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

课程改进以引入生物启发概念的产品开发休·布鲁克、萨蒂安德拉·古普塔、爱德华·马格拉布和伊丽莎白·斯梅拉机械工程系马里兰大学马里兰大学学院公园的生物启发产品和设备从自然中获得灵感。目前的机械工程课程不包括开发此类产品和设备所需的设计概念或制造技术。我们建议通过以下目标整合生物启发产品和设备的设计、分析和制造方面的最新进展，从而加强机械工程本科课程：1.在机械工程课程中加入一系列新的关于生物启发概念的教学材料。开发一门新的高级选修课，题为《使用生物启发的概念进行产品开发》。修改微电子机械系统领域的两门高级选修课，包括更完整的可用于实现仿生产品的特殊制造工艺的处理。评估机械工程本科学生在顶石设计课程中的项目，以评估他们对新材料的保留和利用。举办一次研讨会，以转移新材料，并建立改进课程的反馈机制。通过专门的网站传播为新单元编写的材料和为新高年级教师编写的课程笔记。在两次会议上总结我们的经验。拟议课程优化的结果将是新一代机械工程师，他们可以利用生物启发的概念开发产品和进行广泛的应用研究。拟议的项目将(1)将新兴制造技术和基于生物学原理的新设计分析整合到机械工程课程中，(2)利用多媒体技术传播课程内容，(3)培训参与实施新兴技术的研究生和教职员工，从而促进教师发展。

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.