Senior Design
The focus of the Senior Design course is to have students manage and complete a real project. Different projects are offered each semester and allocated to student teams according to the emphasis areas of the students. Projects require the integration of your skills developed throughout undergraduate studies. The solution(s) in this major design experience adhere to engineering standards as well as problem constraints.
Teams
Design projects are completed by teams of three to fives students during the last semester of their studies. The vast majority of the students have significant summer experience in sustainability and renewable energy systems. Teams also work closely with assigned faculty advisors. Your team will meet biweekly in formal progress meetings and meet at other times as the need arises.
Project Management
Your course instructor solicits projects, selects projects in consultation with the sustainability and renewable energy systems faculty, and organizes the kickoff meetings. For the remainder of the semester, each team is responsible for project management, including meeting deadlines, communicating with the client, ensuring that work stays on schedule, organizing other project meetings, etc.
Client Responsibilities
Clients provide the students with a high-quality, challenging, and real-world problem to solve. The client provides students with the necessary background information and data; helps define the problem; attends the kickoff meeting, midterm meeting, and final presentation; promptly replies to student requests for information throughout the semester; and completes the end-of-semester client survey.
Sponsorship
Clients are invited to financially sponsor the design class. For more information, contact the course instructor
Scope of Work
Students will each work approximately 100 to 150 hours over the course of the semester and produce a project report that may include preliminary designs, cost estimates, etc. Please note that sponsorship is not considered a contract for deliverables, as projects are carried out by undergraduate students pursuing an educational program and not providing engineering services.
Attributes of a good projects
The best projects have a very engaged client who will benefit from the work being performed. Projects must have a significant design component. Projects that allow students to evaluate multiple alternative solutions are desired. Ideally, the student team will deliver its final presentation to a diverse audience of stakeholders.
