2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Generative Artificial Intelligence for Enhanced Engineering Education; Strengths, Challenges and Validation

Presented at Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Technical Session 8

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, there is a pressing need to explore innovative approaches that leverage Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented/Mixed Reality (AR/MR) to enhance engineering education. This study investigates students’ perceptions, familiarity, and opinions on generative AI and AR/MR technologies in engineering and beyond. We surveyed graduate and undergraduate students from the Civil and Mechanical Engineering departments to examine the strengths and challenges of AI in the engineering field. Additionally, exams and homework assignments were utilized to assess the accuracy of AI in solving engineering problems. The selected courses for this study included Transportation Engineering, Highway Engineering, and Concrete and Asphalt Lab from the Civil Engineering department, as well as Advanced Fluid Mechanics (graduate course) and Thermodynamics from the Mechanical Engineering department. A total of 72 students participated in the study. Based on the results, we provide suggestions and recommendations to enhance the integration of AI and VR into engineering education, addressing potential challenges and opportunities for future development.

Authors

Dr. Pooya Niksiar The Citadel [biography]

Dr. Niksiar is assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering Department at The Citadel. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University, his M.Sc. from K. N. Toosi University of Technology and his B.Sc. from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran. Prior to joining The Citadel, he was a lecturer at Clemson University. His research includes the design and development of advanced functional porous materials for bio applications. He has published several peer-reviewed journal papers in the area of his research, has received grant form NASA and Amazon and has been reviewer for several journals. Dr. Niksiar is teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in the area of thermal and fluid Sciences, aerodynamics, materials, design, measurements and numerical methods.
Dr. Dimitra Michalaka P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7001-0579 The Citadel [biography]

Dimitra Michalaka, Ph.D., P.E., is an associate professor in the civil, environmental and construction engineering department at The Citadel, the Associate Director for the Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility (C2M2), and a register professional engineer at the state of SC. She received her undergraduate diploma in civil engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 2007. Shortly thereafter she moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies at the University of Florida. She graduated with a M.S. in CE in 2009 and a Ph.D. in 2012. Dr. Michalaka is passionate about teaching in college and K-12 levels and conducting research in both transportation engineering, focused on traffic operations, congestion pricing, and traffic simulation, and engineering education. In 2020, she also obtained a Master of Science in Project Management from The Citadel.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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