Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

Prof. Ashish Deshpande

I believe that effective teaching requires carefully listening to students and taking the time to ensure that students can creatively apply new concepts.

During my teaching experience, I have learned that one needs to be flexible and responsive to be able to motivate a diverse group of students.

From my experience, even highly motivated teachers need to constantly review and improve their methods. This involves improving communication by speaking the language students understand, uncovering exciting problems that interest and challenge students and identifying creative ways to invoke intuition rather than memorization.

I also believe that a teacher’s role transcends classroom duties. Good teachers and research mentors are on duty at all times, teaching the values of integrity and impartiality, most effectively by his or her own conduct.

As Emerson wrote, “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition... This is to have succeeded.” As teachers we have an opportunity to achieve this in every student.

Courses

MEE 270: Dynamics

This course covers the motion of bodies and the forces involved in their motion, focusing on particle and rigid body models

MEE 380: Kinematical Design of Machines

This course teaches analysis and synthesis of motions of mechanisms in order to design machinery. The first part of the course focuses on the motion properties of mechanisms including degrees of freedom, velocity, and acceleration. The second part of the course focuses on dynamics of the mechanisms including kinostatics and dynamics analyses. Design and analysis of cam-follower mechanisms and gear assembly are also discussed. A substantial portion of the class is devoted to introducing students to the MATLAB programming environment which will enable them to simulate and analyze motions of multi-link mechanisms.

Course website: here

MEE 570: Advanced Controls of Dynamical Systems

This course introduces advanced topics in controls including ‘multi-input multi-output (MIMO)’ systems, nonlinear controls, optimal controls, and robust control.

MEE 697: Kinematical Design of Machines

This course introduces topics in biomechanics, including muscle physiology, and neuromuscular control system, and investigates modeling of biomechanical systems toward the development of robots for rehabilitation and prosthetic purposes.