Winds of Change

Monday, September 16, 2019

First Senior Design Expo including all CEAT schools propels ENDEAVOR toward a successful interdisciplinary future

The key mission behind the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s ENDEAVOR lab is to unite the various elements of the college in interdisciplinary projects.

The Senior Design Expo brought that mission to life in April.

“The Senior Design Expo was the vision of Dr. Jeffrey Young and Dr. Dan Fisher to showcase the work of our students,” CEAT Dean Paul Tikalsky said.

Previously, CEAT’s senior design showcases were hosted by individual academic units with little interaction between them, said Young, department head for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“Oftentimes, the showcases were not well advertised,” he said. “In short, the larger community outside of the unit did not know much about what our students were capable of doing. That insular operation also left interdisciplinary projects as a side thought,” Young said.

“ENDEAVOR gave us the opportunity to create the expo and to invest significantly in interdisciplinary senior design,” he said.

The trial run for a full interdisciplinary exhibition came in the form of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering joining forces to host a 19-project senior design expo in the center in fall 2018.

“We started modestly in the fall 2018 semester with just ECE and MAE participating,” Young said. “One semester later, we had buy-in from all CEAT units.”

The spring of 2019 brought together all six schools of engineering, the School of Architecture and the Division of Engineering echnology to showcase their seniors’ capstone projects. More than 85 projects, many interdisciplinary in nature, were featured throughout expo day in ENDEAVOR, the 72,000-square-foot hallmark of CEAT.

Planning

Any large-scale event of this nature takes preparation, and many of the senior design projects were actually completely assembled in the facility.

“ENDEAVOR’s continuous challenge is to provide the resources and assistance for each department to follow the best path forward,” said Dr. Brad Rowland, the center’s manager of operations. “The ENDEAVOR team provides fantastic support. Our student employees really stepped up to support the design teams’ use of our makerspaces and laboratories that were supporting expo design efforts as early as February 2019.”

The ENDEAVOR Heat Exchanger Stand senior design team was an example of a project that was completely assembled in the building.

“It was fantastic being able to build our project in ENDEAVOR,” said team member Caleb Austin, a mechanical and aerospace engineering senior. “We didn’t have to outsource to a different area to build our project. All of the tools and the workspace were  available to build our project from the ground up without having to use multiple areas.

“We got to utilize lab equipment that we didn’t formerly have access to. ENDEAVOR is a major upgrade from what undergrads had to work with and is a leading edge in senior design.”

Still, some projects were built elsewhere on campus.

“The units of CEAT look at design support resources that are needed for each project,” Rowland said. “Based on the support required to complete the project determines where those projects will be built. Most instrumentation, additive manufacturing and assembly are done in ENDEAVOR.”Counting Down

Counting Down

As students began the final assembly of their projects days ahead of the event, it would be the first time that some would see  completed senior design projects from units outside their own.

“For the first time ever, as far as I know, individual unit silos are being torn down by bringing all CEAT units under one roof to celebrate CEAT-wide senior design activities,” Young said.

From Austin’s perspective the expo is like a grown-up science fair.

“The Senior Design Expo has created a platform where someone with no initial interest in our college can come see something cool and walk through the door to find out more.” Austin said. “It creates a platform where someone with no initial interest in our college can
see something cool and walk through the door to find out more. It creates interest in what the college is providing for its students.”

The expo drew a varied audience, with family and friends as well as interested campus and community members attending.

The students enjoyed the benefits of a senior design expo that brought the units together, as well as offered opportunities for them to work with others from across the college.

“Being on an interdisciplinary team has been such a positive experience,” said Carson Dickerson, a member of the Wind Turbine, Sculpture and Light Show interdisciplinary senior design team and an electrical and computer engineering senior. “I got to see the
strengths of mechanical engineering majors mixed with the strengths of electrical engineering majors, and I got to see the benefits of those two groups working together.”

Real-World Taste

Working on interdisciplinary projects represents an elevation in education that is closer to the challenges that students will face after graduation, Tikalsky said.

“Working on an interdisciplinary project has given me such a real-world experience,” Dickerson agreed. “Throughout our project we experienced setbacks, dead dates and we worked with individuals outside of the school.”

Caleb Austin’s team did not include students outside the mechanicaland aerospace engineering program, but he still found the value in an interdisciplinary expo.

“Every project in every industry will be interdisciplinary,” he said. “You are not going to be working with just mechanical engineers. This expo allows us to share knowledge with other units.”

The expo will continue to be a work in progress, Young said, adding he expects it to expand and innovate on previous successes. However, the expo has already proven its value.

“It brings together graduates, prospective employers, prospective students, parents, members of the press, OSU leadership, Regents, public servants, alumni, advisory board members and friends under one roof to see what our amazing students are able to do. It will become a CEAT signature event that shines a spotlight on who we are and what we do,” Young said.

Dean Tikalsky reflected on whether ENDEAVOR was accomplishing its mission of becoming an interdisciplinary design space for
undergraduate students.

“ENDEAVOR has taken its first steps toward its goal.”