Senior DesignThe Senior Design course is the capstone course that encapsulates all of the skills and knowledge that students learn in pursuing their degree and applies it toward a designed project.
Course Description Capstone course in which mechanical engineering students design a mechanical engineering component or system starting with the initial design specification to the implementation and testing. Students apply knowledge and skills learned in their undergraduate curriculum.
Each BSE specialization requires a Senior Design course that is specific to the specialization, and are as follows: 1. ME438 Design of Mechanical Engineering Systems 2. EE438 Design of Electrical Engineering Systems 3. CSE438 Design of Computer Engineering Systems
General Course Outline for the Senior Design Courses 1. Introduction and Project Determination 2. Job hunting skills 3. Team concepts and team building 4. Design drawings format as needed for engineering practice and design 5. Specification writing formats as needed for engineering practice and design 6. Design codes and regulations as required for engineering practice and design 7. Project management 8. Safety considerations in engineering design 9. Legal considerations in engineering design 10. Professional registration and the business of engineering 11. Professional engineering volunteer organizations 12. Engineering ethics 13. Public presentation 14. Project Implementation 15. Project Testing 16. Self-Evaluation 17. Peer Evaluation 18. Presentation and Faculty Evaluation
Course Evaluation: Grades are based on individual and group performance relative to the assigned project. The instructor(s) are to implement a performance assessment process that is similar to that which would be used for employee performance evaluation in a commercial or agency engineering office that consists of faculty and other applicable evaluations of interactions with multi-disciplinary team members, instructors, and course mentors, interim and final oral presentations of project progress and findings, and contributions of technical drawings, visualizations, and narrative text to interim and final reports. Course Activities: Students work together in teams to design a mechanical engineering devices or systems to meet the project specifications. In addition to the project, weekly lectures cover general topics of concern to practicing engineers. See the Section IV for a typical course outline. Half of the lecture time is spent covering the listed topics. The remaining time is spent in a “staff meeting” to discuss projects and their progress.
Teams of students design complex mechanical engineering components or systems under the scrutiny of faculty and other appropriate reviewers that may include a client or project sponsor. This experience integrates knowledge at multiple levels. The design project is chosen that is multidisciplinary in nature meaning that it will incorporate knowledge from the whole BSE curriculum experienced prior to the senior year. Application of scientific principles and advanced engineering computations are required, using computer software and other tools common to current professional engineering practice.
Assessments are conducted in a manner that is essentially equivalent to performance evaluations in the engineering workplace, as conducted by commercial enterprises and public agencies that employ engineers.
Verbal, written, and graphical technical communication at an advanced level, often involving commercially competitive software, is intensely exercised from beginning to end of the course. Inevitable conflicts among design criteria, implementation conditions, and social and economic constraints require critical review and decision-making by the students in the course. Detailed data and related design parameters must be acquired by students in the course from public sources.
Individual students and each specialty team produce a written report with accompanying digital products that is completely professional in appearance, depth of inquiry, technical detail, and excellence of narrative, tabulations, and graphical presentation. Relationship of Course to Program Outcomes This course relates to the following Program Outcomes: a. an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering b. an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data c. an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability. d. an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams e. an ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems f. an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility g. an ability to communicate effectively h. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic and societal context i. a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning j. a knowledge of contemporary issues k. an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
Links to Guidelines, Forms, and Other Useful Information
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior Design
Provide Website Feedback
