The Mechanical Engineering Department is happy to announce that there are three new technical electives available for the 2014W school year. Please look below for the courses and their descriptions.
MECH 410M: Introduction to Mechatronics (for non-mechatronics students)
Course content: Introduction to mechatronics systems; sensors and actuators; signal conditioning; pneumatic and hydraulic systems; solid-state switches; system modeling; Micro-mechatronic system; case studies.
MECH 410R: Microfluidics
Course content: Goal is to provide a functional understanding of the physics of fluids at small scales which is leveraged by microfluidic technologies. [1] Introduction — What is microfluidics? Introduction to physics at small scales. Scaling principles and dimensional analysis. [2] Fluid Mechanics — Low Reynolds number hydrodynamics, network flows, porous flows. [3] Capillarity — Interface energetics. Capillary driven flows. [4] Scalar Transport — Diffusion, random walks, advection-diffusion equation. Mixing, separation, dispersion. Surfactant effects on drops. [5] Electrokinetics — Electric double layer, zeta potentials, electroosmosis, charge transport, streaming potential. Electrophoresis. [6] Microrheology — An introduction to passive and active microrheology. [7] Lab on a chip — Experimental techniques, chip fabrication, flow visualization.
Prerequisite: MECH 380
MECH 550M: Research Methods
Course content: Aims to help students write research proposals, and as a supporting goal, expose them to the culture of the research world – what it is to be a research student instead of a passive course-taker. It is a “soft” course in that it contains no differential equations, but it is not an easy course, and you must be seriously interested in the area of your research proposal. Therefore, it is most suitable for MASc and PhD students. However, MEng students and senior undergraduates have taken the course successfully- but only with the strong support of a faculty mentor. The website from 2012 is posted at http://sites.mech.ubc.ca/~rogak/unlinked/ME550M/index.html. The schedule and balance of assignments will be adjusted, but the aims of the course remain the same.