Senior Design I Syllabus

Labs: 311 and 302 Simrall

Instructor: Lalitha Dabbiru
Email: ld212@msstate.edu
Office: CAVS 2123
Office Hours: will be added soon

Meeting times: variable; see the schedule below.

Face to face instruction location: Simrall 100

Format: Hyflex

Table of contents

Prerequisites

ECE 4512 (EE Design I): C or better in Micro, Signals, and Advanced Electronics/Circuits, plus C or better in either E-Mag II or Energy Systems, plus co-registration with Tech Writing, plus permission from instructor.

ECE 4532 (CPE Design I): C or better in DSD and Client/Server Programming, plus C or better in either Signals or Advanced Electronics/Circuits, plus co-registration with Tech Writing, plus permission from instructor

Students must submit a project proposal prior to the first day of classes in order to enroll in this course. The proposal must be based on an idea approved in a verbal, abbreviated technical review conducted by the senior design I instructor during the previous semester. This approval will be confirmed and documented in an email to each approved team from the the undergraduate coordinator by the first day of classes.

Co-requisite

Registration in the ECE-only section of GE 3513 - Technical Writing. This section of course will focus on the development of the design document in parallel with this course.

Student Honor Code

Mississippi State has an approved Honor Code that applies to all students. The code is as follows: “As a Mississippi State University student, I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do.” Upon accepting admission to Mississippi State University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor Code. Student will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the MSU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor Code. For additional information, please visit: http://honorcode.msstate.edu/policy.

Support services

Students who need academic accommodations based on a disability should visit the Office of Student Support Services, 01 Montgomery Hall, call 662-325-3335, or visit the website at www.sss.msstate.edu.

Title IX

MSU is committed to complying with Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination, including violence and harassment, based on sex. This means that MSU’s educational programs and activities must be free from sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual misconduct. If you or someone you know has experienced sex discrimination, sexual violence and/or harassment by any member of the University community, you are encouraged to report the conduct to MSU's Director of Title IX/EEO Programs at 325-8124 or by e-mail to titleix@msstate.edu. Additional resources are available at http://www.msstate.edu/web/security/title9-12.pdf, or at http://students.msstate.edu/sexualmisconduct.

Academic integrity

Mississippi State University has an approved Honor Code that applies to all students. The code is as follows:

"As a Mississippi State University student I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do."

Upon accepting admission to Mississippi State University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor Code. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the MSU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor Code. For additional information please visit the MSU Honor code website.

University Safety Statement

Mississippi State University values the safety of all campus community members. Students are encouraged to register for Maroon Alert texts and to download the Everbridge App. Visit the Personal Information section in Banner on your mystate portal to register. To report suspicious activity or to request a courtesy escort via Safe Walk, call University Police at 662-325-2121, or in case of emergency, call 911. For more information regarding safety and to view available training resources, including helpful videos, visit ready.msstate.edu.

Pandemic statements

To safeguard the health of all members of the MSU campus during this global pandemic, the university has reconfigured classroom spaces and adjusted room capacities to assure adequate physical distance between all individuals in each room. In addition, the university has published requirements for the use of face coverings for everyone on campus, including specific requirements for their use in all classrooms, labs, and shared office spaces regardless of physical distancing. In order to mutually protect the students’ freedom to learn and the instructor’s ability to teach in a safe classroom environment, everyone in this classroom is required to wear a face covering in the classroom in accordance with MSU policy (https://www.msstate.edu/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/SafeReturnBooklet.pdf). If a student cannot wear a face covering due to a medical condition, they should request an accommodation via the Office of Disability Support Services. If a student simply doesn’t want to wear a face covering, they will not be permitted to remain in the classroom or lab.

In the event that face-to-face classes are suspended due to the pandemic or its effects, the instructor will continue instruction in a manner that best supports the course content and student engagement. In this event, all instructors will notify all students of the change via their university email address (the official vehicle for communication with students). At that time, they will provide details about how instruction and communication will continue, how academic integrity will be ensured, and what students may expect during the time that face-to-face classes are suspended. If a student becomes unable to continue class participation, the student should contact their instructor and advisor for guidance.

Attendance policy for face-to-face instruction

Per Academic Operating Policy 12.09, students are expected to attend all class meetings in person. Should a student expect a university-excused absence from a class, the student should contact the course instructor of record to inform them of the absence and the reason for it. Special instructions regarding illness and contagious infection are included in the syllabus section entitled: Contagious Infection and Other Health Accommodations for face-to-face instruction.

Contagious Infection and Other Health Accommodations for face-to-face instruction

Students required to isolate due to symptomatic or asymptomatic contagious infection or quarantine due to potential exposure to contagious infection will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis. Such students must provide an excuse from either the Dean of Students, the Longest Student Health Center, or qualified medical practitioner directing quarantine procedures, and the recommended date of return. Information provided will be enforced at the instructor’s discretion.

In cases meriting accommodation, quarantining students may be expected to log into the lecture during the scheduled class time or complete equivalent assignments approved by the instructor. If a student is too ill to participate in a class at the scheduled time, the student may be provided a link to a recording of the lecture or offered a similar accommodation as determined by the instructor.

It is the responsibility of the student to initiate and maintain contact with their instructor(s) regarding their quarantine status. All accommodations are subject to the instructions provided by the Dean of Students’, Longest Student Health Center, or qualified medical practitioner.

Continuity of Instruction

In the event that face-to-face classes are suspended due to the pandemic or its effects, the instructor will continue instruction in a manner that best supports the course content and student engagement. In this event, all instructors will notify all students of the change via their university email address (the official vehicle for communication with students). At that time, they will provide details about how instruction and communication will continue, how academic integrity will be ensured, and what students may expect during the time that face-to-face classes are suspended. If a student becomes unable to continue class participation, the student should contact their instructor and advisor for guidance.

Facial Coverings

To safeguard the health of all members of the MSU campus during this global pandemic, the university has reconfigured classroom spaces and adjusted room capacities to assure adequate physical distance between all individuals in each room. In addition, the university has published requirements for the use of face coverings for everyone on campus, including specific requirements for their use in all classrooms, labs, and shared office spaces regardless of physical distancing. In order to mutually protect the students’ freedom to learn and the instructor’s ability to teach in a safe classroom environment, everyone in this classroom is required to wear a face covering in the classroom in accordance with MSU policy. If a student cannot wear a face covering due to a medical condition, they should request an accommodation via the Office of Disability Support Services. If a student simply doesn’t want to wear a face covering, they will not be permitted to remain in the classroom or lab.

Grading Policies

Each student must make a substantial technical contribution to their team's design by developing one subsystem of the team's overall design and demonstrating competence in that subsystem. Students who fail to do so will receive a course grade of an F. Otherwise, grades are calculated using the following weights:

• Hardware Prototype: 40%

• Design Document: 10%

• Weekly Deliverables: 10%

• Final Design Review: 10%

• Mid-semester Design Review: 5%

• Adviser Evaluation: 10%

• Entrepreneurship Series: 5%

• Web Site: 5%

• Resume: 5%

• Peer review: ±10%

Letter grades will be assigned according to the following distribution:

A: ≥90
B: <90 - 80
C: <80 - 70
D: <70 - 60
F: <60

Description

The goal of our two semester sequence is to provide you with a realistic design experience, and teach you the tools and methodologies that can help you be successful. Demonstration of a fully functional prototype is required. Receiving a passing grade is not a guarantee that you will be allowed to proceed to Senior Design II. You must first demonstrate a fully functional prototype to your adviser and the course instructor. In the event that your prototype doesn't work at the end of the semester, you should plan on making up the work over the semester break. Without this approval, you will not be allowed to enroll in the second semester of this course.

In order that each team member be motivated to participate fully in the team, teams are allowed to vote members out of the group at the end of semester. For the member voted out, this might mean you have to retake this course, so you need to work to avoid this at all costs. Communication between team members and the project adviser about expectations and performance is essential. Far too often, students voted out complain that no one in the group appreciated how much work they really did.

To be considered for a passing grade in this portion of the class, your design review must convince the committee this project is ready for the fabrication stage (the following course in the two-course sequence). You also must convince the committee that you have done a sufficient amount of simulation and prototyping of your system, and that all critical design questions have been answered.

Demonstration of a fully working prototype by the end of the semester is the most critical piece of this course. Hence, a major portion of your grade is based on a binary decision about your prototype. The course instruction team and the project adviser will be involved in this decision. You cannot pass the course without completing this component of the course.

The design document is a comprehensive description of the entire project including: requirements, test specification, design, and test certification. It presents both simulation data and hardware measurements (for the packaged version of the hardware!), demonstrating that your design has met its goals. This document should address most of the points listed on the cover page of the course web site. Templates for this document are available on-line. The writing component of the design document will be coordinated with GE 3513, Technical Writing.

The mid-semester design review is a checkpoint that reports on project progress to this point in the semester. At this presentation, any deficiencies that are documented must be rectified in your final design review. At this stage of the course, you will be expected to show solid design constraints, a preliminary design, and a comprehensive implementation plan.

The final design review must address all design deficiencies noted in your mid-semester review, and review all aspects of the project (with technical details supporting your claims). This will be a 15-minute presentation. At the time of the design review, a project web site must be available containing all information about the project, including the documents described above and the design review presentation.

Concurrent with the design review, we will host a conference-style prototype hardware demonstration. This will be set up in a room adjacent to the presentations, and consist of a conference booth type format where each team is allocated a table at which they will demonstrate their hardware. Each team will be responsible for constructing a poster providing an overview of the project. Faculty, student, and industrial representatives will visit each project and provide a detailed evaluation of the hardware. This portion of the final design review will last about two hours and run concurrently with the design presentations.

Another significant component of your grade is derived from your adviser's evaluation of the team, peer review, and team self-assessment. Remember a prime directive: "Keep your adviser happy." The rationale your adviser uses to arrive at your grade is at his or her discretion. Be sure to communicate with your adviser to fully understand his or her expectations. Also, your exchanges with fellow team members should involve good listening skills, the distribution of the responsibility and, most important, follow through. Good teamwork requires care, skill, and effort.

The project web site will be graded according to its comprehensiveness and professional appearance. A good site will contain a complete archive of the project, including all documents, presentations, data sheets, schematics, source code, data, measurements, etc. It will use colors, fonts, and web features in tasteful and meaningful ways to advance your ideas and product in a manner that is reasonably compatible with existing sites within the market. Human factors such as legibility and ease of navigation are important.

Your course grade will be computed using the categories and weights described above. Final grades can be adjusted by plus or minus 10% based on feedback collected from a peer review or self-assessment process. Ideally, all team members contribute equally and, as a result, the team achieves their grade goals. Occasionally, peer review reveals that contributions are markedly uneven, despite all efforts to address the project as a team. As a part of self-assessment process, team members will submit a written evaluation of their fellow team members. All claims of mutiny, insurgency, poor performance, etc., must be documented in sufficient detail to be given consideration.

We will attend some entrepreneurship lectures this semester in coordination with GE 3011; attendance at these is worth 5% of your grade. Developing an appreciation of those issues discussed in the entrepreneurship series offers the opportunity to distinguish yourself from other job applicants. The entrepreneurship lectures are one means by which we encourage you to start thinking about important non-technical aspects of your career.

Schedule