Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Senior Design Projects Reviewed by Alumni

Photo Submitted

The Fashion LED Dress group presenting.

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science held senior design project presentations Feb. 24. The presentations were attended by several department alumni and industry professionals. 

Students presenting can test their public speaking skills and get critical feedback from their peers, faculty members, as well as the alumni and industry professionals in attendance. 

Duncan Marshall, a student who presented, found that the presentation helped him a lot in pitching ideas. Marshall said, "We were a little bit nervous, but we felt pretty confident about the fact that we had made good progress over the duration of the project. There were a few things that we just didn't expect to get asked about that were really specific to our project." 

Daniel Schwartz, an alumnus and lead electrical engineer at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, said the event went well.  

"The teams have done a great job condensing all the design work that they've done over the last semester and a half so far. It's a great way to evaluate some of these students for future employment. It's also a great way to see what they've been working on for the last year and a half, and it's easy to find some parallels between what they're doing and what we do every day in industry," Schwartz said. 

Marshall said presenting helped him learn a lot about patience, speaking slowly and helping to get the point across.  

"When answering questions, our group had a few questions that were all very similar and all very concerned about safety. It was something that we wanted to keep in mind, but we knew we would have time to address it after April. However, the people with a lot more wisdom than us wanted to advise us to start earlier rather than later," he said. 

Arielle Williams, a controls engineering manager for Marshalltown, said she enjoys the presentations.

"I graduated from this department. I remember doing my presentations and being nervous," she said. "I think the presenters so far have done an excellent job. I think it's great to come out and support and see that some of my interns are here presenting."

Students will next present their projects at the annual Engineering Expo on April 25 in Bud Walton Arena.