The Individual Design Project
Structural engineering is a multi-faceted field full of fascinating issues. As a student, you may be yearning to learn more about a topic presented in class, or seeking to study a topic that your coursework doesn’t cover.
The individual project offers that unique learning opportunity. By providing the latitude to stretch beyond the boundaries of the course curriculum, students can explore more deeply an area of structural engineering that excites and inspires them. The individual project also gives students a chance to shine on their own, outside the group-focused work.
Topics may involve design, research, testing, investigation, and case studies. After honing in on a project topic, students work with the program director to select a practicing engineer or faculty member to mentor them throughout the individual project.
Work on the project begins in the fall and culminates early in the spring semester. Students prepare a written report and present their findings to the faculty, mentors, and invited guests of the program. The executive advisory board also receives electronic copies of all reports and presentations compiled by the students.
Past individual project topics include:
- Design of a lateral force resisting system using self-centering, concentrically-braced frames
- Evaluation of the Old Mill Road Bridge, Hellertown, Pa.
- Behavior of a side plate-reinforced steel moment connection subjected to cyclic loading
- Lateral-load-resisting behavior of shear walls and interacting systems in concrete structures
- 335 Commerce Drive field project: structural investigation
- Performance of concrete-filled tubular flange girders for restricted and unrestricted depths
- Structural design of a slow sand filter tank for Engineers Without Borders
- Case study of a parking garage helical ramp collapse
- Teterboro Airport de-icing facility design