Mechanical Engineering Graduate Recognized at National Conference
JONESBORO – Arkansas State University mechanical engineering graduate student Dan Kilula of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been recognized for having the best student paper at the June 2023 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) National Conference.Kilula presented the paper “Achieving Student Outcomes through Hands-on Design of Experiments.” There were two co-authors including Wynne native Logan Neal, who received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in May. The other co-author was Dr. Shivan Haran, director and associate professor of mechanical engineering at A-State.The Best Student Paper Award in Experimentation and Lab-Oriented Studies Division (ELOS) was presented at the ASEE conference in Baltimore.Haran said the paper discussed hands-on learning in engineering as one of the most effective ways to understand basic theory and its application to practice.“Examples of the approach used in an upper-level mechanical engineering course were presented, wherein students are required to design and conduct an experiment and analyze the data to demonstrate some of the basic concepts and principles learned in their earlier semesters,” said Haran.He added that the paper emphasized the impact of the work of students in the context of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes including working in teams to design experiments, analyzing and interpreting data, and drawing appropriate conclusions.
