Gerald Recktenwald's Teaching Page
Current Teaching Schedule
During Spring 2012, I am teaching
ME 370: The Mechanical Engineering Profession
Engineering: What is it? What is it Good for?
Teaching Philosophy and Advice
I have a separate web page where I discuss
my grading philosophy and practice. Most of the links and ideas
apply to both undergraduate and graduate studies.
A separate set of links is provided for advice on graduate school.
Dr. Richard Felder,
Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering
at North Carolina State University has some excellent articles containing
advice for engineering students.
In particular, I suggest you read:
Robert Bjork, a cognitive psychologist who studies learning compiled this list of
advice from students on how to study. (PDF).
It's a quick read. Don't let the technical language put you off. The article is practical and has
useful recommendations.
And for some good ideas (some would say advice) on living life:
Advice for Graduate Students
Graduate school is not a simple continuation of learning at an advanced
undergraduate level. The intellectual demands and expectations are
significantly higher. The structure of graduate programs is significantly
looser. The definition of "done" is much more elusive.
-
Matthew Might, an assistant professor
of computer science at the University of Utah, has some interesting, useful
and amusing advice for Ph.D. students:
How to Get into Grad School,
The illustrated guide to a Ph.D., and
3 qualities of successful Ph.D. students.
- Diane P. O'Leary,
Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences: A Survival Manual
is useful to engineers as well as computer scientists.
- Ronald Azuma's
So long, and thanks for the PhD!
provides the important perspective that "Academia is a Business".
He points out that graduate students need to be productive if they want to remain employed.
- Marie desJardins
How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students and Advisors.
This is another article focused on computer science (what's with CS majors and advice?),
but it is useful to a broader audience. The original motivation for this article
was desJardins' desire to help women graduate students and their advisors.
Specifically:
The goals of this article are to raise awareness of the need for a healthy and
interactive graduate student-advisor relationship, to provide pointers and
guidance for both advisors and graduate students in navigating the maze of a
doctoral degree, and to give references and resources for those who hope to learn
more.
- Richard Baraniuk has a list
(attributed to Naoimi Halas)
of
Seven Steps to Success in Graduate School (and Beyond).
That list is one of
Research Resources
provided by Baraniuk
Strategies for Studying
The University of Guelph
has a nice collection of advice called
Investing in Excellence
for college students. Check out the podcasts:
Studying for, and Taking Tests
Staying Calm
Here's a list of tips for staying calm during a test that I borrowed and adapted
from a
a web page at Texas A&M University.
- Prepare well in advance.
- Admit to yourself, "I will not know all of the answers."
- Allow yourself time to "warm-up." Don't panic if you don't know the first few questions.
- Pay attention to the test, not to yourself or others.
- If you notice you are not thinking well, relax yourself physically during the exam.
- Don't hesitate to ask for clarification.
- Read over the test and allot time for questions in proportion to their point value.
Making Good Use of a Practice Exam
Often I give practice exams. When I do, I usually provide the solutions.
If you have access to a practice exam use
these steps to make the best use of it.
- Do most of your studying for the real exam before taking the practice exam.
- Do not look at the practice exam questions before you take the practice exam.
- Take the practice exam in a quiet environment.
- Try to simulate as closely as possible the experience of taking
the real exam. Do not have your textbook or notebook available
unless the exam is open-book. Stick to the time period allocated
to the real exam.
- Do not stop taking the exam to study some question that
you cannot answer. Just keep going.
- Have a special study-only notepad or sheet of paper. During
the exam when you encounter a topic that you don't understand, write
a quick note on the study-only notepad. Use this notepad
later to prepare additional studying.
- Take a break immediately after completing the practice exam. Resist
the urge to start working through the solutions as soon as you finish
the practice exam.
- After taking a break, compare your answers to the solutions and
give yourself a meaningful grade.
- Resume studying by consulting your study-only notepad and
the questions from the practice exam that you answered incorrectly.
The basic idea is to practice both the material and the self-management that
will help you do your best on the real exam. Your study-only notepad is the
exception. The study-only notepad allows you to have the
experience of "If only I had studied that before the exam"
before you actually take the exam.
Advice on Writing
Miscellaneous Notes
Internet Info
I've collected a few miscellaneous links
about electronic communication and the Internet.
Courses with Web Pages
Notation: "F" = Fall Quarter, "W" = Winter Quarter, "Sp" = "Spring Quarter"
As Chair of the department my teaching duties are reduced.
| Number |
| Title |
| Last Taught |
| Next Taught |
|
| EAS 199A |
|
Engineering Problem Solving 1 |
|
F 2011 |
|
F 2012 |
| EAS 199B |
|
Engineering Problem Solving 2 |
|
W 2011 |
|
W 2012 |
EAS 361 |
|
Engineering Fluid Mechanics |
|
F 2006 |
|
|
| ME 322 |
|
Applied Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics |
|
W 2007 |
|
|
| ME 352 |
|
Engineering Numerical Methods |
|
F 2008 |
|
|
| ME 370 |
|
The Mechanical Engineering Profession |
|
Sp 2011 |
|
Sp 2012 |
| ME 441/541 |
|
Advanced Fluid Mechanics |
|
Sp 1997 |
|
|
| ME 447/547 |
|
Transport and Rate Processes |
|
W 2000 |
| ME 448/548 |
|
Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics |
|
W 2012 |
|
W 2014? |
| ME 449/549 |
|
Thermal Measurements in Electronic Equipment |
|
Sp 2006 |
|
|
| ME 488 |
|
Design of Experiments |
|
F 2009 |
|
|
| ME 492-493 |
|
Mechanical Engineering Design Projects |
|
W, Sp 2003 |
|
|
|