Design, Construction and Testing Competition

On the first day of class, teams of students are formed. All teams are given common design constraints and objectives for an artifact and equal amounts of material supplies. They are also given performance characteristics upon which the testing competition will be based. Artifacts are designed, prototyped, tested, refined and entered into a general competition, which is held on the fifth day of class.

Major Team Project

This project consists of a three or four person team effort over a period of approximately thirteen weeks. The teams first select a topic and obtain a faculty sponsor. Then they develop a proposal which contains an analysis of the current status, including a review of the literature, the proposed plan of action, tradeoffs and justifications, division of team effort, a timetable for completion, and cost estimates. Next, the teams begin the project and write progress reports to their faculty sponsor. The project is completed and a final comprehensive written report is prepared. The experience culminates in a formal oral presentation during the annual freshman design seminar.