{"id":573872,"date":"2023-11-20T16:02:07","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T21:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=573872"},"modified":"2024-09-08T10:24:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T14:24:09","slug":"mechanical-engineering-launches-overhauled-lab-courses-573872","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/mechanical-engineering-launches-overhauled-lab-courses-573872\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanical engineering launches overhauled lab courses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faculty members work with industry advisors to modernize hands-on aspects of the department\u2019s curriculum.<\/h2>\n

In Hopeman Hall, third-year mechanical engineering students barrage graphite paper repeatedly with small metal balls shot from spring-loaded launchers. The activity\u2014part of Professor Douglas Kelley\u2019s ME 240: Fundamentals of Instrumentation & Measurement class\u2014looks fun, but it\u2019s also teaching the students important lessons about repeatability and statistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to get out of the lecture halls,\u201d says Cole Senecal \u201924. \u201cThe hands-on approach makes it a little easier to conceptualize some of the things we\u2019re learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class is one of two upper-level lab courses\u2014the other is Associate Professor Jessica Shang<\/a>\u2019s ME 241: Mechanics Laboratory\u2014that the Department of Mechanical Engineering<\/a> recently revamped to incorporate modern engineering methods and scale to meet growing enrollment demands.<\/p>\n

\"Two
FEEL THE VIBRATION:<\/strong> Junyi Lin \u201925 (left) and Cady Brunecz \u201925 examine the vibrational spectra of ball bearings to determine their damage during the vibrations and frequency analysis lab portion of Doug Kelley\u2019s 200-level mechanical engineering course. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur department has long been proud of the rigor and depth of our upper-level laboratory courses. But given the growth of engineering enrollment in our department and nationwide in the last decade, we wondered if it was time for an adjustment,\u201d says Kelley.<\/p>\n

Led by chair and fellow professor Renato Perucchio<\/a>, the department\u00a0consulted with its program advisory board composed of industry-connected alumni about ways to build a stronger foundation for students in applied engineering methods. The faculty agreed that existing labs were valuable and superior to many offerings elsewhere, so they didn\u2019t want to make changes that compromised the quality of the curriculum.<\/p>\n

By providing more structured courses and updating equipment, the department was able to strike a good balance of preserving what worked and freshening things up. The students are now using revitalized procedures and new gear including thermal cameras and thermocouples, microphones and ukuleles, launchers, strain gauges, amplifiers, motors, controllers, and data acquisition equipment.<\/p>\n

\"Three
SPRING-LOADED FLING:<\/strong> (clockwise from bottom) Luke Lawson \u201924, Jake Gonzales \u201924, and Cole Senecal \u201924 take part in the repeatability and statistics lab exercises of ME 240 in Hopeman Hall. \u201cThe hands-on approach makes it a little easier to conceptualize some of the things we\u2019re learning,\u201d says Senecal. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe entire overhauling process proved the importance of the interaction between our program advisory board and the faculty,\u201d says Perucchio. \u201cTheir input during the initial stages of creating the new ME 240 lab course helped us quite a bit in selecting the labs and the experiments which would be consistent with the needs of modern industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelley says the process was highly collaborative.<\/p>\n

Professor Christopher Muir<\/a> spearheaded the early process and brainstormed new equipment to include. Muir, Kelley, and Shang fleshed out ideas and identified lab exercises that fit the learning objectives, with input from colleagues including Assistant Professor Andrea Pickel<\/a>, Assistant Professor Hesam Askari<\/a>, and Senior Technical Associate Christine Pratt. Alexander Prideaux was hired to help finalize the lab procedures, build equipment, and make enough copies to run the course. Assistant Professor Anushika Athauda<\/a> has been co-teaching the Fundamentals of Instrumentation & Measurement course since it was introduced in the spring.<\/p>\n

\"Mechanical
BUILT TO SCALE:<\/strong> Students\u00a0in ME 240: Fundamentals of Instrumentation & Measurement and\u00a0ME 241: Mechanics Laboratory\u2014including Max Colognesi \u201925, pictured here\u2014are making the most of their newly revamped curriculum and equipment.\u00a0(University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alejandro Porras \u201925 says that he appreciates, in addition to the new equipment, how the faculty are incorporating their latest research into lab exercises.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cool because for one of the labs in particle tracking, Professor Kelley gave us the code that he uses for his research,\u201d says Porras. \u201cWe got some insight into what leading scientists are doing and what the field\u2019s current research focus is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelley says it\u2019s too early to tell how the revamped curriculum and equipment is benefitting students, but as they advance to senior design courses, any changes should become evident. Allison Thompson \u201924, who took the first offering of the refurbished ME 240 course in the spring and is now serving as a teaching assistant, says the effort to continually improve the curriculum is evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting being on the other side of the class,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cIn our meetings we\u2019re able to see the mistakes people are making and try to find ways to help them improve. With it being a brand-new course last year, it\u2019s nice to see how we\u2019re continually trying to make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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