A multidisciplinary junior level laboratory course in dynamic data acquisition

This paper describes a Junior-level multidisciplinary laboratory course concerning industrial applications of dynamic data acquisition and analysis. The course, developed as part of the NSF Foundation Coalition and initially targeted for electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineers, consists of four weeks of introductory material followed by four modules, each concerning a specific application of signal acquisition and analysis. The modules emphasize qualitative understanding of concepts and are designed to illustrate the principles involved in data acquisition and analysis, to demonstrate industrial applications of engineering concepts, to exploit the varied experiences of the individuals within the multidisciplinary student teams, and to introduce students to the equipment and processes necessary to take meaningful measurements and interpret their significance. Each application-specific module is designed to be independent, and the modules may be taken in any order. By employing a modular structure, the class can be easily modified in the future to accommodate additional disciplines, such as aerospace engineering.