ME463 Capstone Engineering Design (Senior Design)

ME463 is the senior-level capstone design course of the ME curriculum. Students work in teams to engineer practical solutions to problems. Starting from a problem statement, the students investigate the reasons for the problem, and what others have done to solve it. They create and analyze new and better solutions to the problem (from concept level to detailed level). They build and test a prototype of their solution. Student groups are formed under the leadership of a primary instructor, who is responsible for oversight of the group work, and assigning grades. Some groups seek technical advice from other advisors, such as other faculty members, professional staff members, or experts outside of the campus community. Some groups also have outside sponsors that may be from industry or from within the campus community. This guided experience brings closure to the undergraduate ME curriculum by integrating previous course competencies with team and communication skills in this problem-solving course.

The final culmination of ME463 is the Malott Innovation Awards, where student teams present their final projects to a panel of industry judges, Shark Tank-style. Awards are given out for engineering excellence, manufacturing, research, and overall innovation.

Propose a Project Idea

Have an idea for your capstone design project? No need to wait until you've enrolled in ME463; you can propose it in advance here:

• I have an industry connection with a capstone project to propose
• I have a research connection with a capstone project to propose
• I have a student organization with a capstone project to propose

Previous Projects

• Fall 2023: hydroponic farming, spacecraft fairings, and roofing nails
• Spring 2023: helping people with neuropathy learn to walk again
• Fall 2022: using a "vision glove" to assist people with low vision
• Spring 2022: making graphene manufacturing easier
• Fall 2021: helping India's sanitation workers
• Spring 2021: knee braces, pre-cooling radiator for an AC system, robot calligraphy
• Fall 2020: performing arts wheelchair
• Spring 2020: accessible fridge, laparoscopy tool, origami sleep pillow
• Fall 2019: sanitizing makeup brushes
• Spring 2019: solenoid-powered hybrid engine
• Fall 2018: walker for stairs, kitchen cabinets with stepstools, and a truck hitch for platooning tractor-trailers

About the Malott Innovation Awards

The Malott Innovation Awards are supported by an endowment created in 2007 by Thomas J. Malott (BSME '62, HDR '02), to foster an innovation culture among Purdue Mechanical Engineering students.  Malott is the former president, CEO and director of Siemens Energy and Automation.  His career included executive positions with Parker-Hannifin and the Ransburg Corp., as well as serving on several corporate boards.  He was an inaugural member of the Purdue Foundation Development Council and was awarded the Outstanding Mechanical Engineer and Distinguished Engineering Alumnus awards in 1991 from the university.

Questions?

Contact me:

Beth Hess
Associate Head for Experiential Learning and Director of Senior Design
bethhess@purdue.edu