Faculty & Research

personnel profile

David W. Beach

 
Title:Professor (Teaching)
Department(s):Mechanical Engineering
Affiliation(s):Director, Product Realization Laboratory; Co-Chair, Product Realization Network
Location:Terman 515
Mail Code:4021
Phone:650.723.3917       650.387.9506
Fax:650.723.3521
E-mail: dbeach@stanford.edu
URL: http://www.stanford.edu/group/dschool/people/team_dave_beach.html
Office Hours:Please call or email to set up an appointment.
Administrator: Jennifer Rahn

Research Statement

Beach teaches courses in the areas of design and manufacturing.

Beach and Craig Milroy co-direct the Product Realization Laboratory which provides 500 students annually with hands on experiences in product definition, conceptual design, detail design, and prototype creation. The PRL offers courses, mentors and tools in support of integrated product creation.

Pedagogically, Beach believes that creation of experience from which students (and teams of students) can interpret and internalize their own conclusions provides an excellent complement to content based teaching. His goal is to add strength in tacit knowledge which derives from the hands-on synthesis of design, prototype building, presentation and criticism.. The resulting judgement and instinct regarding materials, devices, materials transformation processes, and design process complement classical analytical engineering education to create superior engineers

Beach teaches or co-teaches:

ME203: Manufacturing and Design
ME314: Good Products, Bad Products
ME318: Computer Aided Product Creation
ME324: Precision Engineering (with Professor Dan DeBra)
ME399: Special Projects in Product Development

The PRL has engendered many new companies which design, manufacture and distribute products in diverse domains including Haptic Devices, Medical Devices, Sporting Goods, Underwater Video Equipment, Robotics, and Automated Genomics Laboratory Equipment.

Degree Discipline Year School
MS Engineering (Product Design) 1972 Stanford

Academic Honors & Awards

Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1995
Bing Undergraduate Teaching Fellow, 1997 - 1999
Bass Undergraduate Teaching Fellow, 2005 - 2009
Sugden Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, 2005
Dean's Award for Industry Education Innovation, 2006