Development Of A Curriculum For Mechanical Engineering Based Upon Intelligent Systems And Automation

Realizing the need for mechanical engineering programs to adapt to an ever-diversifying competitive world, the University of Notre Dame is developing a new curriculum that includes focused educational experiences. This focus is based upon the opportunities provided by the synergism between traditional discipline elements and embedded computing in all forms of mechanical systems. These experiences will better prepare students for the continued proliferation of sensing, actuation and control technologies resulting in what are often referred to as intelligent mechanical systems. The primary elements of this curriculum development activity are supporting faculty development and interest, developing infrastructure and facilities, and collaborating with industry in order to integrate elements of intelligent, embedded computing systems across the curriculum. This involves striking a balance between fundamental concepts, algorithm development, hardware, and applications; and this is accomplished by threading these concepts throughout the curriculum. A new facility, the Intelligent Systems and Automation Learning Laboratory (ISALL) has been developed and it supports faculty and students in the development and execution of these new learning experiences.