Teaching

My teaching philosophy is quite simple and flexible. I treat each student as an individual: every student is distinct with different needs. Students need easy and informal access to their instructor outside the classroom. To accomplish the stated objective, I hold regular help sessions (besides the usual office hours); students and I chat more informally about the course and their ambitions and aspirations. Further, I set three goals I strive to achieve in every course: (1) Inspire the joy of learning in students and guide them to enjoy the subject. Excited students learn more about the subject than the teacher can imagine, leading to career-changing decisions. (2) Build students’ confidence in themselves and their knowledge of the subject. A student’s ability to perform as an engineer depends on their confidence and courage to apply the knowledge they gain. (3) Students must gain a solid foundation in basics, understand the assumptions and limitations behind a theory and a formula, and attain core skills in mathematical reasoning and programming. To summarize, a famous quote by Albert Einstein encapsulates my attitude towards teaching: “Teaching should be perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty.”

CIVE 6350: Advanced Mechanics of Materials (A core graduate course at UH)

Course Description: Stress and strain at a point; failure criteria; energy principles and their application in structural mechanics; theories of torsion, unsymmetrical bending, shear center, curved beams, and beams on elastic foundation.

CIVE 7336: Finite Element Methods (A core graduate course at UH)

Course Description: This is an introductory course on the finite element method. We concentrate on second-order linear elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations: linear heat conduction and linearized elasticity. We also discuss time stepping schemes (generalized trapezoidal and Newmark schemes) for solving transient problems. Emphasis will be placed on method development and computer implementation. [Link to course website]

CIVE 7397: Computational Mechanics (An advanced graduate course)

Course Description: The primary objective of this advanced graduate course is to study additional concepts in the finite element analysis and the application of these concepts to advanced topics, including nonlinear finite element formulations of problems in engineering and applied science. The course provides both formulative and computational background necessary to solve nonlinear problems of structural mechanics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics. Special emphasis will be put on finite element solution procedures for hyperelasticity, thermoelasticity, plasticity, and viscoelasticity. Computer implementation of various finite element models will form an essential part of the course. At the end of the course one would have acquired knowledge of finite element analysis of many typical nonlinear problems of engineering and applied science. [Link to course website]

CIVE 7397: Mechanics of Porous Media (A Ph.D. level specialty course)

Course Description: Porous media is fundamental in various branches of engineering and applied sciences (e.g., geotechnical and geosciences, hydrosystems, petroleum engineering, fuel cells, filtration, energetic materials). Many natural (e.g., bone, rock, soil, wood) and man-made (e.g., concrete, ceramics) materials can be considered porous media. A fundamental understanding of the behavior of porous media is vital for future technological advancements. On the pure research front, Mechanics of Porous Media is a well-spring of exciting research problems for numerical methods and mathematical analysis, as the mathematical models are typically nonlinear, coupled, and exhibit multiple spatial and temporal scales. This course will primarily concentrate on the mathematical modeling and numerical aspects of flow, transport, deformation, and degradation of porous media at a macroscopic / continuum scale. [Link to course website]

ENGR 2301: Mechanics I: Statics

Course Description: Composition and resolution of forces, free-body diagrams, analysis of forces acting on structures and machines, friction, centroids, and moments of inertia.

MEEN 221: Statics & Particle Dynamics (Offered at TAMU)

Course Description: Application of the fundamental principles of Newtonian mechanics to the statics and dynamics of particles; equilibrium of trusses, frames, beams and other rigid bodies. 

CIVE 2332: Mechanics of Solids

Course Description: Stress and strain in elastic bodies; statically determinate and indeterminate members; axial force, shear, moment and torsion; beam deflections; columns; combined stresses.

MEEN 357: Engineering Analysis for Mechanical Engineers (Offered at TAMU)

Course Description: Practical foundations for the use of numerical methods to solve engineering problems: Introduction to Matlab, error estimation, Taylor series, solution of non-linear algebraic equations and linear simultaneous equations; numerical integration and differentiation; initial value and boundary value problems; finite difference methods for parabolic and elliptic partial differential equations.