SYLLABUS As of
Description: Computer-based instrumentation is critical in the
modern laboratory or industrial environment.
The student’s ability to integrate software and hardware to develop an
experiment or test will provide them with an invaluable asset
in future technical endeavors.
This course covers: laboratory programming using a fourth-generation
visual computer language, acquisition and conditioning of real-world signals,
and control of ASCII conversation-based bench-top instruments.
Fall Semester, 2002
Professor: Perry A. Tompkins, PhD.
Aka Robin West, PhD.,
Office: Sciencenter, Room
19
email:
“patompki@Samford.edu”
Office Phone: 726-4121
Office Hours: During Open Lab time
Or by appointment
Lecture &
Laboratory Room: The SPILL, Sciencenter
35
Lecture Meeting: TTH
Open Laboratory
Meeting: TBA
Credit: 4 hours
Lecture Textbook: LabVIEW Student Edition, Version 6i,
LabVIEW Basics I
Prerequisites: Phys 102 or 204, and Cosc 110 or equivalent.
Course Objectives:
To develop comprehension of the basic fundamentals and advanced concepts of
graphical programming and computer-based instrumentation. Application of these
concepts will be developed through problem solving and the use of rules. By the
completion of this course, the successful student will be able to synthesize
optimized solutions by discriminating among the potential solutions available
to most instrumentation problems.
Learning Activities: This course will rely heavily on the
student’s live interaction with the computer. During lecture the students will be able to follow along on their own
computers. Homework will be initially focussed on programming problems until
this is mastered by the student and then followed by project-based work.
In-class discussions on progress and problems will be used to broaden the
student’s problem solving skills. Laboratory work will involve student
completed computer experiments, with concurrent accessibility to the
instructor.
Course Requirements: The course grade will be based on a mid-term
project, group projects, and a final project.
Grading
Breakdown: Mid-Term
project............................................... 20%
Group
Projects................................................. 30%
Homework........................................................ 10%
Final
Project..................................................... 40%
Attendance: You are expected to
attend every class session. The decision
to miss any class will be the personal decision of the student. See the college catalog for additional
information regarding college attendance requirements.
Course-work may not be made up
except in the case of documented illness or emergencies. Call before you miss, and things will be MUCH
easier.
Homework: Homework will be assigned in the form of a
project or a series of mini-projects. Not long after homework is assigned,
solutions will be posted on the web. Homework is a major tool for the building
of the student’s success at the heavily graded activities.
Group
Projects: You are in one of the few classes where PBL is a round peg
in a round hole, without any difficult re-tasking of the instructor. I expect
that you will really enjoy how PBL will enhance your ability to learn this
stuff and therefore, your ability to get a job doing this (or function in
graduate school, if you ever want to.) You will be formed into two competing
consulting companies. You will be working for a parent company, Aspen
Scientific, who will periodically give you problems to solve. At the completion
of each project, you will present your results to the president of Aspen
Scientific, Dr. Robin West. Periodic meetings will be available to be scheduled
with Dr. West, provided that you do not bother him too much. At the
presentations, any member of your team may be called upon to make the technical
presentation! More details will be given during the presentation of the first
project. Brief written reports of each project will be required.
Final
Project: The final project
will be discussed during the semester.
Periodic laboratory sections will devoted to the conceptualization and
development of this project. The project
will be due during finals week, at the time of the completion of the scheduled
final for the lecture. A full written report will be required for both the mid-term
and Final Project. There can be long-term consequences to a really good final
project.
Course Schedule
This is a
guideline to show my intentions for this class and the potential for success.
We will modify the actual schedule as the semester progresses if needed.
|
Class # |
Date: |
Topic |
|
|
1 |
Tue |
27 Aug 02 |
|
|
2 |
Thur |
29 Aug 02 |
|
|
3 |
Tue |
3 Sep 02 |
|
|
4 |
Thur |
5 Sep 02 |
|
|
5 |
Tue |
10 Sep 02 |
|
|
6 |
Thur |
12 Sep 02 |
|
|
7 |
Tue |
17 Sep 02 |
|
|
8 |
Thur |
19 Sep 02 |
|
|
9 |
Tue |
24 Sep 02 |
|
|
10 |
Thur |
26 Sep 02 |
|
|
11 |
Tue |
1 Oct 02 |
|
|
12 |
Thur |
3 Oct 02 |
|
|
13 |
Tue |
8 Oct 02 |
|
|
14 |
Thur |
10 Oct 02 |
Mid-Term
Projects Due |
|
|
Tue |
15 Oct 02 |
Fall
Break |
|
15 |
Thur |
17 Oct 02 |
|
|
16 |
Tue |
22 Oct 02 |
|
|
17 |
Thur |
24 Oct 02 |
|
|
18 |
Tue |
29 Oct 02 |
|
|
19 |
Thur |
31 Oct 02 |
|
|
20 |
Tue |
5 Nov 02 |
|
|
21 |
Thur |
7 Nov 02 |
|
|
22 |
Tue |
12 Nov 02 |
|
|
23 |
Thur |
14 Nov 02 |
|
|
24 |
Tue |
19 Nov 02 |
|
|
25 |
Thur |
21 Nov 02 |
|
|
26 |
Tue |
26 Nov 02 |
|
|
|
Thur |
28 Nov 02 |
Thanksgiving |
|
27 |
Tue |
3 Dec 02 |
|
|
28 |
Thur |
5 Dec 02 |
Last Day
of classes {:( |
|
|
Wed |
11 Dec 02 |
Final
Project Presentations, |