Senior Project 1

Catalog description

Supervised student activities on research and/or design projects identified on an individual or small group basis. The combination of PES 446W , PES 447W and PES 448W fulfills the degree requirement for Writing Across the Curriculum as well as constituting the required Capstone Experience for students in Polymer Engineering and Science. Writing Across the Curriculum courses include writing assignments that relate clearly to the course objectives and serve as effective instruments for learning the subject matter of the course. In writing-intensive courses, assignments are designed to help students investigate the course subject matter, gain experience in interpreting data or the results of research, shape writing for a particular audience, or practice the type of writing associated with a given profession or discipline. Therefore, in this course, and the two subsequent Senior Design Courses, each written assignment will be evaluated, and feedback will be provided to the student, either in written or verbal form. In all instances, students will provide draft copies of reporting assignments and will be given the opportunity to revise their work to incorporate revisions and receive additional points. This iterative process is designed to provide the student with continuous feedback on quality and effectiveness of written communication. In PES 446, students are required to complete a comprehensive review of published literature that pertains to their senior project. This activity will support the formulation and succinct statement of a project hypothesis that will then be justified and defended (Justification) in the project report. Based on these activities a project plan, represented by a Gannt Chart with anticipated milestones and deliverables will be developed. The draft literature review provided at the beginning of the course will be updated prior to the final presentation, to be delivered at the end of the semester. Report sections will be due in draft form on an approximately bi-weekly basis. Preliminary grading will be provided along with critique of written communication. Revised versions will be due for final grading approximately one week after faculty feedback.