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Planning your CE 333T Proposal Project

Planning your CE 333T Proposal Project. Your project is more than writing the proposal . Project involves all kinds of research. Searching for published information Reading Interviewing Synthesizing info.

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Planning your CE 333T Proposal Project

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  1. Planning your CE 333T Proposal Project

  2. Your project is more than writing the proposal. • Project involves all kinds of research. • Searching for published information • Reading • Interviewing • Synthesizing info. • Project also involves interpreting research findings and developing a plan to be implemented if you are successful in getting funded. • Final deliverable is a proposal.

  3. Past CE 333T projects • Constructing wetlands as sustainable landscaping for new computer science buildings on campus • Increasing the energy efficiency of ECJ’s windows (pilot program) • Reducing food waste and developing sustainable disposal methods at UT-Austin (pilot program) • Reducing water use at a new residential subdivision in south Austin (pilot program) • Evaluating the feasibility of using membrane technology in UT-Austin’s wastewater treatment plant (plan for further research).

  4. Choose a topic by considering definitions of sustainability and talking to experts. • Think about various views of sustainability: • EPA • Dartmouth prof’sslide show • Some experts willing to help in the past: • Greg Landreth (consultant): gwlandreth@gmail.com • Leigh Byford (City of Austin): lbyford@alum.trinity.edu • Naila Ahmed (LCRA): nailaahmed@gmail.com • Stephen Niemeyer (TCEQ): sniemeyer@alumni.utexas.net • Jim Scott (TNRIS): js@earthiq.com

  5. Start by interviewing experts • Please interview someone with knowledge about a specific sustainability problem. • Ask this person to help you define the scope of your investigation. Home in on a real problem and possible solutions. • Discuss definitions of sustainability.

  6. Your final proposal will be a response to one of two Requests for Proposal (both fictional) – one from UT-Austin’s Sustainability Network, the other from a regional Environmental Protection Program.

  7. Steps to take in next two weeks: • Read RFPs, talk to experts • Determine objectives of your potential project and of proposal. • Determine scope. • Plan the writing tasks. • Plan the research tasks.

  8. Writing is a process. • Writing activities are incremental and iterative. • Writing helps you do your research and technical work.

  9. Writing activities are incrementaland iterative. • You can move back and forth between doing research or experimental/calculation/modeling work and doing writing. • Writing helps you understand what you really know and what you are still unsure about. Helps you plot direction.

  10. Writing is incremental and iterative. Research Writing Experimental work, data gathering, observation More writing

  11. In the next couple of weeks, you will use writing to refine the scope and methods of your investigation. • We will give you feedback on your topic description and your Problem Description to help you clarify the scope of your project. • We couldn’t give you this feedback without reading your writing. • Writing helps you define what you will NOT investigate.

  12. Defining your project means figuring out what you will not investigate. Sustainability Problem Your project

  13. What “voice” should you project in your documents? • Much engineering communication is interactive and interpersonal. • You may use “we” in documents this semester. In the letter only, you may use “I.”

  14. Another type of “voice”: passive or active • Passive Voice • literary • longer • more vague • less active verb • emphasizes the thing acted upon • sometimes, the only accurate way to go • Active Voice • the way we speak • more concise • says who did it • more active verb • emphasizes the doer of the action • all things being equal, the way to go

  15. Passive Voice Active Voice Voice is a choice. • Elapsed time is indicated by a pointer. • The project was completed by the installation crew. • It is suggested that readings be recorded hourly. • A pointer indicates elapsed time. • The installation crew completed the project. • I suggest you record readings hourly.

  16. Passive Voice is longer. • “It was discovered during QD’s initial modeling efforts that the reservoir was actually a retrograde condensate reservoir.”

  17. Active Voice is shorter. • It was discovered during QD’s initial modeling efforts that the reservoir was actually a retrograde condensate reservoir. • Better: QD’s initial modeling efforts showed that the reservoir was actually a retrograde condensate reservoir. (17 words) (13-14 words)

  18. Passive voice can make writing ambiguous: Who is doing which testing? The scope of this strategy does not cover testing all the functionality of the different sub components. It is expected that each component be tested prior to the solution integration test.

  19. When to use which? Active Voice Passive Voice • to emphasize the agent of action: • Previous researchers • established the relationship between chemical qualities and model parameters. • to emphasize the object: • Therelationshipbetween chemical qualities and model parameters was established by previousresearchers . • The water samplewas heated to a temperature of 1000C. • to emphasize the action: • JMC Consulting recommendsthat BP adopt a risk-communication plan.

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