San Diego State University: College of Engineering Senior Design Day Makes a Comeback
On May 1, the San Diego State University College of Engineering Senior Design Day will take place at Viejas Arena for the first time.
Attracting thousands of people from around the San Diego community, SDSU engineering seniors will unveil their inventive senior design projects they have conceptualized, designed, and built from beginning to end.
It is anticipated that over 70 student projects will be presented from Senior Design Courses in aerospace, mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, and civil, construction, and environmental engineering to the community, industry partners, and friends of the college.
Six local high schools will be attending Senior Design Day to hear from student teams and learn about the field of engineering.
Next generation of engineers
A product of hours of collaboration — including late night group meetings, problem-solving sessions and various iterations — these projects are the culmination of the technical knowledge developed in the classroom and the critical-thinking skills gained from hands-on projects that address real world problems.
College of Engineering alumni have gone on to work in leadership roles for engineering pioneers such as Northrop Grumman, Collins Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
“By developing modern sophisticated projects, their resume looks much more promising and they can immediately fit into desirable engineering jobs,” said Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Joseph Katz.
The Senior Design Course offers a unique opportunity for students to identify a human or societal problem, and apply the technical skills learned throughout their studies to engineer novel solutions.
Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, students worked together with their teams to collaborate, ideate, establish solutions while staying within a budget, present regular project updates, and continuously make adjustments based on faculty and sponsor feedback.
“These projects prepare students with the expertise necessary to tackle critical real-world problems and skills that will springboard them into successful engineering careers,” said SDSU College of Engineering Dean Eugene Olevsky.
Sponsored by industry leaders such as the J.R. Filanc Construction Company, Solar Turbines, General Atomics, Dexcom, Dokken Engineering, NASA, and others, the students are provided with exposure to engineering leaders and mentors that they otherwise wouldn’t be.