Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Enhancement to Introduce Product Development with Bio-Inspired Concepts

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Curriculum Enhancement to IntroduceProduct Development with Bio-Inspired ConceptsHugh Bruck, Satyandra Gupta, Edward Magrab, and Elisabeth SmelaMechanical Engineering DepartmentUniversity of Maryland, College Park, MarylandBio-inspired products and devices take their inspiration from nature. Current mechanical engineering curricula do not cover design concepts or manufacturing techniques needed to develop such products and devices. We propose to enhance the mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculum by integrating recent advances in the design, analysis, and manufacturing of bio-inspired products and devices through the following objectives:1. Insert a new sequence of instructional materials on bio-inspired concepts into the mechanicalengineering curriculum.2. Develop a new senior elective entitled Product Development Using Bio-inspired Concepts.3. Revise two senior electives in micro-electromechanical systems area to include more completetreatments of special manufacturing processes that can be used to realize bio-inspired products.4. Assess the projects of the undergraduate mechanical engineering students in their capstone designcourse to evaluate their retention and utilization of the new material.5. Conduct one workshop to transfer the new materials and establish a feedback mechanism forenhancing the curriculum.6. Disseminate the materials developed for the new modules and the course notes for the new seniorelective through a dedicated web site.7. Present a summary of our experiences at two conferences.The result of the proposed curriculum enhancement will be a new generation of mechanical engineers who can develop products and conduct research for a wide variety of applications utilizing bio-inspired concepts. The proposed project will (1) integrate emerging manufacturing technologies and new design analyses based on biological principles into the Mechanical Engineering curriculum, (2) utilize multi-media technology for disseminating course content, and (3) train graduate students and faculty participating in its implementation in an emerging technology and thereby contribute to faculty development.