Courses Taught
SE101A – Engineering Graphics & Design (with Building Information Modeling, BIM)
SE101B – Engineering Graphics & Design (with mechanical computer-aided design, MCAD)
SE402 – Computer-Aided Product Realization
SE598 – Design Learning & Cognition
ENG177 – Grand Challenges in Engineering
SE494 – ISE Senior Design (team advising)
BADM461 – Technology, Engineering, and Marketing Capstone (team advising)
Teaching Interests
First-year through capstone design courses, environmental engineering, science/engineering learning, educational research methodologies

Teaching Philosophy
Early Bird
Oh if you’re a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you’re a bird, be an early bird
But if you’re a worm, sleep late.
-Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends
Goals. The above poem reflects one of the main aims in my teaching – To help students learn to realize their strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. I believe as an engineer and as a teacher it is my responsibility to challenge and support my students in pursuit of three learning goals: (1) Foster the ability to think critically about interaction of systems, technologies, markets, the environment, and society (2) Develop an understanding of the complexities involved in making trade-off decisions, and (3) Enable a pathway for students to identify themselves as engineers. I help students achieve these learning goals when I effectively teach problem solving, critical thinking, and foster development of both written and verbal communication.
The primary skills that I seek to develop in my students are a thorough knowledge of how to solve technical engineering problems and how these solution procedures relate to the basic engineering principles from which they are developed. Solutions in the “real world” are often not straightforward and require that an engineer make trade-off decisions, balancing strengths and weaknesses of possible outcomes. These skills are critical because in either an industrial or academic setting, engineers may need to modify the solution procedure to account for additional considerations. Beyond the classroom, engineers take on higher levels of independence, greater uncertainty, and increased stakes. The confidence and ability to check one’s work, to appropriately simplify a problem, and to use sound judgment are essential for an engineer. Moreover, an understanding of how their work impacts other systems including the environment and society are of paramount importance.
Methods. I emphasize problem solving together with critical thinking. When presenting example problems, I first sketch out the logical structure, and encourage students to ‘break apart’ problems in a systematic manner. Emphasizing the logical structure of the material provides the students with the necessary mental framing to build a deeper understanding. In addition, by breaking up the problem into smaller steps, students are often able to provide the details involved in each step, thereby engaging them in the process, and increasing their confidence in their mastery of the material. Regular homework, occasional quizzes, laboratory assignments, and examinations can be a very effective element of teaching and learning. In my classes, I give all of the above. The homework assignments help students in understanding and applying the methods emphasized. I believe that active learning should take place in the classroom to transfer the knowledge effectively and motivate the students to reach their full potential. My classroom provides an interactive environment where the students learn by examples. I make every effort to provide adequate resources and tools for the students. Hands-on laboratory experiments, opportunities to work in teams, and group design projects are essential components of my teaching styles. I encourage reflection, and provide opportunities for students to consider their growth as future engineers.
Philosophy. My enthusiasm for teaching stems from my love of design and commitment to my students. Students are the most important part of my teaching. I want to show the students how excited I am about teaching and motivate them about learning. I prepare for lectures and organize and present materials I believe will help students learn more effectively, thus demonstrating my dedication to their education and their success in learning. I feel one of the most important elements of teaching at any level is to show students that they matter. I am upfront and honest with my students regarding my expectations, and use the syllabus as a contractual promise between the students and me.
Sample Teaching Materials
I regularly teach two engineering design courses, SE101A and SE101B, each fall and spring term. These are two distinct, introductory, large engineering classes with over 100 students each semester. SE101A introduces students to design with a focus on Civil Engineering concepts, including reading construction drawings and building proficiency in Building Information Modeling (BIM) using Autodesk Revit. In the semester-long design project in this course, student teams create a digital twin of a building on campus. SE101B focuses on product design concepts. During their semester-long design project, students dissect a commercially available product, model the individual pieces using Fusion 360, and devise possible produce design improvements.
SE101A and SE101B Sample teaching materials:
- Syllabus + Schedule for each of the two courses, SE101A and SE101B
- A general course introduction video
- A sample sketching demonstration video, common to both courses and included in my textbook
- Sample slides for general sketching, common to both courses
- Sample slides for BIM content (SE101A)
- Sample lab/homework for SE101B (Generative Design – the last lab of the semester)
- Sample lab/homework for SE101A (Superstructures)
- Textbook chapter, CAD: Solid Modeling used in both courses
- Publicly available student example design projects from SE101A Engineering Design & Graphics (BIM)
- Publicly available student example design projects from SE101B Engineering Design & Graphics (Product Design)
Since 2021, I have taught SE402, Computer-Aided Product Realization. SE402 is a multidisciplinary design course taken by many engineering majors (e.g., systems engineering, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, materials science) and industrial design students. The course curriculum includes reverse engineering, upfront analysis, visualization, and collaborative design. The first half of the semester is devoted to familiarizing students with various digital prototyping tools, hardware or software. The rest of the semester is spent on applying these techniques to solve real-life engineering design problems in a team composed of students from different disciplines.
SE402 Sample Teaching Materials:
- Syllabus + Schedule
- Sample slides
- Sample lab/homework
- Publicly available student example design projects from SE402 Computer-Aided Product Realization