AtomLab: A tool for teaching materials science and simulation on the atomic scale
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AtomLab: A tool for teaching materials science and simulation on the atomic scale Michael L. Falk Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136, U.S.A. ABSTRACT AtomLab is a publicly available software package created to help students and faculty design and execute simulations for instructional purposes. AtomLab has been utilized as a learning environment within which to teach simulation techniques to graduate students. It has also been used to provide conceptual tools for undergraduate education. This paper presents a brief description of the AtomLab environment and of an undergraduate educational module designed to teach the atomic mechanisms of transport. Data is presented regarding the educational outcomes that were met using this module and the student response to the exercise. INTRODUCTION Computer simulation presents numerous challenges and opportunities for educators in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and other disciplines of engineering. It has become increasingly common for computer simulation to be introduced in the classroom early in the educational process. The potential benefits of computer simulation in the classroom include the ability to solve more complex problems than can be handled analytically. These techniques are increasingly used to solve real world problems in industry, and teaching with such methods prepares students to use computational tools for real-world problem solving in their future careers. Perhaps more important than the practical aspects of training students to use these tools, simulation can provide a means for students to understand physical concepts associated with theoretical subject matter more completely in a shorter time. This is accomplished by introducing learning modalities that provide an active and visual mode in which students can interact with physical models and numerical problem solving methods via the simulation. This active mode of learning can also be used to increase student interaction with the instructor and fellow students. The approach taken here is to couple assignments to computer simulation work to encourage discovery learning and maximize the learning outcomes [1]. Commercial simulation tools for finite element modeling of partial differential equations are very highly developed. The author has had very satisfactory experiences utilizing a multiphysics package called FEMLAB in an instructional setting. Commercial simulation of atomic scale processes has not reached the same level of development as continuum simulation. Relatively few codes exist and these are typically not as easy for the novice to use or for the instructor to customize for a narrow educational objective, although they have been used in undergraduate classes with beneficial results [2]. AtomLab was conceived as a tool that would fill this niche. The goal of AtomLab is to ameliorate two problems that were encountered in introducing atomic scale simulation in the classroom both in a graduate class on computer simulation a
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