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University Of Wisconsin Madison Civil & Environmental Engineering Capstone Design Class A Class In Constant Redesign And Improvement

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Conference

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Louisville, Kentucky

Publication Date

June 20, 2010

Start Date

June 20, 2010

End Date

June 23, 2010

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

CE Capstone: Innovations in Learning & Assessment

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering

Page Count

17

Page Numbers

15.1300.1 - 15.1300.17

DOI

10.18260/1-2--15992

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/15992

Download Count

414

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Paper Authors

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Charlie Quagliana University of WIsconsin-Madison

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Jeffrey Russell University of Wisconsin, Madison

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Michael Doran University of WIsconsin-Madison

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Rod Hassett University of WIsconsin-Madison

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Greg Harrington University of WIsconsin-Madison

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Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

University of Wisconsin-Madison Civil & Environmental Engineering Capstone Design Class A Class in Constant Redesign and Improvement

ABSTRACT Instilling an understanding of design and the design process are key aspects of preparing civil engineering students for professional practice. The Civil & Environmental Engineering Capstone Design Class has been offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for more than 15 years. The focus of this Senior Level class is to immerse students in a situation where they work on a major design challenge in multi-disciplinary teams. This course integrates prior course work and skills, allowing students to solve problems taken from a "real world" context. Consistent with ABET criteria, this class prepares students for professional practice though a comprehensive experience involving design, management, economic, social and leadership aspects. The success of this class is directly attributable to the evolution of content, curriculum integration and cross-curricular collaboration developed and refined by faculty and mentors. The focus of this paper is to delineate and illustrate the evolution of the class resulting in positive impacts upon student outcomes and expectations.

INTRODUCTION Instilling an understanding of design and the design process are key aspects of preparing civil engineering students for professional practice. This is the focus of the Capstone Design class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE). The evolution of this curriculum has resulted in positive impacts upon student outcomes and expectations as well as helping the department to comply with ABET accreditation criteria.

The ABET Civil Engineering (CE) Program criteria state that “the program must demonstrate that graduates can apply knowledge of mathematics through differential equations, calculus- based physics, chemistry, and at least one additional area of science, consistent with the program educational objectives; can apply knowledge of four technical areas appropriate to civil engineering; can conduct civil engineering experiments and analyze and interpret the resulting

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Quagliana, C., & Russell, J., & Doran, M., & Hassett, R., & Harrington, G. (2010, June), University Of Wisconsin Madison Civil & Environmental Engineering Capstone Design Class A Class In Constant Redesign And Improvement Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--15992

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