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CETA Design Expo

Explore our Day of Innovation

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The CETA Design Expo is a biannual showcase of projects representing our project-based learning curriculum. First-year and second-year students will present their projects in the fall, and seniors present their Capstone design projects either in the spring or fall.

This event provides an opportunity to observe our students' skill development and innovative contributions. Many of these projects have been developed throughout the academic year and represent a culmination of student collaboration and design abilities.

Save the Date!

The Fall 2024 CETA Design Expo will be held on Friday, December 6 from 9-11:30 a.m. in the Hursey Center.

Spring 2024 CETA Design Expo

Innovation was on display at the Hursey Center as more than 200 sophomores and seniors from CETA gathered to show off their design skills on Friday, April 26.

Seniors Brendhon Franco and Alex Thornberg won first place in their division for a redesign of a spillway channel for the Granville Reservoir that was heavily damaged during Hurricane Irene in 2011. Thornberg was quick to share his gratitude for UHart’s civil engineering department: “It truly is a great program made up of amazing professors that want to see their students succeed.” 

We’re showcasing all engineering disciplines, and it’s also a chance to give feedback. It’s fun to see first- and second-year students with their projects because it’s unique to be designing projects that early in their college career.”

Dr. Hisham Alnajjar, Dean, CETA

Inside the Expo

Project and Design Challenges

ECT 110: Practical ProjectsIntroduction to the fundamentals of electronics & computer engineering technology with emphasis on skills that are needed for the major. Students undertake practice-oriented group lessons in topics such as soldering, printed circuit board and electronic/computers troubleshooting skills.

ES 143P: Engineering and Design—Introduction to the fundamentals of engineering, the engineering profession and engineering design with emphasis on guided design and problem-solving methodologies. Students will undertake practice-oriented group design projects.

ES 242: Engineering by Design—An in-depth study of the design process to include problem-solving methodologies, evaluation of alternate solutions, economic analysis, ethical constraints, group dynamics, and presentation techniques. Students undertake design projects specifically chosen to meet the objectives of this course.

Students work on projects in their field of study with faculty mentors or external project sponsors to design, fabricate, and/or test a device, process, or system. This is a major design experience based on applying the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier coursework and incorporating industry appropriate standards and realistic constraints.

Students participating are enrolled in:

ADT 489: Senior Design Thesis
BE 461P: Biomedical Engineering Capstone II
ECE 483: ECE Capstone Design II
ME 473: Capstone Design Project II
CE 420: Water Quality Engineering I
CE 465: Civil Engineering Design Project II
ECT 481P: Senior Design Project II for Engineering Technology
ROBO 483: Capstone Design II
AUD 481P/ECT 481P/ECE 483W: Senior Project II

Poster Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be used by judges to evaluate the projects and posters and to choose the winning designs/posters.

Performance: Successful task completion.
Creativity: How creative is the final product?
Level of Difficulty: How complex is the product?
Experimental Verification: 
Was the product performance evaluated according to a set of criteria?
Presentation:

  • Poster: Is the project goal clearly illustrated?
  • Oral: Are students well-rehearsed/prepared?

Design Expo Archive

The CETA Design Expo was founded in May 2015 when a group of CETA faculty and staff came together to discuss a way for students to present their final projects. It has since grown into a well-known event on campus that many students look forward to participating in. Walk down memory lane and read about our past expo highlights.