Prof. Pong Chu (PI)
Drs. Chansu Yu and Karla Mansour (Education) (co-PI)
MRI: A Spiral Computer Engineering Lab Framework, NSF, $245K

This project is establishing a “spiral” lab framework, in which the key concepts are revisited at increasing levels of sophistication and interconnection, for computer engineering curriculum.   Instead treating each course as an isolated topic, the project is developing a sequence of lab experiments and projects weaving through the entire curriculum, from freshman engineering to senior capstone design.  This approach will help students to see the “big picture” of the discipline and enhance their “integration skills” to address complex and realistic problems.
 
The proposed work connects and integrates the individual courses through labs in three cohesive themes: video, audio, and touch sensor. The labs are designed to illustrate and reinforce key theoretical concepts in various courses. Their complexities and abstraction levels gradually grow as students progress through the curriculum. The individual projects are eventually evolved into a complete set of IP (intellectual property) cores that form customizable I/O subsystems and can be incorporated into any FPGA (field programmable gate array) based computer system.
 
The development is addressing a serious deficiency – lack of integration skill – in engineering curriculum.  It uses low-cost prototyping board and parts and can be easily incorporated into existing curriculum.   The improved curriculum will enhance students' integration skill, make them aware of the big context, and keep them interested and motivated. The project will be implemented in two institutions in parallel and its effectiveness will be evaluated and reported.  A new book manuscript will be prepared with the developed materials.