Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Introduction: In effort to provide materials science and engineering graduates with a practical and realistic senior design experience, the department has developed a program by which senior students work closely with industry on real materials problems.

The objective of this design course is not only to learn and practice the methods of engineering design, but also to carry through with synthesis, testing and evaluation. This experience often provides students with their first opportunity to work with engineers in industry.

This also provides a valuable industrial link for the curriculum planners in the department. Engineers and managers in industry have the opportunity to contribute directly to the formal education of engineers and give suggestions about the content of design courses.

Organization: These students work under the guidance of a professor in teams ranging from 2 to 4 depending on the extent of the project. Projects are typically planned in the fall semester, and begin in the spring semester.

If practical, students visit the company involved. Three lab-hours per week are scheduled, though there is frequently a significant out of class effort. All students meet on a regular basis to give progress reports on their projects. A midterm and final report and presentation is submitted both to the company and to the professor.

Resources: Most companies provide the required materials for testing and evaluation, and actually prefer that students use the actual production materials or products. Frequently industry engineers act as “consultants” on the project and discuss problems and progress with students.

Supplemental Topics: Students meet once a week for “supplemental design topics” in which the students discuss such topics as ethics, environmental concerns, standards of testing and measurement, safety, government regulations, and total quality management.

Some features of the successful industry-related projects include:

1. A clear statement from the company about the objectives of the design project
2. An indication of how this project is important to the company
3. A contact person at the company who is committed to continuing involvement with the design team
4. Nominal financial support ($ 5000) for the necessary expenses of the project

Some examples of past senior design project presentations:

1. Thermal Shock Characterization of a Ceramic Matrix Composite (Siemens-Westinghouse)
2. Evaluating the Reusability of 3500 Caterpillar Engine Front Trunnion Mounts (Caterpillar)