ECE students show inventions at Senior Design Day

The College of Engineering is hosting Senior Design Project Day on Friday, April 19, where students in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) show off electronic devices they have invented. One speeds up the location of avalanche victims, another teaches how to play the guitar and a third helps sports trainers diagnose concussions. There is also an automated system for parking payments using wireless technology.

 

Thirteen teams of four students will unveil their inventions at the Gunness Engineering Student Center in Marcus Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a second day of demonstrations on Saturday, April 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Gunness Center.

 

This event is the capstone of the ECE education. “The Senior Design Project is not only the culminating project in the ECE curriculum, it is also where students broaden their skill base by making presentations, working in teams, and staying within their budgets,” says T. Baird Soules, the department’s undergraduate program director.

 

For the senior design project, students work in teams of four during a year-long course to design and build systems of their own conception. Each team is advised by a faculty member and projects undergo several formal reviews. The learning goals for the senior design project include technical design, an understanding of realistic constraints, ethics, and much more.

 

“The design project is as close as we can get to duplicating what these students will be doing in their professional lives,” says Christopher Hollot, head of ECE..