Conference Session

K-12 Professional Development II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeremy V Ernst, Virginia Tech; Aaron C. Clark, North Carolina State University; Vincent William DeLuca, North Carolina State University; Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

27 years as a teacher and researcher. He has extensive research and curriculum development experience in STEM disciplines. His research includes the study of thinking processes, teaching methods, and activities that improve technological problem-solving performance and creativity. He has expertise in developing technology education curriculum that integrates science, technology, engineering and mathe- matics (STEM) concepts. Currently, Dr. DeLuca’s research includes projects to develop curricula to teach STEM concepts associated with renewable energy technologies by providing a living laboratory of perfor- mance data from numerous renewable energy systems. The overarching goal of the project is to develop middle

Conference Session

Visualization tools, modeling abilities and grading models

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Theodore J. Branoff, North Carolina State University; Modris Dobelis, Riga Technical University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Design Graphics

students’ ability to create solid models when givenan assembly drawing and their spatial visualization ability. Students were administered thePSVT:R and the MCT and were then given an assembly drawing and asked to model as many ofthe seven parts as possible during a 110 minute class period. The parts in the assembly ranged incomplexity from a ball to a valve body. Students were given a ruler to measure parts on the B-size drawing and determine sizes of features based on the given scale (2:1). Relationships wereexamined between the PSVT:R, MCT, modeling activity, final project and the final exam. Thispaper will present the results of this study and discuss implications for future research.IntroductionWith the reduced amount of instructional time

Collection

2024 CIEC

Authors

Mohamed Zeidan; Ahmad Fayed; Mehmet Bahadir

]. Between accreditation requirements, general education courses andother school/department policies and obligations, there is a very limited number of credits thatcan be dedicated to classes that focus mainly on specific industry code, standards and commonpractices.To approach this problem, educators typically respond by introducing industry standards andpractices through projects/case studies in higher-level courses (usually 300/400 levels) and, morecommonly, in capstone projects and internships [11]. However, the authors believe that thisapproach may limit students' exposure to industry standards and practices to only the onesdirectly related to their projects. Moreover, students may sometimes confuse industry standardsand codes with textbook

Collection

2007 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Lawrence Whitman; S. Hossein Cheraghi; Janet Twomey

atenhancing student’s education by complementing the lecture and textbookmaterial. This paper presents a simulation-based project for various ProductionSystems/Operations Management courses. The challenge is to develop asimulation that is flexible to cover basic course content as well as recent industrytrends involving theory of constraints and the lean enterprise. This proveschallenging for instructors, because many of these concepts are counterintuitive totraditional manufacturing logic. The developed simulation model meets thechallenge faced by instructors and students as they try to expand currentcurriculum and get the most out of the simulation experience. The paper comparesother production system projects, presents the project itself, describes

Collection

2008 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Ashraf Ghaly

interdisciplinary course that combines engineering arts and the liberal arts has beendeveloped and offered. The course materials were designed to appeal to both engineering andnon-engineering students. The class was equally split between these two groups of students. Thecourse required high technical skill and ability to operate advanced software, which some did notpossess. The course explored the tightly knit relationship between the art of constructing some ofthe most sophisticated projects and other non-engineering requirements such as political,economical, historical, cultural, and public perception factors. The course offers an insight intothe role engineers play to find a common ground that satisfies all needs and meet

Collection

2012 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Jesse E. Jaeger; Jibin T. Chacko; Richard A. Maier; James Patrick Abulencia

students can relate to. The goals were to 1) generate a scenario wherestudents can better learn course material by requiring them to teach their peers, and 2) create arepository of videos that can be used in subsequent iterations of the course.Surveys were given out to the student participants at the conclusion of the project, and consistedof five questions evaluated using a five level Likert rating scale, as well as three free responseprompts. The major conclusions derived from the data are: 1) this assignment was enjoyable toexecute, and useful for participating student to learn major concepts in the course, 2) the videosgenerated were useful in teaching their classmates, and 3) this assignment can be extended toother courses. Overall, the paper

Collection

2004 ASEE North Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Michael P. Hennessey

To promote creativity and inspire innovation through the use of unstructured and open-ended problems, the design project for Machine Design this past year at St. Thomas was based on a national collegiate design contest: the 2003-4 ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Student Design Contest, Mine Madness. Mine Madness entails designing and manufacturing a vehicle from scratch to retrieve simulated mines from a simulated minefield within an allotted time. Students embarked upon an exciting educational journey which is documented (through text, photos, and available video) from the professor’s perspective; starting with project inception through course end, to the official design contest itself at the

Collection

2008 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Ashraf Ghaly

interdisciplinary course that combines engineering arts and the liberal arts has beendeveloped and offered. The course materials were designed to appeal to both engineering andnon-engineering students. The class was equally split between these two groups of students. Thecourse required high technical skill and ability to operate advanced software, which some did notpossess. The course explored the tightly knit relationship between the art of constructing some ofthe most sophisticated projects and other non-engineering requirements such as political,economical, historical, cultural, and public perception factors. The course offers an insight intothe role engineers play to find a common ground that satisfies all needs and meet

Collection

2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Jesse E. Jaeger; Jibin T. Chacko; Richard A. Maier; James Patrick Abulencia

students can relate to. The goals were to 1) generate a scenario wherestudents can better learn course material by requiring them to teach their peers, and 2) create arepository of videos that can be used in subsequent iterations of the course.Surveys were given out to the student participants at the conclusion of the project, and consistedof five questions evaluated using a five level Likert rating scale, as well as three free responseprompts. The major conclusions derived from the data are: 1) this assignment was enjoyable toexecute, and useful for participating student to learn major concepts in the course, 2) the videosgenerated were useful in teaching their classmates, and 3) this assignment can be extended toother courses. Overall, the paper

Conference Session

Professional Papers

Collection

2025 ASEE Southeast Conference

Authors

Vivek Singhal, University of Wisconsin - Stout; Kenan Baltaci, University of Wisconsin - Stout

Tagged Topics

Diversity, Professional Papers

knowledgeacross diverse areas such as biological testing, human factors, usability engineering, riskmanagement, and regulatory frameworks. Recognizing that no single academic instructor canprovide expertise in all these areas, we designed the course to leverage contributions fromindustry professionals. These experts bring real-world insights to the classroom through guestlectures, project guidance, and case studies, ensuring that students gain practical knowledge thataligns with current industry practices.The course takes an active learning approach, incorporating hands-on projects that simulaterealworld applications. Students engage in designing simple medical devices, such as weightscales, pedometers, shake detectors, and water tank level meters, which

Conference Session

Professional Papers

Collection

2025 ASEE Southeast Conference

Authors

Lianjun Wu, Mercer University; Arash Afshar, Mercer University; Dorina Marta Mihut; Belle Lin; Melanie L McElroy, Mercer University ; Jordi Riera Shephard, Mercer University; Michael James Norenberg, Mercer University

Tagged Topics

Professional Papers

his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Mercer University. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research in Prosthetic Hand Development: Bridging Mechanical and Biomedical EngineeringAbstractThis paper presents our initial progress on an innovative undergraduate research project thatbridges mechanical and biomedical engineering disciplines in the field of prosthetic handdevelopment. A group of undergraduate students, majoring in mechanical engineering andbiomedical engineering, are engaged in a collaborative effort to design, fabricate, and characterizeactuators for prosthetic devices. The project aims to provide students with hands-on

Collection

2015 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Norman Ettedgui; Joe Cooney; Brian LaBar; Ernest Frimpong; Gilbert Szeto; Amelito G. Enriquez; Kwok-Siong Teh; Cheng Chen; Hamid Mahmoodi; Wenshen Pong; Hamid Shanasser; Xiaorong Zhang

improve undergraduate STEM education and increase the recruitment and retention of STEMstudents, engaging community college students in cutting-edge STEM research is a significantstrategy for inspiring students’ interest in STEM and enabling them to discover their capacity touse STEM to make a difference in the world. With support from the NASA CIPAIR (CurriculumImprovements and Partnership Award for the Integration of Research) program, in summer 2014,four sophomore engineering students from Cañada College, a Hispanic-Serving community college inCalifornia’s Silicon Valley participated in a ten-week summer research internship project in aresearch lab on intelligent cyber-physical systems (CPS) at San Francisco State University, apublic

Collection

2025 ASEE -GSW Annual Conference

Authors

Todd W Polk, University of Texas at Dallas; Robert Hart P.E., University of Texas at Dallas

of Texas at Dallas (UTD). He teaches the capstone design course sequence and serves as a Director for the UTDesign program, which facilitates corporate sponsorship of capstone projects and promotes re-source sharing and cross-disciplinary collaboration among engineering departments. Upon joining UTD in 2012, he developed the capstone design course sequence in the newly-formed mechanical engineering department and has been responsible for teaching it since. In 2017, he was a recipient of a University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. His professional interests are in the areas of engineering education, fluid mechanics, and thermal science. Robert is an active member of ASEE and the Capstone

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Knight, University of Colorado Boulder; Angela R Bielefeldt P.E., University of Colorado Boulder; Joseph Polman; Michael Hannigan

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Director for the Engineering Plus program. She has served as the Associate Chair for UndergraduateDr. Joseph Polman Polman Joe Polman is a Professor of Learning Sciences and Science Education, as well as Associate Dean for Research, in the School of Education at University of Colorado Boulder. He designs and studies project-based learning environments for youth in schools andProf. Michael Hannigan Michael P. Hannigan is an Associate Professor in the University of Colorado’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Southern Methodist University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Science from Calt ©American Society for Engineering Education

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FYP) - Technical Session 8: Skill Building

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew J. Haslam, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott; Jonathan M. Adams, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott; Robert Gerrick, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FYP)

block of instructiontime.As part of the paired cornerstone courses students completed two engineering design projectsthat were intended to mirror what students are required to do in the capstone courses. The initialindividual assignment asked students to design a 3D-printed water rocket. Students documentedtheir particular design in a written proposal. The second project was team-based, and it involveddesigning a system in response to a provided RFP. The teams were tasked with refining therequirements and then developing possible design concepts, which they presented in a ConceptDesign Review; the presentation was accompanied by a written proposal. Subsequently, teamsdeveloped the details of their design, and they created more refined CAD

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bimal Nepal, Texas A&M University; Eakalak Khan; Om Prakash Yadav; Manan Shah, Texas A&M University

Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research on Big Data in Energy and Related InfrastructureAbstractThis paper describes the first year of the implementation of a three-year long NSF-fundedInternational Experience for Students (IRES) Site Track-1 project. As a part of the IRES SiteTrack-1 project, three engineering programs at three U.S. universities have collaborated on aproject to increase the global competencies of undergraduate engineering/computer sciencestudents through a summer international research training program in big data in energy and relatedinfrastructure in partnership with the Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Perak, Malaysia. The U.S.Universities included Texas A&M University, North Dakota State University, and University ofNevada at Las

Conference Session

Committee on Educational Policy Presents: Pillars of Professional Development

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashraf Badir, Florida Gulf Coast University; Seneshaw Tsegaye, Florida Gulf Coast University; Long Duy Nguyen, P.E., Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)

Tsegaye, Florida Gulf Coast University Dr. Seneshaw Tsegaye is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is the Backe Chair of Research for Sustainable Water and Renewable Energy. He has 10 years of experience in the fields of integrated urban water management, water-energy-food nexus, infiltration-based best management practices, flood modeling, and decision support systems for transitioning to vegetation-based stormwater systems. Dr. Tsegaye’s latest research project is focused on the application of Virtual Reality for flood resiliency and engineering education. With many years of teaching and research experience

Collection

2022 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Kathleen M. Hill, Pennsylvania State University; Somayeh Asadi, Penn State ; Matthew M Johnson, Pennsylvania State University; Tiffany M. Lewis

Control from Pennsylvania State Uni- versity. Living in Arizona, she worked in environmental consulting for 10 years, which involved a wide variety of projects across the desert southwest region. With a transition to teaching middle and high school science, she served as a teacher leader on the NASA Phoenix Student Internship Program and founder/coordinator of a school-wide middle school science and engineering fair.Prof. Somayeh Asadi, Penn StateDr. Matthew M Johnson, Pennsylvania State University Matt is an Associate Professor of Science Education and Associate Director with the Center for Science and the Schools in the College of Education at Penn State University. His research interests focus on how teachers learn

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

John J. Classen, North Carolina State University at Raleigh; Alison V. Deviney, Biological and Agricultural Department, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

students appreciate the technical, economic, and socialchallenges related to implementing new animal manure management technologies in aproduction environment that already includes an established regulatory framework.The first tool was the concept map. The goal of the project was to explore the complexinteractions of various stakeholders and agents of food animal production. Students in theundergraduate class were asked to create a concept map, in the form of a diagram, of the NorthCarolina swine industry with a focus on manure management and environmental impacts andprotections. Each of the six students in the graduate class additionally created their map from theperspective of a different stakeholder group. Students also reviewed and provided

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Blaine Austin Pedersen, Texas A&M University; Robin A.M. Hensel, West Virginia University; Sumaia Ali Raisa, West Virginia University; Rebecca A. Atadero, Colorado State University; A.M. Aramati Casper, Colorado State University; Ronald R. DeLyser, University of Denver; Christopher D. Griffin, West Virginia University; Scott T. Leutenegger, University of Denver; Melissa Lynn Morris, University of Nevada - Las Vegas; Christina Paguyo, University of Denver; Jody Paul, Metropolitan State University of Denver; Seoyeon Park, Texas A&M University; Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, Texas A&M University; Breigh Nonte Roszelle, University of Denver

Tagged Topics

Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

Virginia University. While her doctorate is in Curriculum and Instruction, focusing on higher education teaching of STEM fields, she also holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in Mathematics. Dr. Hensel has over seven years of experience working in engineering teams and in project management and administration as a Mathematician and Computer Systems Analyst for the U. S. Department of Energy as well as more than 25 years of experience teaching mathematics, statistics, computer science, and first-year engineering courses in higher education institutions. Currently, she leads a team of faculty who are dedicated to providing first-year engineering students with a high- quality, challenging, and engaging educational experience with

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kerul Suthar, Auburn University; Thomas Mitchell ; Anna Claire Hartwig, Auburn University; Jin Wang, Auburn University; Shiwen Mao, Auburn University; Laura Parson, North Dakota State University; Peng Zeng, Auburn University; Bo Liu ; Peter He, Auburn University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 5 Dept. of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 * Corresponding authorAbstractThe importance of data science and engineering (DSE) education cannot be overstated andundergraduate education offers a critical link in providing more DSE exposure to students andexpanding the supply of DSE talent. Currently significant progress has been made in classwork,while progress in hands-on research experience is still lacking. To help fill this gap, we proposeto create data-enabled engineering project (DEEP) modules in the form of interactive JupyterNotebooks based on real data and applications. We

Collection

2020 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Meeting

Authors

Johannes Weickenmeier, Stevens Institute of Technology (School of Engineering and Science)

Tagged Topics

Diversity

writing, and merit-driven presentations whichinclude project narrative development and application-oriented thinking. We conducted pre- andpost-program surveys and evaluated learning outcomes for each workshop.In the following, we review the structure of our program as well as the goals, content, and outcomesof our workshops and the virtual summer research conference. Lastly, we summarize key learningfrom our students and the program in general.2. Program StructureWe selected 21 mechanical engineering undergraduate students to participate in our 12-weeksummer research program. Students were expected to work for a minimum of 20hrs/week and toparticipate in our workshop series in order to qualify for a program stipend of $1200. The programwas not

Conference Session

Technical Session 5a

Collection

2017 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Jeffrey Thomas Yan; James LeRoy Dalton, Cañada College; Kattia Chang, Engineering Student at Cañada College; Bianca Corine Villanueva Doronila, Canada College; Victor Josue Melara Alvarado, Canada College; Christopher Thomas; Ian M Donovan, San Francisco State University; Kartik Bholla; Amelito G Enriquez, Canada College; Wenshen Pong P.E., San Francisco State University; Zhaoshuo Jiang P.E., San Francisco State University; Cheng Chen, San Francisco State University; Kwok Siong Teh, San Francisco State University; Hamid Mahmoodi, San Francisco State University; Hao Jiang, San Francisco State University; Kazunori Okada, San Francisco State University; Xiaorong Zhang, San Francisco State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity, Pacific Southwest Section

for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) LLP. As a licensed professional engineer in the states of Connecticut and California, Dr. Jiang has been involved in the design of a variety of low-rise and high-rise projects. His current research interests mainly focus on Smart Structures Technology, Structural Control and Health Monitoring and Innovative Engineering Education. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 2017 Pacific Southwest SectionMeeting: Tempe, Arizona Apr 20 Paper ID #20673Dr. Cheng Chen, San Francisco State University Dr

Conference Session

Student Evaluation in Design Education

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber N. Lyerly, East Carolina University; Gene Dixon, East Carolina University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

. While at her internship she designed a product which was further developed and implemented into production. In 2013, Lyerly was the Vice President of the ECU Club Golf Team and competed for the National Title at the Kampen Course at Purdue University.Dr. Gene Dixon, East Carolina University Gene Dixon is a tenured Associate Professor at East Carolina where he teaches aspiring engineers at the undergraduate level. Previously he has held positions with Union Carbide, Chicago Bridge & Iron, E.I. DuPont & deNemours, Westinghouse Electric, CBS, Viacom and Washington Group. His work expe- rience includes project engineer, program assessor, senior shift manager, TQM coach, and production reactor outage planner

Conference Session

Engineering Management Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mustafa Shraim, Ohio University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

incorporating experimental design to optimize operations. Other research interests include the Deming System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK), developing continuous improvement programs as well as sustainable management systems based on ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and other international standards. He has over 20 years of experience in the quality management field as a quality engineer, corporate quality manager, consultant and trainer. His experience is extensive in quality management systems as wells as Lean and Six Sigma methods. In addition, he coached and mentored Green & Black Belts on process improvement projects in the manufacturing and service industries. Dr. Shraim is a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) & a

Conference Session

Community Engagement in Diverse Contexts

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jo-Ann Panzardi PE, Cabrillo College; Terra D. Morris, The RP Group; Xitlali Galmez-Marquez, Cabrillo College; Patricia E. Sanders; Eva Schiorring, StemEval; Kurt Degregorio, Cabrillo College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

Paper ID #25144What Impact Does an Engineering Abroad Program Have on the Motivationand Commitment of Community College Engineering Students?Jo-Ann Panzardi PE, Cabrillo College Jo-Ann Panzardi is a Professor and Chair of the Engineering Department at Cabrillo College, Aptos, California since August 1995. She is also the Program Director of a USDE Title III STEM grant and Project Investigator of a NSF S-STEM grant. She received her BS in Civil Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York and her MSCE in Geotechnical Engineering from University of Maryland. She is a registered civil engineer in California. She was

Conference Session

Two-Year College Division Poster Session

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan G. Dimitriu, San Antonio College; Klaus Bartels, San Antonio College; Steven F Lewis

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Two-Year College

College Green Training Initiative. In order to strengthen the initiative, Mr. Lewis collaborated with the college grant office to submit a successful proposal to the United States Department of Urban Development in 2010 for construction of the William R. Sinkin Eco Centro. He since served as director of Eco Centro while collaborating with Texas State University on the Re-Energize grant and EverGreeen grants in overseeing undergraduate research projects c American Society for Engineering Education, 2018 Re-Energize Undergraduate Research Program in Its Third and Final YearAbstractThe Re-Energize Undergraduate Research Program started with the creation of a network ofrenewable energy education and

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nina Dahlmann, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Maria Elsner, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Sabina Jeschke, University of Stuttgart; Nicole Natho, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Christian Schroeder, Technische Universitaet Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

AC 2008-1444: ATTRACTIVE SCIENCES - RECRUITING AND RETENTIONACTIVITIES FOR WOMEN IN ACADEMIC CSET EDUCATIONNina Dahlmann, Technische Universitaet Berlin Nina Dahlmann has been working on several eLearning projects at the Berlin University of Technology since 2001. She began as a student member of the Mumie team where she was involved in the design, the development process as well as the implementation of the eLearning platform Mumie, a platform using new pedagogical concepts to support teaching of mathematics for mathematicians, engineers and natural scientists. Further on, she assisted the project management of the Mumie project in its future orientation and development. In the past year

Conference Session

Software Engineering Course Content

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sushil Acharya, Robert Morris University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Enhancing the Software Verification and Validation Course through Laboratory Sessions1. IntroductionMany engineering courses are taught through lecture-only sessions and students garnerexperiences through course based projects and internships. However these methods alone do notsuffice to place fresh engineering graduates at a competitive advantage in the job market. In goodand bad times employers look for engineers with job-related experience since such engineersrequire less training and provide faster results. In view of this, course enhancements and deliverywith focus on real-life work experience needs to be embraced by engineering programs. SoftwareEngineering

Conference Session

Introduction to Materials Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Stolk, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Materials

control facilitate engagement, self-motivation, and creative approaches to learning. The course design leverages existingeducational research that suggests strong correlations between self-determination and creativity.By providing students with increasing levels of autonomy – and corresponding increases increative opportunity – throughout the semester, the project-based learning experiences enablestudents to connect materials science topics to personal interests and contexts. Students reportthat the course contributes positively to their creative thinking, and they emphasize the benefitsof freedom in choosing topics and learning strategies.IntroductionImagine yourself as a first-semester sophomore, entering the classroom on the first day of