Conference Session

NEW Lab Experiments in Materials Science

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Vollaro, Western New England College

Tagged Divisions

Materials

Engineering Education, 2006 Engineering Exploration for Junior Girls Scouts: Partnership, Activities, Insight, and Reflection Mary B. Vollaro, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Western New England College, Springfield, MA 01119I. Introduction Western New England College (WNEC), School of Engineering has partnered for three years with the Western Massachusetts and Pioneer Valley Girl Scout organizations to present an “Engineering Exploration” program for Junior Girl Scouts, who are typically in 4th, 5th and 6th grades. The day’s program was designed meet two primary goals. The first is to educate young girls about the

Conference Session

Curriculum for Green Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Chen, California Polytechnic State University; Linda Vanasupa, California Polytechnic State University; Blair London, California Polytechnic State University; Richard Savage, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

significantchallenges for scientists and engineers. The materials engineer has great opportunity to helpdevise sustainable solutions through appropriate materials selection and processing, and ourfaculty has been trying to convey such ideas and skills to our students.Many different sustainability activities and assignments have been woven into several of ourmaterials engineering courses. Some activities are to promote awareness and to give motivationfor our students to use their engineering skills for the betterment of society and the planet.Pertinent articles from popular media sources have been used as the basis for reflection exercisesand to stimulate student discussions. A freshmen design course has been developed to highlightsustainability through service

Conference Session

Curriculum for Green Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natalie Becknell, Garver Engineers; Micah Hale, University of Arkansas; Seamus Freyne, University of Oklahoma; Stephan Durham, University of Arkansas; Anthony Lamanna, Tulane University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

heatisland is based on the increased solar reflectance of the materials used for large areas. The solarreflectance is the amount of radiation reflected back from a surface compared to the amountshone on the material. Concrete generally has a solar reflectance of approximately 0.35 and“white” concrete can have a value of 0.7 to 0.8.1 Slag cement will also increase the “whiteness”of the concrete when added in significant amounts. Asphalt, on the other hand, will generallyhave a reflectance of less than 0.2. Another LEED criteria for points states, “specify a minimumof 25% of building materials that contain in aggregate a minimum weighted average of 20%post-consumer recycled content material, or, a minimum weighted average of 40% post-industrial

Conference Session

Materials Science and Engineering of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Linda Vanasupa, California Polytechnic State University; Blair London, California Polytechnic State University; Katherine Chen, California Polytechnic State University; Richard Savage, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

such a way that makes them seem Reflection irrelevant to everyday life. In our and Self- Assessment curriculum, we borrow from the of Learning principles of service learning, in which the learners are engaged in Figure 3. Eight “best practices” in our approach experiential learning that addresses human and community needs. Engineering students involved in service learning demonstrate a stronger ethic of social and civic

Conference Session

Building a Community in Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patrick Ferro, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Materials

students like the idea of the Metal Hour? Do they think ithelps them learn?4. Faculty discussionsFaculty will usually provide feedback one way or the other about a new idea in education. Page 11.1310.5Evaluation based on faculty opinions may include: Do other faculty think that the Metal Hour isa good use of students' and faculty time? Does the Metal Hour reflect well on the institution andon students and faculty associated with it?SummaryThe Metal Hour has recently been started as an initiative for stimulating student interest inMaterials, and for communicating materials-related topics to the radio and internet listeningaudience. A Materials

Conference Session

Introductory Materials Engineering Courses of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Mitchell, Tulane University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

materials. Note the awkwardness of “biological materials”in a list that includes such succinct terms as “metals,” “ceramics,” and “polymers.” Why not justcall them “biologics?” Such is the nomenclature preferred by one author11, which will beadopted here. (Biologics refer to materials that are biologically-generated; e.g., soft and hardtissues, whereas “biomaterials” generally refer to materials of all classes that can be used inbiological applications; e.g., hip implants.) The drawback to this organizational scheme is that,as pointed out previously, textbooks are not generally organized in such a fashion. There isgrowing sentiment for this approach however, as reflected in a recent edition of one well-knownintroductory materials science text12

Conference Session

Materials Science and Engineering of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seung Kim, Rochester Institute of Technology; Richard Fasse, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Materials

strongeragreement than disagreement. Page 11.280.5Perceptions of the Learning Experience in Online Discussion – Table 3The survey questions in this section reflect generally positive perceptions of the onlinediscussion, although there were many more “Neutral” responses (37% to 50%). The mostagreement (56%) responses were associated Question 11 about how online discussions providedopportunities for sharing opinions among students and instructor. A total of 49% disagreed inQuestion 12 that their peers’ online comments were not very valuable. Considering the largenumber of neutral responses, the agreement responses stand out strongly against thedisagreement

Conference Session

Materials Science and Engineering of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Stolk, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Alexander Dillon, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Materials

the capacity to acquire and constructknowledge, to set goals and direct their learning process, and to assess and reflect upon theirlearning strategies and actions.Calls for educational reform emphasize the need for new learning approaches that are student-centered and that aid development of broader skills and attitudes to complement traditionalknowledge acquisition.1,2 A capacity for self-direction and life-long learning is often identifiedas a critical outcome for educational systems, and many assert that instruction that is focused onself-directed learning best facilitates understanding.3 We are clearly asked by the AccreditationBoard for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and other organizations to promote thedevelopment of students’ life

Conference Session

Introductory Materials Engineering Courses of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paulo Blikstein, Northwestern University; Uri Wilensky, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

validity of a random walk description of grain growth kinetics for large grains, and curvature driven kinetics for small grains.”29 In other words, Anderson et al. state that the classic rule-of-thumb for grain growth(“large grains grow, small grains shrink”) is not necessarily valid and that randomness plays amuch more important role. Given the microscopic dimensions and small time scale of thephenomenon, one of the only ways to visualize this new finding is through computer simulation.The traditional methods for investigating grain size and growth, nevertheless, reflect the tools(and visualization techniques) that were available in the fifties: mathematical abstractions,geometrical modeling, approximations, and empirical

Conference Session

Introductory Materials Engineering Courses of 2020

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology; Melissa Zaczek, Rochester Institute of Technology; Cory Hoffman, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Materials

; the grades reflect the students’ progress. Lessons learned from this projectare easily applied to future course work including Senior Design where many presentations andanalyses are required.Student FeedbackThe Materials Science course was traditionally very straightforward: memorize this information,and it will be on the test. Early feedback was less than favorable when an open ended out-of-class project was introduced. Students were surveyed at the end of each quarter to collect theirfeedback on aspects of the project that they liked and disliked; that information is presented in Page 11.637.8this section, along with instructor

Conference Session

NEW Lab Experiments in Materials Science

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Valerie Maynard, Northwestern University; Matthew Hsu, Northwestern University; Katherine Chen, California Polytechnic State University; R.P.H. Chang, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Materials

module to introduce the nanoscale to students, targeting high schooljuniors/seniors and their teachers. We mention teachers explicitly because in almost all cases, wesuspect that these materials must be educative for them. This is the responsibility of anymaterials that introduce new content.Our primary mission is to engage all students in the classroom with materials consisting of asound selection of content and best-practices. Reflecting the reasons stated above for introducingnanoscale learning, we want to motivate interest in science, and we want to contribute to theachievement of several learning goals.The module is designed to take about 2 weeks. This is a significant chunk of curriculum time,but the learning goals and tasks are not add-on