ENGS 8 Materials in Sports Equipment
Sports equipment uses almost every type of material imaginable, as athletes and designers leverage state-of-the-art materials to maximize human efficiency, performance, comfort and safety. As something most people have some familiarity with, active Dartmouth students in particular, it is an excellent subject for an exploration of material characteristics, selection, design, and failure. This course will introduce materials science concepts in a way that is accessible and useful for the non-major. It will exercise student's critical thinking, quantitative and communication skills. In-class demonstrations will allow students to explore material behavior and differences between materials 'hands-on' and possible field trips or lab visits will introduce them to some engineering test methods. Finally, this course will demystify terms used by manufacturers and salespeople, and help students, as athletes and consumers, make informed equipment choices. Enrollment is limited to 40 students. No prerequisite.