I was one of the first faculty members of the College of Engineering; for that reason I have taught a range of different courses: undergraduate numerical methods, fluid mechanics, mechanical vibrations, introduction to design, fundamentals of flight, and graduate level fluid mechanics and numerical methods.
In the initial years, I have spend a considerable amount of time on advising, in particular when the department consisted of only two or three faculty.
A contribution, which I think was of considerable importance to our curriculum, was the development of our Numerical Methods course, which provides our students with ``hands on'' experience in using the computer for solving Engineering Problems. Our students seem quite motivated by the course, and develop an affinity to the College of Engineering VAX computer. Because of our initial lack of teaching assistants, I have done most of the work in solving programming and operation system problems encountered by the students.
While teaching undergraduate Fluid Mechanics, I have contributed to the development of the Fluids Laboratory by setting up various experiments.
I have created the department's capability to project computer screens by means of overhead projection equipment. This method is currently frequently used in our upper level courses.
During the fall and spring semesters, I keep office hours for 4 hours a week (although I tend to see most students outside these hours). I am currently advisor to 46 undergraduate students and major professor to 1 graduate student in our new PhD program. I am member of the departmental graduate committee.
My graduate class in numerical methods is currently being token by 3 students on the Panama City campus through the FEEDS program.
Last semester, I gave a 2 hour DIS on advanced vibrations.
I have also served on a Honors thesis committee on supercomputer use.
I am a `joint college' faculty member at FAMU, requiring a familiarity with the academic procedures, regulations and paperwork of both universities.
The most interesting aspect of teaching to me is the opportunity it provides to encourage independent thinking by our students. While the facts we teach today may be outdated within a decade, the ability to think creatively remains valuable for a lifetime.
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