Location:

Paris, France

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

Arrive Date: 6/23/2013 End Date: 7/20/2013

This course will be devoted to understanding the way modern mechanics of materials have developed over the last three centuries. In particular, a number of structures (bridges, towers, tunnels, and buildings) in Paris and in the close vicinity will be investigated in detail. Not only will you will learn the mechanics of materials by observing constructions in the "City of Light", you will get to create your own design of a structure and compare it to one built hundreds of years ago. You will participate in experiential activities and trips will that bring to life everything you read about in your textbook and articles.

COURSES
Engineering 104 - Mechanics of Materials (4 units): Students will be introduced to topics in stress, strain, torsion, shear, and bending. These fundamental concepts are essential in oder to understand and analyze the design of structures. Many of the ancient structures in Rome were conceived and built long before modern theories of structural analysis were developed. Prerequisite: Course 35, Mathematics 2 or consent of instructor.
AND
Environmental and Civil Engineering 198 - Directed Group Study (4 units): Students will be introduced to rules and principles that guided ancient construction. The course will be supplemented by carefully selected field trips to sites of historical, structural, and architectural interest.

More specifically, you will get to analyze:
-stress and strain for unixially loaded members of the Eiffel tower (and use stairs to climb part of the tower to check your analysis),
-state of stress and strain for several of the 30+ bridges on the river Seine (by selecting a bridge of your choice and then measuring and feeling bridge vibrations to check your analysis),
-stress and strain state for a metro (subway) tunnel and do an alternate design for the chosen tunnel, and
-stress and strain for components (wheels, cars) of the TGV train, one of the fastest trains in the world (and you might have an opportunity to ride at over 200 mph to check your calculations!)

A number of field trips will be used to illustrate lectures by visiting historic structures in and around Paris. The following topics will be covered at these locations:

-Stress and strain: Palais de la Decouverte(a science museum)
-Mechanical properties of materials: Le Louvre
-Axially loaded members: Beaubourg (also known as "Centre Georges Pompidou")
- Torsion: La Defense complex
-Beams (bending, shear, deflection, buckling): Eiffel Tower
-Curioni Building
-Energy methods: Bridges on river Seine


Upper-division units (open to freshmen through graduates). Taught in English. UC Davis courses taught by University of California, Davis faculty.

Please contact UC Davis Summer Abroad for the most up-to-date information concerning program costs. Programs start around $4,000.

All students enrolled in a Summer Abroad program (Davis and Non-Davis) will have the opportunity to apply for a Travel Award ($500 - $1,500.) Travel award deadline: March 5, 2013. Enrollment deadline is April 5, 2013.

Setting Description:

You will stay at a university dormitory in double occupancy rooms.

According to Lonely Planet's description of Paris, there's something for every kind of visitor: "Paris probably has more familiar landmarks than any other city in the world. As a result, first-time visitors often arrive in the French capital with all sorts of expectations: of grand vistas, of intellectuals discussing weighty matters in cafés, of romance along the Seine, of naughty nightclub revues, of rude people who won’t speak English. If you look hard enough, you can probably find all of those. But another approach is to set aside the preconceptions of Paris and to explore the city’s avenues and backstreets as if the tip of the Eiffel Tower or the spire of Notre Dame wasn’t about to pop into view at any moment."