ECE Undergraduate Laboratory
FED 101 - Fundamentals of Engineering Design

FED 101 - Fundamentals of Engineering Design

1.   Introduction

1.1   Introduction to FED

FED 101 (Fundamentals of Engineering Design) is a required course for all NCE freshmen. It has different modules associated with different NCE departments and this manual is intended for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Module (ECEM). If you have declared that you wish to study electrical or computer engineering, you are assigned to this module. If you are still undecided, taking FED 101 - EEM may be a good way to find out what ECE is all about. If after taking this course you decide that ECE is not for you, so be it. While we hope that this will not happen, it is important to make a good decision about your professional future based on real information, not on myth.

FED 101 is very different than a typical college course focused on studying in depth a specific technical topic. FED was developed as a part on a national initiative aimed at improving engineering education carried out by Gateway Engineering Education Coalition and supported by the National Science Foundation. NJIT was among several top universities, which included Columbia, Cooper Union, Ohio State, Brooklyn Polytechnics and others, which took part in this effort. This course covers a broad range of subjects and attempts to expose you to information, skills and experience needed for successful collage work and future professional activity. Among the prime course goals are:

  • Inform you what electrical and computer engineers do and excite you about the field 
  • Enhance your ability to learn (learning to learn) and work effectively in peer groups 
  • Improve your communication skills.
  • Introduce you to basic electrical engineering concepts, devices and circuits as well as computer software for their simulation.

We hope that taking this course will be enriching and enjoyable experience. Good luck!


1.2 Introduction to ECE


ECE –Electrical and Computer Engineering is a broad field of theoretical and practical knowledge related to operation of devices and systems based electricity and magnetism. It would be impossible to find today any area of modern life that does not rely on extensive use of electrical power, electronic communication, or computers. Just imagine what life would be like without these technologies. That’s why getting a degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering is so great. With the knowledge and experience you gain you can work in companies focusing not only on electronics or computers but also in those in communication, transportation, or aerospace industries, as well as in the areas of bioengineering and medical technology, and many others. The ECE department at NJIT is an organization of faculty and staff devoted to providing an outstanding academic and research experience to students to prepare them to meet the needs and challenges they will face in the world of technology. Department has been recently reorganized into thrust areas to meet the challenges of future technology development, advancement of science and engineering, and industry needs. The Department has over 40 faculty members, over 1100 undergraduate and 450 graduate students with an annual research expenditure of over $6 million and growing.

The academic program in the ECE department is divided into two tracks: Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Engineering (CoE), with some overlap in the coursework. Undergraduate students in the senior year of the EE program are able to select from seven specialized areas:

  • Communication Network: The information revolution is built on an infrastructure of communications and computer networks. This infrastructure has the potential to drastically change the way we live and work. The communications networks track focuses on the analysis and design of wireless & wireline systems for information delivery. In addition to the systems elective, which emphasizes networks, a variety of courses are available in topics such as optical communications networks and wireless communications.
  • Telecommunications: Wireless Telecommunications is rapidly becoming one of the most rapidly developing and exciting fields in today’s technology. The Telecommunications track seeks to prepare individuals to contribute to the diverse fields of wireless communications. The systems elective focuses on wireless personal communications systems, while the electives cover a wide area of topics such as networks and optical communications.
  • Controls: The mechanism of feedback pervades nature, science, and technology. The curriculum in control teaches how engineers can use the feedback mechanism to design systems for controlling a variety of dynamic processes, ranging from spacecraft, aircraft, and automobile emission systems to heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.
  • Computers: The computer system elective provides an in-depth study of computer system organization and computer system design. Students study CPU design, control unit design, memory organization and I/O processing.
  • Power Systems: The Power Systems elective includes the study of the economical generation and stable transmission of electrical energy to consumers.
  • RF/Microwave and Fiber Optics: This area concentrates on radio frequency (rf) microwave and lightwave technologies at the component and the system levels. Applications include communication systems (rf/microwave and fiber optics), remote sensing, radar, sensors, etc.

Areas of specialization in the CoE program include:

  • • Computer Networking
  • • Advanced Computer Architecture
  • • Telecommunications

You are invited to visit various homepages of the ECE department for further information on our academic and research programs, faculty and staff and state-of-the-art facilities and resources to support high quality educational programs with life-long learning opportunities.


1.3   Design Exercise – Paper Drop Competition

In this exercise, you will play the role of the engineer. You are given a goal and must design a solution to achieve that goal.


1.3.1 Design Specification

Each team is required to design and construct a “flying” device. There are two design criteria for this device.

  1. The device must stay in the air as long as possible.
  2. The device must land as close as possible to a given target.

Each team must construct their device using any or all of the following materials.

  • Three sheets of 8½" x 11" paper 
  • Adhesive tape 
  • One 3" x 5" index card
  • Four paper clips 
  • A pair of scissors

1.3.2 Scoring

A design competition will be held among all teams in the class. One member of each team will launch the device from a predetermined height toward a target on the lower floor. The time will be recorded from when the device is launched until it hits the ground. Then the distance will be measured from the device to the target. Each team will perform two drop runs; the times and distances will be totaled for each team.

The scoring for this competition emphasizes flight time over accuracy. The length of time before reaching the ground comprises 70% of the overall score, and the distance from the target accounts for the other 30% of the score. The scores are scaled by the slowest and fastest times or closest and farthest distances. The formula for calculating the time portion of the score, a maximum of 70 points, is as follows.


Time score = (Your team′s time − Shortest team′s time)(Longest team′s time − Shortest team′s time) x  70

To illustrate how this works, consider three teams with total times of 4, 8, and 11 seconds. The formula becomes

Time score = (Your team′s time − 4 seconds)(11 seconds − 4 seconds) x  70

For the three teams, this is

Time score = (4 seconds − 4 seconds)(11 seconds − 4 seconds) x  70   = 0 points

Time score = (8 seconds − 4 seconds)(11 seconds − 4 seconds) x  70   = 40 points

Time score = (11 seconds − 4 seconds)(11 seconds − 4 seconds) x  70   = 70 points

The longest time always earns 70 points and the shortest time receives no points. Other times earn varying numbers of points; the closer they are to the maximum time, the greater the number of points they earn.

The distance scores are calculated in a similar manner using the following formula

Distance score =  (Longest team′s distance − Your team′s distance)(Longest team′s distance − Shortest team′s distance) x  70   = 30 points


1.3.3 Acknowledgments

Thanks to Stephen Tricamo, Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at NJIT, for allowing us to adapt this experiment from one he developed for his FED 101D class.