Teaching

I teach at Penn State University in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Currently, I am teaching CMPSC 200 Programming for Engineers with MATLAB. The following is the description from Penn State’s Undergraduate Degree Programs Bulletin (formerly known as the “Bluebook”):

CMPSC 200 Programming for Engineers with MATLAB (3) Development and implementation of algorithms in a procedure-oriented language, with emphasis on numerical methods for engineering problems. A student may receive credit for only one of the following courses: CMPSC 101, 102, 200, 201, or 202.

CMPSC 200 is a service course offered to engineering and science majors. The course teaches basic programming concepts including: algorithm development, data types, number representation, control structures, functions, plotting and basic numerical analysis techniques. The course enables students to develop computer programs in MATLAB to solve simple engineering problems. The basic numerical analysis techniques covered in the course include matrix operations, systems of equations, solving equations, roots, curve fitting, interpolation, numerical integration and ordinary differential equations.

Students analyze physics-based and engineering problems; develop algorithms to solve the problems; implement the algorithms in the MATLAB programming environment; and produce informative output in both numerical and graphical form. The general programming concepts learned in the course are commonly found in most programming language environments. The problem-solving skills learned in the course can be utilized in upper-level engineering and science courses.

The lecture portion of the course gives students the conceptual and syntactical background needed for the successful completion of practical programming assignments during the laboratory portion of the course. The laboratory instruction involves hands-on programming by individual students or student teams assisted by a teaching assistant and/or instructor.

Prerequisite: MATH 140 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
Corequisite: MATH 141 Calculus with Analytic Geometry II

In Fall 2015, I developed an honors option program in CMPSC 200 for students enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College.

I have been privileged to have helped teach two courses in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. The first of these courses was the (traditionally) fall-only offering AERSP 309 Astronautics. The following is the description from Penn State’s Undergraduate Degree Programs Bulletin:

AERSP 309 Astronautics (3) Introduction to space and space flight; laws of particle mechanics; orbits and trajectories; space vehicles and propulsion.

This course, required for aerospace engineering majors, focuses primarily on the dynamics of spaceflight, including both orbital and attitude (orientation) motion of spacecraft. Topics include: three-dimensional rotational kinematics (direction cosine matrices, vector components in different coordinate systems, Euler angles, the angular velocity vector, and velocity and acceleration in different reference frames), three-dimensional particle dynamics (Newton’s laws of particle motion, energy, angular momentum, and systems of particles), two-body orbital mechanics (Newton’s law of universal gravitation, the orbit equation, conic sections and orbit terminology, Kepler’s equation, classical orbital elements, and representations of satellite position and velocity), orbital maneuvers and transfers (impulsive maneuvers, Hohmann transfers, simple inclination changes, and relative motion between spacecraft), rigid-body, dynamics (angular momentum and energy, the inertia matrix, principal-axis system, Euler’s equations of rigid-body motion, torque-free motion, and effects of external torques), rocket performance (the rocket equation, specific impulse, estimating propellant requirements for a mission, and a survey of propulsion technology), and the space environment (standard atmosphere, simple radiative heat-transfer analysis, the Van Allen radiation belts, meteors and debris hazards).

The course relies upon a sound understanding of mechanics, matrix algebra and vector calculus. Assignments include analytical and numerical problems, some of which require computer programming.

Prerequisites: E MCH 212 Dynamics, MATH 250 Ordinary Differential Equations, and either CMPSC 201 Programming for Engineers with C++ or CMPSC 202 Programming for Engineers with FORTRAN

In Summer 2015, I became the first faculty member to teach AERSP 309 online as a distance education course; ideally, the goal is to offer the course via distance education in future summers. Previously, I had searched as a teaching assistant in the course when I was a graduate student.

In graduate school, I also served in as a teaching assistant was the spring-only offering AERSP 304 Dynamics and Control of Aerospace Systems. The following is the description from Penn State’s Undergraduate Degree Programs Bulletin:

AERSP 304 Dynamics and Control of Aerospace Systems (3) Vibrations of single, multiple, and infinite degree-of-freedom systems; operational methods applied to aerospace vehicles; design of controllers.

Prerequisites: AERSP 313 Aerospace Analysis and E MCH 212 Dynamics

My teaching philosophy and portfolio may be found using the links under the Teaching header.