Integration of Laboratory Experience in Undergraduate Education

Rochester Institute Of Tech, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

Engineering - Mechanical (56) The objectives of this project include the development of a data acquisition (DAQ) Laboratory, a required freshmen Experiments course, and a upper level required two-course sequence in Experimental Projects for Fluids and Heat Transfer. This effort will be modeled after Drexel's Engineering Test, Design, and Simulation Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines' Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory sequence, which have both been successfully adapted by other schools. The experimental skills gained in the freshmen year will be reinforced throughout the curriculum in classroom demonstrations, required open- ended projects, senior design projects and undergraduate research. The project addresses the need to improve the way in which we teach the art of experimentation to undergraduates. In the open-ended laboratory, students participate in multidisciplinary projects and co- op opportunities involving electrical and computer components, sensors, data acquisition software or controls. Introducing hands- on experiments, especially in the first year, addresses the high attrition rate often found among women and minorities, who may lack the mechanical tinkering experience of traditional engineering students.