Value Perceptions of Industry Interactions in a National Airport Design Competition

Mary E. Johnson; Shantanu Gupta; Caroline K. Marete

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Design Courses 1, Teaching Tools
Tagged Division: Aerospace
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 29
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--38009
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/38009
Download Count: 279

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Paper Authors

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Mary E. Johnson Ph.D. Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0002-6572-0979

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Mary E. Johnson is a Professor in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology (SATT) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She earned her BS, MS and PhD in Industrial Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington. After 5 years in aerospace manufacturing as an IE, Dr. Johnson joined the Automation & Robotics Research Institute in Fort Worth and was a program manager for applied research programs. Fourteen years later, she was an Industrial Engineering assistant professor at Texas A&M - Commerce before joining the Aviation Technology department at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2007 as an Associate Professor. She is a Co-PI on the FAA Center of Excellence for general aviation research known as PEGASAS and leads the Graduate Programs in SATT. Her research interests are aviation sustainability, data driven process improvement, and aviation education.

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Shantanu Gupta Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0002-5619-7012

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Shantanu Gupta is a PhD student in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University with Dr. Mary E. Johnson. He earned his B.E in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, and M.S in Aviation and Aerospace Management from Purdue University, West Lafayette. Mr. Gupta is currently working with Dr. Johnson on the PEGASAS Project 33 – Augmented Weather Information Project (AWIP) as research assistant.

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Caroline K. Marete Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0003-1633-2889

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Ms. Caroline Marete is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University. Her research focuses on airports sustainability and air transportation management. Caroline graduated with a Master of Science in Aviation and Aerospace Management from Purdue University on a Fulbright Fellowship.

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Abstract

Interactions with subject matter experts during student design activities is an idea embraced by many faculty as a crucial component of a design course. However, the process of involving experts is challenging and takes a significant amount time in a semester that is already packed with other course requirements and activities. Furthermore, meaningful interactions between students and experts requires that students be trained on interaction etiquette, preparation for interactions, and on responsible conduct of research. With other priorities demanding student and faculty time, organizing and conducting interactions between experts and students in design courses may be difficult to achieve. Research to understand the value of expert interactions may inform educators as to the pedagogical value, and provide support for including these activities in design courses.

Graduate and undergraduate engineering and technology students from across the United States compete annually in the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Design Competition, a national airport design competition. The competition requires a design submittal in one of four competition categories: airport environmental interactions, airport management and planning, airport operation and maintenance, and runway safety/runway incursions/runway excursions. One of the six competition goals is to inspire undergraduate and graduate students to develop solutions for real-world challenges facing airports and the National Airspace System (NAS). The competition rubric consists of a total of 130 points allocated to different sections with 12 points allocated for interactions with experts. These 12 points are divided equally for contacts with airport operators and with industry experts. It is important that these interactions occur prior, or during the design process, and not only at the end of the design package development.

By analyzing the winning design packages, the researchers seek to understand the contributions of expert interactions before and during the design process, especially those that informed design choices, as reported by the student teams and their faculty advisors. The competition publishes the winning design proposals on the ACRP website. The 35 first-, second-, and third-place design packages from 2017 to 2020 were collected and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative research methods. From this data, themes are identified and specific examples are collected. The bias is reduced by the use of multiple researchers examining the student design proposals, and then comparing the results. Differences are documented and research team discuss the results to develop a consensus view. The authors are experienced in this design competition as faculty advisor and student team members. In addition to research results, a guide to interactions, how to find experts and engage them, and suggestions of the types of questions to ask are provided.

A study of the perceptions of the contributions of interactions with experts in a design course may enhance understanding of the value that these interactions have on the educational experiences of students in design courses. Consequently, understanding the value of the interactions provides educators incentive to include expert interactions in design courses.

Citation
Format

Johnson, M. E., & Gupta, S., & Marete, C. K. (2021, July), Value Perceptions of Industry Interactions in a National Airport Design Competition Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--38009

TY - CPAPER
AB - Interactions with subject matter experts during student design activities is an idea embraced by many faculty as a crucial component of a design course. However, the process of involving experts is challenging and takes a significant amount time in a semester that is already packed with other course requirements and activities. Furthermore, meaningful interactions between students and experts requires that students be trained on interaction etiquette, preparation for interactions, and on responsible conduct of research. With other priorities demanding student and faculty time, organizing and conducting interactions between experts and students in design courses may be difficult to achieve. Research to understand the value of expert interactions may inform educators as to the pedagogical value, and provide support for including these activities in design courses.

Graduate and undergraduate engineering and technology students from across the United States compete annually in the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Design Competition, a national airport design competition. The competition requires a design submittal in one of four competition categories: airport environmental interactions, airport management and planning, airport operation and maintenance, and runway safety/runway incursions/runway excursions. One of the six competition goals is to inspire undergraduate and graduate students to develop solutions for real-world challenges facing airports and the National Airspace System (NAS). The competition rubric consists of a total of 130 points allocated to different sections with 12 points allocated for interactions with experts. These 12 points are divided equally for contacts with airport operators and with industry experts. It is important that these interactions occur prior, or during the design process, and not only at the end of the design package development.

By analyzing the winning design packages, the researchers seek to understand the contributions of expert interactions before and during the design process, especially those that informed design choices, as reported by the student teams and their faculty advisors. The competition publishes the winning design proposals on the ACRP website. The 35 first-, second-, and third-place design packages from 2017 to 2020 were collected and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative research methods. From this data, themes are identified and specific examples are collected. The bias is reduced by the use of multiple researchers examining the student design proposals, and then comparing the results. Differences are documented and research team discuss the results to develop a consensus view. The authors are experienced in this design competition as faculty advisor and student team members. In addition to research results, a guide to interactions, how to find experts and engage them, and suggestions of the types of questions to ask are provided.

A study of the perceptions of the contributions of interactions with experts in a design course may enhance understanding of the value that these interactions have on the educational experiences of students in design courses. Consequently, understanding the value of the interactions provides educators incentive to include expert interactions in design courses.

AU - Mary E. Johnson Ph.D.
AU - Shantanu Gupta
AU - Caroline K. Marete
CY - Virtual Conference
DA - 2021/07/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Value Perceptions of Industry Interactions in a National Airport Design Competition
UR - https://peer.asee.org/38009
DO - 10.18260/1-2--38009
ER -