Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State University; David Blekhman, California State University Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

a necessity for the today’sundergraduate mechanical engineering programs. At Grand Valley State University (GVSU), westrive to keep our curriculum up to date, reflecting the demands of industry. We have thereforebegun the process of integrating the use of FEA tools throughout the curriculum, instead ofdelaying it until the senior year either for senior design or elective courses. This paper describesthe introduction of FEA to students in the first course of Statics and Solid Mechanics. The firstpriority of this course is to build the foundation for Mechanics. The challenge therefore was todetermine the content without compromising the priority. Keeping this in mind, 1-D Barelements and 2-D Truss elements are introduced in the course. These

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Techniques in Mechanics

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rick Williams, East Carolina University; William Howard, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

classroomdemonstrations are most effective when coupled with the requirement of having the studentspredict the answer in advance of observing the demonstration(11).Our apparatus for experiments in statics is dubbed the “VectorSmith.” In addition to the threeroles of laboratory experiences described above, we believe that these laboratory experiencesshould provide students an alternative look at a particular problem. With this in mind, the fiveexperiments we developed are classic problems presented in virtually all statics textbooks. Thisallows students with different learning styles a better opportunity to grasp the concept that theproblem is conveying.Yoder et al.(12) proposed the following guidelines for hands-on laboratory experiences forteaching engineering

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Madhukar Vable, Michigan Technological University; William Kennedy, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

interest in higher education pedagogy. He was Professor of Communications at Kettering University prior to joining the faculty at Michigan Tech. While at Kettering, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Charles L. Tutt, Jr. Innovative Teaching Award. He has published extensively in the area of pedagogical design, innovation, and experimentation. Page 12.1078.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 MOM in Action1. IntroductionThe application of mechanics of materials continues to grow beyond aerospace, civil and mechan-ical engineering where it

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Techniques in Mechanics

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; Josh Bostwick, Cornell University; Andrew Dressel, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

local student performance data that, while as yet inconclusive, suggests apossible method for assessment of the strategies’ efficacy.IntroductionMechanics provides the scientific foundation for nearly all branches of engineering andconstitutes an essential component of the education of nearly all engineering students.Through mechanics, students learn not only fundamental principles that govern thebehavior of structures and machines, but they also develop the rigorous habits of mind ofestablishing and critiquing assumptions, translating physical problems into well-posedmathematical equations, and assessing the meaning and validity of their solutions(possibly leading to reformulation and new solutions). It is this broader understanding

Conference Session

Internet Delivery of Mechanics Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Douglas Carroll; Hong Sheng, University of Missouri

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

AC 2007-670: USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE TRADITIONALLECTUREDoug Carroll, University of Missouri Dr. Douglas R. Carroll, PE is a Professor in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla. He is best known for his work with solar powered race cars, winning two national championships and publishing a book on solar car design. He has received many teaching awards in his career. His research interests are composite materials, solar-electric vehicle technology, and educational research.Hong Sheng, University of Missouri Dr. Hong Sheng is an Assistant Professor holding joint position at the Business Administration Department, and Information Science and