On display will be ten projects with a combined materials value of more than $125,000, which were designed to address actual problems and needs of area companies. The conference celebrates the successful completion of the Capstone Design Program, in which teams of senior engineering students solve engineering design problems sponsored by participating industries and other sponsoring organizations.
The projects take two semesters to complete, and at the end the companies who participate have an actual working design. The cost for the sponsoring industries is materials ¿ the students are not paid for their work, but instead gain college credit and valuable real-life working experience.
'They gain a lot of experience that there's no way you can teach in the classroom,' said Jeff Ray, an associate professor in the Padnos School of Engineering and Engineering Design Center coordinator
The projects on display Friday were completed by 51 students and include:
- Developing an automated sample collection system for Dana ¿
Perfect Circle Division
- Designing a device to automatically test F-16 button and knob
controls for Goodrich Avionics Systems
- Helping Siemens Dematic overcome a problem in Wal-Mart
distribution centers
- Building and programming of an automated circuit board tester for
Eaton Aerospace
- Engineering of a power transmission and electrical generator for use in an innovative residential wind turbine for Dr. Steve Platt, inventor of the Windfeather wind turbine
The day culminates in the Order of the Engineer Iron Ring ceremony, which is a special commencement ritual for Engineering students. The graduates earn their degrees later in the year than the traditional spring ceremony because they must complete a year-long co-op experience. In the ceremony, each student receives an iron ring, placed on the little finger of the working hand, which symbolizes bridging the step between training and experience. The practice started in Canada and is firmly established in the U.S.
