S. Chaturvedi’s research while affiliated with Old Dominion University and other places

A novel application of web-based virtual laboratories to prepare students for physical experiments is explored in some detail. The pedagogy of supplementing physical laboratory with web-based virtual laboratories is implemented by developing a web-based tool, designated in this work as "eLIVE", an acronym for Engineering Laboratory Instruction in Virtual Environment. Two physical experiments, one each from the thermo-fluids laboratory and the solid mechanics laboratory in the undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum, are transformed into web-based virtual experiments for application as pre-lab practice sessions. The key question answered here is as follows: Do the web-based virtual experiments developed for supplementation of physical laboratory instruction enhance students' knowledge of experimental procedure and data acquisition? This question is answered by assessing the performance of a "control" group of students that did not use "eLIVE" and comparing it with the performance of an "experimental" group that availed "eLIVE" prior to the physical experiment sessions. Students' performance in tests and quizzes administered to both the groups prior to the physical experiments was analyzed, using a non-parametric statistical method, to establish the statistical significance of assessed results with respect to "eLIVE" intervention, and demographic parameters such as gender, ethnicity, academic achievement, age, course load etc. Statistical results as well as students' response to surveys presented in this work point to "eLIVE" as being a very useful technology-enhanced interactive learning tool. The present study clearly establishes the pedagogy of physical laboratory supplementation with web-based virtual laboratories on a firm ground for possible extension to other engineering laboratory courses at ODU as well as at other institutions.

A web-based module has been developed and implemented to introduce undergraduate engineering students to environmental impact of fossil fuel combustion. The subject matter is organized into five sub-modules namely, objectives/outcomes, virtual interactive, combustion chemistry, environmental chemistry, and environmental effects of emissions from combustion systems. Students learn to balance chemical reactions for fuel mixtures (in combustion chemistry submodule), calculate interactively annual pollutant emissions from their own automobiles (virtual interactive sub-module), determine pathways for creation of smog and acid rain (environmental chemistry sub-module), and become acquainted with emission indices and EPA standards for pollutants, and pollutant remediation techniques (environmental effects sub-module.) The module has been implemented during the Spring 2006 semester, and module outcomes have been assessed using a test broadly covering materials contained in the module. Assessment results indicate that the module is an effective educational tool in promoting learning for topical areas related to environmental effects of fossil fuel combustion.

A physical experiment from the undergraduate thermo-fluids laboratory titled "Venturimeter as a flow measuring device" has been chosen for its mapping into the virtual domain, as a computer-based experiment. The virtual experiment described in the present study, combines three unique aspects simultaneously: use of computer generated (virtual) data to recreate the physical phenomenon, virtual experimentation and measurement on a computer screen, and coupling of the virtual experiment with the LabVIEW software to introduce students to digital data acquisition and analysis. The proposed multi-media module has three sub-modules namely, the physical sub-module, the experimental details sub-module, and the virtual experiment sub-module, for introducing students to physical system configuration, experimental procedure, and detailed instructions for conducting virtual experimentation, data acquisition and analysis. The proposed module is expected to impact the development of virtual engineering laboratories for Web-based distance learning undergraduate engineering programs.