Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Enhancement to Introduce Product Development with Bio-Inspired Concepts

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Curriculum Enhancement to Introduce Product Development with Bio-Inspired Concepts Hugh Bruck, Satyandra Gupta, Edward Magrab, and Elisabeth Smela Mechanical Engineering Department University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland Bio-inspired products and devices take their inspiration from nature. Current mechanical engineering curricula do not cover design concepts or manufacturing techniques needed to develop such products and devices. We propose to enhance the mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculum by integrating recent advances in the design, analysis, and manufacturing of bio-inspired products and devices through the following objectives: 1. Insert a new sequence of instructional materials on bio-inspired concepts into the mechanical engineering curriculum. 2. Develop a new senior elective entitled Product Development Using Bio-inspired Concepts. 3. Revise two senior electives in micro-electromechanical systems area to include more complete treatments of special manufacturing processes that can be used to realize bio-inspired products. 4. Assess the projects of the undergraduate mechanical engineering students in their capstone design course to evaluate their retention and utilization of the new material. 5. Conduct one workshop to transfer the new materials and establish a feedback mechanism for enhancing the curriculum. 6. Disseminate the materials developed for the new modules and the course notes for the new senior elective through a dedicated web site. 7. Present a summary of our experiences at two conferences. The result of the proposed curriculum enhancement will be a new generation of mechanical engineers who can develop products and conduct research for a wide variety of applications utilizing bio-inspired concepts. The proposed project will (1) integrate emerging manufacturing technologies and new design analyses based on biological principles into the Mechanical Engineering curriculum, (2) utilize multi-media technology for disseminating course content, and (3) train graduate students and faculty participating in its implementation in an emerging technology and thereby contribute to faculty development.