Session 3226 Investigation of Shear as a Failure Mode in Anisotropic Materials

There is an immediate need in industry for engineers conversant in the fundamental principles of material behavior. This type of knowledge may best be imparted to the undergraduate student by direct, hands-on laboratory experience. Another way to enrich the undergraduate engineering laboratory experience is to introduce the student to current research. When undergraduate engineers are exposed to current research they begin to understand that their undergraduate learning experiences are merely building blocks upon which much more in-depth learning is based. Exposure to actual research projects in the undergraduate curriculum also serves to enhance the students ’ curiosity about how their undergraduate course subject matter can be used to solve other than “textbook ” problems. This article describes how the Department o