2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Using Arduino Microprocessors in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

Presented at MECH - Technical Session 2: Enhancing Learning through Hands-On Design

Over the past several years, the Mechanical Engineering Department at XXXXXXX seems to be using Arduino microprocessors more and more throughout the curriculum. At first, they were only relied upon in one course, but now they have expanded into many other meaningful applications. Incorporating the microprocessor into courses has provided a platform to use some innovative teaching techniques. Depending on the faculty teaching the course, Arduinos are sometimes introduced in a sophomore level circuits course. All juniors then use the Arduinos exclusively for interfacing with different sensors and actuators in an Instrumentation Lab course. In this course, the microprocessors allow students to design their own experiments to evaluate sensors and to complete a final project of their own design. A senior level Automatic Controls course has also leveraged the Arduinos to learn about different control methods through several different hands-on experiments. The microprocessors allow students to easily change the gains in different types of control algorithms and experience first-hand how the physical response of the system changes. Finally, a senior level elective class in Sustainable Energy has benefited from the use of Arduinos. Students have been able to develop hands-on experiments to explore solar and wind tracking, and measure the power output of alternative energy systems. The expanded use of the Arduino microprocessors has allowed faculty to enhance learning through hands-on experiences throughout the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum.

Authors

Dr. Scott F. Kiefer York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Scott Kiefer has spent over twenty years teaching mechanical engineering at four different colleges. He started at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in the traditional role of teaching and administering a modest graduate research program. At Trine University, a small private school in Angola, Indiana, he focused on undergraduate education while teaching ten different courses ranging from introductory freshman courses to senior capstone. Scott also served as an advisor to many different undergraduate research projects. He then moved on to Michigan State University and took a position as a teaching specialist concentrating on undergraduate classroom instruction. Scott finally settled at York College of Pennsylvania. He has been at York College for over ten years and feels as if he has found a place where the focus on teaching and students aligns well with his background and interests.
Dr. Stephen Andrew Wilkerson P.E. York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Stephen Wilkerson (swilkerson@ycp.edu) received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1990 in Mechanical Engineering. His Thesis and initial work was on underwater explosion bubble dynamics and ship and submarine whipping. After graduation he took a
Dr. Ashley J Earle York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Ashley is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Civil Engineering department at York College of Pennsylvania. She received her B.S in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and B.A. in International Studies from Lafayette College. She then pursued h

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