Asee peer logo

A New Paradigm for Learning the Fundamentals of Materials Science & Engineering

Download Paper |

Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 3

Tagged Division

Materials Division (MATS)

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42448

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42448

Download Count

346

Paper Authors

biography

William D. Callister Jr. University of Utah

visit author page

William D. Callister, Jr. has been authoring introductory materials science and engineering textbooks for over forty years. His B.S. degree was in ceramic engineering from the University of Utah. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Academic appointments have been at The Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology (now Montana Technological University) (Metallurgy and Mineral Processing), Brigham Young University (Mechanical Engineering), and The University of Utah (in both Materials Science and Engineering, and Metallurgical Engineering).
Nonacademic pursuits include tending his orchards (he’s a fruit philanthropist) and playing the piano.

visit author page

biography

David G. Rethwisch The University of Iowa

visit author page

Dr. Rethwisch is a professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa. His current research interest is assessing the impact of secondary curricula (particularly problem/project based learning curricula) on student interest and pe

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

The learning and understanding of the fundamentals of materials science and engineering is difficult and nonengaging for many students. There are undoubtedly a number of reasons for this, to include the following: (1) the inclusion of little (or no) relevance for subject materials presented and discussed; and (2) the provision of few opportunities for conceptual learning. Many MSE topics are highly conceptual in nature, and in the typical course most assignments and tests concentrate on solving numerical problems. This paper discusses an approach that incorporates two features not found in traditional introductory courses. One is the inclusion of questions that require the students to explain materials concepts found in the course textbook. The other involves the paradigm of materials science and engineering, which consists of four components that relate to one another as follows: the performance of a material is dependent on its properties; the properties are determined based on the structure elements of the material; and the character of the structural elements depend on how the material is processed. Assignments are made wherein the student is required to explain, for a specific material or phenomenon, how one paradigm component relates to another component. For example, provide an explanation as to why the mechanical properties (relatively low strength and high ductility) of a spheroiditic iron-carbon alloy are related to its microstructure.

Callister, W. D., & Rethwisch, D. G. (2023, June), A New Paradigm for Learning the Fundamentals of Materials Science & Engineering Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42448

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015