Conference Session

Technology in Mechanics Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Marie Grau, Stanford Univeristy; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

teach- ing both undergraduate and graduate design and education-related classes at Stanford University, she con- ducts research on weld and solder-connect fatigue and impact failures, fracture mechanics, applied finite element analysis, and engineering education. In addition, from 1999-2008, she served as a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, leading the Foundation’s engineering study (as reported in Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future of the Field). Sheppard’s graduate work was done at the University of Michigan.Ms. Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Stanford University Samantha Brunhaver is a fourth-year graduate student at Stanford University. She is currently working on

Conference Session

Innovations in Solid Mechanics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Birdsong, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

25.1419.4description of the method and results of the analysis. The intent was to reinforce the importanceof written communication in every aspect of engineering.Encourage External Research - Each project assignment included some undefined parametersthat required the students to assess what information was missing and to make reasonableassumptions based and cited sources. For example students were asked to design a system thatwould be “safe” to operate by high school students. They had to assess what risks might resultfrom their design and justify how they chose the limits, such as maximum velocity of the crashsled.Encourage Open-Ended Problem Solving and Critical Thinking - The students wererepeatedly told that there is no correct answer to each problem. It