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GPThermo: An In-House Generative Artificial Intelligence Tutor for Thermodynamics

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Conference

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Publication Date

June 22, 2025

Start Date

June 22, 2025

End Date

August 15, 2025

Conference Session

ME Division Technical Session 2 - Harnessing AI and Machine Learning to Transform ME Education

Tagged Division

Mechanical Engineering Division (MECH)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

14

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/56669

Paper Authors

biography

Harrison Zimmerman Brown Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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Harrison Brown is a Robotics and Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His interest in automation and thermofluid science contributed to the construction of the model presented.

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Reza Ebadi Worcester Polytechnic Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-7051-714X

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Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has become ubiquitous. Convincing language complemented by constant modifications and upgrades have made GenAI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, an appealing tool to address complex problems. According to a survey by Intelligent.com nearly a third of college students in AY 2022-2023 used ChatGPT for schoolwork and 77.4% of them were likely to recommend using it to study to another student. Despite their appeal, these models have proven flawed in answering technical prompts. Their convincing language may entice the user to trust the responses without verifying them. For example, the authors failed to retrieve accurate thermodynamics properties of some common substances from three publicly available models (OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini). Notwithstanding the inaccuracy of the responses, the conversation suggests some promising capabilities. For instance, with instructive prompts by the user, the model was able to reduce its error percentage significantly. Thermodynamics is one of the early core courses that students in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering, among others take. This study aims to develop a GPT-based model focused on thermodynamics using publicly available resources, such as substance properties. Once proven successful, the model can be adopted by other institutions and adapted to similar courses.

Brown, H. Z., & Ebadi, R. (2025, June), GPThermo: An In-House Generative Artificial Intelligence Tutor for Thermodynamics Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56669

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