Curricular Innovations and Continuous Improvement of Academic Programs (and Satisfying ABET along the Way): The Elizabeth Judson Memorial Symposium: On-Demand Oral Presentations
Sponsored by: TMS: Accreditation Committee, TMS: Education Committee
Program Organizers: Alison Polasik, Campbell University; Susan Gentry, University of California, Davis; Jeffrey Fergus, Auburn University; Assel Aitkaliyeva, University of Florida; Kester Clarke, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Subhadra Gupta; Gregg Janowski, University of Alabama at Birmingham; M. Norton, Washington State University
Friday 8:00 AM
October 22, 2021
Room: On-Demand Room 13
Location: MS&T On Demand
An Innovative and Integrated Approach to Materials Selection and Simulation for Engineering Education: Lakshana Mohee1; Nicola Stefani1; 1ANSYS Granta
To better prepare students to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving industry coupled with advances in technology, educators are continuously improving academic programs through innovative curriculum design and development, while satisfying ABET requirements. Teaching methods such as project-based learning require a multi-disciplinary approach to the teaching of engineering and design students. Concepts such as materials selection and design, which are fundamental for optimizing the use of a product in real-word engineering applications, were usually taught as a preliminary step before addressing the performance of the product in a laboratory setting. With the use of simulation tools developed for teaching purposes, this hindrance has been overcome by allowing students to visualize in real time the choices of materials and design on the behavior of the product under structural, thermal, and fluid conditions. In this work, we will present a case study highlighting a streamlined approach to address student learning outcomes.
Assessment of Ceramic Higher Education Curricula in Nigeria and Prospects for 21st Century Learners: Oluwafemi Adelabu1; 1Federal University of Technology, Akure
In a rapidly changing world, the role of curriculum in higher education for nurturing talents for the work-world cannot be overemphasised. Today, there is a growing need to reconsider the existing curricular structure of higher education programmes in order to align the institutional training capacity with the realities of the 21st Century's socio-technical and ecological needs. With a focus on science-inclined ceramic programmes in Nigerian tertiary institutions, this study examines existing and evolving curricular frameworks with respect to graduate employability and ease of professional practice. Using both both quantitative and qualitative data, the study revealed some areas of gap and also highlighted efforts towards making appropriate curricular reform which will enable gainful graduate engagements especially within the ceramic professional circle. A more critical approach to curricular review and a student-centred learning strategy are encouraged to tailor the programme toward meeting the learners' competency needs in a digital era.
Virtually Teaching Materials Science Topics in 20 Minutes: Kaitlin Tyler; Alfred Oti1; 1Ansys
Materials science and engineering can be a very daunting subject to teach as it encompasses everything from atomistic to macroscopic behavior. However, materials are integral to the broad fields of engineering and design. In the age of remote learning, the need for digital teaching resources is at an all time high. Combining that with the needs of engineers upskilling post-graduation, there is a wide audience for “bite-size” content covering fundamentals of materials. How do we teach these concepts to a wide audience digitally without any interaction with the students? We at XXXXX have been exploring how to teach a set of introductory materials science topics using short videos and digital quizzes and homework. An emphasis on demonstrations with real world examples (including marshmallows and printer paper) were included to increase the connection between participants and the content. Details on challenges during course development and available user feedback will be presented.
Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering: an Online Course from a Student's Perspective: Joseph Foster1; Subhadra Gupta1; 1University of Alabama
The introductory materials structure and properties course, like many others in 2020, had to effectively transition course material to a virtual platform. The online course was beneficial for me, as I work full time, have significant work travel, and am a father of three children. The course was broken into twenty-three Zoom lectures covering course material from fifteen chapters of the course text. Each chapter’s lecture slides were uploaded to Blackboard and available from the start of the semester, which I really liked. The course also utilized polls and quizzes during each lecture which were very helpful in summarizing learning objectives. Test information contained all of the material as reviewed in the lecture slides. The course was planned and executed very well. This course was conducive to providing a successful learning environment. An improvement suggested would be to add practical demonstrations or labs to the course to further excite students.
Optimum Design of Railcar Truck Stand: Balin Shrivastava1; Akhil Gone1; Krishna Medishetty1; Raghu Echempati1; 1Kettering University
Car-truck stands which are usually welded together are used during maintenance operations to support one end of a freight car or a commuter car used in railway industry. From a safety perspective, this needs to be designed carefully, but at the same time due to their possible large volume of production, this structure needs to be optimized from strength and cost perspectives besides other parameters such as long life, etc. The purpose of this paper is to conduct virtual experiments for the optimal design and material makeup of different car-truck stand structures using SolidWorks and NX as the CAE tools. The idea is to include this work as a part of a final project in a vehicle analysis course taught at Kettering University. Multi materials using steel and aluminum was also be analyzed.