Electrical Engineering
| Science Course | |
|---|---|
| Course Code | ENGE |
| Year Opened | 2004 |
| Sites Offered | CGV, LOS |
| Previously Offered | CAR, HKG, LOU, SAR |
Contents
Course Description
Electrical Engineering offers an introduction into the field of electrical engineering. The course covers much of the electricity and magnetism that is offered in a standard AP Physics course, and it also covers the science of circuits and electronics. In addition to extensive lab work, the course teaches students to use various mathematical and scientific tools to aid them in their studies. Labs and projects done in class vary from site to site, but may include leaning how to use a soldering iron, VCR cars (racing cars made entirely out of a broken VCR set plus a battery), bottle rockets, a lab on series and parallel resistors using Kirchoff's Laws and Ohm's Law, assembly of 555 timer based oscillators, a solar powered car controlled by an integrated circuit, and a light following robot that responds to contact with walls and barriers built around the LM386 operational amplifier.
From the CTY Catalog:
The first transistor, created at Bell Laboratories in 1947, was about 4 centimeters in size. Today, millions of transistors fit on a single computer processor chip—about the size of a postage stamp. Innovations like these are hallmarks of the exciting and challenging field of electrical engineering. This course explores foundational concepts, starting with electromagnetism. You’ll map the electric field lines generated by an electric charge and investigate current, voltage, resistance, energy, and magnetism. You will apply your conceptual understanding while drawing and analyzing series and parallel circuits, using mathematical tools such as Ohm’s Law and Kirchhoff’s laws. Then you and your classmates will design and construct your own circuits, working with resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, and transistors. You’ll examine electromagnetism’s applications to practical, everyday devices such as motors, lifting magnets, and stereo speakers, and gain an understanding of cutting-edge topics in the field, including the physics behind solar cells and solid-state electronics. By the end of the course you will have a deeper understanding of electrical engineering and its many applications in everyday life.
Class History
Carlisle
ENGE.CAR.14.2 was taught by Josh Orndorff and TA'd by Christian Ward. Fourteen guys came from RA James' hall, and four girls were from RA Autumn's hall. One famous adage was: "Never smoke pots," in reference to burning up potentiometers. Amazing achievements included a student going up stairs carrying a backpack and doing work at a rate more powerful than one horsepower, throwing frisbees onto the street during break, and designing an analog and digital circuit that outputs 2A of current to launch rockets. Another project was designing solar cars from VCR parts and analog components, instead of integrated circuits. Ohm's Law and universality of logic gates were two topics emphasized by Josh. On Love Tape Day, a few students used duct tape to tape the symbols for a resistor, transistor, battery, and potentiometer onto their backs. One time the class did Ohm's Law jumping jacks and screamed, "V=IR." Also, one student was forced to sit near the door because of his thirstiness (not the literal one). Most importantly, our class was the one that kept shouting, "I say James, you say Patty!" with the intention of shipping them together.
ENGE.A.CAR.15.2 was taught by Ranbel Sun and TA'd by Devin Larsen. The class consisted of 14 boys and 4 girls. Memorable moments include building three robots, almost everyone failing the first quiz, playing Frisbee and Wall Ball, Raymond the Ramen Noodle, doing problem sets pretty much every night, and making a ton of "That's what she said" jokes.
ENGE.B.CAR.19.2 was taught by Anusha Papasani and TA'd by Georgia Sandidge and consisted of 12 boys and 4 girls. When not being taught about the various ways that voltage yeets out of a battery or building things that sometimes worked, the class (not to be confused with a fish market) often played a game that involved coming up with the most questions related to electrical engineering, which resulted in questions along the lines of "How do you represent 42 in binary?" or phrasing random words as questions, such as "FaradAYY?" Other memes from this class include Papasani's Pizzeria, Cnobapb Betpob (and other Russian books that were found in the library), and the wedding/birthing ceremony which somehow became a site-wide thing. It was a most iconic class.
Saratoga
The Saratoga class has been taught by Kris Darlington (mrd), a physics/chemistry teacher for nine years (18 sessions) as of SAR 15.2. The class is held in Bolton 201. 17.1 saw him renamed mrd (pronounced merd) as a result of his email.
ENGE.SAR.12.1 was taught by Kris Darlington and TA'd by Eric Hauenstein. This particular class broke the record for most girls in electrical engineering with a total of six (6) girls in the class. Some funny things that happened include:
- "Like a bus!"
- Using sausages to find a magnetic field
- "Ask Siri"
ENGE.SAR.14.1 was taught by Kris Darlington and TA'd by Jacky Chen. Jacky Chen is god.
ENGE.SAR.14.2 was taught by Kris Darlington and TA'd by Jacky Chen. Jacky Chen is life. He also has the power of 9 horses. Funny things: "Box on Wheels". Also had 6 girls.
ENGE.SAR 15.2 was taught by Kris(tin) Darlington. TA'd by Dylan Shinn. This was Kris' ninth year teaching the course. Resulted in two completed photorobots.
ENGE.SAR.18.1 was taught by Kris and TA'd by Teairra. This class started off with a bang. Soon after Kris stated, "no matter what, no unauthorized experiments," a student who had just received a multimeter turned it to a random dial and stuck it in a socket, causing a flash that eerily imitated lightning. It became a running joke throughout the rest of the session.
Los Angeles
ENGE.LOS.14.1 was taught by Ranbel Sun, MIT Graduate, and Mark Jian Zhong, Columbia University graduate. This class was fabulously notorious for having been criticized for "ostracizing" someone who plagiarized work and who also stuck LEDs into a 120 VAC outlet. A TASER was also designed in this class, capable of delivering a 25V, 500mA shock to anything it wanted. There were only two girls in this class.
Quotes include:
- "I can't fit these two things into this (breadboard) hole"
- "That's what she said"
- "Not to you"
- "Satan!"
- "SENPAI!!!"
ENGE.LOS.22.1 Taught by Prof. Pedro Bañuelos. We spent most of the class trying to make things explode.
Loudonville
ENGE.LOU.08.2 was taught by Kris Darlington, an AP Physics B teacher at a nearby military school and the TA was Glen Haber, a college level EE student. This was the last time that Loudonville (Siena College) was a CTY site.
