COMMENTS FROM COURSE INSTRUCTOR (PROF. LUSCHER)

Many of you are reading this trying to decide if you should take the new capstone design series. The 565 series is the M.E. Department’s replacement for the legacy courses 564 and 581. I was a leader in development of this new sequence and I strongly recommend that you take it in place of the older courses for several reasons:

• 564 doesn’t do a very good job in teaching design. Students have only one quarter to work and the end product is a paper design (a report). Having to face the real physical limits of an actual device is missing from this class.


• Many of the 564 projects are based on the faculty member's personal research preference. They are not real industrially based design challenges.


• There is no integration between 564 and 581. In 564 you complete a paper design projecand then in 581 you start over again with a new design that has to be prototyped and tested in an experiment.


• The new course covers statistical experimentation from a much more proactively. In 5experiments are done at the end of the quarter and the results are not used. In the 565 sequence, a robust design approach is used. The experiments are used to gain sensitivity information during the design phase of development.

I suggest that you visit the frequently asked questions section and the online syllabus in order to learn more about the class. We have been running this course on a prototype basis for two academic years. I also ran the undergraduate design course at RPI for several years and haveacademic interest in the study of design. As such, I have a good idea of what works and what doesn't work in this type of course.

In closing let me say that our Chairman Cheena Srinivasan and I am committed to making this new class a success. We have several interesting project that are available to the students starting in Autumn 08. Please, let me know if I can provide any more information on the course.

Anthony Luscher
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
E507 Scott Laborator
201 W. 19th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio
614-292-4474
luscher.3@osu.edu

COMMENTS FROM CAPSTONE DESIGN PROGRAM COORDINATOR (BOB RHOADS)

My name is Bob Rhoads. I work for the Engineering Education Innovation Center in the College of Engineering as an Instructional Development Specialist for Capstone Design. I graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, I worked in the glass manufacturing industry for over 12 years in various roles from process engineering to sales engineering to design engineering. While working, I received my Masters in Business Administration and attended several process control and quality trainings. Before coming to OSU, I was an engineering technology faculty for 3 years at the community college of Zane State College in Zanesville, Ohio. At Zane State, I taught several engineering courses including CAD, solid modeling, statics, strength of materials, machine design, and statistical process control as well as many others.

Professionalism is a very important part of having a successful career in an ever-changing global economy. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to develop my professional “soft” skills. I have given many production and sales presentations to foreign and domestic customers, plant management, board of directors and Asian and European parent companies. In addition, I have traveled to Japan, Malaysia, France and Mexico on several occasions for business being exposed to very different cultures. Communication and etiquette is very critical to developing and maintaining a good relationship in a multi-cultural business environment.

My teaching philosophy is based on the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like to be treated” and never stop learning. Not only do you need technical knowledge but you also need social and professional knowledge to become a leader in your company and your life.

I work with Dr. Luscher to set-up projects with industry and manage the administrative part of the course. I coordinate and make sure the student teams are on the project timeline, make purchases for prototype materials, and at times give some practical advice in the design process. In addition, you can contact me with any questions or concerns you might have about the course.

This is a great opportunity for undergraduate students to work on REAL industry design projects as well as to have direct contact with potential employers. The hands-on approach of building a prototype allows the student to experience the entire engineering design build test process. In addition, students will learn professionalism and skills to be successful in the engineering field. Open discussions will be conducted regularly during class to cover topics that are not typically taught in engineering courses.

Finally, I encourage all engineering students to take this capstone design course sequence for the experience and learning opportunity in a REAL world engineering environment.

Bob Rhoads, P.E.
Capstone Design Program Coordinator
Engineering Education Innovation Center
E506 Scott Laboratory
201 W. 19th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Phone: 614-292-9340
Phone: 614-292-3163
rhoads.2@osu.edu