Instructor: Evan Khaleghi
Instructor Email: ekomega@yahoo.com   
Prerequisites: None

Course Description:

Mechanical Engineering covers the creation, design, and analysis of many types of systems, technologies, and materials.  This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering, as well as providing an introduction Materials Science, and showing what role materials play for Mechanical Engineers.  The students will also be taken on tours of research labs, receive hands-on experience in applying mechanical engineering principles in fun experiments, as well as learning to conduct scientific research.  Students will also learn about current materials science research, what it is like to work in a materials science lab, and what opportunities are available with a materials science degree.  Since materials science encompasses several different subject areas (math, physics, chemistry, and biology), it will provide students with a wide background of information for whichever science they intend to study.

Course Objectives:

Each student will become familiar with:

• The mechanical engineering profession
• The basic ideas in engineering mechanics and materials
• The scientific method
• The basic tenants of engineering ethics and safety
• The fundamentals of different types of materials
• The fundamentals of mechanical testing

Students will select a research topic in an area of materials science that interests them, and writing a short report (3-5 pages) and a short presentation (5-10 minutes) about it.  The research will involve searching for, and reading, scientific journal publications.  The goal is to give the students an idea of what research at a university is like, and how ideas for experiments, etc., are formed.