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Course Organization and Requirements |
ME 395, Winter 2003 |
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Instructor: Professor
Barry Hyman Teaching Assistant: Nesrin Ozalp Class Meeting Times and Location:
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Course Organization and Requirements WARNING: PLEASE READ THIS MATERIAL CONTAINED ON THIS WEB PAGE AND ALL
LINKED PAGES VERY CAREFULLY — AND REREAD IT CAREFULLY SEVERAL TIMES DURING
THE QUARTER. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
UNDERSTANDING THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN THESE DOCUMENTS. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH INSTRUCTIONS
CONTAINED HEREIN OR TO FOLLOW ASSOCIATED GUIDELINES MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR
GRADE. Generally
the course is organized into discussion sessions (T @ 1:20 - 2:30 pm and Th @
1:20 – 3:30 pm) and design project sessions (T @ 2:30 - 5:20 pm). Some deviations from this arrangement may
be necessary to accommodate special circumstances. Each
student's course grade will be determined by weighting his/her scores on the
various course activities as follows: Homework 20% Midterm
Exam 25% Final
Exam 25% Three
Projects 30% Students dissatisfied with their
grade on any course activity should feel free to discuss the issue with me
during my office hours. Homework problems based on the
class discussion and assigned reading materials will be distributed on a
regular basis. The homework assignments
will be collected, graded and returned.
The main purpose of the homework assignments is to provide you with an
opportunity to practice the design skills, tools, and techniques in
preparation for using them on the exams and in the projects. While students may discuss the
general thrust of pending homework assignments among themselves, copying is
not allowed. Students submitting
homework that does not represent their own thinking are subject to disciplinary
action under existing rules of the university. However, students having difficulty with a homework assignment
are especially invited to discuss the assignment/get assistance from me
outside of class before the assignment is due. No grade penalty will be attached to the homework for students
who obtain help from me prior to the due date for that assignment. In order to cover the entire syllabus
during the allotted time, there will be no discussion of homework during
class time. Solutions to homeworks
will be posted on the course web site two days after the due date. Each student will participate in
three group-oriented design projects during the quarter. Membership in the 4-5 person design teams
will be determined by random lottery for the first project. I will establish the team compositions for
the second and third projects to minimize the number of individuals who serve
together on the same team for more than one project. Copies of each design project
handout will be available on the course web site by noon of the day prior to
the scheduled start of that project (to be announced in class). All students are expected to obtain and
study the project statement prior to the first design session allocated to
that project. Coming prepared to the
first design session for each project is crucial for making sufficient
progress towards completing the project on schedule. The scheduled design project
sessions are set aside for several purposes: 1) to provide a guaranteed time slot
when all team members are available to carry out group-oriented project
activities. All students registered
for this class are expected to be available for project activities during
these periods. If you have a
scheduling conflict that restricts your availability during these periods you
should not be registered for this class; 2) to permit me to provide guidance and
assistance to each group on their design project activities; and 3) to allow for class discussion and
post-mortems on design project activities. Success on the design projects
depends to a considerable extent on the ability of the design teams to
efficiently utilize the design project sessions for group-oriented activities
and to obtain guidance, assistance, and feedback from me. Experience has shown that significant
progress on the design projects can be made during these sessions if each
group member comes to each session (especially the first one for each
project) prepared with specific questions for other group members and for me. Clarification and insight into various
aspects of the design projects also frequently occurs as the result of groups
interacting informally with me during those sessions as I circulate among the
teams. Once all such group activities
have been accomplished during any given project session, the teams are free
to adjourn to allow their members to carry out individual tasks associated
with the project. I strongly
recommend that groups do not adjourn until each member has been assigned a
specific task in preparation for the next group meeting. I will assign a grade for each
project to each team based on the evaluation form distributed with the
project statement. In addition, each
team member will complete a form that provides me with a written confidential
review of the contributions of each of the other members of his/her project
team. At the end of the quarter,
these reviews will be used to adjust the team project grades to obtain each
individual's grade for their project activity. Each student has the opportunity to increase their adjusted
design project grades by as much as 0.5 via accumulating my signatures in a design
journal (e.g., if your adjusted design project grade is 3.5, you have the
opportunity to increase it as high as 4.0).
This is an incentive for each student to communicate regularly with me
during the design project activities.
The journal also serves to enhance the quality of the design
assistance that I can provide to each student. A design journal is a permanently bound (no three ring or
spiral) notebook or "diary" which contains dated entries of all
your notes, sketches, calculations, doodles, and any other record of your
thoughts and activities related to your assigned design projects. At your initiative, you may bring any
aspect of your design activity to my attention, and request my signature
signifying that we have talked about that particular dated entry in your
journal. The entry may take many
different forms including: a list of assumptions you are using; a free-body
diagram you are constructing; a record of a recent phone conversation; or a
draft of a section of your written report.
Each such signature which you acquire will increase your adjusted
design project grade by 0.05, with a maximum possible increase of 0.5 (ten
signatures accumulated during the quarter).
Signatures will be provided solely
on the basis that we had a useful conversation regarding the particular
journal entry or set of entries; there is no requirement for neatness,
correctness, or completeness in order for a journal entry to quality for a
signature. However, you must take the
initiative to acquire a signature and you must be prepared to explain to me
that aspect of your activity for which you are requesting the signature. You may request journal signatures during
my regular office hours, or at any other mutually convenient time. The only two requirements are: the
signature is acquired within seven calendar days of the dated entry; and
there is still time for any feedback which I might provide to be incorporated
into the final design product and/or report.
No more than one signature can be earned for each discussion. Note, this signature acquisition
opportunity is strictly voluntary.
There is no way that non-participation in this activity can hurt your
grade in the course. To receive credit
for acquired signatures, journals should be submitted to me no later than the
last day of class. The lecture-discussion sessions in the first half of the course will cover a primarily qualitative treatment of the design process, conceptual aspects of design, the context in which design activities are conducted, and major issues and implications of design decisions. An open-book, take-home, essay-type, mid-term exam on this material will be distributed on January 31. The lecture-discussion sessions in the second half of the course will cover a primarily quantitative treatment of specific tools and techniques useful in various stages of mechanical design. A closed-book, in-class, problem-type, final exam will be held Friday, March 21 from 2:30 – 4:20 pm. The questions and format of the final exam will be similar to the homework assignments for the second half of the course. All
projects and homework assignments are due by 4:30 pm of the announced
date. Material up to one calendar day
late will be accepted with a 10% penalty applied to the grade. No material will be accepted that is more
than one day late. All work not
personally submitted to me should be turned into the receptionist in the main
departmental office. Students are strongly encouraged to phone, e-mail, and/or meet with me during my regularly scheduled office hours or at other mutually agreeable times to discuss lecture material, homework, exams, projects, and the Mariners. My experience has been that more learning occurs during those informal one-on-one sessions than in the classroom. Besides, I get lonely if no one shows up to visit me during my office hours. Students making appointments will have priority over those dropping in or calling unannounced. |
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Contact the instructor at: barryh@u.washington.edu
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