INTEGRATION OF COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS IN ENGINEERING PHYSICS COURSES. FROM THEORY TO IPHONE APPS

The current STEM job market in the US and around the world requires a variety of skills in addition to a strong knowledge of the core curriculum. Successful undergraduate students complete at least one summer internship at a large research university of national laboratory as well as corporations such as Google, Exxon or AT&T.

The successful applicant needs a strong Grade Average Point (GPA), some computer programming skills in a variety of platforms and an open attitude toward projects that may seem unfamiliar but need a fresh approach. Comsol Multiphysics is a physics modeling software that allows the user to design a project and implement the physics from initial and boundary conditions to the final solutions. The software has great visualization and graphing tools and it can easily produce apps once the program is completed.

During the period 2016-2018 the author and two undergraduate students have been developing models for a variety of physics problems ranging from fundamental physics to advanced engineering physics. Each project has been completed with an app that was shared with the students and used to simulate physics situations, produce a solution and analyze the outcomes within the boundaries of the theory that had been taught in class. Examples of such projects are: acoustics, heat transfer, fluid flow with heat transfer, thermoelectric effects and metamaterials structure.

The students have become prolific in setting up Comsol problems and solving them. Both applied for summer internships and were successful in receiving an internship award for summer 2018. The students are using their Comsol skills in their internship summer projects.

The modules developed are integrated in the engineering physics curriculum and used for teaching in class. Each year two more students will be trained and we will continue to ad modules to our database of Comsol multiphysics projects.