Engineering - Mechanical (56) This is a Full-Scale-Development Proposal based on a successful Proof-of-Concept Grant (NSF Award No. 9952653) demonstrating an innovative approach to materials for upper- division undergraduate engineering education. The value of visual materials in conveying technical concepts is very well established, and is here applied in a multimedia form to the topic of thermofluid dynamics (i.e. convective heat transfer, thermodynamics, and gas dynamics), with strong emphasis on experimentation and optical flow visualization. The results are materials captured on one or more CD-ROMs that can be used by instructors and students as a visual supplement to any of the standard textbooks on these topics. The suitability of such materials for national dissemination has already been demonstrated. This approach makes use of the ubiquity and low-cost of CD-ROM technology, which makes it especially important for small and minority universities that sometimes lack the facilities to convey the laboratory experience directly to their students. The major SMET challenge being addressed is that of enhancing traditional engineering education with highly-visual material not currently available, and thus conveying to students a sense of the research-laboratory experience. One DUE theme also addressed here is faculty development, by providing faculty with an unusual supplementary teaching tool, thus broadening their preparation beyond what is traditionally available in textbooks. Integration of technology is also a component part of this project. That is, during the learning, the course materials require the students to use computers and to interface with multimedia systems environments.
Keywords: Multimedia, multimedia fluid mechanics, optical flow visualization.
