ABSTRACT
The ECE 111 is one of the courses that students studying ECE at the Oregon State University will first have to encounter. The course is aimed at introducing the students to the available tools in the university; it also introduces and gets us exposed to ECE.
This paper presents the final reflection report for the electrical engineering class ECE 111. It gives my personal reflection and summary of all that was learnt and all the activities that occurred during the class. The class activities mentioned in this paper include the lab activities, guest speakers, programming assignments, summaries and the simple materials explained in class by the instructor. The ECE 111 class has been able to make me feel more involved with Electronic and Communication Engineering; now, I have first-hand knowledge of how to apply basic engineering methodology to proffer solutions to real life engineering problems.
INTRODUCTION
Every branch of Engineering has something specific to offer but the Electronics and communication Engineering seems to have more to offer than any other Engineering course, this makes it a popular choice of students. Though many students opt for this course based on recommendations from consultants, peers, and family members they do not actually have adequate knowledge of what the course is about, all they know is that student have ample opportunities in various sectors not only limited to its core subject as it in many other trades of engineering. The ECE 111 is among the first courses that one would have to offer as a fresh student of Electronic and Communication Engineering. The course introduces students to the available tools at OSU and EECS, it also make the students exposed to Electronic and Communication Engineering. It shows the students the opportunities that will be available once they are through with their degree at OSU and the opportunities that the Electronic and Communication Engineering program would provide them with. It teaches them how to apply basic engineering methodology to get real life problems solved; it also teaches how to make use of the microcontroller to implement an engineering design. This paper is aimed at presenting the summary and personal reflection of all that was learnt in the ECE 111 class.
Figure 1: Showing an image of the ECE
- This provides students with an opportunity to make use of the software installed on a laptop to communicate with a microcontroller’s firmware. The aim of this communication is to control a hardware circuit which rotates a solar panel to the angle with the largest exposure to light. The lab makes it possible for students to also explore the firmware and the open source software as much as they may desire.
I learnt about teensy, which is a complete USB-based microcontroller development system, in a very small footprint. A lot of projects can be implemented on the Teensy. The Teensy does not require any special programmer, all it require is a PC that has a USB port and a standard “Mini-B” USB cable. For codes to be easily loaded into the Teensy, a teensy loader application is required. The Teensy loader also makes it possible to download my codes and reboot to it.
We were made to understand basic electrical circuit and the components that make up an electric circuit. Some of the components I got to work with include the resistors, diodes, and the capacitors. We also learnt how to read, understand, and how to interpret the schematic diagrams of complicated circuits. I personally learnt a lot about this through holding deep discussions with the TA’s.
We were taught several methods of circuit making, the methods that I became familiar with are the suddering, use of bread-board, and digital green boards. By interacting well with the staffs of the teckbot store, I got to know many tricks of the suddering methods both by using the freshman and senior tips of wilders.
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This provides students with an opportunity to have a good insight into the Electronic and Communication Engineering field by bringing guest speakers from OSU and other ECE based companies. A couple of speakers were brought in to help us make connection with internship and future career. Among the guest speakers was Dr. Von Jouannne from Oregon University.
Two former graduates of the school were also invited as guest speakers. One of these graduates works at the medical instruments company while the other is still working as a researcher with Dr. Von Jouanne where she is researching energy efficiency under the guardianship of Doctor Von Jouanne.
The other guest was an Electrical Engineer who works at Intel Data. This guest speaker introduced to us the microchips and the micro controllers. I made the Intel Engineer to open up some electronics so that we can view them and reassemble them from the result (graphs and table) shown.
After all the words from the guest speakers and after due consultations with the graduate students of OSU, as well as, the inspiration of my professors and the study of the experiments done by the graduate of OSU, I decided that I would be pursuing control and design for my MECOP internship program and would pursue robotics at the graduate school of OSU.
THE PROGRAMMING SECTION
- The CS languages are the command languages used in the smart technology designed and implemented, in real life, by electrical engineers. These are used to program the electronic circuit of the smart technology devices.
- There was a time when we had to learn some python language; we did this by following the code academy tutorials and learning their coding process. These tutorials and instructions not only taught me how to code in python language, it also gave me a lot of exposure to how the learnt knowledge can be applied in real world market situation and how the codes created in the labs can be applied, using the computer, to the teensy program in order for it to be functional at the laboratory.
- I am also taking a class on C++ language, that is, CS 161. This class exposes me to a better programming experiment, encourages me to have a good understanding of the functionality of each programming language thereby be able to compare how the functionalities of these programming languages differ, be it in logic or in the performance of their processing code. According to the amount of emitted radiation, the
BENEFITS OF HAVING UNIVERSITY RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENTS TO RESEARCH AND EXPLORE
In addition to the fact that the facilities of the school have been very helpful, the professors and advisors too have been very helpful. A good instance of this was when I shared some research ideas I had with my advisor; he took it up and introduced me to some certain professors who are experts in those fields. These professors benefit me with their insight to develop and make progress in the schematic of the project.
CONCLUSION
- Now, I have first-hand knowledge of how to apply basic engineering methodology to proffer solutions to real life engineering problems. I have been exposed to the history of electrical and computer engineering and some other engineering majors in relation to their societal impacts of design choices and innovations. I can now make use of microcontrollers to implement engineering designs. Also, I have been given the appropriate exposure that would make me able to identify the tools and the techniques that will enhance my success in the Engineering field.
- The ECE 111 class has been able to make me feel more involved with Electronic and Communication Engineering; it has made me decide my career path, not only at the undergraduate level but also at the graduate school and PhD. I aim to transfer any new electrical development technology that has been learnt and would still be learnt to work here at OSU back to Saudi Arabia, my home country. I shall give all I can to keep progressing and I am certain that with the support of my wife, other family members, my advisors, and professors I shall achieve a great success.
BIOGRAPHY
Mohammed Ali Bukhamsin is presently a student of ECE at the Oregun State University, United States of America. He received a scientific high school diploma from Al-anjal International High School in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Due to his various research experiences in physical and electrical engineering, and his great leadership skills, he received dual scholarships from KGSP and SACM in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Bukhamsin attended UC-Davis for cultural and foundation to college Program in 2012-2013. He started college in 2013 at the University of Washington for his bachelor’s; and later transferred to Oregon State University at his sophomore year.
