Chau Tran
Teaching Professor
- Phone: (919) 515-3025
- Email: cmtran@ncsu.edu
- Office: Engineering Building III (EB3) 3282
My main collaborations in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are within the MAE Undergraduate program. I most frequently teach MAE 315 Fundamentals of Vibrations, MAE 415 Mechanical Engineering Design I and MAE 416 Mechanical Engineering Design II.
In MAE 315, students conduct two problem-based learning (PBL) projects with Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) embedded. Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) is a set of habits and behaviors that shape a unique approach to problem-solving, innovation and value creation. Teams are assigned randomly, and individual project grades are subject to peer review.
In MAE 415, which is the first course in a year-long sequence of capstone senior design, I emphasize presentation and report writing skills. Students create individual feasible designs and through optimization develop a final design for their teams. Students are trained in machining, fabricating and welding. Team work is most essential in this course.
In MAE 416, which is the final course in a year-long sequence of capstone senior design, students continue to refine presentation and report writing skills. The constructed prototypes will be presented to the sponsors on senior days. Team work is most essential in this course.
Publications
- “Survive and Advance”: Capstone Senior Design Story
- Tran, C., & Moore, N. (2026, March 31). , (Vol. 3). Vol. 3. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--57945
- Fundamentals in Analog Circuits: For Professional Certification & Laboratory Instruction: From Five Circuits to a PD Controller
- Silverberg, L. M., & Tran, C. M. (2025). Fundamentals in Analog Circuits: For Professional Certification & Laboratory Instruction: From Five Circuits to a PD Controller (4th ed.). Great River Learning,
- Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) in Undergraduate Vibration Class
- Tran, C. (2023), ASEE Southeast Section Conference Proceedings. Presented at the ASEE Southeast Section Conference, Arlington, Virginia. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--45005
- High performance computing of the nonlinear dynamics of a basketball
- Silverberg, L. M., & Tran, C. M. (2024, June 13), Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-024-09833-z
- The Conversion of Capstone Senior Design to a Two-Semester Format
- Tran, C. (2024), Presented at the 2024 South East Section Meeting. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--45567
- A Look at the Performance in Vibration Course during COVID-19 Pandemic
- Tran, C. M. (2022), Proceedings of the 2022 American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Section Conference. Presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Section Conference, The Citadel, The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina.
- Comparison of Faculty and Ph.D. Candidate-Instructed Capstone Senior Design Classes
- Tran, C. M. (2020), Proceedings of the 2020 American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Section Conference. Presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern Section Conference, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.
- Gender comparison in consistency in the basketball free throw by an event-driven approach
- Silverberg, L. M., Tran, C. M., & Laue, C. (2018, May 23), Sports Engineering, Vol. 21, pp. 333–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-018-0276-z
- Optimal Targets for the Bank Shot in Men's Basketball
- Silverberg, L. M., Tran, C. M., & Adams, T. M. (2011, January 13), Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, Vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.2202/1559-0410.1299
- Optimal release conditions for the free throw in men's basketball
- Tran, C. M., & Silverberg, L. M. (2008, July 21), Journal of Sports Sciences, Vol. 26, pp. 1147–1155. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410802004948
