This paper describes a laboratory course designed to enhance education in a traditional mechanical engineering laboratory focused on controls and instrumentation. The laboratory course and specific modules are part of a broader effort to enhance the mechanical engineering laboratory curriculum with modern pedagogical methods, incorporate ethics through the curriculum, and improve student outcomes.
The laboratory course was designed to inspire a heightened awareness of engineering ethics in addition to traditional controls.A new module has been added that applies the conventional topic of Programmable Logic Controllers in the context of controlling the breathing of an artificial lung.
To assess the laboratory’s success a survey was developed for students interacting with the new module. Results indicate the new laboratory experiment has been very successful in improving student awareness of the ethical charge engineers have to perform quality work
