This Work in Progress paper describes the Teaching Enhancement via Small-Scale Affordable Labs (TESSAL) Center at Georgia Tech. This center is devoted to the development and implementation of distributed labs, that is, experiments that can be done by students at home or in the classroom. The objective is to introduce experiment-based active learning into typical lecture-based courses. A total of 1264 students at Georgia Tech have participated in TESSAL activities, and assessment is underway to determine its effectiveness in enhancing the learning of fundamental concepts and in inspiring the students in the topics being taught. This paper describes the best practices for implementing distributed labs as well as the infrastructure needed to support the labs: logistical plans, instructor resources, student resources, and webbased support.

Engineering programs across the country promote the success of their courses to engage students through the use of hands-on projects, cooperative learning and other non-traditional educational strategies. While alternative strategies to lecture-based instruction are preferable in many ways, there are formidable obstacles to their widespread implementation. The goal of a project funded by an NSF CCLI grant addresses several of these obstacles through the use of portable, low-cost experiment modules in traditional lecture-based courses to enhance the learning environment. This research describes the introduction of these experiments at a top tier university and the lessons learned about implementing a cohesive program of hands-on experiments in several courses that do not have lab components. The challenges associated with both integrating experiments in long-running lecture-only classes and evaluating the impact on students isexamined. The experience of using a quasi-experimental design to more fully understand both the costs and benefits of using portable experiments in a Systems and Controls course is also discussed, which highlights the inherent costs and potential benefits of integrating hands-on experiments in lecture-style courses.

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has been developing and leading programs for high school students and teachers, as well as ECE female students that supports the ECE's undergraduate recruitment and retention efforts. Before her current appointment, she was the Education Director of the Microsystems Packaging Research Center (a NSF Engineering Research Center) where she created and implemented a highly integrated and comprehensive educational program at all levels to meet the educational needs of pre-college, undergraduate, graduate students, and industry engineers. Dr. Conrad received her Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

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humanized intelligence, the process of embedding human cognitive capability into the control path of autonomous systems. This work, which addresses issues of autonomous control as well as aspects of interaction with humans and the surrounding environment, has resulted in over 180 peer-reviewed publications in a number of projects -from scientific rover navigation in glacier environments to assistive robots for the home. To date, her unique accomplishments have been highlighted through a number of awards and articles, including highlights in USA Today, Upscale, and TIME Magazine, as well as being named a MIT AbstractThe Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Science (SURE) program, initiated in 1992, is a ten-week summer program for junior and senior level undergraduates from U.S. institutions. In 2013, the program instituted a new initiative to provide opportunities to students focused on robotics research, and as a direct consequence, interest them in opportunities available through graduate study. Robotics, as a discipline, is inherently interdisciplinary, combining all aspects of engineering and computer science necessary for designing and deploying integrated systems and solutions. Every year, eight students with diverse backgrounds are selected and paired with faculty advisors and graduate student mentors who are members of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. In addition to conducting research during their stay, students also participate in a week-long robotics boot camp their first week, attend weekly seminars on emerging research in engineering fields, visit local industry, participate in enrichment and academic development activities, and attend social events. Students conclude the program with research presentations to their peers and faculty and graduate student mentors. During the life of the SURE program, 541 students, selected from a pool of 2,899 applicants, have participated in the program. A comprehensive assessment program for SURE has been developed and implemented. The assessment process is driven by the overall program objective to provide participants a meaningful research experience and enrichment activities to increase the likelihood that participants will attend graduate school in engineering/science. This model targets three cohorts from which data is collected. Each data source provides unique information that contributes to a comprehensive analysis of the impact and experiences of program participants and to an understanding of the academic trends of all SURE program applicants. The pre-and post-program surveys, focus group session and interviews with participants include a series of questions about students' research interests, and participants' perceived impact of SURE on research skills and planned graduate school attendance. The faculty advisor survey includes questions about the contribution the students made to their research programs, whether or not their student would succeed in graduate school, the quality of the students' oral and written project prese...