A Distance Learning Subject In Polymer Engineering
暂无分享,去创建一个
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT has for many years offered a graduate subject in Mechanical Properties of Polymers, which includes such topics as rubber elasticity, anisotropic elasticity, mechanics of composites, viscoelasticity, yield and fracture. In recent years this subject has made increasing use of web-based delivery, which offers a number of conveniences and enhanced topic coverage. This web-based coverage is now part of MIT’s Open Courseware Initiative, so it is available worldwide. Most recently, the availability of the web material along with videotaped lectures has been important in making the subject a part of a distance-learning venture MIT is conducting with the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST). The subject will be offered for the first time in Malaysia in Spring 2004, and this paper will outline steps taken by MIT and MUST in implementing it. I. The Overall MUST Program The Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) is a recently-founded academic institution intended to provide a dramatic improvement in Malaysia’s infrastructure for research and development, principally by educating highly skilled persons for that country’s technical industries. In 2002, MIT and MUST entered into a collaborative agreement in which MIT would provide assistance to MUST in several areas, in particular the development of academic and research programs at the Masters Degree level 1 . The MUST/MIT subjects are taught in Malaysia by MUST faculty, with MIT faculty providing assistance to MUST faculty in subject development and delivery. This differs from other MIT distance-learning subjects in which MIT faculty deliver lectures either in person at the remote site or by electronic transmission from the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA USA. MIT subjects selected for replication at MUST are videotaped as they are taught at MIT, and the videotapes of lectures along with web-based courseware are made available to MUST. MIT faculty also travel to MUST for direct discussions with the MUST instructor of the subject to assist in lecture development. MIT provides assistance when MUST students or faculty have questions regarding the content or homework as they are delivered at MUST. To prevent MIT faculty workloads from being overloaded by these additional demands on their own regular teaching duties, an MIT teaching assistant at MIT funded by the MUST/MIT program is appointed to act as an intermediary between the two institutions. P ge 937.1 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education There are currently 7 MUST/MIT academic programs either underway or planned for implementation later in 2004: 1. Biotechnology 2. Transportation and Logistics 3. Information Technology 4. Construction Engineering and Management 5. Materials Science and Engineering 6. Systems Engineering and Management 7. Energy/Environment II. The MUST Program in Materials Science and Engineering This presentation will address one of the subjects in program #5, Materials Science and Engineering, which began development in Fall 2003. A brief description of this program’s academic requirements follows: Total credits: = 144 units 2 Thesis: = 36 units Core = 36 (three subjects) 6 Required Subjects = 72 units MSE 501 Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Materials MSE 502 Materials Selection, Design, and Economics MSE 503 Mechanical Properties of Materials MSE 504 Fabrication Technology MSE 505 Mechanical Behavior of Plastics MSE 506 Magnetic Materials: Principles and Applications MSE 507 Electronic Materials Design UCC 501Core Subject Being Offered: Systems Analysis and Design UCC 502 Sustainable Development: Theory, Economics and Policy MSE 600 Thesis (Required) In preparation for taking the graduate subjects, MUST students first take the following fundamental subjects during the summer months: FNC001 Mathematical Methods for Engineers FNC002 Engineering Probability and Statistics FNC003 Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem-Solving FNC004 Economics FNC006 Biology FNC008 Mechanics of Materials FNC009 Introduction to Materials Science Page 937.2 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education FNC010 Mathematics for Biotechnologists FNC011 Fundamentals in Chemical Engineering In addition to subject work, every MUST graduate student is required to complete an individual research thesis continuing over two semesters. The thesis is a scholarly treatment of a subject or an investigative treatment of a problem, which is sufficiently limited in scope to ensure thoroughness. A thesis advisor and thesis committee supervises the work on the thesis, but the student is expected to take the initiative at every stage. MIT faculty also act as coadvisors for MUST thesis students, and funding is available when appropriate for collaborative research projects to be conducted both in Malaysia and at MIT. III. The MIT Subject in Mechanical Behavior of Plastics Mechanical Properties of Plastics (MIT subject 3.91 3 ) is one of MIT's principal graduate subjects in polymeric materials. It is a core subject in the doctoral Polymer Program of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and also in the MIT interdepartmental Program in Polymer Science and Technology (PPST). 3.91 was developed originally by Prof. F.J. McGarry in the 1960's, and has been offered continually at MIT ever since. Prof. D. Roylance has co-taught the subject since the mid-1970's, and became the sole instructor with Prof. McGarry's retirement in June 2002. As its name implies, 3.91 is aimed at presenting the concepts underlying the response of polymeric materials to applied loads. These include both the molecular mechanisms of the response and the mathematical description of the relevant continuum mechanics. It is dominantly an “engineering” subject, but with an atomistic flavor. The subject content follows approximately that of the excellent text by I.M. Ward 4 , which is the assigned text for the subject: • Polymer structure • Deformation of elastic solids • Rubber-like elasticity • Linear viscoelasticity • Composite materials and laminates • Yield • Fracture The subject is delivered at MIT in a conventional lecture format, but with projection of webavailable notes 5 replacing most of what formerly had been chalked on the blackboard. Students are given hardcopies of the notes before lecture, so note-taking is largely devoted marking up the copies with comments on the content rather than rote copying of the blackboard. Even though it is sometimes claimed, only partly in jest, that copying the blackboard is the only thing that keeps students awake during lecture, this web-enhanced approach seems to be an improvement over the traditional chalk-based method for both undergraduates and graduates. It is also helpful to the instructor in organizing the subject and keeping on schedule.