What is the Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Design experience?
The Senior Capstone Design experience aims to bridge the gap between classroom and industry by requiring students to use their knowledge and skills to complete an engineering design project equivalent to the assignments they will soon receive as aspiring professional engineers.
Projects are completed in groups, making it necessary for students to develop the skills needed to succeed in diverse industry design teams. Employers value graduates with capstone design experience because these students have gained broad experience by applying their extensive knowledge base to solve complex engineering problems as a team.
Seniors also make significant professional contacts through design projects with industry participants, guest lecturers and the annual Engineering Project Showcase.
Why are Senior Capstone Design Courses Important?
Courses use industry-based team projects and professional interaction to equip future engineers with important design, communication and presentation experience, and are the culmination of the Texas A&M engineering experience, as seniors apply their four years of classroom knowledge to solve realistic engineering problems.
The courses prepare our engineering students to use advanced technology to analyze and design engineering elements and systems according to industry standards.
Senior Capstone Design "Nuts and Bolts"
The Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Design Project Program is a two semester course sequence in which students will learn, synthesize and develop the skills of engineering practice with a lecture and studio/laboratory in each course. In the lecture portion, students learn the design process and the tools that encourage successful innovation. In the studio, the students apply what they have learned over the last several years to a real design project. Student teams are generally four to eight students, some of whom hail from other engineering disciplines, working in concert with the sponsor and a professor who coaches the team.
The projects can include exploratory studies, conceptualization, analysis and simulation, prototyping, and validation of the design solutions. Projects can be products, parts or systems. Typical results include several written reports that document the design exploration, design refinement and analysis, and prototyping process. Results also include presentations given to the sponsor and prototypes.
We are always looking for new project sponsors. Please see the sponsor page for more information about project sponsorship.
For more information contact meen-capstone@tamu.edu
For information about the Engineering Project Showcase, contact EASA.
