Session J06: Physics Education

Evidence-Based Faculty Development: Scaling a Model for More Effective Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Education

An innovative faculty development program was implemented to improve teaching and learning in a large engineering school. The primary goal of the program was to shift from instructor-centered to student-centered instruction with emphasis on active learning and increased student engagement. This comprehensive faculty development program runs over a one academic year cycle, beginning with eight topical faculty workshops distributed through the fall semester. Six community of practice implementation discussion sessions are spread through the following spring semester. Several assessments, classroom visits, support, and coaching are provided. Using a ``train the next trainer'' approach, selected participants may continue in the following year as workshop leaders. Results from the first several years will be presented. The methodology, strategies, and much of the content of the program is readily applicable to physics and other STEM disciplines.   

From 3D Printing to 3D Sensing

Advanced/additive manufacturing is predicted to be one of the fastest growing technological sectors for the foreseeable future. This technology allows for rapid prototyping of custom shapes, and the identification/elimination of potential manufacturing flaws early during the design stages. From a systems perspective, a 3D printer consists of an extruder and a motion system for positioning in 3D space. In the presentation we will describe how we retrofitted a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer to function as a sensor. In order to achieve this goal, we modified the firmware to combine sensor position and the corresponding sensor reading for post-processing, and changed the gearing of the stepper motors. Our reliability tests show that the positioning accuracy with these modifications is \textasciitilde 10 micron. Here we discuss the results of two ongoing projects, using a Hall probe to measure the three components of the magnetic field of a disc magnet. The second application is a first step to establish if the reflectivity of the 3D printed filament is sufficiently high that the control of the volumetric flow rate can be used for in-situ print optimization and verification, which is one of the largest current challenges in additive manufacturing.   

Probing Maxwell's Equations with a 3D Printer

Scientific and engineering applications have become increasingly multidisciplinary requiring the mastery of more than one field to be an effective communicator who can mediate between different fields. Engineering Physics at New Mexico State University provides such opportunities. Here, we emphasize putting classroom knowledge to practical use for using the motion system of a 3D printer. In this application we replaced the extruder of a 3D printer with a Hall probe and reprogrammed the 3D printer firmware to measure the x, y, and z-component of a magnetic field along a predefined path Here we will discuss the results of two different Hall probes for a ceramic and a NdFeB magnet. We will discuss our observations that were taken within only 30 minutes across a 6 cm x 6cm area. The short duration of the measurements provides an innovative tool for teaching Electricity {\&} Magnetism and eliminates/reduces traditional academic boundaries between science and engineering.   

Modeling Particles Using Lennard-Jones Potential in 2D

When working on particle simulations, it's good to begin with particles interacting via the Lennard-Jones (L-J) potential. This classical model is useful because it correctly describes simple atomic attractions and repulsions. In addition, L-J particles are computationally cheap and simple to simulate$.$ The L-J potential model can be used to simulate the behaviors of liquids and gases on an atomic level and explore the differences between computational algorithms. I created a simulation of several dozen L-J particles interacting with each other in a two-dimensional system and found an efficient way implement periodic boundary conditions. In my presentation, I will outline how others can create a simple L-J particle system of their own.