Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering Presents Senior Design Expo 2009

By Anne Buckley and Naomi Crown

Teams of students will showcase their research and design prototypes at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering’s Senior Design Expo 2009.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 24 in the atrium and East Hall Lawn at the VCU School of Engineering, 401 W. Main St.

Highlights this year will include a hover craft, a model fission reactor, a PEM fuel cell stack, a portable solar desalination device, thermoelectric generation and alternative fuel from cellulose. A complete list can be found at www.seniordesign.egr.vcu.edu.

This year’s Senior Design Expo also includes an outreach effort to area middle and high school students, groups of whom will be attending as a field trip to discuss projects with student team members, tour the facilities and learn more about studying engineering at a university.

The Senior Design Program has been part of the School of Engineering curriculum since 1999 and is a requirement for graduation. The capstone program teaches leadership skills in a collaborate environment and provides students the opportunity to develop projects that may lead to product innovation.