Engineering by Design

Since its inception in 1986 by Professor William Sharpe, Jr., Senior Design has been the pinnacle of the Johns Hopkins University Mechanical Engineering student’s academic career. The course, which requires collaboration between the students and industry partners, provides students the opportunity to get some real-world experience while remaining in the academic setting.

Design-Day-1The program itself has grown substantially under the leadership of Dr. Nathan Scott, who inherited it from Professor Andy Conn in 2011.

“Engineering combines theory and practice in a unique way, but since the 1950s the emphasis at university has been on the theory side,” states Scott. “Senior Design tries to be a little bit like an apprenticeship – allowing students to learn and grow by doing things themselves instead of hearing about them from someone else.”

Senior Design begins well before students set foot on campus to begin their final year. Before the prior academic year ends, Scott and his colleague Soraya Bailey begin to seek sponsors for the next year. They visit current and prospective sponsors during the summer months to determine which projects and partners will be a fit for the upcoming year. Projects need to be small, of ‘non-critical’ status, and have a ‘cool’ factor. Sponsors need to be highly collaborative and supportive of the endeavor – since students will likely have a lot of questions, it’s very important to have a sponsor who can take the time to teach and mentor the students throughout the entire process. (To see a full listing of projects for the Class of 2015, click here.)

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Douglas Trotta of Baltimore Aircoil Company has this to say about sponsoring Senior Design:

We sponsor Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Projects at Johns Hopkins University for the following reasons: first, to make progress on targeted Engineering activities, projects or programs utilizing a fresh technical approach and ideas contributed by the students as they apply Engineering principles without the burden of paradigm paralysis; second, to foster continuing collaboration between our business and academia by exposing Engineering students and staff to technical challenges in a business environment so they can better prepare for their careers; and third, to identify potential candidates for open Engineering positions.

As seniors select their project and teammates, the real work begins. Nearly all the projects lead to a substantial, demonstrable prototype, and for many students this is a first. All teams present their work to family, friends, Mechanical Engineering faculty members, and, most importantly, their clients on Senior Design Day, which is held annually at the end of the academic year in May.Design-Day-2

For many, Senior Design isn’t just another course – it’s a springboard to their careers. Each year, approximately two Mechanical Engineering alumni get involved with Senior Design from the client side and in the past three years, two patents are currently pending for work produced from the course.

My senior design project was the thing on my resume that potential employers most wanted to talk about during interviews. It showed that, beyond having completed the usual survey of mechanical engineering coursework, I had been able to successfully apply my knowledge on a project that had a real budget and a real client. It allows employers to put more trust in you on day one because they know you aren’t starting off from square one. – Matthew Parman ’13.

If you are interested in attending Senior Design Day or are interested in being a sponsor for an upcoming project, please contact Dr. Nathan Scott at nscott@jhu.edu.

All photos courtesy of Homewood Photography.