Iman Salehinia
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Course(s) Targeted by this Innovation
MEE 331: Manufacturing Processes
Development and Implementation
2026-2027
Purpose and Impact
MEE331, Manufacturing Processes, is a foundational undergraduate course in mechanical engineering that helps students connect engineering theory to real manufacturing practice. In this course, students must learn not only the fundamentals of manufacturing processes, but also how to make engineering decisions involving materials, process selection, tolerances, surface finish, cost, quality, production volume, and manufacturability. These are exactly the kinds of decisions engineers must make in industry, so strengthening student learning in this course can have a broad impact on later coursework such as MEE430 (CAD/CAM), MEE470 (Design of Machine Elements), MEE485/486 (Senior Mechanical Engineering Design I and II), and workforce preparation. Because MEE331 develops practical engineering judgment rather than simple memorization, it is especially well-suited for a redesign that emphasizes critical thinking, reflection, and decision-making.
Description of Innovation
AI will be incorporated into MEE331 through a custom course GPT designed as a guided learning and self-assessment tool rather than an answer generator. The GPT will support students in three structured modes: Socratic Coaching, Self-Assessment, and Industry-Focused Guidance. In Socratic mode, the GPT will help students think through manufacturing problems by asking guiding questions, prompting them to explain their reasoning, and helping them identify assumptions and trade-offs rather than simply giving answers. In Self-Assessment mode, students will use the GPT to reflect on and evaluate their own understanding through practice questions and feedback. In Industry-Focused mode, the GPT will push students to connect course concepts to real engineering practice by considering issues such as cost, tolerances, materials, scalability, and manufacturability.
The course redesign will also include revising lecture slides and course materials with the GPT in mind so that the tool is grounded in the actual content students are learning in MEE331. These instructor-developed materials will be incorporated into the instruction for the GPT so that, when students use it for self-assessment, it can generate questions aligned with class content in multiple formats, including multiple-choice, true/false, and short essay questions. This will allow the GPT to provide more targeted practice and feedback based directly on the material used in the course, helping students prepare more effectively for quizzes, exams, and project work. In particular, the industry-focused mode will support students as they work on the course projects, while selected assignments will also ask students to critique and improve AI-generated responses, including cases with incomplete or intentionally flawed reasoning, to strengthen critical thinking and responsible AI use.
The GPT will be developed and tested during Summer 2026 and further refined during Fall 2026 so that it can become a stronger, more reliable instructional support tool for future offerings of MEE331. The knowledge gained and the experience collected through this redesign can provide a scalable model and procedure for other mechanical engineering courses and may later be adapted for broader use across the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, as well as in physics, chemistry, and other STEM fields.