SU's Capstone Design Program

Welcome to SU's Capstone Design Program! The Capstone Design Program is an innovative two-semester design course titles ME SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT I & II. This design course is taught in a way that makes the experience a model of what happens in the real word. One of the great strength of SU's ME curriculum is the emphasis on fundamentals and how they apply to real-world problems. The ultimate goal of this design course is to bring together seniors in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering business, and industrial design. The Capstone Design Program combines educational elements to produce a unique class environment. These elements include the use of industrially sponsored design and build projects, a structured design approach, the integration of product and manufacturing process design, multi-disciplinary student design teams, and emphasis on engineering and people skills. Students assignments are "deliverables," much the same as would be found in industry. They include: a project schedule, functional specification, concept generation and evaluation, layout design, experimental plan and report, part and process definition, working prototype, production sample, and final documentation. Project deliverables are presented orally to industry representative, faculty members, and senior students.

Purpose of the Capstone Design Program

The purpose of the Capstone Design Program is threefold: first, to prepare students with a design methodology to be able to successfully do design and manufacturing projects in a cross-functional team setting. Second, to prepare students for the practice of engineering using an interdisciplinary approach working under the direction of a faculty coach. Third, to assist the faculty in enhancing the relevancy of all of their teaching by involving them in working with students on real-life, industrially sponsored projects.

History of the Capstone Design Program

A survey of industrial companies that hire new engineering graduates was made in 1990. The results of this survey pointed out perceptions of weaknesses in newly graduated engineers. Perceived Weaknesses of Engineering Graduates:

• Technical Arrogance
• No Understanding of Manufacturing Process
• A Desire for Complicated and "High-Tech" Solutions
• Lack of Design Capability and/or Creativity
• Lack of Appreciation for Variation
• All Want to be Analysts
• Poor Perception of Engineering Process
• Narrow View of Engineering Disciplines
• Don't Want to Get Hands Dirty
• Consider Manufacturing Work as Boring
• No Understanding of the Quality Process
• Poor Communication Skills
• Taught to Work Primarily as Individuals

To address these weaknesses and fulfill ABET requirements for design contents, the ME Senior Design I & II was developed by Dr. Habib Mohamadian. The capstone design projects were sought from industry. The Boeing Company provided one project in the fall of 1993 and the whole of 24 students forming eight teams worked on the project. In the fall 1997, the course started with 10 projects, 2 faculty coaches, 5 industry technical monitors, and 8 faculty advisors.

An Invitation

The Mechanical Engineering at Southern University has embarked on an exciting education program, changing the way students learn, work, and think. The motive is to develop a generation of engineers who know how to work in teams, who recognize that design and manufacturing must be integrated, and who have relevant skills to solve problems and to succeed in engineering practice. You are cordially invited to join the program as a student or a Capstone Design Program sponsor and become a partner in this important educational revolution.

For additional information, please contact
Professor Habib Mohamadian
Dean of the College of Engineering
Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA 70813
Phone: (225) 771-5290
OR
Professor Samuel Ibekwe,
Chairman of the ME Department,
Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA 70813
Phone: (225) 771-4701

Sponsors

Wichita, Kansas