Granta Design has announced the release of CES EduPack(TM) 2012, the latest version of this world-leading teaching resource for materials in engineering, science, processing, and design.
This release has been shaped by feedback from those using CES EduPack in their teaching. New features benefit courses on general mechanical engineering and materials science, through to more specialist areas such as sustainability, aerospace, or polymer sciences, as well as providing support to educators seeking to incorporate eco-awareness across the curriculum.
Now used at over 800 universities and colleges world-wide, CES EduPack combines comprehensive materials information, specialist software to access and use that information, and extensive supplementary teaching materials. It is used for lectures, project work, student exercises, and course handouts. A growing number of these resources are now being shared within the materials education community through the Teaching Resource Website, some being made more widely available as 'open access resources'.
Ongoing developments come from Granta's innovation program, guided by Granta co-founder, Professor Mike Ashby of Cambridge University, and feedback gathered from the CES EduPack community of over 5,000 materials educators.
This year's enhancements to the core software and resources provide particular support for:
- Teaching sustainability and eco-aware design - New graphical comparison capabilities in the widely-used Eco Audit Tool make it easy to dynamically explore environmental impact in 'what if' design scenarios.
- Introductory level courses - CES EduPack 2012 is easier to use with first year students, with new software features complementing new and updated data. A new 'date first used' attribute helps students to explore the history of materials and their use in engineering and design.
- Advanced Teaching - Enhanced data is now available in areas including Polymers, Aerospace, and Sustainability.
- Teaching courses related to energy/power generation - New information on energy storage systems helps students to quantitatively explore the economic, environmental, and resource-based viability of different energy storage technologies.
During 2012, there will be more opportunities for the materials education community to get involved in shaping future editions of CES EduPack. Developmental versions of a range of projects are currently available for evaluation, including a database of New, Emerging, and Unusual Materials, and new models for the Hybrid Synthesizer (an easy-to-use predictive tool that helps students investigate the effects of using hybrid materials and structures).
"We will continue to develop new features to maximize the teaching potential of CES EduPack," comments Prof. Mike Ashby, "looking to enable both classroom-based teaching and student-led exploration and evaluation of materials and their applications."
Granta regularly runs webinars for both new and existing users of CES EduPack, as well as offering short courses. Some upcoming events include:
- Feb 16: Web seminar: "Introduction to CES EduPack"
- Feb 29: Web seminar: "What's New in CES EduPack 2012"
- Mar 27-28: CES EduPack Short Courses with Prof. Mike Ashby, preceding the 3rd North American Material Education Symposia, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
- Apr 10-11: CES EduPack Short Courses with Prof. Mike Ashby, preceding the 4th International Materials Education Symposia, Cambridge University, UK
Full details of these, and other upcoming events, can be found at www.grantadesign.com/education/