Engineering Design EXPO

The titles of engineer and researcher may not have been on her list of career possibilities when she was eight, but programs like the University of Idaho’s Engineering Design EXPO create a venue where students like Karly Schmitt from Mt. Spokane High School have a chance to see firsthand the advances and impact made by the University of Idaho engineering researchers and students.

EXPO is a College of Engineering signature event that highlights senior student capstone design accomplishments and research innovations. It includes students in engineering, computer science, and technical disciplines. EXPO inspires and engages K-12 students from the Northwest to pursue an education in science, technology, engineering and math. These efforts mirror the University of Idaho’s research and education goals.

“The involvement of our industry partner and longtime supporter Micron, made it possible to expose students to these opportunities and open their eyes to the possibilities of a lifetime of research and discovery through engineering,” said Aicha Elshabini, Distinguished Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering.

A generous donation from the Micron Technology Inc. Foundation made the inclusion of high school students possible this year. High school students from around Idaho and the Northwest attended EXPO to experience the senior design projects and have fun with hands-on exhibits showcasing the engineering graduates’ work. Students also had the opportunity to display their engineering skills by competing in the Vandal Robotics Challenge. For the challenge, teams of students built robots and competed in courses that tested their robots’ design, strength and accuracy. The competition included a racecourse, driving accuracy course, and the popular robot Sumo challenge, where the goal is to push the opposing robot out of the ring. The goal is to inspire young students who excel in science and math to pursue a career in engineering.

While this was the first year for the Vandal Robot Challenge and high school outreach program, College of Engineering students have been showcasing their senior design projects for the past 12 years. Engineering EXPO was created to feature the innovative projects by teams of senior students. Students are given an engineering problem and then apply the skills they have gained in the classroom and lab to create solutions, which leads to greater engineering design experience.

EXPO is an annual event that takes place on the last Friday in April. This year, EXPO featured 57 design projects that dealt with energy and electronics, land and water resources, space exploration and beyond, and transportation and technology. Engineering industry leaders attend the EXPO event as well, and often interview and hire students on the spot.

“We hear time and again from employers in the industry, that our students are immediately billable when they enter the job force, and they don’t require a great deal of on-the-job training,” said Howard Peavy, associate dean with the College of Engineering. “We have had a number of instances where an employer has asked a student how they implemented a specific part of the design of their project and as the student responds the employer knows that this is someone they want as part of their team.”