Effective use of an Undergraduate Research Fellowship for Design and Manufacture of Tools to Assist in Teaching Strength of Materials

Jacob Finley came to the University of Southern Maine in spring 2010. He is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Finley became fascinated with mechanical properties of materials after taking a class with Dr. Ghorashi and observing the applications of the subject. He then teamed up with this professor and developed a way of demonstrating complex concepts in solid mechanics with easy to understand hands-on test set ups. Finley has always thoroughly enjoyed working on hands-on projects built from conception to execution. The main issue he addresses in his current research is developing ways to demonstrate mechanical behavior of structures and to measure the mechanical properties of materials to students in a way that is easy to understand.