Changes Emphasize continuity, hands-on experience, teamwork, and communications skills

By almost any measure, the U-M College of Engineering and its Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics rank among the best in the world. Maintaining this high level of achievement requires constant self-appraisal, a strong sense of miss ion, endless fine-tuning, and on occasion, fundamental restructuring. It was precisely in this spirit of self-improvement that the Department initiated a review of its undergraduate curriculum over three years ago. One of the main goals of this review was to create consistent, long-term value for MEAM shareholders: our students and the companies that recruit them. After consultation with alumni, industry representatives, and faculty and student groups, several c urriculum improvement areas were targeted. What follows are summaries of the changes that have already taken place, and a glimpse at some that are still in the formative stages.Restructuring Undergraduate Laboratories

Restructuring Undergraduate Laboratories

Photo Credits: Rodney Hill

For many years, laboratory modules have been attached to every basic course in the MEAM undergraduate curriculum, generally as add-ons to lectures. Typically, the instructor would lecture about a physical law or principle, and then demonstrate the poin t in the laboratory. Students, working relatively independently, then submitted a brief writeup of what they had seen, and the lecture/demonstration cycle would progress to the next step in the course outline.

This approach to undergraduate laboratories has been replaced by a more encompassing one offered as a pair of mandatory, three-credit-hour courses: Thermal-Fluid Science Laboratory (ME 395) and Mechanical Science Laboratory (ME 396).

The new courses: (1) consolidate all the material formerly offered as smaller modules into longer, sequentially linked labs; (2) cover both lecture and additional, stand-alone material; (3) expand opportunity for individual analysis of problems, and; (4) place a greater emphasis on teamwork and technical communications.

ME 395 topics include measurements of quantities and fundamental systems analysis as applied to devices involving thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. ME 396 topics encompass measurements of fundamental quantities and systems analysis as applied to solid mechanics, strength of materials, dynamics and controls.

In place of demonstrations, students taking ME 395 and ME 396 now are taught the physical principles behind various engineering devices, and how professional engineers actually use these devices to solve problems. Students also receive hands-on instruc tion in their operation, and then apply what they have learned in lecture and laboratory sessions to solve engineering problems of varying difficulty. Some experiments, most notably the final exam project, are open-ended problem-solving projects (e.g., an alyzing an air conditioning system) which may require weeks to complete.

To simulate real-world work experience, laboratory students are randomly assigned to project teams. As team members, they must, on their own initiative, hold regular meetings, delegate responsibility, gather data, synthesize and edit their findings, and then submit a group report for a shared grade. The real-life simulation model also places a greater emphasis on written presentation skills.

Students taking ME396 are taught the physical principals behind various engineering devices, and how professional engineers actually use these devices. Photo Credits: Rodney Hill.

Grétar Tryggvason, chair of the curriculum committee, says the decision to emphasize teamwork and technical communications emerged from department consultation with alumni and recruiting firms. Both groups felt that MEAM students received excellent technical education, but could greatly enhance their career growth opportunities if they received additional training in ñinteractive skills.î

The process of lab revision and changeover is the intermediate step in a phase-in process that will culminate in the winter of 1997. At that point, the Fluid Science Laboratory and Mechanical Science Laboratory will be combined and restructured into a junior-level and a senior-level course. The junior-level course will span all lecture material covered through the first two years of instruction; and the senior-level course will encompass material covered over the first three years.

Design Sequence Extended to Sophomores

Another important change in the undergraduate curriculum has been the debut of Introduction to Design and Manufacturing (ME 250), a sophomore-level design course. Previously, design had been a two-course sequence (ME 350 and ME 450, see photos, below and next page) taken during students' junior and senior years. Over the past few years, both courses have increasingly emphasized the solution of real-world engineering problems. Indeed, the major thrust of ME 450 is for each student to solve a mechanical engineering design problem, often provided by, and carried out in conjunction with, industry sponsors.

Students taking ME396 are taught the physical principals behind various engineering devices, and how professional engineers actually use these devices. Photo Credits: Rodney Hill.

Extending the design sequence to the sophomore year is a boon to both students and their project sponsors. Students benefit because they are farther along the design/manufacturing learning curve by the time they reach their junior and senior years, and thus can derive more benefit from their advanced-level design courses. Sponsors gain because they have greater flexibility in the types of projects they can assign, and receive a superior product.

ME 250 is designed to provide students a broad exposure to various aspects of design and manufacturing. Its goals are to have students: (1) think [and communicate] in 3D, (2) relate engineering design to manufacturing processes and (3) build mechanical artifacts using state of the art CAD/CAM facilities. Course time is almost evenly split between lecture and laboratories. In the lectures, basics of mechanical design (visual thinking, engineering drawing, conceptual design, quality function deployment, tolerances, etc.); and manufacturing (processes, materials, and thermo-fluid aspects). In the laboratories, students learn the use of 3D CAD systems to design and generate numerical control cutter paths. Then using numerical control lathes and mills, the designed parts are fabricated. Dimensional accuracy is then verified using a co-ordinate measurement machine. The class culminates with a design/manufacturing project that ties together what students have learned. The course is supported by corporate spon sorships.

Pending Curriculum Improvements: Repackaging MEAM course material into fewer classes of uniform value.

For various reasons, a significant majority of engineering students at the U-M, and elsewhere, now take longer than four years to complete an undergraduate degree. One contributing factor at U-M is that because many College of Engineering courses are less than four credit hours in value, MEAM students generally need to take five or more courses per term to earn the necessary 128 credit hours in eight terms. The workload can be overwhelming, given the fact that these courses are both intellectually demanding and homework intensive.

One proposed solution is to repackage course material into fewer classes of four credit hours each. While the amount of work per credit hour would stay the same, consolidation would reduce both the number of different homework sets and the number of midterms. Students would benefit from a more cohesive and integrated curriculum and could focus greater attention on each individual course. In addition, more students could matriculate sooner, and at less cost, than is currently the case. This proposal has generated interest at the College level where a comprehensive review of the undergraduate curriculum is now taking place.

Increasing access to course material on the World Wide Web (WWW.)

Individual instructors already offer WWW services to students. However, the department, under the leadership of Professors Richard Scott and Dawn Tilbury, is working to extend this option to all instructors. The department launched a pilot project with the College library this past fall to provide course material on the Web. The knowledge gained from this experience will be incorporated into future efforts to use the ever expanding graphical and software links of the Web as a means of teaching engineer ing, carrying out scientific inquiry and doing business.