My teaching philosophy is to enable a learning environment that nurtures the student ability to estimate a best solution to a challenge distilled from a situation and to effectively collaborate with a diverse, multi-cultural team.
In Clemson University, I teach courses in Manufacturing Processes (ME3120) and Fundamentals of Micro/Nanofabrication (ME4580/6580, a course I introduced to the curriculum) as well as advising Capstone Design Projects. Overall, I’ve had positively impacted the Clemson experience of 1700+ students so far. Besides teaching in the classroom, I’ve been a mentor to 75+ undergraduate researchers through 4 different Creative Inquiry projects I introduced, as well as other research programs like EUREKA!, SPRI, REU and international visiting scholars. Many of these undegraduate researchers have become authors or inventors. Contributions to the larger community include workshops, an example, and papers presented at meetings of the American Society for Engineering Education, ASEE regarding Collaborative Online International Learning/International Virtual Exchange.
Internationalization is one of my priorities towards preparing students to thrive in a global scenario. To this end and in collaboration with colleagues across different fields, I’ve played a crucial role in enabling different opportunities for students: an immersive experience in International Design funded by the 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant from the Innovation Fund of the same name, and a Technical German Minor that was catalyzed by the project “Engineers for a Global System: Global Learning and Engineering+Language Programs (at Clemson University)” from the US Department of Education. Current funding is from the US Department of Education related to “Boosting Career Preparedness for STEM students through target language acquisition and cultural immersion”.
Courses Delivered since 2013
ME3120: Manufacturing Processes and their Application. Junior-level core course in Mechanical Engineering. Taught multiple times under traditional and flipped delivery modes in Clemson University.
ME4580/6580: Fundamentals of Micro/Nanofabrication. Introduced this course to Clemson University curriculum. A highly engaging Undergraduate Technical Elective and Graduate course.
ME4020 International Modality: Introduced this modality to the curriculum where student teams from Clemson and institutions in Mexico work together in a project sponsored by industry with operations both in Mexico and the US.
ME4020: Senior Design Project. Advisor for Clemson University Capstone Design project working on projects sponsored by TTI, GlennRaven, Fluor, and Michelin.
ME4150: Individual Undergraduate Research. Research mentor for multiple ME researchers.
ME2900: Clemson-Tec de Monterrey Project. Engineering project in collaboration with Meritor Inc. and Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico.
OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES
The use of a small carburetor to increase engagement and learning in a core Manufacturing Processes class has been implemented in the last few semesters with excellent results. The materials to enable this activity are freely available for download below under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License. Please credit Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte.
Carburetor modules implemented Spring 2022-Spring 2023
Supporting material for carburetor modules implemented Spring 2022-Spring 2023
Rubric to facilitate grading of carburetor modules implemented Spring 2022-Spring 2023
Carburetor modules implemented Fall 2020-Fall 2021
Supporting material for carburetor modules implemented Fall 2020-Fall 2021
Rubric to facilitate grading of carburetor modules implemented Fall 2020-Fall 2021
If you are an instructor and want to discuss further, please send me an email at rodrigm@clemson.edu
Teaching Awards
Clemson University Provost Senior Tenured Outstanding Teaching Award (highest award for teaching for senior faculty at university), 2023.
Phil Prince Innovation in Teaching Award from Clemson University Student Government, 2023.
College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Sciences Murray Stokely Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2022.
Mechanical Engineering Junior Faculty Eastman Award for Excellence, 2019.
