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    ENPH 459 (2012)

    This is the archived course webpage for 2012/13.   Please check the website for the current updated course info.

     

    Jump To
    1. Course Info
    2. Guides and Documents
    3. Schedule and Lecture Notes
      1. 2012 – Term 1
      2. 2013 – Term 2
    4. Marking Scheme
    5. Term 1 Guidelines  (Sept – Dec)
      1. Group Member Selection
      2. Project Selection
      3. Self-Sponsored Projects
      4. Project Proposal Writing
    6. Term 2 Guidelines (Jan – April)
    8. Lectures For 459, there is a 2-hour block of time scheduled per week, with a mix of group presentations, discussions and invited speakers.   Historically, the first hour is used for in-class discussions and the second hour meant as dedicated time for groups to meet together. If you have a required or elective course which conflicts with either of those two hours, please contact the Project Lab to discuss options about finding other times in your schedule for weekly updates.  Because of the nature of the in-class sessions and evaluations,we have flexibility in allowing for time conflicts with the courses. Weekly Reports One weekly report will be submitted per group by the Editorial Manager.  Weekly reports are due each week by Monday, 5pm. Groups may choose to submit at any point over the weekend prior to the deadline. Submission will be coordinated through UBC Connect.  Use the template for weekly reports listed on UBC Connect for submission.   Milestone Reporting Details on milestone selection can be found in “Guide to Project Proposals” Milestones will be submitted via UBC Connect. Milestones can be negotiated and readjusted with the Project Lab during the term, but can be readjusted no more than one week before the original milestone date (i.e. no last-minute changes).   In-Class Presentations (x3) Groups will be asked to present 3 times during the term – at the start in January, at approximately the mid-point, and at the conclusion of the project.   Groups will be given 6  minutes to summarize and present their project work.  Further details will be given at the start of the term. Only the final presentation at the end of the term will count towards the final presentation mark. Written comments  will be given by the rest of the class and given back to groups for all presentations. Project Fair The Engineering Physics Project Fair is held each year on the first Thursday of March.  The Project Fair is an annual event that is the showplace for technological projects involving UBC Engineering Physics and local research and industry, as well as for student groups in ENPH 479 to present and display their completed projects. All students in ENPH 459 are expected to attend the Project Fair but do not need to provide presentation material for the proceedings.       End of Term Requirements
      1. Project Deliverables
      2. Final Recommendation Report
      3. Project Completion Report

    Course Info

     

    ENPH 459 Engineering Physics Project I – Project planning, management and reporting. This course involves writing a project proposal, carrying out an open-ended Engineering project, and reporting the results both orally and in writing.   Credits: 5  Pre-reqs: PHYS 352.

    Jon Nakane – jnakane@physics.ubc.ca, 604-822-2110, Hennnings Room 115

    Jeff Young – young@physics.ubc.ca, (604) 822-8779, AMPEL 218

    Bernhard Zender – bzender@physics.ubc.ca / 604-822-2961 / Henn 115

     

     

    Guides and Documents

    Document Type Documents Last Updated
    Info Sessions (in March for incoming class the following September) 2012 March
    Project Proposal  / Charter
    • Guide to Project Charters (pdf)
    • Project Charter – Template (MS Word .docx format)
    • Project Charter – Template (MS Word .doc format)
    		 2012 Sept
    Final Recommendation Reports 2011 March
    Project Completion Reports 2011 March

    Schedule and Lecture Notes

    2012 – Term 1

    		 Topic
    		 Notes
    Tues Sept 18 Submit Team Member and Project Preference List (email).
    Mon Oct 1 Submit short project evaluation form (UBC Connect)
    Mon Oct 15 1st draft of proposal (UBC Connect)
    Mon Nov  12 2nd draft of proposal (UBC Connect)
    Mon Dec 3 3rd draft of proposal (UBC Connect)
    Week#

    2013 – Term 2

    		 Topic
    		 Notes
    1 Wed Jan 2 Course Overview:ENPH 459 – Lecture1 – 2013Jan2-v2

     
    2 Wed Jan 9 In-Class Presentations #1 – Odd # Groups
    3 Wed Jan 16 In-Class Presentations #1  – Even # Groups
    4 Wed Jan 23
    5 Wed Jan 30
    • Student Midterm Survey – complete by Mon Feb 4th

     
    6 Wed Feb 6 In-Class Presentations #2 – Odd # Groups
    7 Wed Feb  13 In-Class Presentations #2 – Even# Groups
    8 Wed Feb 20 Reading Week
    9 Wed Feb 27
    10 Wed Mar 6
    		 Project Fair (tentative date)
    Thurs  Mar 7
    11 Wed Mar 13 Final Report Review Session  No Session
    12 Wed Mar 20 In-Class Presentations #3 – Odd # Groups
    13 Wed Mar 27 In-Class Presentations #2 – Odd # Groups
    14 Tues Apr 2Last week of classes Final Reports, Logbooks Due

    Marking Scheme

    Project Proposal 15 %
    Final Recommendation Report 70 %
    Professionalism (Logbook, Weekly Reports, Project Milestones) 10 %
    End of Term Presentation 5 %

    Penalties for late submission of Project Proposals that are approved at later dates:

    • Submit by posted due date and gain approval – no penalty
    • Submit up to one week after posted date and gain approval – 5% penalty on final mark
    • Submit up to two weeks after posted date and gain approval – 15% penalty on final mark, and possibility of other actions (major revision to scope and proposed work plan, being re-assigned to another project or group)

     

    Note:   Different project groups will receive different levels of support from their project sponsors and other technical resources found by the group or others.   In all cases, care will be taken to ensure that academic standing will be based on student contributions to the project.   Students are expected to document all sources of support, through either their Project Sponsors or other sources, and should make it clear what the group contribution was to the project  for proper assessment  (e.g. problem analysis, design, fabrication and testing.)

     

     

    Term 1 Guidelines  (Sept – Dec)

     

    Group Member Selection

    Students work in teams of two or three.  Students are expected to form their own groups from the class; please contact the Project Lab Staff if assistance is required to find team members with compatible interests.

    Each member must take on one of the roles described below and the allocation of these responsibilities must be clearly described in the  Project Proposal (refer to “guide to Project Proposals” for details of the Project, Editorial, and Technical Manager roles).  Students may not work on single-person projects in ENPH 459.

    Project Selection

    Please do not contact any of the Project Lab sponsors on the Available Project listing without first informing the Project Lab – this prevents our prospective sponsors from being overwhelmed with student requests.

    For ENPH 459, project selection will occur once all ENPH 479 students have selected a topic, generally starting the end of 2nd week.  Each ENPH 459 group will submit a ranked list of 4-6 preferred projects, and will be assigned by the Project Lab.  Historically, the majority of groups get their 1st-3rd picks.

    If more than one student group is interested in a particular project, the sponsor and Project Lab Staff will select between the different student groups.  In some instances, project work may be expanded to fit two groups.  Projects are offered and selected simultaneously for both ENPH 459 and 479, so do not be surprised if your desired project has already been chosen by another student group.  As a general rule, ENPH 479 students have a higher priority for project selection, given the tighter time constraints of the course.

    Self-Sponsored Projects

    If you prefer to submit your own project, use the list of available projects as a guide for work which is acceptable for academic credit. You are welcome to collaborate with anyone on or off campus (e.g. other engineering departments, industries or government labs) but final approval for the project topic rests with the faculty member in charge.  Students interested in pursuing a self-sponsored project must demonstrate an adequate technical expertise in the field prior to project approval – the lack of an industry or faculty sponsor for a project means that there may be difficulty in accessing appropriate technical resources when required.

    Project Proposal Writing

    In ENPH 459, you will spend a considerable amount of time preparing your Project Proposals.   This is an iterative process where drafts are submitted to the Project Lab and your project sponsor for comments and revisions.  Use the “Guide to Project Proposals ” found in the Guides and Documents section to set up the document, and to identify all key sections required for the proposal.

    Each draft represents a different stage of the document preparation:

    First Draft Expectations

    • The First Draft should demonstrate that the team has identified the client’s key key requirements, have a good start in gathering technical information, and are prepared to start on filling out a complete draft of the proposal.
    • Focus on gathering as much background information as possible – often groups will uncover important information at the END of the proposal stage, and will scramble to adjust their projects and work plans at the very last iteration.
    • It is perfectly acceptable to leave First Drafts entirely in point-form.   Do not spend excessive time putting information into prose (that task can be left to the third draft), but do spend some time writing down information and organizing it in some thoughtful manner   (note added Oct 11th).
    • For the first draft, it is expected that:
      • All major sections are present in the document.
      • Background information is described and organized
      • All references are documented (books, papers, websites, conversations, etc).
      • A clear indication of what calculations and theory will be contained in the final proposal (without necessarily having the calculation completed yet).
      • Appropriate photographs and figures, or placeholders indicating what pics/figs are to come, are indicated in the document.
    • The goal of the first draft is not to have a report containing every piece of information required to start the project, but to rapidly identify the overall direction project, which is best done at as early a stage as possible, even if not all information has been gathered by the team at this point – at this stage, it is more important that the team can IDENTIFY what information is required before the complete proposal submission.
    • This will allow reviewers to:
      • Give guidance on the direction of the proposed work plan;
      • Identify sections where additional information is required for the next draft;
      • Suggest alternative technical contacts, hardware/software, and techniques where appropriate.


    Second Draft

    • Contains all the elements of the proposal.
    • Every paragraph that will be in the final proposal will be described (e.g. a topic sentence and 3-5 bullet points for each planned paragraph is sufficient).
    • This draft must address all of the specific questions asked by reviewers from the First Draft.  Also clearly indicates areas in the proposal that the group knows requires further information before the Third Draft.
    • This iteration may or may not remain in point form, at the discretion of the student team.

     

    Third Draft

    • This is expected to be the first fully complete draft of your proposal.  It is expected that the majority of groups will receive final approval to proceed with their projects after this submission.

    Follow-up Draft

    • Some groups may be required to submit one final draft or follow-up submission to address specific issues raised by course instructors.   It is expected that groups will be told of these requirements before the end of the December examination period, and will have until the end of the first week of classes in January to address these concerns.

    Logbooks

    Maintaining a complete logbook is essential in professional engineering life, for both the sake of having good project records, and for legal reasons relating to “intellectual property”. The Professionalism mark will take into consideration logbook content from the Term 2 portion of the course;, however, it is recommended that regular logbook use begin as soon as the project gets underway in first term.

    Logbooks can be provided to students by the Project Lab if students are on campus, or students may provide their own.    The ones provided by the Project Lab are simple 80-page bound books, as found here (staples.ca).

    Each member of the group is expected to maintain their own logbook to record technical and other relevant information regarding the project.    For most teams, one member of the team (typically the Editorial Manager) is responsible for maintaining a Primary Logbook for the project group.  The Primary Logbook must be regarded as the main record for meetings and progress for the entire group throughout the term.

     

    All logbooks will be collected at the end of the term, reviewed by the Project Lab, and stored for a minimum 5 years by the lab, or returned to the student and Project Sponsor on request.

    General Guidelines

    1. The logbook should contain records of:
      1. meetings minutes from group meetings, discussions with sponsor and other technical people
      2. notable email messages and telephone calls
      3. items ordered or borrowed
      4. weekly objectives (“to-do” list)
      5. sketches of components or test systems
      6. calculations
      7. results of literature search
      8. questions or unsolved problems
      9. observations and recommendations, as they occur.
    2. All documents should be attached (stapled or taped) to the pages of the logbook.
    3. Date each entry.
    4. In many institutions, supervisors will periodically review and sign the log book at in-person meeting.  Discuss with your respective Project Sponsors.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Term 2 Guidelines (Jan – April)

    Lectures

    For 459, there is a 2-hour block of time scheduled per week, with a mix of group presentations, discussions and invited speakers.   Historically, the first hour is used for in-class discussions and the second hour meant as dedicated time for groups to meet together.

    If you have a required or elective course which conflicts with either of those two hours, please contact the Project Lab to discuss options about finding other times in your schedule for weekly updates.  Because of the nature of the in-class sessions and evaluations,we have flexibility in allowing for time conflicts with the courses.

    Weekly Reports

    One weekly report will be submitted per group by the Editorial Manager.  Weekly reports are due each week by Monday, 5pm. Groups may choose to submit at any point over the weekend prior to the deadline.

    Submission will be coordinated through UBC Connect.  Use the template for weekly reports listed on UBC Connect for submission.

     

    Milestone Reporting

    Details on milestone selection can be found in “Guide to Project Proposals”

    Milestones will be submitted via UBC Connect.

    Milestones can be negotiated and readjusted with the Project Lab during the term, but can be readjusted no more than one week before the original milestone date (i.e. no last-minute changes).

     

    In-Class Presentations (x3)

    Groups will be asked to present 3 times during the term – at the start in January, at approximately the mid-point, and at the conclusion of the project.   Groups will be given 6  minutes to summarize and present their project work.  Further details will be given at the start of the term.

    Only the final presentation at the end of the term will count towards the final presentation mark.

    Written comments  will be given by the rest of the class and given back to groups for all presentations.

    Project Fair

    The Engineering Physics Project Fair is held each year on the first Thursday of March.  The Project Fair is an annual event that is the showplace for technological projects involving UBC Engineering Physics and local research and industry, as well as for student groups in ENPH 479 to present and display their completed projects.

    All students in ENPH 459 are expected to attend the Project Fair but do not need to provide presentation material for the proceedings.

     

     

     

    End of Term Requirements


    Project Deliverables

    At the end of the project, all relevant materials, prototypes, and supporting material should be transferred to the project sponsor in a timely fashion, typically before the end of final exams in April. Each year, many projects have ended up abandoned in the project lab because the group did not prepare to hand over the project at the end of the term. To avoid this, please:

      • document all work that will be transferred to the sponsor;
      • label all relevant parts and components as being part of the project;
      • provide all relevant material (user guides, circuit diagrams, mechanical drawings) to the project sponsor.

    As you proceed, keep in mind that all of the material will be handed over to your project sponsor at the end of the term – always take their needs and the future utility of your project into consideration as you work.

     

    Final Recommendation Report

    You will write an engineering recommendation report at the completion of the project work. This report has three main functions:

      1. Communicates the results of the project work to the reader
      2. Creates an archive of the work
      3. Suggests a course of action to the sponsor

    The last function is very important because your proposal stated the work that khad to be done to achieve the sponsor’s objectives and the report shows the sponsor how to benefit from your work.

    The final report is an important document and will take a significant amount of time to prepare.  You should allow at least a week to put the report together and to proofread the material.

    For further information, see the Guide to Final Reports for ENPH 459/479 on the course website.

     

    Project Completion Report

    The Project Completion Report is a document which summarizes all of the activities at the conclusion of a  project:  The final project deliverables and changes to the project, financial details, and any follow-up activities which are expected from either the Project Team or Sponsor.

    The Project Completion Report is intended to address several issues:

      • Obtain written agreement among all stakeholders that the project has reached a satisfactory conclusion, or specifies what issues are still unresolved.
      • Avoid ambiguities and misconceptions between the project sponsor and team members;
      • Present a definitive conclusion for the project for both the Project Sponsor and Team.
      • Provides agreement for sharing the results of the project with the general community through cIRcle, UBC’s online digital repository (https://circle.ubc.ca/).

    You are required to obtain either signed or electronic approval from your project sponsors based on the Project Charter, and to submit the Project Completion Report to the Project Lab.  The report must be submitted prior to your final mark being released for the course.  Failure to do so will likely result in your mark for the course being withheld.

     

     

     

    End of Page.