Reflection

The class of Material Science 2 cast a deep impression on us mentioning the memory metal. We thought there would be an efficacious method to learn by associating the acknowledge we learned in Material Science 2 with PDP2. We gathered more information about memory metal and finally chose Nitinol as our material. Springs made from Nitinol are one of the most common applications of it, we picked them as our sample. After the interview, we assigned the total work into individual and we formed 3 subgroups. Each group assigned their assignments on time according to the deadline set by the group leader. In this project, all the group members cooperated together. The group leaders assigned the work according to people’s advantages. And everyone’s abilities were put into good use.

From this project, we broadened our insight in the area of memory metal. With the deep learning of the material of Nitinol, we consolidated our knowledge on Material Science. We will be more proficient in searching websites for information on a specific material in our future study and vocation. The process of extracting the relative information of literature review, property profile and material safety data sheet on to the poster improved our engineering judgement. At the same time, there comes a further understanding and learning of the key points selected for writing. When participating in an interview to form a group for the website, the group members learned to scan themselves to find what their advantages are while the group leader learned how to select capable person for the project. We learned how to evaluate a material by gathering its information on property profile and material safety data sheet. We also learned how to make a website for the material library, about its content and framework. Not only did our ability of cooperating get improved, but also our ability of laying out the text and graph got trained when making the poster and website. By finishing this project, we got more familiar with evaluating the material, and were more aware of the importance of material safety when applying. We learned how to evaluate a material through safety information and property information, and how to combine the applications to discover its future prospects.

For the presentation part, the most important is how to present all the shining points in the job within a limit time. This requires us to make full use of our time management and content understanding abilities, and how to express the content adequately in standard language.

Due to the circumstance of corona virus pandemic, the whole project was launched online, and this increased the difficulty of communication. We only used text to communicate during the project, but we found that less efficient. To improve our work next time, we will use the way of online meeting to enhance the communication and association in each process of making the website. We spent a large quantity of time searching the internet and gathering information on the material. We found several websites and books in the field of material properties and applications. The experience and information sources we got from this project can help us increase our efficiency and save more time when facing the similar assignments in further study and vocation.