Inaugural winter Design Day: ‘the beginning of something great’
The first winter Craig M. Berge Design Day will take place on Dec. 9, 2024, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the lower level of the University of Arizona campus store. All are welcome to attend.
Presenting at Craig M. Berge Design Day is the final step before graduation for many Engineering students.
Until now, the two-semester process leading to Craig M. Berge Design Day always began in the fall, spanned through winter break and culminated in the presentation of students’ work in May. This year, things are a bit different.
On Dec. 9, eight capstone teams will present their projects at the inaugural Winter Craig M. Berge Design Day. These 45 students took advantage of a new timing option that benefits students with alternative graduation schedules.
To fulfill graduation requirements, all engineering seniors must complete the year-long Engineering 498 course. When the course was only offered with a fall start date, scheduling made it difficult for students with alternative schedules to graduate on time, often requiring them to take an extra semester. This year, the college added a ENG498 class that began in spring, allowing students to save money and time by graduating in December.
Capstone lead instructor Steve Larimore said the December Design Day will have all the same features and opportunities as the May Design Day and will offer students who begin the process in spring the same experience as those who start in the fall. Larimore puts together a master schedule that lays out the topics, assignments and scoring rubrics for both offerings of the ENG498 course.
“It is always exciting to be a part of, and at the beginning of, something that is great,” Larimore said. “I look forward to celebrating with these students and seeing their creative designs.”
Team 24504 is one of the eight teams presenting at the December Design Day. The team’s project focuses on the design of an autonomous, robotic platform that harvests lettuce in a hydroponic farm system.
Student project leader Hussein Almaliki oversees the team, assigning tasks and ensuring deliverables are met. Almaliki, an engineering management major, said he is confident his team’s design will work as it should at December Design Day, and he’s excited to present it.
The timing proved advantageous to Almaliki, who said he loved the course.
“It worked great for my graduation schedule,” Almaliki said. “Otherwise, I’d have waited until May for one class only.” After graduation in December, he plans to continue a job he began in January as a project engineer for Rummel Construction, Inc.