Teaching Philosophy: Jim’s goals in teaching are to challenge students to realize their full potential, think like scientists and engineers, and comprehend the importance of the engineering profession to society. In the spirit of the teacher-scholar model, teaching at Merrimack is an extremely high priority, and Jim has the opportunity to mentor students from a diverse range of backgrounds. He promotes a challenging, engaging, and comprehensive approach to undergraduate education in which he not only serves as a course instructor, but also as a laboratory instructor and grader at all levels. Jim's pedagogical strategies are to encourage higher-order thinking, establish context through real-world examples, promote student-student and student-faculty interactions, and make learning enjoyable and fun.
The following sections provide the descriptions and syllabi of courses Jim has taught in the Department of Civil Engineering at Merrimack College:
Description: An introduction to the fundamental principles of geotechnical engineering: the interaction of earth materials with the built environment. Soil classification, compaction, seepage, consolidation, and shear strength. Intensive laboratory exercises familiarize the student with standard laboratory test methods for soil property determination and to reinforce data collection, data analysis, and report writing skills.
Semesters taught: Fall semesters, 2012-2018, 2020-2025 (Syllabus)
Description: An introduction to the geotechnical design aspects of foundations. Site investigation techniques and characterization of subsurface conditions. Analysis and design of shallow and deep foundations subjected to vertical and lateral loading, with an emphasis on bearing capacity and settlement. Evaluation and selection of foundation types and alternatives. Case studies and design problems. Senior- and graduate-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring 2013, Fall semesters 2013-2018, 2020-2025 (Syllabus)
Description: An examination of the geotechnical design aspects of earth slopes and retaining structures. Lateral earth pressure theories and slope stability analyses related to excavations and retaining structures. Analysis and design of retaining walls, sheet-pile walls, and braced and unbraced excavations. Case studies and design problems. Senior- and graduate-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring semesters, 2014-2018, 2021-2023 (Syllabus)
Description: Study of the characterization of earthquake hazards, incorporating principles from engineering seismology, soil dynamics, and geotechnical earthquake engineering. Earthquake fundamentals, including plate tectonics, fault rupture mechanisms, and characterization of seismic sources. Theory of wave propagation and vibratory motion. Ground-motion models and probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. Dynamic soil behavior and influence of geologic materials on ground motions. Assessment of geotechnical effects of earthquakes, including site response, liquefaction, and seismic slope stability. Senior and graduate-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring semesters, 2013 and 2018; Fall 2020 (Syllabus)
Description: A writing-intensive capstone design course that draws together, into a single project, material learned during the first three and one- half years of study. The design team approach will be utilized in the course. A project is typically suggested by the department or community group. This project is usually structured in a manner to create a team-client relationship and emulate industry contracts. Senior-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring 2024 (Syllabus)
Description: Study of the fundamental mechanics of how materials behave when subjected to loadings, and how and why materials fail. Fundamental concepts of stress and strain, and the relationships between them. Effects of axial, shear, bending, and torsional loadings on the response of load-carrying members (such as beams, columns, shafts, tubes, and pressure vessels), and methods to determine the strength, stiffness, stability, and external deformations of these systems. Students will conduct laboratory tests for evaluating the engineering behavior of materials, and will analyze, evaluate, and communicate experimental results. Sophomore-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring semesters, 2015-2017, 2019, 2021-2024 (Syllabus)
Description: An introduction to applied statistical and probability methods in engineering dealing with discrete and continuous variables, joint distributions, estimation, tests of hypotheses, regression, design of experiments and control charts. Statistical computer packages will be used in connection with some of the material studied. Undergraduate-level course.
Semesters taught: Spring 2014 (Syllabus)