Nagurney Publishes Article in Transportation Research Part E

Ladimer S. Nagurney, associate professor of electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering, CETA, has had the article, "Dynamics and Equilibria of Ecological Predator-Prey Networks as Nature’s Supply Chains," accepted for publication in the journal Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review.

The article is co-authored with Anna Nagurney, the John F. Smith Memorial Professor of Operations Management at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It develops a dynamic network model of ecological food webs and establishes the equivalence between the ecological models and supply chain network equilibrium models that have been developed for industrial applications.

The article also highlights the connections to spatial price economic equilibrium problems. Finally, the paper proposes an algorithmic scheme, provides convergence results, and applies the scheme to a food web drawn from a real world complex predator-prey application.

Transportation Research Part E publishes informative articles drawn from across the spectrum of logistics and transportation research, including logistics and supply-chain management. It is ranked as the No. 3 journal in transportation.

http://supernet.isenberg.umass.edu/articles/Dynamic_Predator_Prey_Networks.pdf

Source: http://www.hartford.edu/daily/Articles.asp?MainID=10819&Category=4

University of Hartford Host's the ASEE- Northeast Section Conference

American Society for Engineering Education- Northeast Section Conference, April 29-30, 2011

The University of Hartford hosted the American Society for Engineering Education-Northeast Section (ASEE-NE) annual conference. Presenters, faculty and students, from most of the universities in the northeast and surrounding areas presented papers, cases and workshops in all engineering and engineering technology disciplines.  The conference theme was, "A changing world- An emerging opportunity for strategic partnerships".  It was a joint conference with the International Association of Journals and Conferences (IAJC). Mr. Greg Steiner, President, Kaman Aerospace Group, was the Keynote Speaker. Prof. Hisham Alnajjar, Associate Dean and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the Conference Chair.

Presentations tracks were: Industrial / Academic Collaboration, Globalization,  International Collaboration and/or Agreement, Sustainability in the curriculum, Energy Related Education Issues, Multidisciplinary Education & Research, Sustainable architecture designs , Innovations In Engineering & Engineering Technology Education and Curriculum Development, First Year Experiences, Web-based Learning, Service Learning, Digital Health, Bio-engineering, Nano-technology, Assessment & ABET Accreditation Issues, Recruitment, Retention & Outreach programs, K-12 Education (Curriculum Integration), Women in Engineering, Technology & Computer Science, Ethics in the Profession, Diversity: faculty & Students. 

Eppes and Milanovic Publish Article in AJEE

Tom Eppes, associate professor of electrical engineering, and Ivana Milanovic, associate professor of mechanical engineering, both CETA, recently published an article in the American Journal of Engineering Education (AJEE). The AJEE publishes articles that bridge the worlds of theory and practice, identify cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional innovation, and describe educational strategies to address the changing role that engineering plays in society and in driving local and global economies.

The paper, "Capstone Design Project Course Pathways," discusses the structure, approach, and evolution of capstone projects within two CETA programs, MET and EET. Capstones are open-ended undertakings in which students are expected to creatively analyze, synthesize, and apply a wide variety of learning outcomes from prior coursework. These two programs have adopted different solutions toward planning, organizing, and execution.

The areas of contrast are: 1) sourcing, 2) type, 3) feedback and evaluation, 4) assessment methodology, 5) supplemental resources, and 6) curricular strategy. The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are discussed along with the issues and benefits experienced by students, faculty, and industry sponsors.

In the sixth area, curricular strategy, a means to improve capstone readiness and performance is presented in which experiential courses within a topical area sequentially introduce challenging and open-ended assignments that foster cognitive learning.