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Tsai, Janet Yi-Jen

Teaching Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Janet Y. Tsai is a researcher and instructor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on ways to encourage more students, especially women and those from nontraditional demographic groups, to pursue interests in the field of engineering. Janet assists in recruitment and retention efforts locally, nationally, and internationally, hoping to broaden the image of engineering, science, and technology to include new forms of communication and problem solving for emerging grand challenges. A second vein of Janet's research seeks to identify the social and cultural impacts of technological choices made by engineers in the process of designing and creating new devices and systems. Her work considers the intentional and unintentional consequences of durable structures, products, architectures, and standards in engineering education, to pinpoint areas for transformative change.

keywords

  • qualitative data analysis, design thinking, inclusive design

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • COEN 1830 - Special Topics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
    Explores topics of interest in engineering. Content varies by instructor and semester. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
  • GEEN 1400 - Engineering Projects
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018
    First-year students solve real engineering design problems in interdisciplinary teams. Design projects vary by section. Curriculum focuses on iterative design process, teamwork and team dynamics, supporting design with testing and analysis, and technical writing. Completed projects are exhibited at an end-of-semester design expo. Students are responsible for contributing towards their design project budget, workshop costs, and course arduino kit (approximately $125). Degree credit not granted for this course and ASTR 2500, ASEN 1400, ASEN 1403 and ECEN 1400.
  • GEEN 3830 - Special Topics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019
    Explores topics of interest in engineering. Content varies by instructor and semester.
  • MCEN 3025 - Component Design
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
    Application of mechanics and materials science to the detailed design of various machine elements including shafts, bearings, gears, brakes, springs, and fasteners. Emphasizes application and open-ended design problems.
  • MCEN 4026 - Manufacturing Processes and Systems
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
    Examines manufacturing processes for metals and polymers, as well as manufacturing systems that integrate these processes. Lecture topics include shape forming, machining, joining, assembling, casting, process integration, statistical process control, total quality management, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and electronic packaging. Examines real-world manufacturing operations and applications through guest speakers and examples.
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