Instructional Laboratory for Undergraduate Mathematics Majors

在过去的三年里，提出者开发了一门基于基本物理过程的建模课程(MA581B)，该课程以热流、波传播、流体和结构动力学为基础，规模较小，共有15 18名学生。本课程涵盖的具体主题包括热成像和检测、梁和板等结构的动力学特性(刚度、阻尼)、声学和流体传输。这门课程适合数学科学专业的三年级、四年级和一年级研究生，取得了不折不扣的成功，正在从一学期的试修课程扩展到两学期的常规课程序列。过去三年的困难之一是必须在整个学期使用几个不同的实验室(例如，NASA兰利、当地工业，甚至其他大学)。为了将这种教学法带给更多的学生(包括新的应用数学荣誉计划的学生和本科课程部分的学生)，该大学必须有一个专门的实验室，在方便使用它的课程时可以安排实验。新设备采购的目标是为本科数学专业的教学实验室配备设备。可以为实验室实验和演示开发几个特定领域的功能(热、声、机械振动和傅立叶分析)。对于未来的院士以及进入工业(多学科)劳动力大军的年轻数学科学家来说，这些以实验室为基础的数学课程所提供的经验是无价的。

For the past 3 years, the proposers have developed (on a small scale of 15 18 students) a modeling course (MA581B) based on fundamental physical processes: heat flow, wave propagation, and fluid and structural dynamics. Among the specific topics covered in the course have been thermal imaging and detection, dynamics properties (stiffness, damping) of structures such as beams and plates, acoustics, and fluid transport. The course, at a level appropriate for juniors, seniors, and first-year graduate students in the mathematical sciences, has been an unqualified success and is being expanded from a one-semester trial course to a two-semester regular course sequence. One of the difficulties during the past 3 years has been the necessity to use several different laboratories (e.g., NASA Langley, local industries, and even other universities) throughout the semester. In order to bring this pedagogy to a wider group of students (including students from a new Applied Mathematics Honors Program and students in selected sections of undergraduate courses), the university must have a dedicated laboratory where experiments can be scheduled at the convenience of the courses using it. The objective of the new equipment acquisition is to equip an instructional laboratory for undergraduate mathematics majors. Several specific areas (thermal, acoustic, mechanical vibrations, and Fourier analysis) of capabilities can be developed for the laboratory experiments and demos. For prospective academicians as well as young mathematical scientists entering the industrial (multidisciplinary) workforce, the experiences afforded by these laboratory-based mathematics courses are invaluable.