Copyright (c) 2010 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho Recent documents in Zahed Sheikholeslami en-us Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:01:49 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/3 http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/3 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:47:23 PST As engineering education at the undergraduate level continues to evolve, the support structure required for educational approaches such as Project-Based Learning (PBL) is expanding to include not only the Department, College, and University levels, but also significant commitments from industrial partners. While the benefits of project based learning approaches are clear, there are a number of challenges in establishing and maintaining the deep level of institutional and industrial interaction required to create a successful program.This paper discusses several approaches adopted by the Project Based Learning Institute (PBLI) in developing project-centered relationships with external organizations. PBLI serves as an academic incubator that has been used to overcome institutional inertia by creating a structure that lies outside existing well-established "territories". It discusses the self supporting nature of the approach, which allows resource issues which typically shackle initiatives to be obviated. It describes how the program has developed into a catalyst for industry participation that benefits both students and corporate sponsors. It describes the how the juxtaposition of high-potential faculty, coupled with incentives for multidisciplinary faculty collaboration, enriches the educational experience for students. The outcome is underpinned by vehicles that couple industry interests to university resources. This system, which hinges on an effective mechanism to uncover and respond to industry needs, creates an environment capable of educating an engineering graduate who is steeped in multidisciplinary, who is exceptionally team-oriented and who is more able to function in today's complex environment. Daniel Walsh Conference Proceedings http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/2 http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/2 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:41:27 PST The finite analytic numerical method is developed to solve two-point boundary value problems of ordinary differential equations. The basic idea of the finite analytic method is the incorporation of the local analytic solution of the governing equation in the numerical solution of the boundary value problem. In this study, the finite analytic solution is developed for both linear and nonlinear second-order ordinary differential equations. Several examples are solved to demonstrate the application of the finite analytic method. It is shown that the finite analytic method is simple, aCCUrate and well behaved in the presence of singularities. It is also shown that the finite difference expression for the derivative is a particular simple case of the finite analytic expressions. The finite analytic method can therefore be regarded as a desirable alternative to other numerical schemes for solving two-point boundary value problems. Ching-Jen Chen Articles http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/1 http://works.bepress.com/zsheikho/1 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:41:22 PST A new numerical method called the finite analytic (FA) method is used to solve a groundwater solute transport problem. The basic idea of the finite analytic method is the incorporation of local analytic solution in the numerical solution of the partial differential equation. When the local analytic solution is evaluated at a given nodal point, it gives an algebraic relationship between a nodal value in an element and its neighboring nodal points. The assemble of the linear system equations results in a tridiagonal matrix. Like most finite difference method, the advantages of using efficient iterative techniques for solving tridiagonal matrices are equally applicable to FA method. The automatic localized upstream shift and the analytic property of the FA method eliminates the difficulty of numerical dispersion locally and suppresses the overall numerical dispersion for large Peclet number. For small Peclet number FA method yields excellent results in comparison with the analytic solution. For large Peclet number FA solutions are oscillation free with some degree of numerical dispersion. The results are comparable with those obtained using upstream weighted finite element method. Jack C. Hwang Articles