Engineering - Mechanical (56) Mechatronics refers to the interplay between mechanical and electrical principles that apply to a growing number of industrial products and processes. Despite the importance of this interdisciplinary area, many of today's engineering graduates are unprepared to function competently in environments that require them to integrate electrical and mechanical knowledge areas. In addition, engineers with better skills in communication and teamwork are needed to ensure U.S. competitiveness in today's global economy. Our project addresses these competency gaps by the development of two team-oriented, project-based courses as a follow-up to a previously developed Introduction to Mechatronics course. For our project, we have been working on the following goals: (a) to address the need of industrial partners to have engineers educated in the principles and applications of mechatronics, (b) to improve student competencies in communication skills, teamwork, and project management through the increased use of team-oriented, project-based, interdisciplinary approaches to instruction in mechatronics, (c) to increase in engineering students an appreciation for lifelong learning by delivering instruction in mechatronics to this population, and (d) to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in engineering by engaging the freshmen and pre-college populations in hands-on instruction in sensors and actuators. To achieve our goals, a number of activities have been undertaken. Our courses have been modeled around the Mechatronic System Modeling and Simulation at Michigan State University and the Mechatronics System Design at Clemson University. In addition the Actuator and Sensors in Mechatronics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute course and Sensors and Instrument course at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign have also been used to guide the development of our new courses. Materials developed for the sensors and actuators course have been adapted for use in hands-on pre-college learning modules. These modules are being integrated into existing pre-college outreach activities that serve a high percentage of female and minority high school students. An important feature of our project has been the assessment of our outcomes. Our project team includes an experienced evaluator who works closely with our CO-PI's to assure that our project goals are being met.
