Opportunities for Realistic Funded Capstone Design Projects

Abstract

Capstone design projects are significant components of engineering curricula. Many programs find it difficult to come up with meaningful projects with realistic constraints that require students to use their knowledge and skills from earlier coursework. Each year, professional organizations and government agencies provide many funding opportunities for senior undergraduate projects. In this paper, we present examples of such capstone projects that are well defined and have multiple realistic constraints.  These projects also provide direct assessment of ABET criterion 4, as they typically require final presentations and written reports that are evaluated by judges other than faculty members. In addition to these projects, there are other capstone design opportunities that are less explored. It is well known that funding for educational laboratory equipment is limited. It is also known that when industry upgrades their equipment they donate some of their replaced equipment to universities. This type of activity renders yet another attractive opportunity for upgrading educational laboratory equipment and at the same time providing realistic design projects for students and collaboration among various programs within a university. In this paper, we will share in detail our experience in dealing with and managing these types of projects.