Examining the Impacts of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design Program

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) offers a combined capstone design experience for mechanical, civil, electrical and environmental engineering students. In a recent re-invention of our design curriculum, a new emphasis on design methodologies has been implemented. Many of these design methods have origins in the design of electro-mechanical products, and it is certainly in these areas where the most vibrant design communities seem to reside. Yet in a combined setting, analogous design processes appear to exist in a broader engineering design community. This paper describes the capstone design program at CSM, with a focus on the methods that we are teaching and how they translate between disciplines. The lessons learned in such a translation not only illuminate how engineering design may differ in other disciplines, but also may reveal new perspectives on mechanical design processes.

Download Full-text

Organization and Management of an Industry Sponsored Capstone Senior Design Course

Volume 5: Education and Globalization ◽

10.1115/imece2014-39296 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vito Moreno ◽

Thomas J. Barber

Keyword(s):

Real World ◽

Academic Community ◽

Management Company ◽

Organization And Management ◽

Senior Design ◽

Legal Implications ◽

Design Program ◽

Key Issues ◽

Capstone Design Courses ◽

Capstone Design

Senior level capstone design courses are run in many different ways in the academic community. A growing number of institutions strive to promote immersion into the real world of engineering through industrially sponsored projects. While this approach offers many immediate benefits to near-graduating seniors, it introduces many unique problems to the academic community. Developing and sustaining an industrially-sponsored capstone design program requires an understanding of the synergies and differences between academia and industry. Key issues discussed in this paper are program management, company sponsorship, diversity of projects, level of oversight required to make a successful project and legal implications of sponsoring a meaningful project.

Download Full-text

Integrating Entrepreneurial Projects Into A Successful Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Program At The University Of Florida

10.18260/1-2--13172 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

William Rossi ◽

Herbert Ingley ◽

Erik Sander ◽

Dow Whitney ◽

Marc Hoit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

University Of Florida ◽

Design Program ◽

The University ◽

Capstone Design

Download Full-text

Development Of A Capstone Design Program For Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering

10.18260/1-2--2806 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Laguette

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Engineering ◽

Design Program ◽

Capstone Design

Download Full-text

IMPROVEMENTS TO A UNIVERSITY CAPSTONE DESIGN PROGRAM THROUGH THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL MENTORS AND INCREASED MILESTONE DELIVERABLES

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.3913 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

J. Mikkelsen ◽

I. Yellowley ◽

A. Hodgson ◽

P. Cramond ◽

D. McAdam

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Engineering ◽

Design Practice ◽

Concept Generation ◽

Design Problems ◽

Good Design ◽

New Model ◽

Student Teams ◽

Design Program ◽

Client Needs ◽

Capstone Design

This paper reviews some recent major changes made to the Senior Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Program at UBC. The program now consists of a two-term senior level design sequence where student teams work on open-ended design problems sponsored by outside clients. In order to reinforce relevance and ensure that practices parallel those of industry, the Department recruited local senior engineers to serve as engineering mentors to the students and work in concert with the course instructors. Several milestones were established during the duration of the program year to reinforce good design practice beginning from an agreement on client needs and proceeding through concept generation, selection, analysis and finally ending with prototype construction and evaluation. The paper highlights the improvements made to the program as a result of these changes and presents an example of a student design project developed under the new model.

Download Full-text