Supporting Design Throughout
All Undergrad Years
The Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program is one big reason recruiters are looking to hire the college’s students and graduates. They are well prepared to meet the world’s engineering challenges.
From introductory course activities to senior projects, the four-year program ties design to all levels of the undergraduate curriculum. It immerses students in hands-on design, community projects and business instruction, major-specific design courses, and capstone and entrepreneurship projects.
All undergraduates complete design projects that parallel real life – starting with, for example, portable solar ovens and water purifiers in their first year and culminating with design projects such as date palm pollinating drones and emergency beacon systems in their final year. All seniors take a design course, including many in the industry-supported, yearlong Interdisciplinary Capstone ENGR 498. Senior design courses culminate in a spectacular display of industry and faculty-sponsored projects at the Craig M. Berge Design Day.
“The college is preparing students to solve some of the world’s greatest engineering challenges – sustainable energy, cybersecurity, improved health care, and access to food and clean water, for example. The Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program integrates design into all four years of the undergraduate curriculum, providing real-world experiences to help ensure their success.”
— David Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean, College of Engineering
Far-Reaching Benefits of Projects
Well-Prepared Students
Industry Connections
Life-Changing Products
To request a transcript or a captioned version of this audio material as a disability-related accommodation, please contact communications@engr.arizona.edu.
Success Stories: Opening Doors and Changing Lives
Interdisciplinary capstone projects are the final academic outcome of the Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program. For senior design teams, supervised and mentored by engineering professionals, it’s a chance to experience the work world and make job connections. For industry partners, the projects create opportunities to get to know and work with talented students.
Finishing Strong with Grasshopper Harvester
When Wildcat athlete Hannah Whetzel isn’t running, she’s interning at Raytheon, in the lab studying mechanical engineering, or, for her 2019 capstone project, designing a grasshopper harvester to rid crops of pests. “It is really cool to see how engineering applies to real life.”
Moving Ahead on Robotic Weeding
Mark Siemens, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, has tasked a 2019 design team with building a robotic weeding machine for lettuce crops. “I haven’t been able to crack the puzzle, so part of my motivation was to get some fresh thoughts.”
Digging Deep for Caterpillar
A 2018 design team, sponsored by Caterpillar, designed and built a small-scale prototype for a surface mining machine to replace electric rope shovels and hydraulic rope shovels. “This experience will help me get a job and perform it well,” said team member Dylan Guenther.
Going on the Offense for Defense
Matthias Whitney is a principal electro-optics engineer at Elbit, a defense electronics company. The 2019 senior design project sponsor says he’s finding what he needs at the UA. “If we wish to remain competitive, we need to continually be attracting new talent.”
Rethinking Ankle Replacement
“This could open doorways to rethink the way we do orthopedic surgery,” said Daniel Medrano. His 2018 design team designed a system that uses a non-invasive laser beam shining from ankle to hip to accurately align the two body parts during ankle replacement surgery.
Scoping Out Honeywell Talent
Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace has been supporting projects and scoping out talent in the UA’s Engineering Design Program for more than a decade. “Some really good engineers come out of the program,” said company engineer Alex Mirzamoghadam.
Empowering Electricity Customers
“People can determine what they can do to save money without changing their energy use,” said Dylan Carlson, whose 2018 design team, sponsored by TEP, created a device to measure power usage, calculate cost, and display the information.
Making a Lifesaver Even Better
Hydronalix sponsored teams to refine EMILY, a robotic rescue buoy. One project was a canister to automate deployment, the other a sonar addition for underwater search and rescue. “They’ll become excellent engineers,” said CEO Tony Mulligan of UA students.
Pollinating Date Palms via Drone
Students created a more efficient, semi-autonomous pollination drone for date palms at the Gowan Company in Yuma, Arizona. They won the top 2017 Design Day prize. A UA entrepreneurial program is carrying on the project, and a patent is on the horizon.
Anticipating Patent for Medical Sensor
Xeridiem sponsored development of a sensor to reduce medical errors in nasogastric feeding tube placement. “We could not be more delighted with the outcome,” said Paul Melnychuck, senior director of business development, marketing and innovation.
Helping a Classmate Walk Again
Within two weeks of using a student-designed exoskeleton, an accounting undergrad could stand up and maintain his balance after years in a wheelchair. Hermelinda Bristol is pursuing a patent for the device with the hopes it will help more people like her son.
Working on Pocket-Size Defibrillator
“We want to make the first small, affordable and personal defibrillator that people can put in their pockets and easily carry with them,” said cardiologist Dr. Carter Newton, founder of CardioSpark, which sponsored a team to create the prototype.Craig M. Berge Design Day: Where It All Comes Together
Seniors graduating in 2020 are participating in a virtual Design Day with remote judging. Watch their outstanding video presentations, and see how they overcame COVID-19 limitations to meet their objectives.
Interdisciplinary teams of four to six seniors amaze the crowds in late April or early May with the results of their yearlong, sponsored interdisciplinary capstone projects. Design Day often leads to cash prizes, patents and commercialized products, and job offers.
Read about how one 2020 senior design team pivoted to 3D face shields for health care workers.
Read the digital version of the 2020 Design Day Booklet.
Sponsor an Interdisciplinary Capstone Project!
Talented and motivated engineering seniors spend the academic year working on your prototypes, to your specifications, and with the results becoming your intellectual property.
- Explore new technologies
- Move products and ideas to market
- Test-drive future employees
- Boost your company’s profile
Many industry partners also mentor senior design teams, serve as judges, and award prizes on Design Day.
For more information, visit the Interdisciplinary Capstone website, email Ara Arabyan, or call 520.621.3364.
From Awe-Inspiring Creations to Dream Jobs
Laura
Barajas
MSE Senior
“It definitely helped us prepare for the workforce. The whole process of senior design is like a little mirror of industry.”
Laura Barajas, 2018 materials science and engineering senior
Cliff Andressen
prize sponsor
“They’re teaching them to think, not just to turn the crank. I was just awed by the quality of work UA students are doing.”
Cliff Andressen, Design Above and Beyond prize sponsor
Sharon
ONeal
Professor
“They are not afraid to take on and develop complex design solutions and diligently work through the many challenges.”
Sharon ONeal, program mentor & first female senior fellow at Raytheon Missile Systems
Scott Rowland
industry mentor
“It really speaks well of the market and the program here that all these students are finding jobs.”
Scott Rowland, industry mentor & Northrop Grumman mechanical engineering manager