Student groups work in teams of three to five seniors and are led by a faculty member who is an expert in the project area.
Interdisciplinary student teams learn and apply the engineering design process: defining functional requirements, conceptualization, analysis, identifying risks and countermeasures, selection, and physical prototyping. By working in teams they develop leadership skills and group dynamics; dealing with scheduling conflicts, meeting weekly deliverables and deadlines; and communication among team members, project sponsors, and course instructors.
Teams attend lectures given by experts from industry and academia on topics including industrial design, manufacturing, market research and marketing, intellectual property, company formation, codes and standards, and ethics.
At the end of the semester, student teams display and pitch their inventions and marketability to a panel of judges, invited guests, and their peers at the university’s Capstone Design Showcase. Many of these projects can lead to new technologies or other innovations outside of academia and they help our students transition to life after graduation.
