This the first issue of our fourth year of the KlipschSpeaker Alumni News. As you read on you will meet two new faculty members and find out about our newly elected IEEE Fellow, Dr. Jaime Ramirez-Angulo. We also include discussions of the new Rio Grande Institute for Soft Computing (RioSoft), our latest findings in how our students learn, and working with high voltage.
TWO NEW FACULTY
Two new faculty joined the Klipsch School beginning with the spring 2000 semester. Dr. Deva Borah joins our telemetry and telecommunications group from The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, where he recently received his PhD. His dissertation research involved the detection of digital data in wireless time-varying frequency-selective channels.
Dr. Charles Creusere joins our digital signal processing group from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California where he was a team leader and researcher in robust high speed image and video compression technologies. He received his BSEE from the University of California at Davis and his MS and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
IEEE FELLOW
The Klipsch School's Dr. Jaime Ramirez-Angulo was elected to IEEE Fellow effective January 1, 2000. Professor Ramirez is recognized "For contributions to design methodologies for Analog Signal Processing Integrated Circuits." Dr. Ramirez joined the Klipsch School in 1990 and is currently Professor and Director of the Klipsch School VLSI lab. He received a Professional degree in Communications and Electronic Engineering and an MSEE from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, Mexico in 1974 and 1976, and a Dr.-Ing degree from the University of Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany in 1982. From 1982-1984 he was a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics (INAOE) in Tonantzintla, Mexico. From 1984-1990 he was an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University. His research is related to various aspects of analog and mixed-mode VLSI circuits and includes the following specific areas: mixed-mode test techniques; design of low voltage, BiCMOS, neuro-fuzzy analog circuits, and design of special purpose co-processors for image processing and communications; wideband amplifier design; continuous time high frequency filters, and; current-mode signal processing
RIO GRANDE INSTITUTE FOR SOFT
COMPUTING (RioSoft)
The Winter 1999 issue of the KlipschSpeaker contained a feature "Control Theory Continues to Get Fuzzy" which featured a new text "Fuzzy Modeling and Control: Selected Works of Michio Sugeno" written by Dr. Ram Prasad of the Klipsch School and Dr. Hung Nguyen of NMSU's Math Department. Their collaboration has continued and resulted in the creation of Rio Grande Institute for Soft Computing (RioSoft). RioSoft is a Consortium with an agreement between NMSU, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Institute of Technology, New Mexico Highlands, and University of Texas - El Paso. The consortium document must be in place and signed by the presidents of the universities involved in order to submit funding proposals under the banner of the Consortium. It is expected that the agreement will be in place before January 30, 2000.
There is currently a strong interest in soft computing technology by students working towards their doctoral degrees and researchers in industry. Soft computing technology includes fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and evolutionary computing. RioSoft's goal is to provide the necessary framework for students, faculty, and researchers to pursue education and research activities in this new field.
RioSoft is moving quickly to secure funding for both educational and research programs. A proposal is being submitted to the National Security Agency to develop an interdisciplinary graduate program between mathematics and engineering for minority students. The program will offer courses leading to a Master's Degree in Mathematics with specialization in Information Technology and a minor in Engineering. A proposal has been submitted to the Waste-Management Education and Research Consortium to develop a fiber-optic chemical sensor for contaminant monitoring and detection. A grant proposal to an NSF research program to aid the deaf is under development in which fuzzy logic seems promising in modeling of dynamic sign language, especially modeling of verbs. Finally RioSoft is offering a graduate course Fundamentals of Soft Computing I during the spring 2000 semester.
PROFESSOR KERSTING GETS IN TOUCH
WITH HIGH VOLTAGE
Bill Kersting has been involved in power systems teaching and research, and the Electrical Utility Management Program at NMSU for more than 35 years - A lot of "show and tell" regarding high voltage in all those years. In recent years, he's told students that electric utilities now work on high-voltage lines "live" by placing the workers in an insulated bucket attached to the line so that there is no potential difference. The workers are in special conducting suits also attached to the bucket resulting in a very safe way to work with high-voltage.
Recently Bill got the opportunity to "put his money where his mouth is." The picture below shows Professor Kersting in the insulated bucket touching one of El Paso Electric's 345,000 Volt transmission lines.
LEARNING STYLES
Part of the NASA supported New Mexico Space Grant Consortium's mission is to create more students and graduates in space science and engineering. To aid in student retention, New Mexico Space Grant Consortium conducts research and presents conferences, short courses, and symposia into how students learn, how they study, how they interact with the university. The Klipsch School's Dr. Sheila Horan recently presented a paper entitled "Do Engineers Fit The Mold, Or Are They Made to Fit It?" at the 2000 Engineering Education Conference held on the NMSU campus. Dr. Horan investigated the question: Do all engineers really think the same way, or do we eliminate some people from being engineers just because they think differently or learn differently than the "normal' engineer? In an effort to help students learn better, Dr. Horan administered two learning style surveys in her EE 111 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering. The results were compiled and given back to the students. The different styles were discussed as were the actions the students should take to increase their learning. Classroom techniques were discussed as were the actions the students should take to enhance their learning based on the results for each class. In an effort to track the learning styles of these students, the students remaining in our department will re-take the learning styles surveys in their senior year to see if their preferred learning styles and interactive learning styles have changed.
The first survey is designed to help determine the preferred mode of learning. The four types of preferred learning styles investigated in this survey are:
Visual. Read the material that will be covered in advance, that way you can concentrate on what is going on at the board. Sit in front of the class. Re-write your notes, and outline. You do best when you see things written down on the board, and when you make your own diagrams. You need to see the math steps listed on the board. You have trouble doing the math in your head.
Tactile. Skim through readings; underline major headings and important points. Draw charts or diagrams to summarize the material.
Kinesthetic. Review the readings before class while rocking in a rocking chair or on a stationary bike. Be moving. Tape the lectures and listen to them later while walking. Movement enhances your learning.
Auditory. Lecture and discussion are your preferred mode of learning. Taping material and listening again later may help. Read out loud. Sit in front of the class.
The conclusions from this survey are that since most of the freshmen are visual learners, the freshmen can better prepare for class by reading the material ahead of time, and the class can be geared more to their style. For instance, all directions should be put on the board so that students can see them and reading assignments should be made so that they know what will be covered in the upcoming classes. Math steps should be included as part of solving the problem, and should not be skipped. Visual contact with the students should be maintained to be sure they can see what is going on.
The second survey is designed to help determine the interactive learning styles. The four types of interaction investigated in this survey are:
Student-Faculty-Formal. Student prefers to interact with faculty in a formal environment (in class). You learn best by asking and answering questions during class. You need to participate in class.
Student-Faculty-Informal. Student prefers to interact with the faculty in an informal environment (outside of class). You learn best by asking questions one-on-one with the faculty member. You need to be sure you have time to meet with the faculty member outside of class.
Student-Student. Student prefers to interact with other students both during and outside of class. You need to join a study group, participate in group projects, ask questions of fellow students and try to answer their questions.
Student-Self. Student prefers to learn on his or her own. You would tend not to participate in study groups, class discussions, or participate in class.
The results of the second survey indicate that accommodating the interactive learning styles is more difficult in that all of the styles show significant preferences. A lot of the interaction depends on the student. Student-Self learners can be accommodated by the professor by simply not calling on them in class. Student-Faculty-Formal can be helped by taking time for questions during class and allowing time for students to respond. Having extra office hours for allowing different types of access aids Student-Faculty-Informal students. For the Student-Student preferences, the professor can help organize study groups, or suggest places where the student can obtain peer tutoring.
So, the question "Do Engineers Fit the Mold, or Are They Made to Fit It?" remains unanswered. However, we are starting to believe that training in electrical and computer engineering encourages and enhances development of a set of learning preferences which provide our graduates with superior problem solving abilities.
Dr. Horan's paper, and an associated paper "Supporting ABET 2000: The NMSU Student-Faculty Interaction Program" by Dr. Judith McShannon and Dr. Patricia Hynes of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, as well as all of the papers presented at the conference, are available in the Internet at spacegrant.nmsu.edu/ conference/2000.
THE ACADEMY
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy (ECEA) held their annual meeting at the Klipsch School during October 6-7, 1999. The Academy's Industrial Advisory Group (IAG) met on Wednesday, October 6. The agenda included presentations by Dean Jay Jordan and Head Steve Castillo on the state of the College and Klipsch School. Dean Jordan stressed that the College's ABET 2000 accreditation visit during the fall 2000 is the most critical and pressing issue confronting us at the present time. Paul Furth discussed our efforts with ABET 2000 and outcomes assessment, Steve Castillo discussed Klipsch School development, and gave a presentation on future directions of the Klipsch School. The IAG moved to convene at the Klipsch School in January, 2000, to help with the ABET 2000 outcomes assessment.
KLIPSCH SCHOOL NOTES
We now have the KlipschSpeaker on our web site. Locate http://www.ece.nmsu.edu/alumni/ alumni. html, select KlipschSpeaker and bring up the issue you want.
It's important to us that all of the Klipsch School alumni receive the quarterly KlipschSpeaker. We get our mailing labels from the Office of the Vice President for University Advancement, but we know there are Klipsch School alumni who are not in the database. We want to include these alumni, but we don't know how to find them. Please send us addresses of alumni not receiving the KlipschSpeaker.
We can also provide the KlipschSpeaker as an attachment to an e-mail message for those alumni who prefer electronic service. This may be especially attractive to foreign alumni. If you want e-mail delivery, send your name and e-mail address to jtaylor@nmsu.edu. Indicate any special requirements.
If you haven't already, please check the Klipsch School's web page at http://www.ece.nmsu.edu. Our web page tells about the Klipsch School students, faculty, programs, and research. Look us up. The NMSU web page address is http://www.nmsu.edu. You can get to our web page from NMSU's or directly at the address above. The University has a calendar of events web page at http://www.nmsu. edu/general/calendar. If you want to get in touch with us, obtain additional information, or tell us something about you or other alumni, contact the Klipsch School Head, Dr. Steven Castillo at 505-646-3115 or e-mail to scastill@nmsu.edu, or Dr. Javin Taylor, Associate Head and KlipschSpeaker Editor at 505-646-1239 or e-mail to jtaylor@ nmsu.edu, or use the Klipsch School fax number, 505-646-1435.