MECH 407
Syllabus
Fall Semester 2009
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Dr. Marcie O’Malley
Office Address ME
234
713-348-3545 omalleym@rice.edu
Office Hrs: Make an
appointment with Dr. O’Malley via email or at class
Design Technician:
Carlos
Amaro
ca3@rice.edu
Design Technician: Joe Gesenheus
jpg@rice.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Dane Powell danep@rice.edu RL B10 x2300
COURSE INFORMATION
Meeting Info: 8:30-9:50
am MWF (DH 1042, OEDK, or HE 100) as noted on schedule
This class is not like the
other courses you have probably taken. There is not a single book or a single
concept area or set of equations that you need to master to succeed in this
class. Many different topics, tools and ideas will be presented and it is up to
you to combine those with your knowledge of mechanical engineering to go
through the process of designing a useful product. You are expected to work
hard, find your own resources, engage in effective teamwork, be creative, be
analytical, and be an independent engineer to succeed in this class. You MUST
take both semesters of this course in sequence during the same academic year.
A design and analysis
project will be scheduled for the duration of both semesters. The process of
developing and building the design project is the primary focus of the course.
The project’s topic will be described in detail the in late September. Students
will be divided into teams. Some of the homework assignments will be
designed to help students with their design project. During the year, written
progress reports, an oral proposal and progress report, an oral business plan,
final poster presentation and final oral reports will be required.
A student’s responsibilities
in this course may be divided into three areas: 1) Lectures and workshops on
important topics in design, 2) the design process itself, and 3) documentation
of the design. Lectures and workshops
will occupy about two hours a week. Each
student should expect to devote an average of at least 8 hours per week for the
Fall Semester in addition to attending lectures and/or workshops.
Detailed descriptions of
the required deliverables will be provided at a later date. Briefly, they will include:
The course grading will be
based on the student’s overall performance, including the following:
The exact
value of each of the components below is left to the discretion of the advisor
and will be discussed with each team at the first weekly consultation meeting.
(50%) Team
effort:
·
Project Book
·
Project Design
Plan Memo and Oral Presentation (Fall Semester only)
·
Semester
Project Design Report and Oral Presentation
·
Quality of the
final Design (Spring Semester only)
(50%) Individual
effort:
·
Log Book
·
Weekly
Progress Reports
·
Weekly
Meetings
·
Contribution
Any disputes over grading should be brought to the
project mentor. Do not take questions related to grading to the TA.
Attendance
at all lectures is expected from all students. Attendance may be taken at
random and results provided to project advisors to be factored into the
participation grade.
Honor Code Policy
Students are encouraged to
talk to each other, to the teaching assistants, to the instructors, or to
anyone else about any assignment in the course that is not specifically
designated as pledged. This assistance is limited to the discussion of the problem
and perhaps sketching of a solution. Homework is considered as pledged. General
discussion is acceptable, but homework problems are to be solved individually
if not stated otherwise.
Any student with a disability requiring accommodations in this class
is encouraged to contact the instructor after class or during office hours.
Additionally, students should contact the coordinator for Disabled Student
Services in