Collection

2009 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Eniko T. Enikov; Malcolm T. Gibson

theopportunities for undergraduate research projects, students can significantly advance theireducation by applying first-hand the curricula they are learning in class. This approach allowsfor a greater understanding of the advanced sciences and an early exposure to the laboratoryskills, both technical and practical, utilized by the professional engineering industry. One way of accomplishing this is through the pursuit of research inmicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and the technologies it encompasses. MEMS researchis an innovative research area for undergraduates because it incorporates a diverse range oftechnical skills in various engineering fields and represents many current and emergingapplications in society. With a history of over 30

Collection

2009 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

course based at StanfordUniversity. It is a core course for many students pursuing a Mechanical Engineering Master’sDegree with an emphasis on Design Theory and Methodology. The course has projectssponsored by industry and pairs up teams of students at Stanford with similar teams of studentsat other global universities. Most students come from an undergraduate experience inMechanical Engineering. As part of their ABET-approved programs they experienced a capstonedesign course2 allowing them to synthesize what they learned in their programs.For researchers at the Center for Design Research at Stanford University, ME310 has long been alaboratory and test bed for design research.3 Much study has been devoted to how designersdesign, how they work in