COURSE
ENGS 33: Solid Mechanics
ENGS 33: Solid Mechanics reminded Bronson Starsiak ’23 of his love of tinkering and reaffirmed his passion for mechanical engineering. The course, taught by Assistant Professor of Engineering Yan Li, encourages students to apply a hands-on approach to engineering concepts. Whether constructing wooden model bridges or testing the limits of super-stretchy dough, Bronson enjoyed how ENGS 33 breathed life into the engineering theories he was learning. “My favorite aspect of the course was being able to put our lectures to the test,” he says. “Being able to apply the equations and theory we learned in class added meaning to the material. Intuition is best gained through getting your hands dirty and experimenting.” Professor Li welcomes students from any discipline—STEM or not—to join ENGS 33. “I like to hear diverse voices so that we can make the engineering classroom more accessible, more inclusive, and better connected to the real world,” Professor Li says. “In my opinion, a good engineer is a team player, an open-minded problem-solver, and a good communicator using both the plain and engineering languages.” Excited to brainstorm ideas with undergraduates, Professor Li develops assignments that mold her students into collaborative creators ready to approach real-world engineering problems. ENGS 33 sparked the curiosity of Hannah Burd ’22 for the mechanical engineering design process and inspired her to pursue sustainable product design. She remembers applying concepts from class to the lab during the scaled wood bridge design project, which sees students build an economical model bridge, subject it to extreme pressure using an Instron machine,
What are Dartmouth students studying? In every issue, we feature a class plucked somewhat randomly from a deep reservoir of fascinating courses. and compare the results with theoretical predictions. “Our class projects were the best introduction to hands-on engineering that I’ve experienced at Dartmouth,” Hannah says. “The time I spent in the machine shop and in maker spaces this summer was invaluable.” As Professor Li collects more designs over the years, she plans to build a knowledge base where students can access previous plans and determine the pros and cons of existing work before they begin their own designs. She hopes to implement new technologies like artificial intelligence and smart sensors in future wood bridge developments. “One of my teaching goals is to help students develop the skills necessary to perform higher-level analytical, creative, and problem-solving tasks,” Professor Li says. “Seeing them build friendships through the course projects is a bonus!” —Sydney Wuu ’24
PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL ROBERTXU GILL ’25
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