Students are exposed to engineering design by a primary sequence of four required core design courses that are distributed across the curriculum from the freshman through the senior years, plus a design elective. Further design experience is gained in most of the 300 level and above engineering science courses, which have design projects embedded in them. The design courses contain technical material that is appropriate to the level of the course in the curriculum and provide opportunities to practice oral and written communication.
For example, in the freshman year students are expected to know only high school physics and math so only elementary technical material is introduced about statics, mechanics of materials, and energy that will be reinforced and expanded upon in subsequent courses. Working in teams is a key component of design coursework, as is consideration of societal and ethical issues that face engineers.
Capstone Design Project
The design sequence culminates in a capstone design project that provides a professional engineering experience. Students function as engineering teams with the faculty member assuming the role of Engineering Manager. Students draw upon everything they have learned throughout their undergraduate coursework to design, build, and test a mechanical engineering system. For interested students, a two-semester interdisciplinary capstone project is available where Mechanical Engineering students work on teams with students from other disciplines and Departments.
Students in the capstone course are encouraged to collaborate with industry partners to find solutions to real-world problems. Corporations provide project ideas, an industry mentor and funding for the projects. The project must address a technical problem at a level appropriate to a college student’s knowledge and skills.
Benefits to corporations include:
- Creative solutions to real-world problems with little capital investment or employee time
- Increased visibility among soon-to-be Mechanical Engineering graduates
- Opportunity to influence future engineers and positively effect industry as a whole
Companies interested in sponsoring capstone projects should contact the Mechanical Engineering Department.
Core Design Courses
ENES 101 Introduction to Engineering Science
ENME 204 Introduction to Engineering Design with CAD
ENME 304 Machine Design
ENME 444 Mechanical Engineering Systems Design (“Capstone”)
Core Physical Laboratory Courses
ENME 332L Solids Mechanics and Materials Laboratory
ENME 432L Fluids/Energy Laboratory
ENME 482L Vibrations/Controls Laboratory
ENME 405 Energy Conversion Design
ENME 408 Special Topics in Engineering Design:
ENME 408B Biomaterials
ENME 408C Composite Materials
ENME 408L Elements of Aerospace Engineering Design
ENME 408S Aerospace Design
ENME 412 Mechanical Design for Manufacturing Production
ENME 423 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Design
ENME 471 Computer-Aided Finite Element-Based Design
ENME 472 The Materials and Processes for micro/nanoscale systems (MEMS)