Biography

This is a course for students interested in studying advanced topics in engineering and science, students who envision a career in science or engineering, and/or students who are curious about how things work. The first semester students will explore two of these three possible topics: electric motors, atmospheric science and space, sensor based kinetic art and solar energy. Specifically, students will build a multi-phase electric motor and either launch a payload via weather balloon high above the Earth’s atmosphere into space or develop a solar powered ‘wall project’ that has inputs and outputs based on sound, light or motion. In the second semester, students will specialize on one topic of their choice. This can be a research engineering or a science project. Possible topics range from what makes a baseball curve, an automated greenhouse, building 21st-century prosthetics, green energy projects, to building a Tesla coil to particle physics to whatever your ideas are. This course is student centered and student driven. Students have great latitude in their choice of the topics, experiments, and projects. Students will learn the design and prototyping process and how to take and analyze data in order to optimize their projects. Students will also learn how to read and write engineering and scientific papers and give professional engineering/science presentations. At the conclusion of the 2nd semester each student will write a science or engineering paper and give a final presentation at the Menlo Maker Faire.

Prerequisites: Complete Physics with an A- or better and Chemisty (H) with a A- or better or regular Chem with an A OR an A in both mechanical engineering and electrical engineering OR get permission from Dr. Dann.

View student testimonials for this course and other science courses here.