Purchase of Infrared Thermography Equipment for Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Courses

机械工程系没有任何全场温度测量能力。 学生毕业时将掌握传统点式温度测量方法的理论和实践知识，但不会遇到任何全场温度测量系统。 该项目通过购买最先进的红外热成像系统来满足这些需求。 本计画的四个主要目标是：（1）将红外线热成像系统的理论与实验方法整合到五门现有的机械工程本科课程中（五门课程中的两门被指定为该系统的主要用户）;（2）评估在本科工程课程中增加最先进的热测量能力的影响和教育效益，这种能力由于其成本而在大多数大学环境中是不具备的;（3）使红外热成像系统可用于定向研究课程，在这些课程中，在教员的指导下进行选定的项目，其中许多项目往往涉及当地工业;以及（4）作为每年夏季举行的青年学者计划的一部分，向有才华的高中生介绍红外热成像。 这个成功的计划现在已经是第18个年头了，特别强调将妇女和少数民族引入工程和计算机科学领域。 该项目每年直接影响约350名本科生。 *

The Mechanical Engineering Department has not had any full-field temperature measuring capability. Students graduate with theoretical and practical knowledge of traditional point-type temperature measurement methods, but do not encounter any full-field temperature measurement systems. This project addresses these needs by purchasing a state-of-the-art infrared thermography system. The four primary objectives of this proposal are (1) to integrate theoretical and experimental methods concerning infrared thermography systems into five existing undergraduate Mechanical Engineering courses (two of the five courses being designated as the primary users of the system); (2) to evaluate the impact and educational benefit of adding a state-of-the-art thermal measurement capability to an undergraduate engineering curriculum, a capability that is not available in most university environments because of its cost; (3) to make the infrared thermography system available for directed study courses in which work on selected projects under the guidance of a faculty member, with many of these projects often involving local industries; and (4) to introduce talented high school students to infrared thermography as part of a Young Scholars Program held every summer. This successful program is now in its 18th year and includes a particular emphasis on the introduction of women and minorities to the fields of engineering and computer science. This project directly affects about 350 undergraduate students per year. *