Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Ruşen Argun, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Andre Schleife; Cecilia Leal; Dallas R. Trinkle, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Nicola H. Perry, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Jessica Krogstad, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Matthew D. Goodman, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Antonia Statt; Marie Agathe Charpagne

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

research andindustrial applications in recent years. Since 2014, our team has consistently worked onreforming our Materials Science and Engineering curriculum at the University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign by incorporating computational modules into all mandatory undergraduatecourses. Here, we investigate the impact and effectiveness of these computational modules inlight of our recent graduates’ feedback. We surveyed alumni who graduated between 2017 – 2021and asked them about the benefits of the computational curriculum and the significance ofcomputation for their career. “data analysis” was reported to be the most significantcomputational practice, followed by “programming” and “simulation tools”. Python is the mostprevalent programming language

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nina Perry, University of Michigan; Timothy Chambers, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

disciplinesthat are not perceived by novice learners as computational in nature. Previous research indicates thatstudents majoring in subjects that are not programming-heavy might think they will not need these skillsin their careers, or they are less capable [1]. However, both students and professionals across differentengineering disciplines commonly accept that diversifying one's skill set makes one more marketableand favorably positioned for career advancement [2][3]. Additionally, studies suggest that materialsscience and engineering (MSE) faculty favor incorporating computational tools into their teaching andthink that computation is an essential component of the curriculum [4]. However, more research isnecessary to understand how students

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel L Galos, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Aaron Zachary Chandler Friedman, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Ethan Jamosmos, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Sarah Isabel Allec, Citrine Informatics; Brina Blinzler, The University of Kansas; Lessa Grunenfelder, University of Southern California; Adam R Carberry, The Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

). He earned a B.S. in Materials Science Engineering from Alfred University, and received his M.S. and Ph.D., both from Tufts University, in Chemistry and Engineering Education respectively. He recently joined OSU after having served as an Associate Professor in The Polytechnic School within Arizona State University’s Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) where he was the Graduate Program Chair for the Engineering Education Systems & Design (EESD) Ph.D. Program. He is currently a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Engineering Education and co-maintains the Engineering Education Community Resource wiki. Additional career highlights include serving as Chair of the Research in

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan R. Brown, The Ohio State University; Elvin Beach, The Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

materials science courses.Dr. Elvin Beach, The Ohio State University ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2024Integrating Computational and Physical Lab Modules in MaterialsScience and EngineeringAbstractComputational tools play an ever-expanding role in the careers of practicing engineers. As such,in addition to physical labs, our program requires all undergraduate students to take a two-semester sequence in computational materials science called “modeling and simulation” (orModSim) focusing on practical programming skills and use of commercial CALPHAD and FEAsoftware. These courses are taught in the spring semesters of the sophomore and junior years andformatted as hands-on computational laboratory courses

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 6

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joshua Paul Steimel, Humboldt State University; JuEun Lee, Humboldt State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

problem-solving.A key innovation is the use of AI-driven modeling tools alongside open educational resources(OER), eliminating financial barriers from costly textbooks and software. Students publish theirsimulations on the Mathematica Demonstrations platform, gaining professional feedback andexperience with scholarly publication. The course structure promotes engagement, teamwork,and equity, ensuring all students—particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds—actively participate and build confidence in both experimental and computational research.Preliminary results suggest improvements in student performance, engagement, andpreparedness for careers involving AI and data-driven engineering. In particular the cohortshowed a statistically

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Enze Chen, University of California, Berkeley; Mark Asta, University of California, Berkeley; Andrew Minor, University of California, Berkeley and Larwrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

Transferable skill 7 Career skill 11 Life Easier life 5 Life Transferable skill 3 (18) Applications 3 (15) Enjoyment 1 Career skill

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 2

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Himani Sharma, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

academic path, providing a relatable perspective on career paths andprofessional journeys. The younger professionals, having recently transitioned from beingstudents in the same lab, became approachable mentors.Harnessing the presence of field experts on campus provided an excellent opportunity tocultivate more personalized interactions for the students. Once the groundwork was laid forinviting the engineers, a distinctive approach was adopted by allowing students to volunteer ashosts for our esteemed guests. This empowered students to take charge of planning logistics andestablishing email communications with the industry professionals. As hosts, students wentabove and beyond by organizing tours of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 2

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah A Goodman, Stevens Institute of Technology; Emily L Atieh, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

that women, students from groups historically underrepresented inSTEM, and first-generation college students are more drawn to fields that they perceive asaltruistic and can lead to careers in which they can help others [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13].Therefore, by using this project to situate MSE as a field in which students could impact theircommunities, we hope to increase interest in MSE. Finally, there is evidence to support thatcampus-related projects improve student outcomes by providing real-world experience [14],[15], [16], and can also provide a benefit to the university [17].In this work, we seek to understand the impacts of a campus-focused design project on students’1) sense of belonging in the field of MSE, 2) sense of

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 3

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Luciana Lisa Lao, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; LAY POH TAN

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

critical challenges society faces. In the ever-advancing engineeringindustry, how would our Materials Engineering education system adequately prepare ourstudents with the essential knowledge and skills necessary to adapt and excel in their career?What are the learning outcomes that are required to support such excellence?To design these learning outcomes in our curriculum, gathering and analysing relevantstakeholders’ input is crucial. This paper presents our endeavour in partnering thestakeholders (students, educators/faculty, alumni and employers) to understand the gaps andneeds of Materials Engineering education. Consultations with the stakeholders were designedto rally around three main focus areas namely (i) to evaluate the existing

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 4

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel L Galos, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Mohsen Beyramali Kivy, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Lessa Grunenfelder, University of Southern California; Ken-ichi Nomura, University of Southern California; James E. Saal, Citrine Informatics, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

related Understand considerations; select relevant example; translate to another information; explain significance. language. Recall information in situations Retrieve factual information; list where technology is not readily possible answers; define a term; Remember accessible. construct a basic chronology or timeline.In addition to generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, undergraduate engineering students cannow expect to encounter discipline-specific AI and ML tools in their studies and careers. Inthe context of MS&E, the use of domain-specific

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 2: Activities with Impact! Special Session

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lessa Grunenfelder, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

. The goalsof the activity are threefold: (1) give students an opportunity to meet each other and the lab TAsin a low-stakes setting, (2) familiarize students with the online system they will use throughoutthe semester for assignment submissions, and (3) model the format and expectations for the labreports they will prepare in the course.Studies have shown that working engineers typically devote 20-40% of their workday tocommunication (a percentage that increases with career advancement) but less than 5% ofengineering education is devoted to communication skills [1]. Engineering students are exposedto technical writing at various points during their academic careers. Because students in MASC310L are from a range of disciplines and at a range of

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 2

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew D Goodman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Saadeddine Shehab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Nicholas Robert Pozza; Blake Everett Johnson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; jean-charles stinville, University of Illionis Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

employ and howthey apply them in their design projects, this study seeks to shed light on the efficacy ofintegrating HCD in material sciences capstone courses, which in turn will inform futureiterations of these courses.Background/Theoretical PerspectivesCapstone courses in engineeringCapstone courses are crucial in engineering education as they allow students to utilize theassimilated knowledge of their collegiate career to practice and solve design challenges. Seniordesign courses are often billed as capstone courses that serve as completion markers. In theory,these courses aim to utilize the entirety of the knowledge gained in the curriculum through amulti-faceted “design” project [1]. Ideally, design projects incorporate real-world

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 2

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lessa Kay Grunenfelder, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

information that may be directly applicable to my career or academic goals.While all increases in student ratings for the PBL version of the course as compared to the exam-based instructional model were found to be statistically significant, the largest increases werenoted in the questions elucidating perceived relevance of assessment to content covered in thecourse, and impacts on critical thinking and communication (bolded rows in Table 1). Graphicaldata showing each course section individually is presented in Figure 2 for visual comparison.Figure 2. Student learning experience evaluation data from exam-based sections of the course(gray) and project-based offerings (dark red

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 5

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew D Goodman, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Saadeddine Shehab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Taylor Parks, University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign; jean-charles stinville, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Blake Everett Johnson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

Entrepreneurial Mindset.Background/Theoretical PerspectivesCapstone courses in engineeringEngineering capstone courses are an important component in engineering education as theyprovide students with the opportunity to solve design challenges using their accumulatedknowledge of their collegiate career. These design challenges are instructional, allowing studentsto practice and gain mastery prior to graduation. Oftentimes, these capstone experiences aresenior design courses and serve as completion markers prior to graduation. These courses aim toprovide the capstone experience through a multi-faceted “design” project [1], ideallyincorporating real-world objectives and constraints [2]. Oftentimes, the design project requiresstudents to balance several, at

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 5

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Chambers, University of Michigan; Katie Snyder, University of Michigan

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

general public as well as business leaders. As such, we redesigned the communicationactivities and deliverables for the course to better prepare students to interact with non-academicaudiences in their careers. The course consists of four major projects, each lasting 3-4 weeks. In the fourth project,students choose their own topics and conclude with a poster fair; that project will not bediscussed here. For the first three projects, as instructors we considered a variety ofcommunication scenarios, genres, and deliverable types that might make sense in connectionwith each of the technical topics. Our goal was to help students develop skills in communicatingwith a wide variety of audiences, including different levels of technical expertise on

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 3

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carlos R. Corleto, Texas A&M University; Matt Pharr, Texas A&M University; Bruce A Conway, Texas A&M University; Shadi Balawi, Texas A&M University; Bruce L. Tai, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

Science & Engineering. His scientific research focuses on mechanics of materials in areas including energy storage and conversion, soft ma- terials, irradiated materials, stretchable electronics, coupled electro-chemo-mechanics, and materials for neuromorphic computing. He teaches classes primarily in mechanics of materials and materials science. He has received an NSF CAREER Award, the Kaneka Junior Faculty Award, a Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Young Faculty Award, the Peggy L. & Charles Brittan ’65 Outstanding Un- dergraduate Teaching Award, a Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar Award, and The Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 3

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yljing Stehle, Union College

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

careers. Remarkably, 3 students expressed post-lab interest in furthering research in the form of carry out independent study with a researchprofessor, each in a distinct direction. Notably, during the winter semester, one student delvedinto the energy storage application of graphene oxide, while another focused on understandingthe influence of New York humidity variation on the structure and permeability of grapheneoxide membranes. In the spring semester, one student explored the sensing application ofgraphene oxide, while another delved into understanding the self-assembly behavior ofgraphene oxide sheets when forming membranes. The latter student not only advanced researchbut also created an education kit connecting the assembly process with

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barry Dupen, Purdue University Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 4

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rajan Kumar, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.caredit.a1600047. Link here: https://www.science.org/careers/2016/03/how-seriously-read-scientific-paper1. What are some useful strategies for reading a scientific paper? Include at least three strategies mentioned in the article that you already use or would like to implement.2. What resonated with you in the “What do you do when there is something you don’t understand?” or “Do you ever feel overwhelmed reading papers, and how do you deal with that?” sections? Write about a topic that stood out to you as being important.Week 2:1. Suppose you were in charge of running a self-assembled monolayer deposition process. You noticed that some of your films have visible defects, so you want to investigate how to

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 1

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacob Kelter, Northwestern University; Jonathan Daniel Emery, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)

perspective in which the interactions of large numbers of atoms lead to theemergence of larger-scale properties. Models showcasing emergence fit perfectly with the classicMSE paradigm which emphasizes that a material’s properties emerge from its structure whichemerges from the processing the material undergoes. The course utilizes computational agent-based or atomistic models (ABMs1) designed specifically for educational purposes. Beyondproviding computational skills that students will need in their careers, these models will leveragea truly transformative aspect of computation in education: the ability of the computer to representscientific phenomenon in new, powerful, and intuitive ways.1.2 ABM in Education and RestructurationsRepresenting content

Conference Session

Materials Division (MATS) Technical Session 4

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacob Z. Kelter, Northwestern University; Jonathan Daniel Emery; Uri Joseph Wilensky

Tagged Divisions

Materials Division (MATS)