2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Undergraduate vibrations courses are often delivered primarily through lecture, with limited experimental integration due to the high cost of traditional vibration laboratory equipment. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a full-semester undergraduate vibrations course that integrates a structured progression from theory to experiment while reducing laboratory implementation costs from the typical $20,000–$40,000 range to under $5,000.
The course begins with an openly authored open educational resource (OER) textbook introducing foundational vibration theory. Students then engage with instructor-developed video lectures, worked examples, and Mathematica analysis notebooks that support visualization of free and forced vibration, damping, resonance, and modal behavior. Custom interactive Mathematica Demonstrations enable real-time parameter exploration prior to hands-on experimentation. Laboratory activities utilize wireless accelerometers, force sensors, portable data acquisition (DAQ) interfaces, and modular 3D-printed fixtures, allowing students to observe vibratory phenomena directly and compare measured responses with analytical and computational predictions.
A central feature of the course is accessibility for students with varied mathematical preparation. Physical intuition is developed through visualizations, simulations, and guided analysis before formal derivations are emphasized. Assessment data, including rubric-based evaluations, behavioral performance metrics, and pre- and post-course conceptual measures, indicate attainment of targeted learning outcomes and increased student confidence in computational modeling, instrumentation, and vibration analysis.
This structured, OER-based framework demonstrates that resource-constrained programs can deliver rigorous, laboratory-integrated vibrations instruction using affordable instrumentation. The model is replicable and supported by openly available instructional materials, providing a practical pathway for broader adoption.