problems in the world that can be solved by engineering

Southern Illinois University - Engineering

Making the modern world a better place to be..

The College of Engineering at SIU Carbondale is a center of immense inspiration, remarkable innovation and endless possibilities. Our academic programs reflect global needs in every way. Check out these majors:

• civil engineering
• computer engineering
• electrical engineering
• mechanical engineering

Our faculty put their research in your classroom learning to practical use.

See what SIU can do for you

Senior Capstone Project

Your senior project can help you land your dream career.

Your team will tackle a real-world engineering problem, solve it, and present your solution.

Internships

Internships often lead directly to employment. Our students intern with top companies, from Ameren and Caterpillar Inc. to General Dynamics, The Boeing Co. and Microsoft, Google and NASA.

Approximately 95% of our students have begun their careers within six months of graduation.

Get involved!

Engineering students hit the jackpot for student groups. You'll learn teamwork and compete against other colleges with moonbuggies, concrete canoes, Formula One racing and more.

You'll meet industry leaders  and learn to become a leader yourself. And you'll have fun and make friends too. Also, check out the Engineering Living Learning Community .

Be a Part of this.

• Discover Harvey Mudd
• Connect with Harvey Mudd
• Apply to Harvey Mudd
• Afford to Attend Harvey Mudd
• Departments
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Majors at Harvey Mudd
• Faculty of Harvey Mudd
• Common Core Curriculum
• English Language Learning
• Dean of the Faculty
• Institutional Research
• Learning Programs
• Study Abroad
• Upward Bound
• Summer Session
• The Bates and Harvey Mudd Aeronautics Heritage Library
• The Makerspace
• Entrepreneurship
• Hixon Center
• Sponsors and Projects
• Prospective Sponsors
• Impact on Society
• Clinic Events
• History of the Clinic Program
• Clinic Program Contacts
• Research Focus Areas and Labs
• Research Videos
• Faculty Research Resources
• Student Research Opportunities
• Campus Life
• Career Services
• Civic and Community Engagement
• Health and Wellness
• Housing and Residential Life
• Institutional Diversity
• Academic Resources and Student Success
• About Division of Student Affairs
• Meet the DSA Staff
• Commencement
• Orientation
• Accessible Education
• International Students and Scholars
• Mudders Care for Mudders
• Emergency Resources
• Student Handbook
• Title IX and Sexual Assault
• Annual Fire Safety and Security
• Visit Campus
• Harvey Mudd News
• Upcoming Events
• President's Office
• Mission and Strategic Vision
• Make Your Gift Now
• Annual Fund
• Endowed Giving at Harvey Mudd
• Planned Giving
• Current and Special Giving Initiatives
• Ways to Give
• Contact College Advancement

Top Resources

Most searched, department of engineering.

Engineering at Mudd

The Harvey Mudd College engineering program prepares its students for the professional world and advanced study in various disciplines through broad-based, hands-on experience in engineering analysis, synthesis and practice.

• Philosophy and Goals

Engineering Clinic

• Program Accreditation

“Mudd approach is really hands-on and a chance to be integrated into all types of engineering…” Nancy Lape Chair, Department of Engineering

Pioneered by the Department of Engineering in 1963, the Engineering Clinic brings together teams of juniors and seniors—working with faculty advisors and external liaison engineers—to solve real problems for clients in the public and private sector.

Latest News From Engineering

May 19, 2023

Harvey Mudd Entrepreneurs Win at 2023 SageTank

May 3, 2023

Harvey Mudd Presents 2023 Clinic Program Milestone Awards

April 21, 2023

Harvey Mudd College Recipients of 2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Student and Alumni Stories

Positive energy.

Kathy French ’97 navigates leadership in her field with confidence and with an inspiring guide: President Klawe.

Alumni Spotlight Awards

The HMC Alumni Association recognizes Melissa Aczon ’93 (math) and Steve Hinch ’73 (engineering).

Midnight Pie

Entrepreneurs fulfill a need and find out what starting a business is all about.

Transitioning to solve the world’s engineering ‘mega-problems’

03 June 2022

Emboldening engineers and others to think differently to solve wicked ‘unsolvable’ problems is the focus of the University of Canterbury’s two Transition Engineering micro-credentials supported by the EPECentre and Transition HQ.

Energy InTIME© and Achieve NetZero Applying InTIME© draw on material from Adjunct Professor Susan Krumdieck's book Transition Engineering: Building a Sustainable Future.

The short courses were developed to prepare engineers and professionals working in various fields to contribute to the transition of all current systems and operations, with a focus on using a logical approach that’s straightforward to use in practice. Globally, they’re some of the only courses offered in the field. 

Transition engineering is taught by Adjunct Professor Susan Krumdieck, a pioneer in the field. Professor Krumdieck, who taught energy engineering at the University of Canterbury for over 17 years, is now based at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland.

Transition engineering is a relatively new field to achieve effective carbon emissions downshift in a variety of organisational contexts, such as engineering, education, business, government, non-profit organisation, and community.  Transition engineers in all fields are becoming crucial for successful design and implementation of shift projects needed to lead massive transformational changes, especially in oil, coal and gas, water, infrastructure, automotive, airline, architecture and building sectors.  

Both micro-credential courses introduce Professor Krumdieck’s Interdisciplinary Transition Innovation, Management and Engineering (InTIME©) process which brings engineering analysis and advice into policy and planning discussions in new collaborative ways. Much of the material is based on her book Transition Engineering: Building a Sustainable Future .

Energy InTIME© is a micro-credential course targeted at professional engineers and those in related fields. Mainly self-paced, the course explores new quantitative understanding of the climate and resource challenges (energy, materials usage, etc) caused by unsustainable growth, by applying a mix of theory, storytelling, and examples. It focuses on ‘mega-problems’ such as climate change mitigation and peak oil, unsustainability and adaptation to the future trends in energy and economic downshift. Energy InTIME© launches 30 May and enrolments close on 30 Aug).

Achieve NetZero Applying InTIME© is a four-module course aimed at a more general audience, including policymakers, planners, managers, advisors, urban designers, leaders or those just wanting to improve their understanding of the size of the transition required. This course gives a powerful overview of the issues, providing a laser-sharp focus on what carbon downshift measures are required.  This course can be started anytime. 

Media contact:

• Email: [email protected] Ph: (03) 369 3631 or 027 503 0168

What to read next:

Four researchers awarded $450,000 for innovative health projects

The grants will fund research into crisis health messaging, wearable ultrasonic devices, Parkinson’s disease biomarkers, and mutations in myeloid ...

Methane-munching microbes could cut harmful emissions

Agricultural methane is responsible for 41% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, but researchers want to change that by harnessing help from ...

Inside the $76 Million Switzerland Home Where Tina Turner Spent Her Peaceful Final Years with Erwin Bach

The music icon became a Swiss citizen in 2013 and lived on the shore of Lake Zurich in an impressive estate

Brazilian-American skateboarder Leticia Bufoni in images

One of the Most Powerful Women In International Sports, on the skateboard and off it.

Lauren Boebert's son called 911 in tears to report his father was 'throwing' him around the house. Then she took the phone.

Boebert's husband, Jayson, denied anything physical happened after one of the couple's sons told police he was being "thrown around the house."

The seemingly insignificant thing that 'bothers' Prince William following royal outings with Princess Catherine

The thing that 'bothers' Prince William after he attends royal engagements with his wife has been revealed - and it's quite understandable

The indulgent dessert that Kate Middleton loves is so quintessentially British

A chef once revealed Kate Middleton's go-to dessert for post-dinner indulgence

Twitter reacts to Scottie Pippen calling Michael Jordan a horrible player

Twitter reacts to Scottie Pippen calling Michael Jordan a horrible teammate and player.

Shakira Had All Eyes on Her With the Most Daring Mini Dress on Live TV

Shakira attended the Billboard Latin Women in Music gala in a show-stopping skin-showing cutout mini dress and she was honored with an award for her work.

'UFO' spotted lurking above U.S.' largest Marine base: 'We got aliens'

Pictures and videos of a possible UFO flying over a Marine base in 2021 were obtained by investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell and shared with Fox News Digital.

Charlize Theron, 47, Goes Totally Pantsless for the World to See on Instagram

Charlize Theron, 47, went pantsless on IG—and her killer mile-long legs were next-level toned. Pilates and power yoga keep her in tip-top shape.

Prince William ‘struck at the heart’ by ‘triggering’ Prince Harry situation amid ‘deep rift’

Prince William will reportedly have been left incredibly 'worried' after learning about Prince Harry's 'triggering' situation

Read the letter found in Brian Laundrie’s backpack from his mom marked ‘burn after reading’

The mother of Brian Laundrie, the man who killed his fiancée, Gabby Petito, and later himself in 2021, wrote to her son saying she would help him “dispose of a body” or “bake a cake with a file in it” to help him in jail, according to a copy of the undated letter obtained by CNN.

DeSantis addresses Amanda Gorman poem book at Orlando convention

Governor Ron DeSantis was in Orlando Friday morning and spoke at an education convention.

WWE Night of Champions results: New World Heavyweight Champion crowned

Of the five championship titles on the line in Saudi Arabia, X changed hands, and a new World Heavyweight Champion was decided.

• Faculty Experts
• Events Calendar

Engineering students learn by solving real-world problems

Engineering students work on a magnetic shield system to protect astronauts on long interplanetary journeys. Photo courtesy College of Engineering

At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, engineering students take classes from professors whose innovative research unlocks the knowledge and technologies needed to create tomorrow’s advances.

Those students also have many opportunities to apply their engineering education to real-life challenges.

In other words, they learn engineering by doing it — and in the process, they help people and acquire a host of other valuable skills.

Engineers Without Borders UW–Madison students worked with locals in Zapote, Guatemala, to build a new water system that brings clean water down to the town from a nearby town. Submitted photo

“Students get to work in teams, and they deal with real-life situations, including conflicting design ideas, team management styles, pressure from deadlines, and fabrication issues,” says John Murphy, a faculty associate in engineering physics at UW–Madison who is among the instructors for College of Engineering freshman design classes. “The students interact with clients, and they must develop budgets, plans, meeting times, schedules, and formally go through a design process that optimizes a variety of potential solutions their team has brainstormed.”

Reflective of the various disciplines within the College of Engineering, these client-based design projects vary widely, yielding everything from medical solutions and assistive technologies to process improvements and product analyses to building concepts and beyond. Often, prototypes are among the deliverables, which also include a detailed design report with drawings and a final presentation to the client.

“Ultimately, the student teams have to understand not only the problem and accompanying physics, but also how to function as a real team interacting with a client,” says Murphy.

Biomedical engineering student Megan Baier positions a plastic spine before the group pours the gel into the model.

He also says that students overwhelmingly enjoy a class that enables them to put their calculus, chemistry, physics and other knowledge to use.

“It allows them to immediately feel what it’s like to be an engineer,” he says. “And, the freshman design class is a wonderful recruitment and retention tool for young engineers.”

Engineering students at all levels of their undergraduate education acquire project-based design experience through their courses. They also can hone design, teamwork and leadership skills in many ways outside the classroom—among them, through participation in co-curricular activities such as engineering student organizations.

The College of Engineering offers more than 50 student organizations—several of which center around competitive design challenges (think: building a futuristic mode of transportation or a concrete canoe you can actually paddle) or service projects (think: partnering with a community to assess how green streets can alleviate runoff, or working with residents of a rural African community to design and construct a safe, sustainable school building).

The following are among several examples of the ways in which students are making the world a better place, making a positive impact on people’s lives, and engineering the future—today.

• Working with Dr. Brady Hauser, a resident in the UW–Madison Department of Pediatrics, a team of biomedical engineering undergraduates created a newborn-sized training simulator that would allow aspiring doctors to practice performing spinal tap procedures on infants under the guidance of ultrasound imaging. The core of the device is a 3D-printed, newborn-sized spine surrounding a silicone tube containing water (to mimic cerebrospinal fluid), all of which is encased in a gel composed of a liquid PVC polymer mixed with mineral oil. If the project continues into the 2021-22 academic year, the team would like to use open-source CT scans and 3D printing to add more of the key anatomical landmarks that physicians look for when performing the procedure. “Within six months, we went from absolutely nothing that we know of and nothing on the market to now they’re producing several prototypes that are testable and that we’re fine tuning,” says Hauser. Read more .
• In fall 2020, a team of industrial engineering seniors studied how to improve teacher retention and recruitment in the Adams-Friendship School District in central Wisconsin, where the district lost roughly a fifth of its teaching staff in summer 2018 and again in 2019. Working with the district administrator, Tom Wermuth, the students gathered input from district administration and surveyed teaching staff, then analyzed the responses. Empowering teacher voices to enhance their sense of investment in the district was a common thread, and the students’ recommendations for addressing issues included new leadership training, school and district value-defining workshops, goal-setting activities, and streamlined internal communications. “The students went above and beyond in providing us information and just a really different way to look at the problem that’s occurring in our district and occurring in a lot of other rural districts across the state of Wisconsin,” says Wermuth. Read more .
• In fall 2020, four freshmen teams in the College of Engineering’s multidisciplinary design course developed concepts for a futuristic magnetic shielding system that could protect astronauts on long-term space journeys from harmful radiation. Past magnetic shielding systems have been hampered by challenges such as weight and power supply—but technology advances are helping to make the systems feasible. Their clients — Pablo Desiati, a senior astrophysicist with the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory, and Elena D’Onghia, an associate professor of astronomy at UW–Madison, hope to work with NASA on developing a solution — and the students’ designs were a great start. “We might arrive at the class with our own concepts in mind, but if we give students a spark and the chance to work, they might come up with some idea that we’ve never even thought of before,” says Desiati. “And indeed, they did. Each of the teams brought a different perspective on how to work on this problem. We gave them a skeleton and they asked questions to fill it out. I even took notes from their questions.” Read more .
• Wisconsin Autonomous, a team of UW–Madison students from across several majors, is participating in the SAE International and General Motors AutoDrive Challenge II. The team is among 10 collegiate teams chosen to participate in the four-year competition, which charges them with developing and demonstrating an autonomous vehicle that can navigate urban driving courses. To perfect their vehicle, Wisconsin Autonomous members will leverage their knowledge of sensing technologies, computing platforms, software design and implementation, and advanced computation methods such as computer vision, image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion and autonomous vehicle controls. “Applying and combining what we learn in courses to hands-on projects takes understanding of those concepts to a whole new level,” says team leader Alex Pletta, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering. “Our team is special because of how we’ve brought together passionate, collaborative students who have superb technical talent and love learning.” Read more .
• Students in the UW–Madison chapter of Engineers Without Borders use their knowledge to help make a major difference in the lives of people in locations across the world. In 2020, they wrapped up projects in the rural community of Zapote, Guatemala, and in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. In Guatemala, more than 100 UW–Madison students and townspeople worked together on a system that brought water from a mountain spring to approximately 130 homes in Zapote, nearly a three-hour hike away. In hurricane-decimated Puerto Rico, the students initiated a project to be a 25-kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel array with more than 90 panels at a children’s shelter in Mayaguez. Read more .

Enjoy this story?

Tags: College of Engineering , outreach , The Wisconsin Idea , UW impact

The King's Careers Blog

We're here to help you, whether you are in the discover, focus or action phase of your career journey., practice your creative problem-solving skills in the world of software engineering.

Interested in experiencing some of what careers in software engineering can get you involved in? Bloomberg has just begun its exciting Summer of Puzzles programme – a gamified experience of getting up-close with your creative problem-solving skills, which is one of the core skillsets of a software engineer.

You are invited to join Bloomberg’s Summer of Puzzles! For the next 9 weeks (starting on 7th August) a new online puzzle will become available every Friday at 12:00 PM ET/ 17:00 UK Time. If you miss a week, don’t worry! Puzzles from previous weeks will remain unlocked for you to solve at any time throughout the duration of the 9 weeks.

The Rules: 

For the first 3 days that a puzzle is available, a hint will be released every 12 hours. All released hints will remain available for the full 9 weeks. Solve the weekly puzzle to earn points and monitor the leaderboard to see if you are one of the top scorers! Your place on the leaderboard will be determined by how quickly you solve each puzzle. If you solve a puzzle after all hints have been released you can still earn the maximum number of points, but your ranking will be below those who completed the puzzle before you. There is no penalty for submitting an incorrect answer and looking at hints does not affect your score.

The first place winner will receive a monitor, keyboard and mouse for the optimal work from home setup! The second and third place winners will receive noise-cancelling headphones.

These puzzles are all created by our very own Bloomberg Software Engineers. Each week we will be highlighting the creator on our official Bloomberg Summer of Puzzles blog so you can learn a little bit more about our employees! This week’s puzzle is A Nutritious Meal created by Taigen O from our Engineering Financial Analytics department. We will also put out a weekly teaser for each puzzle drop. You can visit our blog here: https://www.techatbloomberg.com/blog/get-ready-for-bloombergs-summer-of-puzzles .

You can access all puzzles as they become available here: https://puzl.ink/summer . Happy puzzling!

#BloombergBpuzzled #SummerOfPuzzles

This content was provided by an external organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of King’s College London. We cannot accept responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in this content.

FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Solving Everyday Problems Using the Engineering Design Cycle

Hands-on Activity Solving Everyday Problems Using the Engineering Design Cycle

Grade Level: 7 (6-8)

(two 60-minutes class periods)

Additional materials are required if the optional design/build activity extension is conducted.

Group Size: 4

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Science and Technology

NGSS Performance Expectations:

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, introduction/motivation, vocabulary/definitions, investigating questions, activity extensions, user comments & tips.

This activity introduces students to the steps of the engineering design process. Engineers use the engineering design process when brainstorming solutions to real-life problems; they develop these solutions by testing and redesigning prototypes that work within given constraints. For example, biomedical engineers who design new pacemakers are challenged to create devices that help to control the heart while being small enough to enable patients to move around in their daily lives.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Explain the stages/steps of the engineering design process .
• Identify the engineering design process steps in a case study of a design/build example solution.
• Determine whether a design solution meets the project criteria and constraints.
• Think of daily life situations/problems that could be improved.
• Apply the engineering design process steps to develop their own innovations to real-life problems.
• Apply the engineering design cycle steps to future engineering assignments.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science, international technology and engineering educators association - technology.

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

State Standards

Massachusetts - science.

Each group needs:

• Marisol Case Study , one per student
• Group Leader Discussion Sheet , one per group

To share with the entire class:

• computer/projector setup to show the class the Introduction to the Engineering Design Cycle Presentation , a Microsoft® PowerPoint® file
• paper and pencils
• (optional) an assortment of scrap materials such as fabric, super glue, wood, paper, plastic, etc., provided by the teacher and/or contributed by students, to conduct the hands-on design/build extension activity

(Have the 19-slide Introduction to the Engineering Design Cycle Presentation , a PowerPoint® file, ready to show the class.)

Have you ever experienced a problem and wanted a solution to it? Maybe it was a broken backpack strap, a bookshelf that just kept falling over, or stuff spilling out of your closet? (Let students share some simple problems with the class). With a little bit of creativity and a good understanding of the engineering design process, you can find the solutions to many of these problems yourself!

But what is the engineering design process? (Listen to some student ideas shared with the class.) The engineering design process, or cycle, is a series of steps used by engineers to guide them as they solve problems.

(Show students the slide presentation. Refer to the notes under each slide for a suggested script and comments. The slides introduce the main steps of the engineering design process, and walk through a classroom problem—a teacher’s disorganized desk that is preventing timely return of graded papers—and how students devise a solution. It also describes the work of famous people—Katherine Johnson, Lee Anne Walters, Marc Edwards, James E. West and Jorge Odón—to illustrate successful examples of using the steps of the engineering design process.)

Now that we’ve explore the engineering design process, let’s see if we can solve a real-world problem. Marisol is a high-school student who is very excited to have their own locker. They have lots of books, assignments, papers and other items that they keep in their locker. However, Marisol is not very organized. Sometimes they are late to class because they need extra time to find things that were stuffed into their locker. What is Marisol’s problem? (Answer: Their locker is disorganized.) In your groups, you’ll read through Marisol’s situation and see how they use the engineering design process to solve it. Let’s get started!

This activity is intended as an introduction to the engineering design cycle. It is meant to be relatable to students and serve as a jumping off point for future engineering design work.

Engineers follow the steps of the engineering design process to guide them as they solve problems. The steps shown in Figure 1 are:

Ask: identify the need & constraints

• Identify and define the problem. Who does the problem affect? What needs to be accomplished? What is the overall goal of the project?
• Identify the criteria and constraints. The criteria are the requirements the solution must meet, such as designing a bag to hold at least 10 lbs. Constraints are the limitations and restrictions on a solution, such as a maximum budget or specific dimensions.

Research the problem

• Learn everything you can about the problem. Talk to experts and/or research what products or solutions already exist.
• If working for a client, such as designing new filters for a drinking water treatment plant, talk with the client to determine the needs and wants.

Imagine: develop possible solutions

• Brainstorm ideas and come up with as many solutions as possible. Wild and crazy ideas are welcome! Encourage teamwork and building on ideas.

Plan: select a promising solution

• Consider the pros and cons of all possible solutions, keeping in mind the criteria and constraints.
• Choose one solution and make a plan to move forward with it.

Create: build a prototype

• Create your chosen solution! Push for creativity, imagination and excellence in the design.

Test and evaluate prototype

• Test out the solution to see how well it works. Does it meet all the criteria and solve the need? Does it stay within the constraints? Talk about what worked during testing and what didn’t work. Communicate the results and get feedback. What could be improved?

Improve: redesign as needed

• Optimize the solution. Redesign parts that didn’t work, and test again.
• Iterate! Engineers improve their ideas and designs many times as they work towards a solution.

Some depictions of the engineering design process delineate a separate step—communication. In the Figure 1 graphic, communication is considered to be incorporated throughout the process. For this activity, we call out a final step— communicate the solution —as a concluding stage to explain to others how the solution was designed, why it is useful, and how they might benefit from it. See the diagram on slide 3.

For another introductory overview of engineering and design, see the What Is Engineering? What Is Design? lesson and/or show students the What Is Engineering? video. 

Before the Activity

• Make copies of the five-page Marisol Case Study , one per student, and the Group Leader Discussion Sheet , one per group.
• Be ready to show the class the Introduction to the Engineering Design Cycle Presentation , a PowerPoint® file.

With the Students

• As a pre-activity assessment, spend a few minutes asking students the questions provided in the Assessment section.
• Present the Introduction/Motivation content to the class, which includes using the slide presentation to introduce students to the engineering design cycle. Throughout, ask for their feedback, for example, any criteria or constraints that they would add, other design ideas or modifications, and so forth.
• Divide the class into groups of four. Ask each team to elect a group leader. Hand out the case study packets to each student. Provide each group leader with a discussion sheet.
• In their groups, have students work through the case study together.
• Alert students to the case study layout with its clearly labeled “stop” points, and direct them to just read section by section, not reading beyond those points.
• Suggest that students either taking turns reading each section aloud or read each section silently.
• Once all students in a group have read a section, the group leader refers to the discussion sheet and asks its questions of the group, facilitating a discussion that involves every student.
• Encourage students to annotate the case study as they like; for example, they might note in the margins Marisol’s stage in the design process at various points.
• As students work in their groups, walk around the classroom and encourage group discussion. Ensure that each group member contributes to the discussion and that group members are focused on the same section (no reading ahead).
• After all teams have finished the case study and its discussion questions, facilitate a class discussion about how Marisol used the engineering design cycle. This might include referring back to questions 4 and 5 in “Stop 5” to discuss remaining questions about the case study and relate the case study example back to the community problems students suggested in the pre-activity assessment.
• Administer the post-activity assessment.

brainstorming: A team creativity activity with the purpose to generate a large number of potential solutions to a design challenge.

constraint: A limitation or restriction. For engineers, design constraints are the requirements and limitations that the final design solutions must meet. Constraints are part of identifying and defining a problem, the first stage of the engineering design cycle.

criteria: For engineers, the specifications and requirements design solutions must meet. Criteria are part of identifying and defining a problem, the first stage of the engineering design cycle.

develop : In the engineering design cycle, to create different solutions to an engineering problem.

engineering: Creating new things for the benefit of humanity and our world. Designing and building products, structures, machines and systems that solve problems. The “E” in STEM.

engineering design process: A series of steps used by engineering teams to guide them as they develop new solutions, products or systems. The process is cyclical and iterative. Also called the engineering design cycle.

evaluate: To assess something (such as a design solution) and form an idea about its merit or value (such as whether it meets project criteria and constraints).

optimize: To make the solution better after testing. Part of the engineering design cycle.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Intro Discussion: To gauge how much students already know about the activity topic and start students thinking about potential design problems in their everyday lives, facilitate a brief class discussion by asking students the following questions:

• What do engineers do? (Example possible answers: Engineers design things that help people, they design/build/create new things, they work on computers, they solve problems, they create things that have never existed before, etc.)
• What are some problems in your home, school or community that could be solved through engineering? (Example possible answers: It is too dark in a community field/park at night, it is hard to carry shopping bags in grocery store carts, the dishwasher does not clean the dishes well, we spend too much time trying to find shoes—or other items—in the house/garage/classroom, etc.)
• How do engineers solve problems? (Example possible answers: They build new things, design new things, etc. If not mentioned, introduce students to the idea of the engineering design cycle. Liken this to how research scientists are guided by the steps of the scientific method.)

Activity Embedded Assessment

Small Group Discussions: As students work, observe their group discussions. Make sure the group leaders go through all the questions for each section, and that each group member contributes to the discussions.

Post-Activity Assessment

Marisol’s Design Process: Provide students with writing paper and have them write “Marisol’s Design Process” at the top. Direct them to clearly write out the steps that Marisol went through as they designed and completed their locker organizer design and label them according to where they fit in the engineering design cycle. For example, “Marisol had to jump back to avoid objects falling out of their locker” and they stated a desire to “wanted to find a way to organize their locker” both illustrate the “identifying the problem” step.

• Which part of the engineering design cycle is Marisol working on as they design an organizer?
• Why is it important to identify the criteria and constraints of a project before building and testing a prototype? (Example possible answers: So that the prototype will be the right size, so that you do not go over budget, so that it will solve the problem, etc.)
• Why do engineers improve and optimize their designs? (Example possible answers: To make it work better, to fix unexpected problems that come up during testing, etc.)

To make this a more hands-on activity, have students design and build their own locker organizers (or other solutions to real-life problems they identified) in tandem with the above-described activity, incorporating the following changes/additions to the process:

• Before the activity: Inform students that they will be undertaking an engineering design challenge. Without handing out the case study packet, introduce students to Marisol’s problem: a disorganized locker. Ask students to bring materials from home that they think could help solve this problem. Then, gather assorted materials (wood and fabric scraps, craft materials, tape, glue, etc.) to provide for this challenge, giving each material a cost (for example, wood pieces cost 50¢, fabric costs 25¢, etc.) and write these on the board or on paper to hand out to the class. 
• Present the Introduction/Motivation content and slides to introduce students to the engineering design process (as described above). Then have students go through the steps of the engineering design process to create a locker organizer for Marisol. Inform them Marisol has only $3 to spend on an organizer, so they must work within this budget constraint. As a size constraint, tell students the locker is 32 inches tall, 12 inches wide and 9.5 inches deep. (Alternatively, have students measure their own lockers and determine the size themselves.) 
• As students work, ask them some reflection questions such as, “Which step of the engineering design process are you working on?” and “Why have you chosen that solution?”
• Let groups present their organizers to the class and explain the logic behind their designs.
• Next, distribute the case study packet and discussion sheets to the student groups. As the teams read through the packet, encourage them to discuss the differences between their design solutions and Marisol’s. Mention that in engineering design there is no one right answer; rather, many possible solutions may exist. Multiple designs may be successful in imagining and fabricating a solution that meets the project criteria and constraints.

Engineering Design Process . 2014. TeachEngineering, Web. Accessed June 20, 2017. https://www.teachengineering.org/k12engineering/designprocess

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER award grant no. DRL 1552567 (Amy Wilson-Lopez) titled, Examining Factors that Foster Low-Income Latino Middle School Students' Engineering Design Thinking in Literacy-Infused Technology and Engineering Classrooms. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Last modified: October 23, 2020

Jump to navigation

• Undergraduate Admissions
• Transfer Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Honors and Scholars Admissions
• International Admissions
• Law Admissions
• Office of Financial Aid
• Orientation
• Pre-College Programs
• Scholarships
• Tuition & Fees
• Academic Calendar
• Academic Colleges
• Degree Programs
• Online Learning
• Class Schedule
• Workforce Development
• Sponsored Programs and Research Services
• Technology Transfer
• Faculty Expertise Database
• Research Centers
• College of Graduate Studies
• Institutional Research and Analysis
• At a Glance
• Free Speech on Campus
• Policies and Procedures
• Messages & Updates
• Social Media
• In the News
• Board of Trustees
• Senior Leadership Team
• Services Near CSU

Cleveland State University

Engaged learning.

Search this site

Students solve real-world engineering problems at senior design symposium 2017.

Posted on May 17, 2017 at 4:49 PM, updated May 19, 2017 at 2:42 PM Print

The Was hkewi cz College of Engineering hosted its Third Annual Senior Design Symposium & Awards Dinner on Friday, May 5, 2017 in the Student Center Ba llroom. This event culminated the College’s Senior Design Capstone Course, a year-long course where senior engineering students worked in teams to develop solutions to a wide variety of engineering problems.

Many teams received real-world engineering problems, financial support, and mentoring thanks to our industry sponsors. A full list of 2016-2017 sponsors can be found at Senior Design Capstone.

Dean Karlsson and th e Washkewicz College of Engineering was able to award over $10,000 in prizes to the “Best Engineering Projects” thanks to our gracious donors.

The event kicked off with a poster session detailing solutions developed by over 70 Senior Design teams. A total of 17 projects were nominated as finalists by their respective engineering departments, with only four being recognized as “Best Engineering Projects”.

Wiinning Teams

First Place $5,00 0

Project Title: Cam Compressor Team Members:  Christopher Abraham, Kevin Calmer, Robert Miller, Philip Sesco & Timothy Watkins Faculty Advisor:  Dr. Majid Rashidi Sponsor: Entrepreneurial Senior D esign

Second Place $3,000

Third Place $2,000

Proj ect Title:  Barkless Friendl y Dog Collar Team Members:  Sami Alahmed Faculty Advisor:  Dr. Toufik Aid ja

Honorable Mention $500

Project Title:  Fluid Powered Walking Device Team Members:  Ryan Doris, Donald Grimes, Daniel Miller, Robert Moody Faculty Advisor:  Dr. Ton Van  den Boge rt Sponsor:  Entrepreneurial Senior Design

Keynote Speaker

Joe Kovach, President & Chie f Executive Officer of KoMotion Technologies offered words of encouragement and advice for graduating engineering students during his keynote address. Kovach offered the following advice to students pending graduation:

-Understand the prerequisites for Innovation: Structure, Reso urces, Process and Culture

-Always operate with a sense of urgency

-Never Stop Innovating

Photo Credit: Cyndi Konopka For details about this program please visit:  Senior Design .

©2023 Cleveland State University | 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-2214 | (216) 687-2000. Cleveland State University is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Affirmative Action | Diversity | Employment  | Tobacco Free  | Non-Discrimination Statement  | Web Privacy Statement  | Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission