Development of an Intervention to Improve Students' Conceptual Understanding of Thermodynamics

Stephen R. Turns, professor of mechanical engineering, joined the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University in 1979. His research interests include combustion-generated air pollution, other combustionrelated topics, and engineering education pedagogy. He has served as an ABET mechanical engineering program evaluator since 1994. He has received many teaching awards at Penn State, including the Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. Turns was the recipient of the 2009 ASEE Mechanical Engineering Division Ralph Coats Roe Award. He is also the author of three student-centered textbooks: An Introduction to Combustion: Concepts and Applications, 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2012), Thermal-Fluid Sciences: An Integrated Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Thermodynamics: Concepts and Applications (Cambridge University Press, 2006). He received degrees in mechanical engineering from Penn State (B.S. in 1970), Wayne State University (M.S. in 1975), and the University of WisconsinMadison (Ph.D. in 1979).