Engineers Advance Skills
Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete, Department of Engineering Science, Rensselaer at Hartford
Associate Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete of the Department of Engineering Science at Rensselaer at Hartford explains why COMSOL is a natural fit in the continuing engineering education classroom.
Keeping your engineering skills up to date and career on track requires constant learning. When it comes to continuing education for professional engineers, perhaps no institution offers a greater degree of engineering expertise and flexibility than Rensselaer at Hartford, Connecticut, a branch campus of the technology-based education and academic research leader Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Associate Professor Gutierrez-Miravete of the Department of Engineering Science uses COMSOL Multiphysics to help him teach multiphysics phenomena and the practical applications of partial differential equations (PDEs) to engineers from such high-tech heavyweights as Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies. We asked Professor Gutierrez-Miravete about the role COMSOL Multiphysics plays expanding the skills of practicing engineers.
 |
Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete (far right) finds that his many of continuing engineering education students at Rensselaer at Hartford use COMSOL Multiphysics to create models of real-world systems they work with daily. From left to right in the front row are Eric Rogers, Douglas Blake, and Gutierrez-Miravete. |
COMSOL News: Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete, what courses do you teach?
Gutierrez-Miravete: I teach a broad variety of courses, including Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Mechanics of Solid Materials, Mathematical Modeling of Manufacturing Processes, and Stochastic Simulation.
COMSOL News: Tell us a little about your students.
Gutierrez-Miravete: Practically all our students are successful, practicing engineers. On average, they have 5-7 years of experience in the field, and many are in their late 20s or early 30s. Most are degree-seeking. In my department, most of the students are mechanical engineers, but we also get aero-astro, industrial and materials engineers, as well as some physicists. A significant number of older students also attend Rensselaer, most seeking a follow-up management degree but also some after a second engineering degree.
COMSOL News: How does COMSOL Multiphysics fit into your classroom?
Gutierrez-Miravete: COMSOL is a natural fit, as it constitutes an excellent teaching aid that uses the language analytical engineers are comfortable with. I very much appreciate the short learning curve and the ability to let students focus on the examination of results rather than on programming details.
COMSOL News: How does COMSOL Multiphysics help you teach about the relationship of multiple physics phenomena?
Gutierrez-Miravete: Many engineering problems are truly multiphysics. For instance, one examines flow in turbine airfoils, among other reasons, because of their effect on the temperature and stress in the foil; tool wear in titanium machining is due to cobalt diffusion which in turn depends on the temperature of the tool; a magnetic field produces forces in a liquid metal that drive fluid flow.
COMSOL News: How do your students react to COMSOL Multiphysics? Does it help them understand the practical application of PDEs to their work life?
Gutierrez-Miravete: Most students find COMSOL easy to learn; they also like to be able to formulate their models using the language of differential equations. Several of my students are now using COMSOL to create models of real-world systems they work with on a daily basis.
Rensselaer at Hartford
Rensselaer at Hartford offers an educational experience for students who need to balance their professional, academic, and personal lives. It offers graduate and specialized programs, several graduate certificates, professional development programs, and a variety of additional educational opportunities. For more information, visit Rensselaer at Hartford on the web at www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford.