Early summer is an important time of year for senior engineering undergraduate students at UC Davis. This is usually when the College of Engineering holds the Engineering Design Showcase, an event where student groups from all eight departments present their capstone project in which they designed and prototyped a product, device, process, or software system. Open to all, this event gives students the chance to show interested members of the public, including industry partners and alumni, what they’ve been working on.
In the past, Hill Engineering has sponsored a few senior design projects and while we did not have one this year, I had the opportunity to volunteer as an evaluator and it was so amazing to see almost 200 groups gathered in the University Credit Union Center. I was able to listen to different groups and discuss this experience with them, asking about the challenges they faced and how they approached and resolved them, what they enjoyed the most about their project, and what it was like working with their industry sponsor.
It was a unique experience for me, as I was able to speak to groups from different departments that aren’t necessarily in the same field as Hill Engineering, all in one place. I had great conversations with many students, and it was apparent that they were proud of the work they did.
Walking among all the tables and so many unique projects brought back memories of when I participated in the Engineering Design Showcase while studying at UC Davis. It was nice to come back to campus as an alum and see what this year’s class got up to, taking all the knowledge they’ve gained in their time as an undergraduate and applying their skills to solve engineering problems.
A big congratulations to the Class of 2026. Let’s go, Aggies!
Leave a Reply