EAST LANSING ? The halls of the Michigan State University Engineering building were lined with professionally poised college students sharing their final course projects with peers, industry, and the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math skilled workers to celebrate the 20th anniversary of MSU?s Engineering Design Day.

More than 600 students, 10 academic programs, and some 150 teams of students worked hard to polish their presentations. Many local companies supported the event, but General Motors served as executive sponsor. Teams not only explained their projects to visitors, but presented directly to industry professionals in formal presentations. The day was capped by an awards ceremony to recognize the accomplishments of winners in each category.

Wayne Dyksen, Executive Director for Design Day, and Leo Kempel, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering, explained the benefits of the program for the students.

?The hands-on aspect of engineering starts day one at MSU? said Kempel. ?It continues into this impressive showcase of innovation and hard work as it reaches 20th year anniversary. The concept for the showcase is to give students ?confidence? that will endure their career.?

There were many different projects type depending on the goals of the course. Among the Biosystems Engineering showcase, one team assisted a baked bean manufacturer in research, to provide a solution for certain product with reported quality issues. The team created the right bean fill and sauce ratio recommendations and achieved potential annual savings for the company.

Another team worked to create a lighting pad with fiber optics that would provide healing for jaundice in infants. This required low power so it can be used in countries with a low-energy footprint. Another project connecting drive test analytics to mobile applications. And there were many more.

Andrew Plouff, John Venn, and Robert Kraemer created greener ways for MSU?s own Student Organic Farm (SOF) to store agricultural produce by engineering the cooling and ventilation. Many projects like this work in cooperation with MSU?s campus facilities or for local organizations that provide the real world connection.

Green energy was also in play for other design groups where the analysis was conducted to compare the efficiency of the horizontal versus vertical orientation of wind turbines.

Surely it wouldn?t be a Michigan Engineering showcase without projects relating to new concepts for automotive engineering designs. Topics varied from vehicle hood material design to improving fuel economy as well as wind testing on rear view mirror designs.

Among the many variations of assignment topics and format, there was one that stood out for the Mechanical Design I Course with Brian Thompson where the students are required to design and manufacture mechanisms that would thrill pre-collegiate students and bring STEM alive. The requirements were to use one linkage, one gear set, and one cam-follower combination. The result was an interactive walk through by K-12 students who also voted on their favorite interactive game including these components.

Judith Cordes, Director for Student Success Women in Engineering Program spoke about the efforts they make to provide organizations and staff to grow the number of women entering STEM fields. The programs she supports help students like Allison Sutter and Aubrey Flint who were one of the six teams that worked to manufacture the next generation of vaccinations by producing a non-egg based vaccine that is in evaluation.

This and many students? projects are already making a real impact in society and this shows how progressive, intense, and valuable this program be for our future.

These capstone experiences give them an edge in the real world and design day continues to be an impressive showcase of the student achievements in many Engineering fields at MSU.

For more information on the Michigan State University Engineering program, Click on EGR.MSU.Edu

Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provides coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected]