William Snyder

Computer-controlled laboratory experiments

Inexpensive, safe, computer-controlled laboratory experiments which use modern sensors, digital storage oscilloscopes, and data acquisition units were developed for National Science Foundation Faculty Enhancement Workshops offered at Bucknell University. Although the experiments are simple in construction, rather complex data analysis using MATLAB or Excel applies. Detailed descriptions of the experiments will be available on the Internet.© 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

Project Catalyst: promoting systemic change in engineering education

Project Catalyst is an NSF-funded initiative to promote systemic change in engineering education by integrating instructional design techniques, transforming the classroom into a cooperative learning environment, and incorporating the use of information technology in the teaching/learning process. A conceptual framework is described to aid in shifting and supporting students and instructors activities in a transition from a traditional mode to a collaborative mode of instruction. In the first year of Project Catalyst, a core group of engineering faculty has begun implementing this focused shift by introducing a greater emphasis on team building, teamwork, cooperative learning, problem-based learning, and information technology. This paper discusses our enhanced instructional model and the supplementary skills modules that we will develop and use to implement this model. It concludes with the future work for the remaining two years of the NSF-funded project.

Using courseware authoring to mentor faculty of the future

This paper discusses a novel method for recruiting faculty members-particularly female and minority faulty members-by introducing students to the duties and responsibilities of faculty members at an early stage of their undergraduate career. Students assisted faculty in preparation of electronic courseware in a ten-week long summer program as well as during the school year. Student participants were teamed with faculty mentors from their discipline. The courseware design was based on Kolb cycle principles for use in undergraduate courses. In addition to participating in their development teams, all students met weekly in a large group setting. In those meetings background material like Kolb cycle principles, were presented to the students, or they shared and critiqued their courseware design as well as discussing issues relating to life as a faculty member. Students were chosen for this project on the basis of an expressed interest in attending graduate school and in pursuing a career in academia. Nineteen students have participated in this program over a period of 4 years.

The Effect of Active Carbon on the Kinetics of Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate

Abstract Rates of 2–21−azobisisobutyronitrile initiated polymerization of methyl methacrylate in benzene were determined at 77.2, 65.0, and 50.0°C. The variation of molecular weight of the polymer with temperature and conversion was also studied. At a fixed conversion of 2.0%, the molecular weight decreased from 2.05 × 105 at 50°C to 1.4 × 105 at 77.2°C. The ratio of the propagation rate coefficient to the square root of the termination rate coefficient was found to be 0.61, 0.397, and 0.374 at 77.2, 65.0, and 50.0°C, respectively, with an uncertainty of ±0.5°C in temperature. The effect of active carbon on the rates of polymerization at 77.2°C was measured. Rates of polymerization decreased in the presence of active carbon. For example, the initial rate of polymerization decreased from 7.8 × 10−4 mole/(liter min) to 4.6 × 10−4 mole/(liter min) when the carbon concentration was varied from 0 to 9.65 g/liter. The molecular weight of the polymer increased from an average of 1.4 × 105 in the absence of carbo...