Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University; John McLaughlin, Clarkson University; Stephen Doheny-Farina, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-1140: A CRCD COURSE SEQUENCE – TECHNOLOGY SERVINGHUMANITY APPLICATIONSGoodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson UniversityJohn McLaughlin, Clarkson University Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clarkson UniversityStephen Doheny-Farina, Clarkson University Page 12.28.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 A CRCD Course Sequence – Technology Serving Humanity Applications Goodarz Ahmadi,1 John McLaughlin1 and Stephen Doheny-Farina2 1 Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering 2 School of Art and Science

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karinna Vernaza, Gannon University; Mahesh Aggarwal, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He has published numerous papers and has received numerous patents. He is actively involved in international programs. Page 12.187.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Advantages of Using Personal Response System Technology to Evaluate ABET and Mechanical Engineering Program OutcomesAbstractPersonal Response System (PRS) is a tool typically employed to promote active learning inclass, to increase participation, to measure conceptual comprehension, and to support MillennialLearners. At Gannon University, the evaluation and assessment activities of

Conference Session

Software and E-learning in the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-2323: STRATEGIES FOR THE INTEGRATION OF COMPUTER-BASEDSIMULATION TECHNOLOGY INTO THE ENGINEERING CURRICULUMRajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University Rajesh Bhaskaran is the Director of Swanson Engineering Simulation Program in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. He is leading efforts in the Sibley School to integrate contemporary simulation technologies into the mechanical and aerospace engineering curriculum. As part of this initiative, he is developing web-based curriculum material for integrating the ANSYS and FLUENT packages into solid and fluid mechanics courses. He holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Whiteman, Georgia Institute of Technology; Brian Mathews, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-29: IS IT REAL OR IS IT MEMOREX: A DISTANCE LEARNINGEXPERIENCEWayne Whiteman, Georgia Institute of Technology WAYNE E. WHITEMAN Wayne E. Whiteman is a Senior Academic Professional and Director of the Office of Student Services in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his BS degree from the United States Military Academy in 1979, a master’s degree from MIT in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1996. Whiteman is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army and completed 24 years of active military service. He served on the West Point faculty from 1987 to 1990, and 1998 to 2003.Brian Mathews, Georgia Institute of

Conference Session

What's New in Dynamics?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

El-Sayed Aziz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Sven Esche, Stevens Institute of Technology; Constantin Chassapis, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-2657: ENHANCING THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE USINGSIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTATION TO TEACH MECHANICALVIBRATIONSEl-Sayed Aziz, Stevens Institute of Technology Dr. El-Sayed Aziz holds a faculty position in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Mansoura University, Egypt. Currently, he is working as research scientist at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Mansoura University, Egypt, in 1991 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2003. His research interests include knowledge-based engineering systems; computer-integrated design and manufacturing; Finite Element

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Langerman, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; William Arbegast, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Daniel Dolan, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-831: PROJECT-BASED SOFTWARE APPLICATION ANALYSES INUNDERGRADUATE HEAT TRANSFERMichael Langerman, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Dr. Langerman is professor and chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Co-director of the Computational Mechanics Laboratory at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. His career spans 32 years including sixteen years in higher education. His primary academic interest is in thermal science.William Arbegast, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Mr. Arbegast is the director of the Advanced Material Processing (AMP) center at the South Dakota School of Mines & TechnologyDaniel Dolan, South Dakota School of Mines and

Conference Session

Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Instruction

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Gerhart, University of Evansville; Andrew Gerhart, Lawrence Technological University; Bruce Cain, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-475: USING ASME PERFORMANCE TEST CODES IN THEUNDERGRADUATE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CURRICULUMPhilip Gerhart, University of Evansville Philip Gerhart is the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a professor of mechanical and civil engineering at the University of Evansville in Indiana. He is a member of the ASEE Engineering Deans Council. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and serves on their Performance Test Codes Standards Committee. He chairs the PTC committee on Steam Generators and is vice-chair of the committee on Fans.Andrew Gerhart, Lawrence Technological University Andrew Gerhart is an assistant professor of mechanical

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University; Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Alfred Gates, Central Connecticut State University; Zdzislaw Kremens, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

experience involving manufacturing, design and analysis of Submarine Components and Navy related equipment. In addition Dr. Gates has worked in the aerospace industry, helicopter fuselage and rotor blade aerodynamics coupled with wind tunnel testing. Currently Dr. Gates is involved with high temperature Fuel Cell Research and development. Dr Gates earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and BS ME and MS ME from Rochester Institute of Technology. E-mail: GatesA@ccsu.eduZdzislaw Kremens, Central Connecticut State University Zdzislaw B. Kremens received the M.Sc. and Ph.D, degrees in Electrical Engineering from Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw

Conference Session

Introducing Active and Inductive Learning and Improving the Learning Curve in ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Emilia Bratschitsch, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive; Annette Casey, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,; Günter Bischof, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,; Domagoj Rubesa, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of Automotive Engineering,

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-1020: 3-PHASE MULTI SUBJECT PROJECT BASED LEARNING AS ADIDACTICAL METHOD IN AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING STUDIESEmilia Bratschitsch, Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Department of AutomotiveEngineering, Graz, Austria Emilia Bratschitsch is head of the Department of Vehicle Technologies (Automotive and Railway Engineering) and teaches Electrics, Electronics and Methods of Signal Processing at the University of Applied Sciences Joanneum in Graz (Austria). She is also a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Transport of the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria). She graduated with a degree in Medical Electronics as well in Technical Journalism from the TU of Sofia and received her PhD

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Efstathios Michaelides, University of North Texas; Reza Mirshams, University of North Texas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

acting chair (1985-1987) of the Mechanical Engineering of the University of Delaware.Reza Mirshams, University of North Texas Professor Reza Mirshams is Associate Dean of Engineering for Academic Affairs at the University of North Texas. Dr. Mirshams has degrees in Industrial Metallurgy and Metallurgical Engineering in the area of mechanical behavior of metals and alloys from the University of Birmingham, England and the University of Tehran. He is a Full Professor in the area of Materials Science and Engineering in the Engineering Technology with joint appointment in the Materials Science and Engineering Departments. He has been a Principal Investigator and Project Director for several

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Trimble, Arizona State University; Ronald Bengelink, Arizona State University; Valana Wells, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

current focus on meeting customer needs through the use ofvalues-driven, multifunctional project teams has recruiters looking for graduates that possess“soft skills” such as communications, teamwork, project management, and professional ethics.Moreover, the rapid pace of technological innovation and changing markets requires graduatingengineers to be skilled in the art of life long learning. As society becomes evermore driven bytechnology, there will be a growing need for articulate, team-oriented, socially-aware, andvalues-driven engineers to move into positions of global leadership. ABET 2000 challengesengineering schools to produce graduates with these skills. The Department of Mechanical andAerospace Engineering (MAE) at Arizona State

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elvin Shields, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

forEngineering and Technology) Criterion 4 implicitly specifies creativity as follows: “Theengineering sciences have their roots in mathematics and basic sciences but carry knowledgefurther toward creative application. These studies provide a bridge between mathematics andbasic sciences on the one hand and engineering practice on the other.” Once more explicitstandards for creativity are developed by ABET, Smith11 proposes that senior engineeringstudents could be taught TRIZ during the capstone project stage of their education. However,ideally the capstone course should only be a demonstration of previous learning. So, it may bemore desirable to teach creativity prior to the capstone and perhaps even in several differentcourses to reinforce the

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Liang Zhu, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, mechanical engineering departments around the country have prepared for visitsby the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Typically, the preparationfor these visits and accompanying reports could be generated quickly and often by a singleindividual. The data that was collected was often referred to as “bean counting” as the number ofcredits in mathematics, physics, design, thermodynamics, etc. were simply counted and enteredon a form. The evolution of the ABET 2000 Criteria has forced mechanical engineeringdepartments to reconsider the age-old methods of evaluating the education that is provided totheir students.According to Lohmann1, one of the most important pieces of the process is to gather largeamounts of data from a

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Knudson, Oregon State University; John Schmitt, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-1918: MENTOR GRAPHICS’ SYSTEMVISION SOFTWARECURRICULUM INTEGRATIONMatthew Knudson, Oregon State University Matt Knudson is a second-year graduate student at Oregon State University. He received his B.S. in Electronics Engineering in 2005 from OSU and is currently working on his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a graduate minor in Computer Science. His research is in advanced system dynamics and intelligent control systems. Matt has designed and executed computer aided design projects for four academic terms of introductory system dynamics and control and is scheduled to teach introductory mechatronics Spring of 2007 at OSU. Matt currently mentors two senior design teams, one

Conference Session

Introducing Active and Inductive Learning and Improving the Learning Curve in ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Byrne, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering at a Teaching University Tenure-Track Position in Engineering Technology (ET) Lecturer/Instructor Positions Adjunct Positions Visiting Professor”The concept is that there are multiple options for a person wishing to enter the faculty ranks inacademia. These can be separated based upon the amount and/or type of scholarship expectedfrom the individual in the position. Scholarship expectations range from high for those on thetenure track at a “Research University” to very small for those in a Lecturer/Instructor position.The changing expectations placed upon faculty in engineering technology programs is interestingto note. The conventional knowledge used to be that research scholarship is not a high priorityfor

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seifollah Nasrazadani, University of North Texas; Reza Mirshams, University of North Texas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

as a pilot course Heat transfer application is a required senior-level undergraduate course in themechanical engineering technology program at the University of North Texas (UNT). Therequired textbook for this course was written by Yunus Cengel.5 Course objectives and studentlearning outcomes from the course syllabus are listed in Appendix A. Each learning outcomeaddresses at least one course objective. Each course objective addresses at least one outcome Page 12.1361.2criterion in accordance with Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of the AccreditationBoard for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and possibly one or more

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Davis, Kettering University; Craig Hoff, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

also active on the professional level of SAE, currently serving as Past-Chair of the Engineering Education Board and on the SAE Board of Directors (Director term, 2007-2010), and as a Director on the Publications Board. He is also active in numerous committees. Greg joined the faculty at Kettering after serving on the faculties of the U.S. Naval Academy and Lawrence Technological University. He received his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1991. Prior to this, he worked as an engineer for both the automotive and electric utility industries. Dr. Davis is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan.Craig Hoff, Kettering University DR

Conference Session

Innovations for the Senior Year of the ME Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Showkat Chowdhury, Alabama A&M University; Abdul Jalloh, Alabama A&M University; Ruben Rojas-Oviedo, Alabama A&M University; Mohamed Seif, Alabama A&M University; Amir Mobasher, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-895: CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE AS A TOOL FOR ASSESSMENTAND IMPROVEMENTShowkat Chowdhury, Alabama A&M University Dr. Showkat Chowdhury is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL. Dr. Chowdhury has extensive background in teaching undergraduate and graduate students in Mechanical Engineering, and performing research in the fields of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Combustion, Propulsion, Heat & Mass Transfer and Turbulence. Previously, he worked as a Professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) and at University of Brighton, U.K. He also worked in the Research Division of Corning

Conference Session

Introducing Active and Inductive Learning and Improving the Learning Curve in ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olga Pierrakos, Virginia Tech; John Charonko, Virginia Tech; Alicia Williams, Virginia Tech; Satyaprakash Karri, Virginia Tech; Kelley Stewart, Virginia Tech; Pavlos Vlachos, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engineering and encouraging the students to engage in hands-on research. The progression of research transfer through the different levels of engineering education is illustrated in Figure 1. At the end of this development ladder, we find the future - interdisciplinary engineers who are leaders in industry, technology, and academia. In this effort, via research transfer and examples, another goal is the recruitment of middle school and high school students and the retention of freshman engineers. Recruiting and retention can be increased by creating awareness and improving the image and perceptions of engineering during the early educational stages. This goal will be accomplished by navigating the students through the maze of engineering fields using

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bobby Crawford, USMA

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

achieving USMA’s Engineering and Technology outcomes. The author developed amethod to identify the graded events that supported each of the course’s objectives, determinehow well they supported those objectives, and then link objective achievement to the USMAlevel outcomes through a subjective pair-wise comparison of the course objectives. Positivefeedback from faculty in the ME program led to expansion of this process to capture the studentperformance data and faculty input from all ME program courses and feed this into a programlevel assessment. The resulting evaluation combines the strengths of objective evaluation (basedon graded events) and subjective evaluation (based on faculty experience).This paper describes the motivation for developing

Conference Session

Meeting ABET Requirements

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Ward, California State University-Chico

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

in the 21st century. Regional accreditation agencies as well as theAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) are highlighting the importance ofassessing student learning outcomes. Problems encountered with early EC2000 assessmentprograms were noted in a study initiated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME) titled Initial Assessment of the Impact of ABET/EC2000 Implementation UsingMechanical Engineering Programs as the Pilot Study Group 1. That study lauded the extensiveinitial involvement of faculty in defining educational objectives, and the participation of programAdvisory Boards to name a few. It also noted the shortcomings of certain assessmenttechniques, the failure of initial employer survey methods, and

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Duffy, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Linda Barrington, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Cheryl West, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; John McKelliget, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Eugene Niemi, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Sammy Shina, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Hongwei Sun, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Chris Niezrecki, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Robert Parkin, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Majid Charmchi, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Peter Avitabile, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

-LCoordinator, for help making community contacts; and graduate students Manuel Herediaand Eric Morgan for assistance with data collection and analysis.References1. Jacoby, B., and Assoc. (1996). Service learning in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.2. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology [ABET] (2005). Criteria for accreditingengineering programs – Effective for evaluations during the 2005-2006 accreditation cycle. RetrievedJanuary 17, 2006, from: http://www.abet.org3. Brandenberger, J.W. (1998). Developmental psychology and service-learning: A theoretical framework(p. 68). In R. Bringle and D. Duffy (Eds.), With service in mind: Concepts and models for service-learningin psychology. Washington, DC: American Association of

Conference Session

What's New in Dynamics?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jiang Zhou; Paul Corder, Lamar University; Kendrick Aung, Lamar University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-2577: TEACHING OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS WITH INTEGRATEDANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL TECHNIQUESJenny Zhou, Lamar University JIANG ZHOU is currently an assistant professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. She received her Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, Maryland, in May 2003. Her research interests include mechanical applications in microelectronics, biomechanics, system dynamics, and system optimizations, etc.Paul Corder, Lamar University Professor Paul Corder received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University. Before joining academia

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Perry, University of Memphis

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-989: THE IMPACT OF ONLINE LECTURE NOTES ON LEARNINGOUTCOMESEdward Perry, University of Memphis Edward H. Perry is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Memphis, where he has served on the faculty since 1970. He received his university's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1977 and again in 2000. He also received the Herff College of Engineering's Outstanding Teaching Award in 1999. He is currently Co-Editor of the MERLOT Engineering Editorial Board and Co-Editor of the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. He received his B.S. (1966), M.S. (1967) and Ph.D. (1970) in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology

Conference Session

What's New in Dynamics?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benjamin Liaw, City College of the City University of New York; Ioana Voiculescu, City College of the City University of New York

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, toassess results, and to communicate with others effectively. As an evidence, the reform result isvery encouraging. The score of the internal ABET course survey of the course has shown drasticimprovement.1. IntroductionThe study of System Dynamics and Control requires a genuine multi-disciplinary approach tointegrate principles in various engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, computer,information technology, etc.) to develop optimal strategy for solving a contemporary engineeringproblem. Many educators have developed various forms of pedagogy for the improvement ofteaching-and-learning of this important subject1-10. This paper presents part of results of therecent NSF-funded departmental-level undergraduate curriculum reform at the

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2007-150: MECHATRONICS COURSE WITH A TWO-TIERED PROJECTAPPROACHHakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver Hakan Gurocak is Director of School of Engineering and Computer Science and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University Vancouver. His research interests are robotics, automation, fuzzy logic, technology assisted distance delivery of laboratory courses and haptic interfaces for virtual reality. Page 12.1052.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Mechatronics Course with a Two-tiered Project ApproachAbstract - In this paper, we present a

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laila Guessous, Oakland University; Qian Zou, Oakland University; Brian Sangeorzan, Oakland University; Xia Wang, Oakland University; Chris Kobus, Oakland University; Gary Barber, Oakland University; Alex Alkidas, Oakland University; Michael Latcha, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

on automotive research. The Automotive Research and IndustrialMentorship (ARIM) REU program at Oakland University 1 aims to engage participants inrewarding automotive research experiences that excite and motivate them to pursue careers inscientific and engineering research, and seeks to address the nationwide problem of the under-representation of women and minorities in the sciences, technology, engineering andmath (STEM).The automotive focus of this program was a natural choice given OU’s close ties to and locationnear the world headquarters and engineering centers of the Big-Three automakers, as well asover one hundred automotive suppliers in southeast Michigan. So, in the summer of 2006, tenundergraduate engineering students from across

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cindy Waters, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Lifelong learning.The basic premise is that an individual learner must actively "build" knowledge and skills 3. Weknow that technology changes with time and an engineer must be motivated to continue to learnand stay current with technology. Constructivism is a method of teaching and learning based onthe principle that cognition (learning) is the result of mental construction, and this construction inquite individual. Knowledge is formed by reflecting on our experiences, by putting informationtogether with what we already thereby we construct knowledge in our head. Thus, we create ourown understanding of the world we live in. Learning is the process of adjusting our mentalmodels to fit with new experiences. Constructivist theorists maintain that

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to ME

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Rhoads, Michigan State University; Craig Somerton, Michigan State University; Brian Olson, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Terry Ballinger, Lansing Catholic High School

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Portion of MST at MSUAbstractMathematics, Science, and Technology at Michigan State University (MST at MSU) is a twoweek long introduction to advanced science and technology for academically-gifted middle schoolstudents. Though the program consists of a number of academic courses, a cornerstone of thisprogram, and the focus of the present work, is a short course in mechanical engineering, whichis presently in its ninth year of existence. This course is intended to expose the students to thefundamentals of mechanical engineering, as well as a variety of practical engineering problemsrelated to the field. Though portions of this program were previously presented to the ASEE in2000, the program has undergone a significant evolution since the initial

Conference Session

Improving ME Education: Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amir Jokar, Washington State University-Vancouver; Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver; Dave Kim, Washington State University-Vancouver; Xiaolin Chen, Washington State University-Vancouver; Hamid Rad, Washington State University-Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

microfluidic/thermal devices.Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University-Vancouver Hakan Gurocak is Director of School of Engineering and Computer Science and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University Vancouver. His research interests are robotics, automation, fuzzy logic, technology assisted distance delivery of laboratory courses and haptic interfaces for virtual reality.Dave Kim, Washington State University-Vancouver Dr. Dave (Dae-Wook) Kim is an Assistant Professor of School of Engineering and Computer Science at Washington State University Vancouver. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle, and his M.S. and B.S. at Sungkyunkwan University