{"title":"Using industry-grade test equipment in a digital test and product engineering lab course","authors":"Christopher Miller, T. Hudson, S. Sipes","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160006","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a new digital test and product engineering course targeted to undergraduate seniors and master's-level graduate students. Through industrial guided labs, students were able to gain hands-on experience using an industry-grade automatic tester (ATE). Students indicated that the course provided an integration of many of the concepts from their digital core courses, and contributed to the development of skills essential to careers in test engineering or elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128386571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Technological fluency through circuit bending","authors":"E. Brunvand","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160012","url":null,"abstract":"The general education curriculum at the University of Utah requires that undergraduate students take courses in three of four “Intellectual Exploration” areas that are not in the student's major: Humanities, Fine Arts, Social & Behavioral Science, and Applied Science. Conspicuously missing from an engineering perspective are engineering and technology courses. In this paper I describe a new general education course specifically designed to introduce technology and engineering to undergraduates from a wide variety of backgrounds. I do this through a noise-making sound-art project-based curriculum based on hardware hacking and circuit bending.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"99 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127447505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A system-level mixed-signal design course","authors":"L. Svensson, L. Peterson","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160014","url":null,"abstract":"We describe a system-level mixed-signal design course aimed at MSc-level students of embedded-system design. In order to cover a broad area and to reach students with varying backgrounds, we avoid detailed circuit-level discussions in favor of considerations of trade-offs at the system level. Following constructive-alignment principles, the course is built around a lab series which illustrates the fundamental topics covered. Two unusual features are the two-phase lab report submission and the dual oral/sit-down exams. Both features are generally appreciated by the students and contribute to a high pass/fail ratio and excellent student satisfaction.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126243826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Satisfying ABET criterion using an industrial Microelectronic Skills Incubator","authors":"Matthew A. Swabey, Mark C. Johnson","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160010","url":null,"abstract":"An undergraduate System-on-Chip (SoC) design group modelled after industry provides a rich environment for students to achieve most ABET outcomes while working in a variety of classes. The Microelectronic Skills Incubator engages a team of primarily undergraduates in the process of iteratively improving, prototyping, fabricating, and testing an ARM® DesignStart™ Cortex®-M0 based SoC. Two versions of the chip have been fabricated so far, the first time unsuccessfully, but the second time silicon was obtained which executes code and drives peripheral. Production of working silicon is exciting, but it also creates strong incentives much as it does in industry to re-use intellectual property (IP), use well-defined standard interfaces, and verify the design thoroughly before fabrication. This paper documents the steps taken to create the incubator, the experiences provided to students, and it details the ways in which students meet or exceed most ABET outcomes for an ECE program.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115992320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nima Karimpour Darav, Amin Farshidi, Aysa Fakheri Tabrizi, Emily Marasco, A. Karbalaei, A. Kennings, Ismail Bustany, L. Behjat
{"title":"The impact of industry-organized contests on EDA education","authors":"Nima Karimpour Darav, Amin Farshidi, Aysa Fakheri Tabrizi, Emily Marasco, A. Karbalaei, A. Kennings, Ismail Bustany, L. Behjat","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160008","url":null,"abstract":"The Electronic Design Automation (EDA) community is faced with an exponential increase in the complexity of the problems that it has to solve. These problems challenge the EDA community to find innovative techniques for training the next generation of researchers. This work discuss how international contests in EDA can play a pivotal role in the education and industry practices. We discuss the impact of our these contests on bridging the gap between industry and academia, training of the graduate students and building collaborations between different researchers. We compare the impact of papers originated from the effort of team winners in such contests compared to the best papers in annual International Symposium on Physical Design (ISPD) conference and Design Automation Conference (DAC). Finally, we also discuss the impact of the contests on the industry organizers and how they benefit from them.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133614039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Roggow, Paul Uhing, Phillip H. Jones, Joseph Zambreno
{"title":"A project-based embedded systems design course using a reconfigurable SoC platform","authors":"Daniel Roggow, Paul Uhing, Phillip H. Jones, Joseph Zambreno","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160005","url":null,"abstract":"Embedded systems are becoming increasingly complex, as typical system components, such as sensors and other specialized processors, are blended together with more traditional microprocessors to form complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Teaching undergraduate students to understand concepts and technologies behind embedded systems is important in order to prepare these future engineers with the skills and expertise necessary for designing such complex systems. This paper describes an undergraduate course designed to introduce students to embedded system design concepts and challenges in an engaging and effective manner. Our course uses a combination of in-depth laboratory assignments and topical lectures to provide a unique hands-on education for students. Laboratory assignments utilize Avnet's ZedBoard platform, a development board built around Xilinx's Zynq-7000 SoC, and require students to solve a variety of embedded system challenges from a range of application domains. Overall, student feedback about the course has been positive.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131245659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Adeel Tajammul, Siavoosh Payandeh Azad, P. Ellervee
{"title":"Digital system modeling and synthesis as an introduction to Computer Systems Engineering","authors":"Muhammad Adeel Tajammul, Siavoosh Payandeh Azad, P. Ellervee","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160016","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents an overview of teaching hardware description languages (HDL) at Tallinn University of Technology (TUT). The structure of the course was modified by change of the approach to ground up learning through practical exercises. Different techniques to increase motivates of the students were introduced. These changes and their motivations are described in this paper. The course is taught as a first digital design modeling course for students who did not have prior digital design background. Observations and experiences from running the course over few years are described.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133213949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A cost-effective way to expand the scope of FPGA based projects","authors":"P. Chu","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160013","url":null,"abstract":"FPGA is widely used in Computer Engineering and related curricula. However, most lab exercises are performed and constrained largely in a self-contained FPGA board. A serial interface is a simple, cost-effective way to connect FPGA board to outside systems. It can be used to control a robot platform, to communicate with desktop computers, to interact with Android devices, to establish a ZigBee wireless link, and to connect to internet. This greatly expands the scope of FPGA based experiments and projects and makes them more interesting and versatile.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128323848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards multidisciplinarity for microelectronics education: A strategy of the French national network","authors":"O. Bonnaud, L. Fesquet","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160004","url":null,"abstract":"The evolution of the fields of microelectronics and nanotechnologies has presently two main orientations: on one hand, the ultra large scale integration with FinFET or FDSOI technologies, and on the other hand, the multidisciplinary approach to insert the new devices in systems, mainly the communicating objects and the smart objects, in terms of applications. This evolution asks to the teachers to adapt the theoretical contents of the courses and to renew the practice in order to create new knowledge, new skills and new know-how. The French national network, CNFM (National Coordination for Education in Microelectronics and nanotechnologies) has deliberately introduced in its strategy the incitation to the multidisciplinary innovative projects in the microelectronics centers of this network. This paper deals with this strategy and gives several recent examples of the application of this strategy.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115480409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing EDA education through gamification","authors":"Emily Marasco, L. Behjat, W. Rosehart","doi":"10.1109/MSE.2015.7160009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MSE.2015.7160009","url":null,"abstract":"As electronics industry leaders seek creative engineers capable of designing solutions to the circuit problems of the future, such as the end of Moore's Law, microelectronics education must incorporate more creativity and innovative design approaches. This paper proposes the use of gamification for encouraging creative thinking among students in electronic design automation education. The education module described in this work may also be used to harness the problem-solving techniques of game users through crowdsourcing and data mining. By integrating electronic design automation algorithms with game mechanics, it may be possible to find new solutions to circuit design problems.","PeriodicalId":299200,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE International Conference on Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE)","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128275120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}