E E 403W will give electrical engineering students a "real-world simulation" of a total design experience. Students will address design challenges in one of several ways:
a. Projects submitted by corporate sponsors which emphasize teaming and interaction with a customer and with professional engineers in a pseudo-professional engineering environment. Some of these projects require multi-disciplinary teams.
b. Projects in “Special Focus” sections in which all of the projects will loosely deal with a particular electrical engineering topic . Examples of Special Focus topics include: Microwave engineering, RF engineering, Acoustics and Microcontrollers. Small-team projects or class-wide projects will be offered at the discretion of the instructor.
c. “Projects with Faculty” are arranged on the initiative of individual students or student teams, who solicit a mentoring relationship with faculty in an area of shared interest. Projects with faculty may include research projects, projects associated with internship experiences, and projects associated with student organization competitions or activities.
In addition to the completion of a capstone project, E E 403W includes an emphasis on technical communication and professional behavior. Students will develop their skills at conveying technical information through technical writing, oral presentation and graphics (such as a project poster or web page). Students will be expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner during project-related interactions with fellow students, faculty, and practicing engineers.
Student work is evaluated on the technical merit of the completed project and the degree to which constraints and priorities (as expressed in the engineering requirements) are acknowledged throughout the design process.