ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

MECE-301 Engineering Applications Lab (Class 1, Lab 1, Credits 2 Required).

Instructors: Dr. Mario Gomes (mwgeme@rit.edu), Mr. Gerald Fly (gwfeme@rit.edu),

Mr. John Wellin (jdweme@rit.edu).

Teaching assistants: Abhishek Anirudha Deshpande (aad6791@rit.edu),

Akshay Nawathe (apn6965@rit.edu)

Course Description
As a modification of the more traditional lab approach, students will work in teams to
complete an open-ended major project involving theoretical and empirical analyses of an
assigned system. Prior to the major project, preparatory team work on a shorter, simpler
analysis and measurement task will prepare students to perform the required analyses, create
appropriate documentation, and develop skills appropriate to successful team functioning.
After successfully completing this course, students will have achieved a higher level of
understanding of, and proficiency in, the tasks of team interaction and productivity, qualitative
treatment of real systems, development and implementation of analytical models, design and
implementation of experimental investigations, and validation of results.

Prerequisite(s)
MECE-102 Engineering Mechanics Laboratory
MECE-104 Engineering Design Tools
MECE-204 Strength of Materials Laboratory
MECE-211 Engineering Measurements Laboratory

Textbook(s) and/or Required Materials

None; online content provided via myCourses and other websites

Primary Course Learning Outcomes

Design and build an experimental apparatus equipped with appropriate measurement tools.
Carry out an experiment, acquire data, recognize and solve problems with the set-up.
Analyze and interpret data, evaluate uncertainties, and draw conclusions or make
predictions, document results.
Engage in project planning and tracking, staying on track, assigning appropriate roles based
on skill set.
Convert an ambiguous question into a formal engineering problem statement, identify the
appropriate governing equations, identify and apply assumptions, apply appropriate

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 mathematics to solve the problem, verify and justify the answer (or select the appropriate
simulation tool, identify and apply simulation parameters), verify results and explain the
effect of the simplifying assumptions and/or simulation parameters on the accuracy and
validity of results.
Write a technical report following a standard format to document an engineering design,
test plan, or experimental, computational, analytical or experimental results.

Secondary Course Learning Outcomes

Given a well-defined problem, in the context of one of the six engineering science courses
(Statics, Strengths, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Fluids, Heat) identify the applicable
engineering principle, explain its appropriateness to the problem, apply necessary
assumptions, conduct the mathematical analysis and arrive at a reasonable solution.
Clearly document the problem solving method employed when presenting solutions to
engineering problems.
Communicate graphically, diagrams, charts, plots, schematics, sketches, free body diagrams.
Give an effective oral presentation on a technical subject.
Independently identify, utilize and evaluate publicly available resources (i.e. internet,
journals, patents, standards, tutorials), to gather and synthesize information.
Demonstrate ability to actively and independently pursue new learning opportunities.
Use tools such as Matlab and Excel for structural, thermal, fluids, and kinetic analysis.
Use tools for measurement: hardware (transducers for temp, pressure, flow, deformation)
and software (LabVIEW, Matlab, transducer-specific programs).

Topics Covered
Effective team interaction and maintenance skills
Technical writing and data presentation
Model Sensitivity analysis
Experimental Uncertainty analysis
Experimental design
Developing testing plans
Sensors and signal processing
Data acquisition

Class/Lab Schedule
Single one-hour lecture and single two-hour lab sessions per week over 15 weeks; detailed
information is available on myCourses.

Contribution of Course to Meeting Professional Component

College Level Mathematics and Basic Sciences = 0 credits
Engineering Topics = 2 credits

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General Education = 0 credits

Specific Course Structure and Expectations

As the major component of this course, students will explore and apply the principles of
"experimentation" in an engineering context, by working on an interactive, group-based
project. Teams of nominally 4 students will be assigned an open-ended project that will require
the application of knowledge obtained from core engineering science courses. Each team will
define a detailed project scope, conduct a background literature search, develop a theoretical
model, design and validate a test facility to perform an experiment, gather and analyze data,
and report findings through an online wiki format and a final oral presentation. In preparation
for the main project, a series of smaller individualized tasks will be performed at the beginning
of the course to develop the necessary background capabilities and expectations.

Weekly lectures will introduce concepts that will be applied generally to the preparatory work
and the team projects. Students are expected to attend all lectures. The two-hour weekly lab
sections will be used for various purposes throughout the course. In the beginning, students will
conduct various team-based tasks depending upon the weekly schedule of topics. Later in the
course, after the team projects are assigned, weekly lab sessions will be used for progress
updates, planning and feedback, and as working sessions (but teams will need to dedicate
additional time outside of the normal lab hours to complete assigned work). Students are
expected to attend all lab sessions.

It is expected that every student will be an equal contributor to all group-based work in this
course, and all groups are expected to independently manage the intra-personal dynamics
required to succeed. Peer evaluations will be assigned throughout the course to evaluate
contributions from individual group members. Based upon the results of these peer
evaluations, and other observations as appropriate, the course instructors will make
adjustments to individual course grades as necessary to reflect actual learning in the course.

Course Grades
The overall grade in this course is a combination of scores related to individual technical
capabilities and personal accountability, group process and functionality, and group technical
capabilities. As indicated by the point division enumerated below, the overall grade seeks a
balance between all of these components.
Individualized Assignments: 30 points (individual score)
These deliverables will be completed and submitted individually by every student, but the
supporting work may be conducted in assigned groups as indicated. Individual weights on
each assignment will be noted on myCourses.
Attendance at Labs & Lectures: 10 points (individual score)
Final Report: 50 points (group score)
The grade for this component is cumulative for the wiki-based report at the end of the
semester, but various pages of the wiki are expected to be completed throughout the

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 course of the semester as outlined in a separate schedule available on myCourses. A
separate, independent rubric will be provided for assessing the completed content of the
report. The preliminary pages are not explicitly graded for technical content, but will serve
as milestones to ensure that groups are staying on track for project completion.
Initial Presentation: 5 points (group score)
The initial presentation will be a review of the developed theoretical model including
predictions for testing, presented as a group effort to the rest of the laboratory section,
using PowerPoint or similar. A separate, independent rubric will be provided for assessing
the content and delivery of the presentation.
Final Presentation: 5 points (group score)
The final presentation will be a summative review of the entire main project, presented as a
group effort to the rest of the laboratory section, using PowerPoint or similar. A separate,
independent rubric will be provided for assessing the content and delivery of the
presentation.

Final course grades add to a value out of 100; letter grades are assigned according to a standard
100-point system.

Late Submissions
Where applicable, all individualized assignments submitted after deadline will be subject to a
20% penalty for each day late unless otherwise specified. Late submissions are not allowed for
group work except under extenuating circumstances, and then only by prior permission from
the instructor.

Please refer to the next page for the KGCOE Honor Principles.

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 KGCOE HONOR PRINCIPLES
RIT Engineering faculty, staff and students are truthful and honorable,
and do not tolerate lying, cheating, stealing, or plagiarism.
All members of our community are expected to abide by these principles and to embrace the
spirit they represent. We each have a responsibility to address any unethical behavior we
observe; either through direct discussion with the offending party, or by discussion with an
appropriate faculty or staff member. Allowing unethical behavior to continue unchallenged is
not acceptable.
Rochester Institute of Technology does not condone any form of academic dishonesty.
Academic Dishonesty falls into three basic areas: cheating, duplicate submission and plagiarism
(refer to http://www.rit.edu/kgcoe/advising/handbook.pdf pages 19-20 for more information).
Academic Dishonesty includes collaborating on any assignments (homework, quizzes, exams,
reports, etc.) when such collaboration is not allowed. Likewise, it includes situations in which
certain team members do not collaborate when a team effort is expected. With this in mind,
the following must be observed to be in compliance with honesty expectations:

Course Element Specific Conditions

Assignments that are explicitly
stated as individual efforts
Assignments that are explicitly
stated as team efforts
Individual exercise; discussion with other students
is allowed, but individual submissions with
individualized work is required.
All team members are expected to participate fully;
one submission is typically required from each
team

Any act of Academic Dishonesty will incur the following consequences. After notifying and
presenting the student with evidence of such misconduct, the instructor has the full prerogative
to assign a lower grade, including an F for the offense itself or for the entire course. If after
careful review of the evidence, the instructor decides that the students actions are indeed
misconduct and warrant a penalty, the instructor will add a letter to the students file in his or
her home department (copy to the student, Department Head and the Dean) documenting the
offense. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, the student may also be brought before
the Academic Conduct Committee of the College in which the offense occurred, and may face
academic suspension or dismissal from the Institute. The student has the right to appeal any
disciplinary action as described in section D17.0 Academic Conduct and Appeals Procedures
and D18.0 RIT Student Conduct Process of the Institute Policies and Procedures Manual.

ACADEMIC ACCOMODATIONS POLICY

RIT is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. If you
need accommodations such as special seating, testing modifications, or note taking services
due to a disability, please go to the Disability Services Office. It is located in the Student Union.
If you receive accommodation approval, it is imperative that you see me during office hours so
that we can work out whatever arrangement is necessary.

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