Senior Capstone Design Research Articles

Evolving engineering education: online vs. in-person capstone projects compared (EEE-OIPC)

This study examines the effectiveness of online and face-to-face (F2F) instructional methods in Capstone Senior Design (CSD) projects within Electrical Engineering (EE) and Mechanical Engineering (ME). It explores how each mode influences student success and learning outcomes, addressing the need for adaptable teaching strategies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. A comprehensive assessment was conducted, which included project evaluations, advisor feedback, and self-peer reviews. This multifaceted approach aimed to gauge the relative efficacy of online versus F2F modalities in supporting educational outcomes. The findings indicated that both online and F2F modalities achieved parity on several metrics. However, F2F settings significantly enhanced teamwork and collaboration among students. In contrast, online environments excelled in advisor evaluations, suggesting effective mentorship despite less consistent teamwork and project execution. The results emphasize the potential benefits of integrating online and traditional pedagogies to improve educational strategies and student learning experiences. The study highlights the importance of developing online instructional strategies that better mimic the collaborative advantages of F2F instruction. It also underscores the need for a holistic approach to curriculum development to prepare STEM students effectively for future challenges.

Multidisciplinary Capstone Senior Design Projects: A Comparative Analysis of Industry–Sponsored and Faculty–Sponsored Projects Using Comprehensive Performance Metrics

Engineering education has continually evolved to embrace Project–Based Learning (PBL), a dynamic classroom approach emphasizing learning through engagement in real–world projects. The study conducts a comparative analysis of multidisciplinary Capstone Senior Design Projects across Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science at Texas A&M University at Texarkana. The research emphasizes understanding the dynamics of student collaboration within these disciplines and scrutinizes the impact of industry and faculty sponsorship on these projects. The methodology involves a comprehensive comparative analysis, employing diverse performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of different sponsorship models. This approach aims to uncover the influence of these models on project outcomes and students’ educational experiences. The results reveal notable differences between industry–sponsored and faculty–sponsored projects. Industry sponsorship leads to higher performance in overall project execution and professional skills development. In contrast, faculty–sponsored projects are more effective in nurturing teamwork and communication abilities among students. The findings suggest that each sponsorship type presents unique benefits and challenges. Industry–sponsored projects provide valuable hands–on problem–solving experience, though they may suffer from inconsistencies in mentorship and varying expectations. Faculty–sponsored projects offer a more stable and consistent educational environment but might lag slightly in performance metrics. Integrating elements from both sponsorship models could provide students with a more balanced and enriching learning experience.

A culminating senior design capstone project on a residential building in engineering education

A study was conducted based on the theoretical construction of a three-story residential house from beginning to end, that included the following considerations: architectural, structural, environmental, and cost analyses; additionally, a commentary as to educational benefits to be gained by such an undertaking is also offered. Regarding the environment, the study considered LEED aspects and their impact in association with the design of the building. Among the efforts to make the building green are the calculation of associated costs that were likewise taken into consideration together with the savings in energy to ultimately be realized with the implementation of LEED features.

Exploring senior engineering students’ engineering identity: the impact of practice-oriented learning experiences

BackgroundEngineering identity reflects students' acceptance and recognition of engineering, which has a great influence on their willingness to enter and stay in the engineering field. Existing studies have shown that curricular and co-curricular practice-oriented experiences may be helpful for developing students’ engineering identity. However, the actual impact of various practice-oriented learning experiences remained to be further examined. This quantitative study aims to explore the impact of three types of practice-oriented learning experiences (capstone experiences, technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, and engineering-related internships) in the development of engineering talents' engineering identity. A theoretical framework of engineering identity, which consists of three dimensions, that is, Interest, Performance/Competence and Recognition, was adopted to guide the research.ResultsThrough responses from 160 senior engineering students at a leading research intensive Chinese university, the study explored the relationships between engagement in practice-oriented learning experiences and engineering identity. Senior capstone design was found to be associated positively with students' development of engineering identity and recognition by others. Participating in two or more technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions associated positively with students' development of engineering identity, performance/competence and recognition. Meanwhile, internships did not show any statistically significant effect on engineering identity. Moreover, by analyzing the potential mediating effect, we found that recognition played a complete intermediary role between senior capstone design and engineering identity. In addition, recognition and performance/competence mediated the relationship between twice or more technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and engineering identity.ConclusionsThese findings add to our current understanding about the role of different practice-oriented learning activities on students’ development of engineering identity. These findings point to the importance of learning activities, including technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and senior capstone design, on the development of engineering identity. Moreover, the results highlighted the important role of students’ engagement in multiple authentic engineering projects throughout the curriculum and their gaining recognitions through these project experiences. Based on these findings, practical suggestions are proposed to help nurture students’ engineering identity. In addition, future qualitative investigations about the underlying mechanisms are recommended to facilitate the understanding of students’ development of engineering identity.

Measuring the Return on Investment for AFRICOM’s African Enlisted Soldier Development Efforts III

The Africa Enlisted Development Strategy (AEDS) exists to promote the development of non-commissioned officers from African nations. During Academic Years 2020 and 2021, senior capstone design teams from the United States Military Academy partnered with AFRICOM to develop a methodology to assess the return on investment of AEDS-related training events. Among the principal contributions of these earlier capstones was the creation of three metrics: the Enlisted Development Maturity Level scale, the AEDS Investment Tracker, and the Enlisted Development Review. To foster the adoption and use of these measures, quality data must be captured. This paper discusses the development of potential alternatives designed to achieve this end. Upon completion of this year’s work, a final recommendation will be provided to AFRICOM for potential implementation in Botswana.

Impacts of Prosthetic Innovation in Ecuador Study Abroad Course.

Biomedical engineering (BME) students typically have a schedule filled with specific course requirements, leaving little room for spending a semester studying abroad. We established a new short-term BME study abroad course, partnering with a non-profit healthcare organization that provides high-quality prosthetic care to underserved populations. This innovative study abroad course was met with great student demand. The impact of this short-term study abroad course is increased by developing year-long BME senior capstone design projects based on the needs identified throughout the experience in Ecuador. Shortly after the conclusion of spring semester, students and two BME faculty/staff traveled to Ecuador. During the work week, the students participated in small teams in patient evaluations, castings, fabrication of prosthetics, device fittings, rapid prototyping-testing iterations, and post-prosthesis gait training with physical therapy. Weekends included guided cultural activities. Each student maintained a journal that reflected observations and insights from these experiences. Upon return to the US, students that registered for an additional course credit created video reflection presentations and wrote project proposal reports based on the needs identified in Ecuador. The project proposal reports were used to develop a BME senior capstone design project. Pre and post course self-assessment surveys showed significant increases in five ABET learning outcomes, three BME learning outcomes, and four course-specific learning outcomes. Students who took the two-credit course reported significant increases in four more learning outcomes than students who took the one-credit course. Many students described the experience as inspiring and life-changing, and the program continues to run each summer.

Process Design for Assembly and Shipping of 41 Foot High-Speed Disk Tiller

The sponsor of this Capstone Senior Design Project is a company that manufactures cutting-edge farm equipment for use in small to large farming operations. The sponsor is in the middle of expanding the product line produced at one of their current facilities to include the addition of a 41-foot speed tiller. The primary focus of the project was to develop a design for assembly, create the layout of the assembly process, design fixtures to aid assembly and create a bill of materials. The entire assembly process for this new tiller had to be restricted to an existing area of the plant. A secondary requirement of the Capstone Senior Design Project was to create a similar assembly process and layout for a smaller 27-foot speed tiller that had to be moved to a different area in the facility to overcome crane lifting constraints. The Capstone Senior Design Project team completed all the sponsor-listed requirements of the project, and the project findings and recommendations are due for implementation by the Sponsor.

Underwater acoustic spiral wave navigation system

A spiral wave navigation beacon is described that creates an outgoing signal with a wavefront that is a diverging spiral cylindrical wave followed by a reference signal of circular wavefront as previously described by Dzikowicz and Hefner in JASA. In this demonstration, the signals are created by driving a cylindrical transducer’s orthogonal sine and cosine modes of vibration in phase quadrature as previously described by Brown and Bachand in JASA. The two dipolar radiation patterns combine to create a helically diverging spiral wavefront that may be used for navigation and communication. The electronic system design and transducer characterization will be presented and are the subject a senior-capstone design project in the College of Engineering at UMass Dartmouth for four of the authors (I.D.B., C.G., K.C., Z.F.). [The project provided a multidisciplinary opportunity in acoustical engineering, instrumentation, calibration, and signal processing and was sponsored by industry (BTech).]

Open Water Flume for Fluid Mechanics Lab

Open water flume tanks with closed-loop circulation driven by centrifugal pumps are essential for hydro experimentation in academic settings as well as research centers. The device is also attractive due to its versatility and easy-to-maintain characteristics. Nevertheless, commercial open flume systems can be expensive and become less prioritized in engineering schools. This paper describes the design and fabrication of an affordable, medium-size water flume tank, suitable for education purposes. The central piece of the system is a transparent observation chamber where fluid experiments are typically conducted and observed. The expected maximum average water speed in the observation chamber of about 60 cm per second was achieved by the inclusion of a 3 hp centrifugal pump. The size and capacity of the current design were constrained by space limitation and available funds. The educational facility was assigned as a two-semester multi-disciplinary capstone senior design project incorporating students and faculty of mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering programs in our campus. The design process provides a training platform for skills in the area of Computer Aided Designs (CAD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), manufacturing, and experimentation. The multi-disciplinary project has contributed to the improvement of soft skills, such as time management, team working, and professional presentation, of the team members. The total material cost of the facility was less than USD 6000, which includes the pump and its variable frequency driver. The project was made possible due to the generous sponsor of the Vibration Institute.

Development and Application of STORMTOOLS Design Load (SDL) Maps

Under the STORMTOOLS initiative, maps of the impact of sea level rise (SLR) (0 to 12 ft), nuisance flooding (1–10 yr), 25, 50, and 100 yr storms, and hindcasts of the four top ranked tropical storms have been developed for the coastal waters of Rhode Island (RI). Estimates of the design elevations, expressed in terms of the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) and thus incorporating surge and associated wave conditions, have also been developed, including the effects of SLR to facilitate structural design. Finally, Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) maps have been developed to estimate the risk to individual structures and infrastructure. CERI employs the BFE maps in concert with damage curves for residential and commercial structures to make estimates of damage to individual structures. All maps are available via an ArcGIS Hub. The objective of this senior design capstone project was to develop STORMTOOLS Design Load maps (SDL) with a goal of estimating the hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, wave, and debris loading, based on ASCE/SEI 7–16 Minimum Design Standards methods, on residential structures in the RI coastal floodplain. The resulting maps display the unitized loads and thus can be scaled for any structure of interest. The goal of the maps is to provide environmental loads that support the design of structures, and reduce the time and cost required in performing the design and the permitting process, while also improving the accuracy and consistency of the designs. SDL maps were generated for all loads, including the effects of SLR for a test case: the Watch Hill/Misquamicut Beach, Westerly, along the southern RI coast. The Autodesk Professional Robot Structural Analysis software, along with SDL loading, was used to evaluate the designs for selected on-grade and pile-elevated residential structures. Damage curves were generated for each and shown to be consistent with the US Army Corps of Engineers empirical damage curves currently used in CERI.

ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATES AND THEIR SELF-REPORTED CONFIDENCE AND PROFICIENCY LEVELS IN LIFELONG LEARNING (A12)

This paper reports on what we found when we surveyed second-year students in a Technical Communication class, once at the beginning of the semester and again at the end, and then when we surveyed two senior capstone design classes, one in Mechanical Engineering, one in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and one in Civil Engineering. In all these iterations, we asked students to indicate their levels of confidence and proficiency in their writing and speaking skills (communication skills), teamwork and personal skills development (lifelong learning). When we surveyed our second-year students, they indicated that they were only moderately confident in their communication skills (the aggregate was mostly 3 or slightly more on a scale of 5). At the end of the semester, when we asked them what they believed would be the competency level expected of them in these areas when they graduated, that number jumped to 4.5 on average. These students, however, were also decidedly more confident in their teamwork and lifelong learning skills, where the average hovered close to 3.5. On average, the capstone students were likewise confident in these areas, even slightly more so (3.87). Given the rapidity with which technical information grows and the complexity of the world around us, engineering students must be more prepared than ever to develop the drive to keep learning so that, as practicing professionals, they are equipped to maintain their competence and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

Optimization of electrostatic powder coat cure oven process: A capstone senior design research project

Abstract This paper describes one successful example of a capstone senior design research project that deals with optimization of the electrostatic powder coat cure process. Optimizing any manufacturing process provides a company with extensive benefits obtained through increased productivity, reduced manufacturing costs, and quicker time to market. Along with the explicit production cost benefits, a company will also reap the benefits of a decreased environmental impact and increased market competitiveness accruing from increased productivity. Therefore, companies are incentivized to continually improve, and optimize their production processes. One such process that many products, throughout numerous industries, go through is the painting process. While painting a product can aid in easily identifying certain brands (e.g. John Deere green, Caterpillar yellow, New Holland blue, International Harvester red, etc.), the main purpose of providing a painted surface is to protect the product from environmental corrosion, and wear in addition to providing a drastically longer life cycle to the product. One of the most important steps of the painting process is the curing of the paint on the surface of the product. This is normally done through an industrial oven set at appropriate temperatures and times depending on the paints used and the products to be painted. Using DOE, ANOVA, and other statistical analysis tools for data collection and analysis, a cure oven set at 450 °F for 40 minutes was optimized to 450 °F for 38 minutes. This provides a 5% decrease in both process time and natural gas usage while continuing to maintain the same level of quality. This demonstrates the effectiveness of DOE tools and statistical analysis of collected data coupled with the principles of process optimization in increasing productivity and reducing overall production costs.

Comprehensive Assessment of Capstone Senior Design Course Comprised of Students from Different Engineering Program Majors

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is the premier organization that accredits many engineering programs in the US. Assessment by ABET that Student Outcomes are achieved is a central part of its decision to accredit any program. The programs in engineering at Western Illinois University (WIU) place significant emphasis in the Capstone Senior Design course as part of the overall plans to seek accreditation. For example, it is the only course wherein all eleven student outcomes identified by ABET are formally assessed, thereby making it a comprehensive assessment. But assessment is challenging because there are many more variables than normal in a Capstone Senior Design course compared to traditional courses. This paper discusses the framework of assessment plans, schedules, rubrics, implementation, data collection, analysis, and continuous improvements in detail under this challenging environment in the Senior Design course at WIU.

Managing the Senior Capstone Design Project for Undergraduate Students at King Abdulaziz University

It is compulsory for final-year undergraduate engineering students to take a senior design class, commonly known as the senior capstone design project. This project is set up to help students deeply understand and apply what they have learned since beginning their quest for a bachelor’s degree in science. Capstone preparation involves many elements including the contribution of faculty members and academic programs that give students the technical and management skills needed to establish a career in engineering. Moreover, the capstone usually requires funding, which often comes from the industry sector. The engineering faculty at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) encourages students to complete this course showing high-quality levels of achievement. The university’s mechanical engineering department led the effort in organizing the senior design project course, which meets the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) requirements. This paper presents an overview of a program that promises an outstanding engineering capstone experience for two KAU engineering colleges in Rabigh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This paper delineates the process, leadership skills, ABET involvement and evaluation. The capstone project presented here has provided overall satisfaction from both faculty members and students. Moreover, course management improvements led to a more cost-efficient program.

Case study: Industry-sponsored mechanical engineering capstone senior design program

In the mechanical engineering program at Purdue University Fort Wayne, capstone senior design projects are accomplished during an undergraduate’s senior year and span two semesters. In the first semester, the formulation of the problem statement occurs and basic conceptual designs are generated and evaluated. After evaluation, the best design that satisfies the requirements is selected, and a complete detailed design is obtained by the end of the first semester. In the second semester, a prototype of the finished design is built, tested, and evaluated. Over the years, partnerships with local industry have been formed to provide students with real-world projects for senior design. The aim of this paper is to present how industry partnerships have been developed, discuss the degree of involvement and the role of industry-sponsors in the course of the design project, and briefly describe the industry-sponsored design projects that were completed in the 2016/2017 academic year.

Improving Biomedical Engineering Education Through Continuity in Adaptive, Experiential, and Interdisciplinary Learning Environments.

This study reports our experience of developing a series of biomedical engineering (BME) courses having active and experiential learning components in an interdisciplinary learning environment. In the first course, BME465: biomechanics, students were immersed in a simulation laboratory setting involving mannequins that are currently used for teaching in the School of Nursing. Each team identified possible technological challenges directly related to the biomechanics of the mannequin and presented an improvement overcoming the challenge. This approach of exposing engineering students to a problem in a clinical learning environment enhanced the adaptive and experiential learning capabilities of the course. In the following semester, through BME448: medical devices, engineering students were partnered with nursing students and exposed to simulation scenarios and real-world clinical settings. They were required to identify three unmet needs in the real-world clinical settings and propose a viable engineering solution. This approach helped BME students to understand and employ real-world applications of engineering principles in problem solving while being exposed to an interdisciplinary collaborative environment. A final step was for engineering students to execute their proposed solution from either BME465 or BME448 courses by undertaking it as their capstone senior design project (ENGR401-402). Overall, the inclusion of clinical immersions in interdisciplinary teams in a series of courses not only allowed the integration of active and experiential learning in continuity but also offered engineers more practice of their profession, adaptive expertise, and an understanding of roles and expertise of other professionals involved in enhancement of healthcare and patient safety.

Preparation of Engineering Students for Capstone Design Experience through a Microprocessors Course

This paper presents the outcomes of a developed methodology to handle the project component in a higher-level undergraduate course. The approach relies on providing the students the freedom to choose their own project area as well as the utilized technology. At the same time, the students have to follow certain regulation to allow for the creation of a semi-capstone experience. We illustrate how this approach has a positive effect, not only on the project outcomes at the course level, but also on the students’ performances in subsequent capstone courses. Data collected, over five consecutive course offerings, shows that this approach is an effective method to prepare engineering students for their senior design capstone courses.

Assessing Improvement and Professional Career Skills in Senior Capstone Design through Course Data

An objective internal departmental review of course data indicates that a one credit hour fall seminar course which allows many preparatory topics to be engaged by the senior capstone teams makes the spring laboratory portion of the course run more smoothly. Professional topics such as team building, oral and written communication skills, and organizational interaction have been suggested by industrial partners and are now integrated into the course sequence before the students perform their physical work, reducing issues during the lab component. Course adjustments are on-going, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, those adjustments are periodically evaluated for effectiveness. It has been statistically demonstrated that the addition of an internally reviewed feasibility pitch early in the fall semester has resulted in better external reviews for both the fall management and spring technical design presentations. Likewise, providing the chance for the teams to see a video tape of their final presentation, before it is reviewed by various outside parties, has resulted in significantly better final presentations. In general, the formation of all engineering and mixed teams has been found to produce better end projects than those created by all technology-based student teams. These elements and other demonstrated positive changes to the Xxxxxx Agricultural & Biological Engineering capstone sequence can be described as cultivating professional attributes, and the experience is reviewed in this paper.

A capstone design project for teaching cybersecurity to nontechnical users

This paper presents a multi-year undergraduate computing capstone project that holistically contributes to the development of cybersecurity knowledge and skills in non-computing high school and college students. We describe the student-built Vulnerable Web Server application, which is a system that packages instructional materials and pre-built virtual machines to provide lessons on cybersecurity to non-technical students. The Vulnerable Web Server learning materials have been piloted at several high schools and are now integrated into multiple security lessons in an intermediate, general education information technology course at the United States Military Academy. Our paper interweaves a description of the Vulnerable Web Server materials with the senior capstone design process that allowed it to be built by undergraduate information technology and computer science students, resulting in a valuable capstone learning experience. Throughout the paper, a call is made for greater emphasis on educating the nontechnical user.

When Theater Comes to Engineering Design: Oh How Creative They Can Be.

The creative process is fun, complex, and sometimes frustrating, but it is critical to the future of our nation and progress in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), as well as other fields. Thus, we set out to see if implementing methods of active learning typical to the theater department could impact the creativity of senior capstone design students in the bioengineering (BE) department. Senior bioengineering capstone design students were allowed to self-select into groups. Prior to the beginning of coursework, all students completed a validated survey measuring engineering design self-efficacy. The control and experimental groups both received standard instruction, but in addition the experimental group received 1 h per week of creativity training developed by a theater professor. Following the semester, the students again completed the self-efficacy survey. The surveys were examined to identify differences in the initial and final self-efficacy in the experimental and control groups over the course of the semester. An analysis of variance was used to compare the experimental and control groups with p < 0.05 considered significant. Students in the experimental group reported more than a twofold (4.8 (C) versus 10.9 (E)) increase of confidence. Additionally, students in the experimental group were more motivated and less anxious when engaging in engineering design following the semester of creativity instruction. The results of this pilot study indicate that there is a significant potential to improve engineering students' creative self-efficacy through the implementation of a "curriculum of creativity" which is developed using theater methods.