Engineering Students Attend International Conference
On June 15-18, 2014, faculty members of the UM-Flint College of Arts & Sciences Mechanical Engineering Department attended the 121st American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition in Indianapolis, Indiana—and they took 15 students with them!
The international conference was large, with around 5,000 attendees, and focused on all disciplines of engineering education. The audience was a varied mix of graduate students, government representatives, industry professionals, and academics. The theme of this year’s conference was “360 Degrees of Engineering Education!”
Dr. Quamrul Mazumder, Program Director for Mechanical Engineering at UM-Flint, believes it was important for the students to attend the conference for both the learning experiences found in such a large environment, and the chance to connect with one another and make industry contacts. One of the students, Morgan Vauter, found great value in being exposed to the variety of ways in which an engineering education could be applicable to future job possibilities. She said the experience has sparked her interest in joining more engineering groups in the future.
Three of the undergrad students were able to present papers at the event. Toufiq Hussain and James Tristan Pung presented “Analysis of Wind Power Generation with Application of Wind Tunnel Attachment” with Dr. Mazumder, and Kawshik Ahmed joined him in presenting “The Effects of Teaching Style and Experience on Student Success in the United States and Bangladesh.” Morgan said she learned a lot from watching them, but was glad she did not have to join in presenting just yet. The entire group gained understanding of the conference environment through their observations, participation in activities and audiences, and through hands-on engineering exhibits.
Dr. Mazumder was able to gather unique insight by asking his students’ opinions on the technology exhibited and pedagogical opinions being offered in conference sessions. Because of their responses, changes have already been made to the course structure of Engineering 102. The class will now have more interactive and experiential activities to complement the lecture base.
The subjects of enriching education and improving the quality of teaching methods are ones about which Dr. Mazumder feels strongly and for which he has gained international recognition. On July 3rd he will attend the Conference on Quality in Higher Education, held at the Independent University of Bangladesh, as their keynote speaker. He will also participate in a roundtable conference with the Daily Star on July 10th, both events are held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
To learn more about the ASEE and their annual conference, visit their website.
For information on the Mechanical Engineering, please visit their department page.
