About
Adam C Bridendolph, is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UMBC. Formally he was the Dean of Mechatronics and Engineering Technology at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (2017-2022). From 2013-2017 he was the Program Coordinator for Mechanical Engineering Technology at Hagerstown Community College. Prior to that he worked in industry in roles as a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer, Senior Structural Design Engineer, and Mechanical Designer. Adam holds a Masters of Engineering degree in Aerospace Engineering from ODU and is an ABB SMART Certified Robotics Instructor. He has been the PI on one NSF grant, a CO-PI on two other NSF grants, and a Program Director of an EDA grant. In industry he designed and analyzed four towing vehicles that are in production.
Research interests
Automation, Mechatronic System Design, Robotics, Design for Manufacturing, Manufacturing for the future, Engineering Education, Instrumentation and Process Control, Control Systems.
Teaching interests
One of the most important parts of educating engineers is understanding both theory and applications. In classes where appropriate I like to give out projects. This often includes a real world problem that a student must solve. This is often a better way of assessing a student compared to just testing. I like to give examples from my experience in industry and from my college experiences to give students an idea of how they may use this in the future. Also, I like to have a little time for in class problem solving as individuals and/or small groups.
My teaching style changes a little depending on the class that is being taught. In general I like to give brief demonstrations and some practical use with the theory and problem solving I teach.
I am willing to restructure my teaching based on teaching or other evaluations given. In order to measure my effectiveness as an instructor I often rely on evaluations and student learning outcome assessments. I often make changes to assignments or projects based on student’s feedback through evaluations or conversation. I think that student learning outcomes assessment is an excellent way to see how students are progressing through classes and to make adjustments to assignments.
For capstone projects I believe it is very important to have a well defined rubric, clear dates for deliverables, and appropriate resources for students. Currently, where I teach we have a Capstone course in Integrated Manufacturing. For this course students must design, program, and wire a small scale assembly line they chose. For this course one of the key decisions is choosing a project that can be completed by the group in one semester. Additionally, students must divide work. So, there needs to be the appropriate amount of projects so that all students have deliverables of their own. In addition I like for a portion of the grade to be done by their peers.
When I worked in industry I primarily worked in design, maintenance, project management, and structural analysis. Three of the machines/vehicles that I designed are in production and one of the machines is patented. In the design process it included working with sales, production, marketing, management, and end users.