Over the past several years, an energy conversion course offered by the Mechanical Engineering Program at West Point has evolved into a cohesive series of lessons addressing three general topical areas: advanced thermodynamics, advanced mechanical system analysis, and direct energy conversion systems. Mechanical engineering majors enroll in Energy Conversion Systems (ME 472) during the fall semester of their senior year as an advanced elective. ME 472 builds directly on the material covered in

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... hermodynamics (EM 301) taken during the student's junior year. In the first segment of ME 472, the students study advanced thermodynamic topics including exergy and combustion analyses. The students then analyze various mechanical systems including refrigeration systems, internal combustion engines, boilers, and fossil fuel-fired steam and gas turbine combined power plants. Exergetic efficiencies of various equipment and systems are determined. The final portion of the course covers direct energy conversion technology, including fuel cells, photovoltaics, thermoelectricity, thermionics, and magnetohydrodynamics. Supplemental lessons on energy storage, semi-conductors, and nonreactive energy sources (such as solar collectors, wind turbines, and hydroelectric plants) are included here. This paper discusses the evolution of ME 472 over the past several years and explains the motivations for the course's progress. All thirteen academic departments, which offer over sixty majors, strive to meet the academy's goal and mission. While pursuing a four-year college degree, the students that attend the academy are also training to serve as officers in the United States Army and are therefore known as cadets. The complete student body is referred to as the Corps of Cadets and includes representation from every state in the nation as well as numerous foreign countries. Research engines, and gas turbines. Since this course is only one semester long, there are certain topics that are not included due to time limitations. Some of the more notable omissions include exergy, transient systems, thermodynamic property relations, chemical reactions, and phase equilibrium, and thermodynamics of high-speed gas flow. 3, 4