An Integrated STEM Approach for Studying Aerospace Engineering Design and Manufacturing

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This project at the University of California-Davis will develop an aerospace engineering course to significantly address contemporary needs within the engineering industry. The course is designed to help undergraduate mechanical and aerospace engineering students understand how airplanes fly by taking them through the process of designing, modeling, manufacturing, and testing a prototype wing. The combination of design, manufacturing, and experimental validation will constitute an educational concept for undergraduate students in engineering, integrating important topics such as physics of flight and manufacturing processes, including sustainability. The contexts of flight and sustainability allow for student engagement, while presenting substantial opportunities for intellectual growth.The goal of this effort is to research simple and effective methods for teaching aerospace engineering design and manufacturing concepts and fundamentals to college students, through the use of computer simulations, manufacturing and laboratory experiments. The course takes an active, project-based approach that research shows is effective in fostering the development of deep, conceptual learning and, in turn, greater problem solving flexibility in engineering. Course and project evaluation will include (1) assessing student learning through classroom examinations; (2) assessing student perceptions using the intrinsic value subscale, engineering design self-efficacy, and adaptive expertise and (3) "scenario-based" assessment to evaluate the benefits of the interdisciplinary nature of the instruction. The design documents, course modules, and assessment materials will be published and made available to other teaching institutions so this unique teaching concept can be applied and can lead to transformative teaching of aerospace engineering design and manufacturing. The design documents will be available to educational institutes as well as to industry so teaching and research in these communities can benefit from this effort.