Senior Design
At UD, we don’t just teach engineering. We build engineers.
Real world experience is at the cornerstone of our undergraduate program, and nothing showcases this more powerfully than senior design.
Senior design, or capstone, courses are the culmination of the undergraduate experience, serving as a bridge between classroom learning and professional engineering practice. Each year, seniors bring together everything they’ve learned to tackle open-ended challenges where creativity meets engineering rigor.
While the goals of senior design are consistent across the College, each department shapes its capstone experience to reflect the unique skills and applications of its discipline.
Interested in collaborating? Senior design gives companies a front-row seat to UD’s brightest engineering talent. By sponsoring a project or mentoring students, your company gains innovative solutions and connects with highly motivated teams. Reach out to the relevant departmental contacts to get involved.
From fresh ideas to real returns
UD Engineering’s senior design sponsors gain innovative solutions and a front-row seat to tomorrow’s hires.
Senior design across departments
Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
The interdisciplinary senior engineering design program is a semester-long course that unites mechanical and biomedical engineering seniors, with opportunities for students from other departments to join. Teams of three to five invest more than 1,200 hours designing and prototyping solutions to real challenges proposed by industry partners.
Contacts:
- Ashutosh Khandha, associate professor of biomedical engineering, ashutosh@udel.edu
- Alexander De Rosa, associate professor of mechanical engineering, derosa@udel.edu
- Jenni Buckley, professor of mechanical engineering, jbuckley@udel.edu
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Students spend the spring semester solving commercially relevant challenges developed by industrial chemical engineers. Student teams work under the combined guidance of an industry mentor and a faculty member.
Contact: Will Hartt, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, hartt@udel.edu
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Students in the Construction Engineering and Management program work in teams as general contractors, navigating a request for proposal (RFP) process modeled on real industry practice. Each team forms a mock company and competes to be selected by the owner for the project. Industry partners contribute past projects for use in the course or serve as jury members during the final evaluations.
Civil and Environmental Engineering seniors spend the academic year reimagining buildings on UD’s main campus for redevelopment on STAR Campus. Students collaborate in teams focused on structure, remediation, transportation and stormwater management. Industry partners deliver discipline-specific instruction to support each team’s work.
Contacts:
- Aziz Banawi, Director and Edgar P. Small Professor of Construction Engineering and Management, abanawi@udel.edu
- Diana Arboleda, assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, arboleda@udel.edu
Computer and Information Sciences
Over two semesters, students design and build real-world software or research projects with guidance from faculty. Industry, nonprofit and government partners propose projects, mentor teams and serve as clients who provide ongoing feedback.
Contact: Matthew Saponaro, Academic Coordinator, mattsap@udel.edu
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Teams of approximately four electrical, computer, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence engineering students work on a practical project over two semesters, beginning in the fall. Projects may be proposed by industry or government partners, internal faculty or the students themselves. The department is eager to engage additional industry partners in capstone collaborations.
Contact: Richard Martin, professor of electrical and computer engineering, rdmartin@udel.edu
Materials Science and Engineering
Through a semester-long, team-based project, students partner with industry or academic sponsors to tackle materials-focused challenges. Their work spans the design, fabrication, and testing of real materials systems—from smart polymers to 3D-printable catalysts.
Contact: Ioanna Fampiou, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, fampiou@udel.edu
Recent events
Tuesday, December 9: Materials Science and Engineering Showcase
Outside of 201 DuPont Hall
Open to industry partners, alumni and the UD community
Thursday, December 11: Fall Engineering Design Showcase
Features projects from the interdisciplinary senior engineering design program led by the biomedical and mechanical engineering departments