UAMEMS: An Undergraduate Program in MEMS

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

This grant will develop a plan for a multidisciplinary undergraduate program in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), which represents an emerging technology. The program will employ a unique web-based learning approach that accommodates different learning styles. In this system, students can select the order in which they encounter a topic in different forms (visual, verbal, mathematical, etc), but will learn all of them. The program will integrate MEMS into lower division courses by using web-based instructional modules alongside courses such as Statics, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, and Electric Circuits. Unique content will be introduced by integrating our research in non-silicon materials for MEMS, such as quartz, into the curriculum. A sequence of courses will be planned as a degree option in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace and Engineering Mechanics, and Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. The program will include two core courses covering MEMS materials and fabrication, and a laboratory experience, in which students design, fabricate and test a MEMS sensor. Elective courses in MEMS are also proposed. Teaming and cooperative learning will be used in the two core courses, which will increase interaction between students from different disciplines. An industrial advisory board will be established to help guide the program. The use of web-based multi-path learning should improve student achievement, and aid in recruitment and retention of women and minority students. In addition, the plane includes a summer program, which will involve students from Prairie View A&M, a HBCU.