Renewable Energy Based Capstone Senior Design Projects for an Undergraduate Engineering Technology Curriculum

Equipping engineering students with the skills and knowledge required to be successful global engineers in the 21st century is one of the primary objectives of university educators. Enabling students to practice self-directed learning, to find solutions to design problems that are sustainable, and helping them to recognize that they are part of a global community are just a few of our educational goals. A major program objective of an engineering technology (ET) program is to prepare graduates to be technically competent and productive in industry once employed. The skills acquired in school can lead them to a very successful and rewarding career. One way the engineering technology program can prepare graduates with the necessary design skills is through the senior capstone design course. It provides an opportunity for students to explore technical problems from a system-level perspective and to develop an appreciation for the interconnectedness of science and engineering principles. Our senior design project course sequence consists of three courses taken in the final year by all engineering and engineering technology students in our university. They are intended to bridge the gap between theory and real world practice. Accordingly, the proposed senior projects should include both credible analysis and experimental proofs such as the designs and implementations discussed in the ABET criteria. Additionally, the senior project design can serve as an excellent culminating point in the program of study where it will focus on projects that have practical value to either consumers or to industry. The topic of alternative energy is not only relevant to a multitude of issues today it is also an effective vehicle for developing instruction that applies across a variety of disciplines and academic standards. Since many of the issues associated with alternative energy are open-ended, alternative energy also lends itself to project-based and problem-based instruction. The ET programs at our university have been recently updated to include a strong renewable energy component. Since Spring 2009 quarter, the author has begun to offer an introductory course focused on renewable energy technology. The course has proven to be very successfully with an enrollment of about 40 students. The results of the introduction of the renewable energy topics in our capstone senior project design course are discussed in this paper. These projects are a good example of the multidisciplinary cooperation of different engineering disciplines as well as providing valuable hands-on experience to the students. In addition to providing useful lessons in teamwork and project management, the projects will provide a working demonstration of the wind and solar energy conversion systems.