- May 1998 to November 1998: Assistant Engineer (Auto Mobile), Coca Cola, Company Ltd. Alekhachar, Camilla, Bangladesh.
- November 1998- July 2003, Lecturer, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong , Bangladesh.
- July 2003- January 2005, Assistant Professor, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
- January 2009- 2011 August, Lecturer, Monash University Sunway Campus, Malaysia
- September 2011- to date August, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, Sharjah University, United Arab Emirates.
- S.M.A.Rahman, Study of vortex tube assisted atmospheric freeze drying system,Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia (RM 23,000), 2 years (2010-2011)
- M.F.M. Ibrahim and S.M.A. Rahman, study of a new adiabale coating material for fruit and vegetable products prior to hot air drying method, Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia (RM- 2,000), 1 years (2009) (RM-Malaysian Ringgit)
- Robertus Kevin and S.M.A.Rahman, Effects of pretreatments and drying methods on dehydration of mushroom-Microwave drying and hot air drying Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia, (RM 2,000), 1 years (2012)
- Nur Liyang, Sungndi and S.M.A.Rahman, Rehydration characteristics of freeze-dried tropical fruits Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia, (RM 4,000), 1 years(2012)
- Nur Md Nawi, Kevin Vun Khan and S.M.A.Rahman, Dehydration characteristics of different fruit products using a novel Atmospheric freeze drying technique-Analysis of drying kinetics Monash, University Sunway Campus Malaysia, (RM 4,000), 1 years (2012)
- Md Ibrahim and S.M.A.Rahman, Combined Effects of Osmotic Dehydration and Convective Air Drying on Biomaterial product: Kinetics and Quality Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia, (RM 2,000), 1 years (2012)
BOOK AUTHOR:
- S.M.A.Rahman. “ Solar assisted heat pump drying system” Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP), Theodor-Heuss-Ring 26, 50668 Koln, Germany, ISBN-978-3-8383-5785-0, 2010
BOOK CHAPTER:
- S.M.A. Rahman and A. S. Mujumdar. Atmospheric Freeze Drying. Progress in Food Preservation. Rajeev Bhat, Karim AA and Gopinadhan Paliyath., Ed. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford UK, pp 143-160, ISBN- 9780470655856; 2011.
REFERRED JOURNAL PAPER:
- S.M.A.Rahman, R. Saidur and Hawlader M.N.A. An economic optimization of evaporator and air collector area in a solar assisted heat pump drying system. 76 (2013) 377–384. Journal of Energy Conservation and Management.
G. Pirasteh R.Saidur, S.M.A.Rahman , N.A.Rahim, A review on development of solar drying applications, 31(2014)133–148, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
S.M.A.Rahman, and A. S. Mujumdar. A Novel Atmospheric Freeze Drying System in a Vibro-fluidized bed dryer couple with adsorbent and multimode heat input. Drying Technology 2008, 26, 393-403.
- Won the best final year project award in MONASH University, Sunway Campus , Malaysia, 2009.
- Won the Taylor & Francis Best Poster Award for the novel idea in AFD system sponsored by Taylor & Francis, USA. in 5th Asia-Pacific Drying Conference, HKUST, Hong Kong, August 13-15, 2007
- An undergrad project involved as mentor, won the Mondialogo Engineering Award over 809 proposals from 89 countries for the design of low cost drying system, sponsored by Daimler and UNESCO,. Mumbi, India, December, 2007.
- I love to learn. I love the thrill of grasping a new idea, and seeing a student experience that same rush. The opportunity to nurture a love of learning, both in myself and in my students, is one of the main reasons I went to graduate school after spending several months in industry.
- But to be a successful teacher, it is not enough to just love learning. One also needs a sound fundamental approach to the mechanics of teaching. In this essay I hope to convey my approach to teaching, and some of the motivation for it. I discuss my approach in the areas of course policies, understanding individual students, and lifelong learning. I conclude by describing the ideal toward which I strive in my development as a teacher.
My approach to teaching Mechanical Engineering begins with...
- Course Policies for the Teaching of Skills.
Much of what we teach in Renewable Engineering is related to the acquisition of fundamentals to built up the ability to handle any practical problem. Teaching skills requires different course policies than those needed for content-based materials. My course policies emphasize practice, feedback, assessment, and mechanisms for helping students keep up with their peers.
- Acquiring a skill takes practice and my grading policies reflect this. I treat homework assignments as practice opportunities. To avoid penalizing students for their practice work, I do not weight assignments heavily in final grades. Ideally homework would not count toward final grades at all, but the reality is that most students need some concrete incentive to do the homework. I find that basing about 5–10% of the final grade on homework is sufficient to motivate students to do the practice work.
- Studies have shown that prompt feedback to students enhances their learning. So it is my policy that the graders and I return assignments and exams to students promptly. For any basic problems, my policy is to give the students the input against which they will start to walk. This test input gives students immediate feedback on their answers and allows them refine their answers to be correct.
- The grading policy in a skills-based course should result in grades that reflect how well each student has mastered the required skills. Grades are not a tool for ranking the students, so I do not use curve grading. I base grades primarily on group projects and exams, with their contrasting strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, group projects allow students to demonstrate their skills while working on ideas of personal interest and without the time pressure of exams. Group projects also involve communication skills, both written and spoken, and can help students develop group interaction skills. On the other hand, exams are important in understanding an individual student's grasp of the skills being taught.
- The skills that we teach tend to be cumulative. If students have not achieved proficiency on one set of skills, then they will not be able to learn the next set. So, if students do poorly on an exam, it would be a disservice to not take corrective action. My course policies embody this belief. If a small number of students are doing poorly, then I give those students the opportunity to work with me to master the skills and retake an alternative exam. However, if a large number of students are doing poorly, then this is a sign to me that I need to reassess my performance and make adjustments in the course.
- I find these policies effective in helping my students learn the skills required in the courses I teach. However, general policies alone are not sufficient to be a successful teacher. I believe that it is also vital to...
- Understand the Individual Student
Understanding the individual student entails understanding the student's learning styles, background, and prior knowledge in the subject. To achieve this degree of individual understanding, I strive for a high level of interaction with my students, in an atmosphere of friendly cooperation. Through this interaction I come to better understand their individual needs.
- To promote a cooperative atmosphere, I think it is vital that students see me as a collaborator rather than an authority figure—I must listen carefully, validate students' opinions (without necessarily agreeing with them), and be willing to admit my mistakes. When the occasion arises where I must assume more authority, I think carefully through the situation and try to handle it with professionalism and forthrightness.
- One way to help students view me as a collaborator is through varying the classroom experience. Techniques I have used include group problem solving and brainstorming sessions, think-pair-share, in-class writing exercises, and other collaborative learning techniques. I am also interested in investigating kinetic techniques. For example, we can model parameter passing in programming languages by having students represent objects and using kite string to represent pointers. Then we can simulate a program by moving students and string around the room.
- I promote an atmosphere of friendly cooperation so that students are more comfortable and honest in their interactions with me. These personal interactions are how I come to understand them as individuals. I think regular office hours are essential to promoting personal interaction. I also encourage students to stop by outside of office hours. If I am busy with other things when they stop, I at least take a moment to schedule a time when we can meet. I find it especially gratifying that my former students continue to stop by for advice, or just to say "hello".
- Technology also helps increase my interaction with students. To encourage students to communicate by email, I try to respond to students' messages immediately, even if only to say that I received them and will provide a more detailed answer at a specific later time. (I think simply ignoring messages until I "get around to it" is akin to having students stand at my office door while I pretend they are not there.) A well-structured web site also increases my interaction with students. I have had success including an anonymous feedback form on my course web site. Students have used this form to voice legitimate complaints about homework assignments, suggest alternative grading schemes, and to praise effective teaching assistants.
Adapting to new technology like email and the web is one example of the need for...
- Lifelong Learning
The rate of change in knowledge today is extraordinary. Teaching my students to be lifelong learners is vital. This is especially true in Mechanical Engineering, where our incredible rate of innovation helps accelerate the rate of change in every other field of study.
For me as a teacher, improving my teaching skills is an important part of my lifelong learning. In this spirit, I like to periodically ask my students for feedback during a course. Typically, this feedback takes the form of a short questionnaire on what is working well and what changes might be helpful. I capture the results from these questionnaires on slides to share with the class at our next meeting. I find the ensuing discussion helpful in responding to their concerns. Sometimes these discussions provide an opportunity for self-deprecating humor that can also improve the classroom environment. But most importantly, I learn to be a better teacher through this feedback.
This effort at self-improvement is a continual process as I strive toward...
- An Ideal of Teaching
I view teaching as a calling, and I feel compelled to devote considerable effort to my students and to improving my teaching. My course policies are designed to help students learn via frequent feedback opportunities. I work hard to foster a learning environment and interactions that help me understand the needs of individual students. Gathering regular feedback from my students helps me to continually improve my teaching.
As I endeavor to improve my teaching, I am guided by the belief that all people have an innate love of learning. My overarching goal as a teacher is to help my students recognize their own love of learning. Until I can do that for every one of my students, I still have room to grow as a teacher. I am eager to continue the journey toward this ideal.
