evaluation.
4. Joya de las Montañas: A Social and Cultural History of Texiguat, Honduras
Dr. Patrick Jung (HSC)
The purpose of my summer development grant was to do preparatory work for a planned book on Texiguat, Honduras, a town in the southern highlands of Honduras. In particular, the book will examine the relationships between the Indigenous population (Indios) and those who identify as non-Indigenous (Mestizos). In particular, I am interested in what is called ethnic boundary maintenance and how the two different communities interact. This summer was mostly spent doing preparatory work that I will carry out over the next year. I collected critical historical documents from the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia (Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History) and important marriage and baptismal records from Iglesia Parroquial San Francisco de Asís (St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church). I also identified key informants who will be essential for future research trips, during which I will conduct more intensive fieldwork among both Mestizos and Indios in Texiguat. I accompanied two student teams to Texiguat that were involved in separate projects: one team from the Software Development Laboratory (SDL) that was field testing a banking application designed for people in less-developed countries. The second team, from the MSOE Honors Program, is involved in a project to turn an eighteenth-century structure into a working museum. Working with both teams provided the opportunity to pursue my own preparatory work while in Texiguat.
5. Algorithms, Agency, and Ambivalence
Dr. Andrew McAninch (HSC)
This paper addresses an underappreciated dynamic between what I call behavioral data ML systems and the human agents who engage with them. Behavioral data ML systems make up a common class of machine learning models designed to capture user behavioral data from retail websites, social media platforms, and other digital interfaces and to translate this data into behavioral predictions about users. This technology enables highly targeted consumer marketing and drives recommender systems, which take a user’s past digital behavior—against the backdrop of voluminous training data—to make predictions about what else that same user is likely to desire, and thus consume, subsequently.
I explore the relationship between behavioral data ML systems and a user’s reflective agency, which I define as an agent’s capacity to reflect on and assess the desirability of his or her own first-order desires. A common moral objection to the design and deployment of behavioral data ML systems is that they undermine users’ autonomy by confining them to a feedback loop informed by first-order desires they may not endorse from a reflective perspective.
I complicate this picture in two ways. First, I argue, because behavioral data ML systems act as a kind of mirror of an agent’s first-order desires, as revealed through her digital footprints, such systems can uncover desires of hers that may have been obscured from her own awareness. Albeit inadvertently, then, behavioral data ML systems can foster a kind of self-knowledge. Second, although the agent might endorse or reject such revealed desires, she might instead maintain ambivalence towards them. Take a trivial example: suppose a behavioral data ML system accurately identifies an internet user’s desire to eat a pepperoni pizza and proceeds to inundate him with pizza advertisements. The agent then reflects on this desire that’s been explicitly revealed to him, responding with ambivalence: he wants to satisfy the desire to eat the pizza (“listen to your hunger,” he tells himself), but he also wants not to satisfy the desire (“eat something healthy, save money,” he tells himself).
Ambivalence is often regarded as a form of irrationality or incoherence, but I follow a line of thinkers who argue that it is sometimes a reasonable, fitting attitude to maintain towards inconsistent desires. Behavioral data ML systems, however, are likely to appeal to one rather than the other of two inconsistent desires towards which the user is ambivalent. In some cases, they will do this by design, because it serves the interests of the system’s provider. In other cases, the system will do this more or less randomly as the result of stochastic elements in its operation. In either case, one effect may be that the user’s desires, or her higher-order attitudes towards her desires, may subtly shift, orienting her more strongly towards one rather than the other. In these cases, the effect of behavioral data ML systems is troubling not because it directly compromises an agent’s autonomy but rather because it compromises an agent’s ambivalence itself, where ambivalence might be the most fitting attitude for the agent to maintain. The behavioral data ML system’s intervention resolves the agent’s ambivalence, but not aptly, not reasonably.
6. Upscaling the Use of Stabilized Compressed Earth Block Masonry as a Sustainable Material in Construction
Dr. Salah Sarhat (CAECM) and Ava Montoya
Earth construction uses ancient techniques to provide alternative, more renewable, and sustainable materials compared to traditional building materials. Society’s interest in sustainable building practices has grown considerably, increasing demand for earthen building materials. A modern form of earthen building materials is the compressed earth block (CEB), a masonry unit composed of compacted, stabilized natural soil. Extensive research efforts worldwide have shown that CEB construction possesses multiple advantages, including the use of local materials, fast and easy construction, exceptional thermal performance, low transportation costs, and reduced carbon emissions. Construction with CEB can help build more houses and create additional employment opportunities. Despite these advantages, CEB masonry's standing as a building material in the construction industry does not reflect its high sustainability profile. The project aims to propose solutions to upscale the use of compressed stabilized earth block masonry as a sustainable material in construction. The project can be divided into two themes: proposing a holistic action plan to enhance the competitiveness of CEB as a building material and developing a formula to predict the compressive strength of CEB walls from the unit strength. The researchers identified multiple technical, economic, and social barriers that impede the large-scale adoption of CEB masonry in construction. Facilitators were suggested to overcome the impediments posed by these barriers. A holistic action plan was proposed to enhance the competitiveness of CEB as a building material of choice. The current CEB standards lack explicit provisions for converting the compressive strength CEB unit to that of CEB walls, which is a significant concern for structural applications. To fill this knowledge gap in CEB construction, an extensive database of compressive tests on stabilized CEB masonry units, assemblies (prisms), and walls, compiled from the literature, was analyzed. This analysis aimed to develop an accurate and simple formula to predict the compressive strength of stabilized CEB walls from their unit strengths. The proposed formula can be incorporated into CEB design codes, addressing the lack of standardization. This effort can help advance the effective use of CEB masonry as a competitive building material.
7. Authoring A Book – Biopolymer Engineering
Biopolymers are polymers derived partially or entirely from bio-based (renewable) raw materials and/or are biodegradable. They possess unique properties—such as biocompatibility—that distinguish them from traditional synthetic polymers, making them valuable across diverse industries.
CBE-3200: Biopolymer and Nanomaterials Engineering serves as a core course for Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) students. Unfortunately, no existing textbook fully meets the needs of this course, as most available books either focus on fundamental polymer science or are limited to narrowly specialized topics. To address this gap, a book entitled Biopolymer Engineering has been written, revised, and edited, serving both as a course textbook and a comprehensive reference. The book has been officially published by Springer Nature (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-98868-4) and is now adopted as one of two primary textbooks for CBE-3200.
KEEN Grant Projects
1. Integrate Learning Assessment in CS/SE Senior Design
Dr. Derek Riley (CSSE)
Quantitative program-level assessments aligned with student learning outcomes are a best practice to facilitate a data driven continuous program improvement. Program-level assessments need to be administered and scored consistently for all students to lead to useful quantitative data, which is challenging due to diversity of teaching approaches and assessment evaluators. In this work, we introduce a process that leverages standardized assignments and rubrics in a senior design course taken by computer science and software engineering majors. Student work completed for the assignments is evaluated using a Large Language Model (LLM), and the LLM prompt is refined using comparisons to hand-graded results from faculty. Our refinement process iteratively improves assessment assignments and rubrics, which resulted in reliable, scalable automated assessment scores from the LLM and led to improved rubrics and assignment language clarity for students and human evaluators. The approach presented in this work can be applied at virtually any level of assessment granularity to drive data quality and overall assignment, course, or program improvement.
2. Practicing Curiosity through Interviewing
Dr. Tammy Rice-Bailey (HSC)
This project integrated the Exhibit Curiosity Core Learning Outcome and the Curiosity pillar of the KEEN Entrepreneurial Mindset into UXD 3010 – UX Research Methods. The redesigned project focused on student-led inquiry through two phases of interviewing, targeting user experience within shared campus spaces. The redesign emphasized thoughtful question development, perspective-taking, and qualitative synthesis.
3. Integrating the MSOE Mindset into MEC 3040 through a Walking Mechanism Design Project
Dr. Brian Slaboch (ME)
This work was supported by a CLO and MSOE Mindset and Integration Grant and incorporates the MSOE/KEEN entrepreneurial mindset into MEC 3040: Computer Aided Design of Machines, taken by junior level mechanical engineering students. In this project, students design a planar walking mechanism intended to assist with agricultural crop harvesting, applying curiosity to explore creative solutions and analyze how kinematic design choices influence walking motion and efficiency. In the project, teams link theoretical concepts to practical design challenges using computer-aided modeling, kinematic analysis, and simulation tools such as MATLAB’s Simscape Multibody and MotionGen software. Students are assessed on both their technical proficiency and their MSOE mindset development. By emphasizing curiosity, connection, and creating value, this project fosters innovation and entrepreneurial thinking while demonstrating how purposeful design education can connect engineering to real-world societal needs.
4. The Design of a Single Artifact for Simultaneous Institutional and Program Level Assessment in a Mechanics of Materials Lab Course
Dr. Kevin Hart (ME)
At most institutions of higher learning, Outcome Based Education (OBE) is the dominant educational framework. One benefit of OBE is that learning outcomes are pre-defined by external accrediting organizations like the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Difficulty arises, however, when accreditation occurs on multiple levels, for instance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) auditing at an institution level and ABET auditing at the program level because artifact design and learning activities are not specified by OBE. As a result, evidence to show alignment between the intended outcomes specified by the institutional or program accrediting organizations, and the activities executed in the curriculum often falls upon the shoulders of individual instructors who are also further restricted by course learning outcomes in an individual course. It would therefore be beneficial if (1) there was clear alignment between course learning outcomes, program level outcomes, and institutional level outcomes; and (2) an example assessment tool was provided which allowed for the simultaneous assessment of institutional-level, program-level and course-level outcomes within a framework of a single course. In this talk, we examine outcomes for an example mechanics of materials lab course and offer an example assessment tool and grading rubric for one assignment in this course which may be used as an artifact for simultaneous assessment of course-level, program-level, and institutional-level outcomes.
5. Combining Flipped Classroom Method with Multi-Stage Project for Practicing EML
Dr. Anand Vyas (ME)
During the summer of 2024, a KEEN grant was awarded to the presenter for developing a project-based learning strategy for students to practice Entrepreneurial Minded Learning (EML, aka Entrepreneurial Component of MSOE Mindset) in Dynamic Systems, a junior level course in the ME curriculum. The presenter received support and guidance for the project during the summer term via Create Institute’s Dr. Maria Pares-Toral, and Ms. Michelle Gross. The project culminated in KEEN card number 4345 available from the Engineering Unleashed website. Multi-stage project-based learning was combined with a flipped classroom learning method over an approximately 12-week duration during Fall and Spring terms of AY 2024-25. The presenter will share his experience and student perceptions on the project, supplemented with handouts and overview of the work done as part of the KEEN grant.
6. Design for Impact: Building Service Robots with Purpose
Dr. Luis A. Rodriguez (ME)
This project challenges senior mechanical engineering students in the Introduction to Robotics (MEC-4470), course at MSOE to design a service robot that addresses a real-world need. Each team conceptualizes, simulates, and partially implements a robot combining a mobile base and a robotic arm. Students begin by researching existing service robots, identifying opportunities for innovation, and demonstrating technical skills through simulation or hardware programming using the Romi platform. Teams then evaluate ideas using decision matrices and develop their final design through MATLAB and Simscape Multibody simulations, solving inverse kinematics and planning trajectories. The Romi robot is programmed to perform autonomous behaviors that support the team’s chosen application. The project not only strengthens students’ technical and collaborative skills but also cultivates an entrepreneurial mindset centered on curiosity, connection, and value creation, encouraging them to view engineering as a process of discovery, innovation, and meaningful impact.
7. Fostering Curiosity: AI-Enhanced Assignments for the Modern Engineer
Dr. Lauren Beverung (HSC)
Fostering a spirit of curiosity in students remains a significant challenge, particularly given the complexity and variability of curiosity itself. To address this, two AI-based assignments were developed for potential implementation to promote curiosity in the classroom. These assignments are especially relevant in today’s AI-driven world, reflecting the growing role of AI in enhancing engineering education. The design of these assignments aligns with the Exhibit Curiosity CLO across all three dimensions: inquiry, exploration, and perspectives. In addition, rubrics and assessment tools were created to support their implementation. Overall, the assignments and accompanying assessments are readily adaptable for use by other educators. It is worth noting that these assignments also greatly align with KEEN’s Curiosity educational outcomes, which include demonstrating constant curiosity about our changing world and exploring contrarian perspectives on accepted solutions.
8. Integrating Critical Thinking and Curiosity into Biomechanics Education through Entrepreneurial-Minded Experiential Learning
Dr. Ahmed Sayed (ECBE)
This project advances biomechanics education by embedding critical thinking and curiosity—two key Common Learning Outcomes (CLOs), into the course BME 4410: Advanced Biomechanics, through the framework of entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML). Motivated by the need to move students beyond procedural data analysis toward deeper analytical reasoning, the project centered on developing two laboratory experiences: gait analysis using motion capture and electromyography (EMG) signal processing for detecting neuromuscular pathology. Both activities integrate EML “mindset methods,” particularly Contrarian Thinking and Identifying the Unwritten Rule, encouraging students to question assumptions, uncover hidden patterns, and explore alternative interpretations of biomechanical data. Through these redesigned labs, students engage with authentic, open-ended biomechanical problems that promote reflection and self-assessment. The project also produced a KEEN card that disseminates these replicable activities to the broader engineering education community. Beyond enhancing student engagement and analytical depth, this work highlights how structured curiosity and contrarian analysis can transform laboratory learning from routine verification exercises into intellectually rich experiences that cultivate the habits of mind essential for innovation and professional growth.
9. Entrepreneurial Mindset in First Year Design
Professor Jayme Radomski (CAECM)
The EM (Entrepreneurial Mindset) naturally fits with the development of a first-year design course in the CAECM (Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management) department. The course introduces first year students in the program to disciplines and design specialties within civil engineering, architectural engineering and construction management. In particular, the entrepreneurial mindset of fostering curiosity, making connections, integrating learning across multiple contexts, and servant-leadership of ethical understanding encourages students to think and grow as responsible professionals.
The curriculum for a first-year design course is developed around EM with entrepreneurial minded learning pedagogy, and the components of curiosity and connections as the focus. The course is designed to open the students’ curiosity to the built environment and introduces the student to making the connections from what they learn in the classroom and their independent studies to a real-world project and beyond.
Throughout the course, students explore topics from site surveying to stormwater management, structural joist selection to interior lighting layout, and project cost estimating. The final long-term design project is a culminating experience that challenges students to identify the opportunity of considering the function and design of a space on campus that students regularly interact with, and how that space can be improved upon for the benefit of themselves, fellow students, the environment, and the institution as a larger community.
The class structure allows for in-class time to work through project applications as a team and as a whole class. Ideas are shared among students, expanding individual curiosity. This special time in class gives the instructor insight into where their curiosity could take them into their project assignments. It also exposes the instructor to what activities made the most impact to the students’ connections to the built environment. Visuals, manipulatives, and time on the project site bring the students to more curiosity, discussion, and creativity with their project assignments.
10. Powering Modern Devices (an Introduction to Batteries and More)
Dr. Charles Tritt (ECBE)
The integration of power supply and battery performance content into the BME 3310 Sensors, Actuators, and Interfaces course addressed a knowledge gap previously identified in BME senior design projects. Students sometimes struggled with electrical power supply and battery performance issues when developing their medical device prototypes. Nine lecture periods covered power supplies and foundational battery principles assuring students appreciated the operational, economic, safety, and environmental implications of the use of various battery types in a variety of situations. To maximize student interest and engagement in this technical material, it was coupled with a newly developed term research project. This project was designed to foster the institutional "Exhibit Curiosity" Course Learning Outcome (CLO). The project required students to identify a battery-related claim or hypothesis and experimentally confirm or refute it using testing equipment to which they had been introduced in the laboratory portion of the course. This hands-on, self-directed exploration applied the course lab material and reinforced the lecture material. The new course material and project received overwhelmingly positive student feedback. It provided students with important exposure to real-world power supply and battery issues. This prepared students to make informed battery selection decisions in their upcoming senior capstone design work.