Mr John Weir
Email
teaching
Engineering Design, Mechanics of Solids. Teaching
biography
Born and educated in Melbourne, Mr Weir graduated with 1st-class honours in Mechanical Engineering from the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1979. After several years in industry as a designer and projects engineer with ICI Australia (now Orica), he returned to University to pursue postgraduate research in solar energy and thermofluids, and took up an academic position in 1987 as a lecturer in engineering design. Coming from a strongly industry-oriented background, he has always been interested in the practical and intellectual challenges of engineering design, and this remains his research and teaching focus. Mr Weir has maintained strong industry links through an active consulting practice, and through supervising collaborative undergraduate design projects and postgraduate research projects.
research interests
Current research includes:
- Engineering Design Research — topics include complexity; a common design language
- designer cognition (the relation between spatial and graphical ability and ideation)
- visual representations of knowledge
- Sustainability and Environment — development of metrics for sustainability and environmental impact; design for sustainability
- Multimedia and Interactive Learning — development of SiMLED software (simulation modules for learning in engineering design)
- development of Momus Tutor (Monash/Melbourne interactive computer-mediated tutoring software)
- more on current projects
curriculum vitae
publications
WEIR, J.G., W.P. LEWIS, C.R. BURVILL & B.W. FIELD – A quantitative study of ideation, visualisation and graphical skills in engineering design. Paper 553 (11pp.), (conference CD unit 33) Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED05, Melbourne, 15-18 August 2005; Melbourne: IEAust. (2005)
WEIR, J.G., W.P. LEWIS & C.R. BURVILL – Developing skills for solving complex design problems. Paper 1419 (10pp.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED03, Stockholm, 19-21 August 2003; Stockholm: Kungl Tekniska Högskolan (2003)
SAMUEL, A.E., & J.G. WEIR – Introduction to Engineering Design —modelling, synthesis and problem solving strategies, London: Butterworth-Heinemann [xviii + 405 pp.] ISBN 0 7506 4282 3 (1999)
WEIR, J.G., C.R. BURVILL & A.E. SAMUEL – Simulation modules for learning engineering design (SiMLED). Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED99, Munich, 24-26 August 1999, eds. U. Lindeman, H. Birkhofer, H. Meerkamm, S. Vajna; Munich: Technische Universität München; pp.899–904 (1999)
SAMUEL, A.E., & J.G. WEIR – The Acquisition of Wisdom in Engineering Design. Instructional Science, Vol. 20: pp. 419–442 (1991)