This proposal aims to improve the quality of undergraduate teaching in Mechanical Engineering by enhancing the contents and available laboratory equipment of the senior level course of Mechanical Engineering Laboratory II. The approach used in teaching this course is by "hands-on" procedures. This proposal seeks funding towards the improvement of current weaknesses by: (1) Modernizing the current instrumentation of a rotatory compressor by interfacing it to a computer data acquisition system such that students get involved, at least once, in the use of such kind of systems thus retrieving on line information that can be used to monitor the performance of the entire unit and perform mass and energy balances; (2) Acquiring a laboratory unit for the study of noise control, and (3) Acquiring a laboratory unit for the study of combustion parameters and emissions control. It is expected that this course will also assist on providing supplementing material other than classroom for the courses of Thermal Sciences.
