Benefits to Companies

MechSE students have logged more than 750,000 work hours on Senior Capstone Design projects since 1991. Beyond these hours logged planning, building, and innovating, the student teams provide many benefits for their corporate sponsors, including:

  • Fresh, “out of the box” look at a problem or issue
  • A valuable design option
  • Companies readily retain intellectual property developed
  • Excellent recruiting opportunity
  • A first-hand look at the performance of students who could become future employees
  • Corporate exposure to the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
  • Window to faculty expertise in diverse technical fields
  • Enhanced public relations by donating to the University of Illinois

 

"This was a tough project with difficult scope. I was really impressed with their presentation and the work that they did."
Nick Jost
Caterpillar, Inc.

"The students did a great job working around Deere's busy schedule. The students were very professional and enjoyable to work with. All design requirements were met. The Angle-o-Meter was a fantastic addition! It eliminates problems with measurement."
James Wang
John Deere

"We could have easily spent $20,000 to hire a firm to validate the design, but we thought it would be nice to get some of our own engineering students involved in helping us solve a real problem at their university."
John Melchi
National Center for Supercomputing Applications

"Excellent graphics in presentation. Communicated key issues clearly. Good design recommendations. All presentations were clear. Excellent explanation of problems and proposed solutions."
Forrest Nixon
Cerro Flow Products, Inc.

"This is the first time Vapor has worked with Illinois on a design project, and we are very happy with the results. The team came up with a number of new and novel design concepts."
David C. Griffis
Vapor Bus International

To propose a Senior Capstone Design Project
or to learn more, contact: 
Steve Zahos, szahos@illinois.edu