Session No: 1526 Advanced Mechatronics: Development of a Course on Modeling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems

Mechatronics refers to the interplay between mechanical and electrical principles that apply to a growing number of industrial products and processes. Despite the importance of this interdisciplinary area, many of today’s engineering graduates are unprepared to function competently in environments that require them to integrate electrical and mechanical knowledge areas. In addition, engineers with better communication and teamwork skills are needed to ensure U.S. competitiveness in today’s global economy. In order to address this competency gap a team of faculty members (consisting of faculty from both ME and EE departments) started work in the mid-nineties to integrate mechatronics-based activities at all levels of the undergraduate engineering curriculum at University of Detroit Mercy. These included a new senior level technical elective in introductory mechatronics along with mechatronic activities in freshmen design and in the introductory electrical engineering course meant for non-EE majors. This effort has been very successful, and now mechatronics activities are also going on in many pre-college programs that the school runs. Recently this team received a National Science Foundation grant to take this effort one step further by developing two new advanced courses in the area of modeling and simulation of mechatronic systems and in the area of sensors and actuators, including emerging technologies. One of the key components of this effort is a detailed plan for outcomes assessment. An outcomes assessment expert is also part of the team just as in our earlier efforts. The first of the two courses will be taught for the first time in January 2005. This paper describes in detail the technical content of the planned course as well as the assessment plan for the course.