Photo: Front, from left, Amanda Malefyt, Ph.D., professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, Maria Gerschutz, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Bock Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sameer Sharma, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Max Gong, Ph.D., associate professor in the Bock Department of Biomedical Engineering; back, Matthew Liberatore, Ph.D., chair and professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, Sean Carroll, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gurudutt Chandrashekar, associate professor in the Wade Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Chris Carroll, Ph.D., dean of the Allen School of Engineering and Computing.
(CHARLOTTE, NC) - Trine University engineering faculty took some of their classroom ideas to a national audience this summer -- from helping students master spreadsheets to building aircraft parts and rethinking how first-year engineers learn.
Eight faculty members from Trine's Allen School of Engineering and Computing attended the American Society for Engineering Education's annual conference June 21 through 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Several presented or co-authored papers based on work happening at Trine.
Matthew Liberatore presented research on better ways to teach and measure spreadsheet skills, including the use of an interactive textbook he authored.
Amanda Malefyt helped present a collection of chemical engineering outreach ideas designed to get K-12 students, families and teachers more interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Gurudutt Chandrashekar presented two projects.
One grew out of work with Trine students who used resin infusion to make composite aircraft components for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design/Build/Fly competition. The students also created a guide that can be used by future design teams working with composite materials.
Chandrashekar also co-authored research with Max Gong and Rizacan Sarikaya on adding sustainability-focused activities to mechanical and aerospace engineering courses.
Chris Carroll, dean of the Allen School of Engineering and Computing, co-authored another paper examining how Trine's first-year engineering course has evolved, including the use of active learning and project-based work.
Maria Gerschutz, Sameer Sharma and Sean Carroll also attended the conference.
The American Society for Engineering Education conference is the organization's largest annual gathering and brings together engineering educators from across the country