Capstone Engineering Design Projects
Juniors and seniors in each engineering major at Lehigh can do original engineering design projects, often in partnership with industry clients. Projects usually entail close supervision by a faculty advisor and include background research, design concept generation, computer and mathematical modeling, the creation of virtual and physical prototypes, and formal oral and written presentations. Several hundred students take part each year in a project.
IPD: Integrated Product Development Program
The pioneering Integrated Product Development (IPD) Program is to our knowledge the only undergraduate curriculum in the nation to fully integrate the three fundamental pillars of successful product design and commercialization: design arts, engineering and business. Recently a national winner of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Curriculum Innovation Award, IPD stresses a hands-on approach to prototype and product development. Teams of engineering, business and design arts students produce technical and business feasibility studies, design mock-ups, working prototypes and business plans for real industrial clients. IPD emphasizes a solid grasp of engineering science, industrial design and business fundamentals, good communication skills, a superior understanding of the design and manufacturing process and thorough appreciation of the value of multi-disciplinary teamwork. IPD has been featured in U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges Guide, in the New York Times and on national television. IPD student teams have been invited in each of the last four years to display their inventions at the "March Madness for the Mind" event held annually at the Smithsonian Institute. Roughly 120 juniors and seniors take part each year in 20 to 25 teams.
Materials Science and Engineering Research and Industrial Options
Today, materials science and engineering is critical to all other fields of engineering, as advances in these other fields are often limited by advances in materials. For undergraduates interested in research or development and in graduate school, the Research Option allows pursuit of original scholarly research. Financial support may be available for those who initiate an original research program during the summer prior to senior year. For students interested in industrial careers as materials engineers, the Industrial Option emphasizes a team approach to the solution of actual plant problems. Undergraduate student teams spend three days per week at the plants of cooperating industrial firms investigating selected problems related to materials science and engineering. Summer employment is also provided when possible for those who initiate the program during the summer preceding senior year. Each option is limited to a small group of seniors, selected by the department from those who apply.
OSI: Opportunities for Student Innovation Program
The OSI program provides experiential learning opportunities for senior students in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Material Science and Engineering to bridge the educational gap between textbooks and industrial approaches to real-world technical problem solving. OSI projects are sponsored by industrial organizations with specific technical problems that may be assisted by OSI student and faculty teams. Technical areas in recent years have included environmental engineering, polymer science and engineering, chemical reactions and kinetics, process modeling and control, separation and purification, thermodynamics, and crystallization and molding. Emphasis is on obtaining a clear definition of objectives and problems, creative innovation of potential solutions, and execution of a rational plan to reach desired objectives. Projects generally involve literature and industrial data analysis, advanced computer simulations and small-scale laboratory experiments. Each year 10 -20 seniors participate.
