ALTERNATIVE COMPUTER HARDWARE STRATEGIES IN THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE.

The hardware and software in the Computer-Aided Engineering Laboratory (CAEL) at the University of Delaware in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, its impact on instructional and research programs in the department, and the planning underway for hardware and software to meet the future instructional and research needs of the department are described. Experience thus far has indicated that simple to use, locally developed software is preferable to commercially developed software. The latter seems to minimize learning, obscures engineering fundamentals, and gives the student a false sense of accomplishment.