Week of April 20

This Week in DE
DE will wrap up the initial state machine (candy machine & 4 digit display) design on Tuesday and then start work on the copier jam circuit Thursday.  In this project, you will interface the circuit that you are making with external sensors since all circuits are designed to get information from the outside world (sensor), make a decision, and control an action (motor).

Agendas for this Week:
Tuesday: Complete Phone Number Display
Thursday: Copier Jam Detector

Field Trips/Conferences

This Thursday is the deadline to sign up for two exciting field trips available to engineering students.  Cedar Ridge High School will host the 4th annual Youth in STEM conference this Saturday (THIS Saturday, April 25).  It is from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and doesn't cost anything to you.  There will be several companies there to demonstrate the exciting and new things that engineers are doing in their work.  There are also several exhibitions to allow attendants to get their hands dirty with engineering, game design, robotics, drones, and much  more.  Below is a partial list of the some of the exhibits that will be there.  Bring some canned food to donate to the local food bank for a chance to win an iPad or a Lego Mindstorms kit.

• Dell Alienware – Gaming Technology
• GeekBus (STEM mobile trailer out of San Antonio) - http://www.geekbus.com/
• Steve Wolf (“Science in the Movies”) - http://www.scienceinthemovies.com/
• KingsIsle Entertainment (Gaming Software) - https://www.kingsisle.com/
• Flat Iron Pre-College Academy (Drones) - http://precollege.flatironschool.com/
• AT&T (Fiber Optics)
• Texas A&M (Engineering)
• ACC (Gaming, Electronics, Auto Cad, and Computer Science)
• Texas Board of Professional Engineers (Professional Organization)

You must sign up by Thursday at the latest at the conference web site.

Then, on May 12, we will take 20 students to visit Samsung's Austin Semiconductor plant.  It is a fascinating trip, and students always enjoy the day.  You will get a chance to peek inside of an operating, fully-automated modern semiconductor plant, interact with their engineers to find out about engineering and college, tour the museum on the history of semiconductors (aka electronics or computers), and get fed a good meal.  There is no cost to you.  Just sign up (below), turn in your permission forms, and meet us at school on the morning of May 12.  We will take you to Samsung and return to campus around 2:00.  You will miss 1st, 2nd, & 3rd periods and should be back before 4th period starts.  That is the day of the French Language, Spanish Literature, or the US Government AP exam, so you won't be able to go if you are taking those.


  

This Week at RRHS
Other than a faculty meeting Thursday morning, it is a pretty normal week.  Even Thursday will follow the normal bell schedule, but there will be no Thursday morning tutorials before school because of the meeting.

This is now the last "six" weeks of the year.  Although, it is really 8 weeks long.  Things get really busy from here on, so keep on top of things.  Starting May 4, AP and STARR (or EoC) testing will cover two weeks and affect a number of our classes.  Not long after that, you should look for exemption information and start preparations for the final exams.

College Recruiter Visits
Wednesday - The University of Houston

Week of March 9

This Week in DE
We will be finishing up the unit on asynchronous counters this week by making a circuit to display a "Now Serving" number like one you used to see at the Department of Motor Vehicles or Baskin Robbins.  The circuit will actually combine 2 different asynchronous counters: one for the 1's digit and another for the 10's digit.  Together, they will drive 2 seven segment displays (on the PLD board) to display numbers from 00 up to 99.


Agendas:
Tuesday & Thursday: Now Serving Project


This Week at RRHS
I probably don't have to tell you that this is the last week before spring break!  Let's work hard and stay on top of things so that we can all enjoy a much-needed week off.  I hope that you all have fun plans for your break.

Being the 4th week of the six weeks, Interim Progress Reports will be distributed this Friday, just before the break.  Look for those to come home so that you can be aware of any issues that need to be addressed once you come back.  After the break, we will still have 3 more weeks because this six weeks actually is seven weeks long.  The end of the reporting period is April 10.

Thursday will be a late start for students as teachers will be in a department meeting.  There will be no tutorials Thursday morning, and 5th period will begin at 9:25.

College Visits This Week:
Thursday: Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Information Session

Week of Feb 8

This week in DE
Students will finish their Date of Birth designs and breadboards on Monday.  If you are not finished by the end of Monday, please make plans to do so outside of class so that you can complete the next assignment on time.  

CTE has duty this week, so I will not be available for morning tutorials.  I will be here, however, every afternoon.  You can work on Inventor in Mrs. Saksena's room 603, if you need to work in the morning.

Agendas: 
Monday- Complete DOB breadboards.  Video before next class.
Wednesday - Programmable Logic Design
Friday - Date of Birth on PLD.

Edison Lecture
 On Feb 17, next Tuesday, engineering students can attend the Edison Lecture Series  at UT.  The buses will leave RRHS at 10:15 so that you will have time to visit UT engineering students and faculty showing off their current projects and activities.  Following that, we will attend the lecture on the topic of Big Data, which I can only guess has to do with the technology of storing data; how that has changed; and how it has enabled much of the technology we know today.  We should return to campus in time for C lunch (2:00).

If you are interested, be sure that you sign up on this form, so that I have the needed information.  You also need to complete the RRISD permission form, which requires signatures from your parents, teachers, and yourself.  You can print the linked copy or get one from me.

This week at RRHS
This is the final week of the 4th six weeks.  The year is really flying by quickly.  Be sure that you have all work caught up and turned in to me by Friday so that I have time to get it  graded before grades are due next Tuesday morning.

College Recruiting Visits
Tuesday - Oregon State
Wednesday - US Navy
See your counselor for specific information or to sign up.