1Engineering
StudentSuccess
Practical Experience

Boston University

At Boston University, complex engineering
concepts start early, and creating a goodfoundation for learning requires exposure totheory and application. After assessing thecurriculum, the engineering faculty at Boston
University realized something was missing. “Wewere providing a good theoretical engineering
education,” said Gerry Fine, director of EPIC andengineering professor at Boston University. “Butwe weren’t providing sufficient practical, handson experience.” The university’s solution was tocreate a collaborative, practical engineering classthat all engineering students must take by their
sophomore year.
To accommodate the 450 engineering students
taking the class, Boston University createdthe 20,000 square foot Engineering ProductInnovation Center (EPIC), equipped to handle
the constant workload, including multiple FDM®
and PolyJetTM 3D printers. “We’re running a
thousand students a year through the facility rightnow. It’s not buried in a basement, it’s become anintegral part of the curriculum,” said Fine.

3D printing allows students
to iterate quickly, and learn
the skills needed to prototype
their designs.”
Aleks Zosuls
Boston University2 2Engineering Student Success
Real-world Applications
The hands-on class begins by challenging student
teams to reverse engineer a commercially available
product. After analyzing its components, structureand functionality, students begin the process ofengineering something new. Teams sit down witha client facing a problem then develop a solution,
which they refine until the final presentation.
Students are developing prototypes for products
ranging from air quality monitors and woodpecker
deterrents to highly niche products.
One project, from the Perkins School for the Blind,challenged students to create a tape dispenser
with the blind community in mind. After rounds ofinterviews and iterations, the team developed atape dispenser that automatically cuts tape strips,
resulting in easier use by people with blindness.

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BostonUniversity
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Because of the nature of the class, 3D printing is
an instrumental part of the process. Each team hasa mix of students, whose engineering skills andeducational background vary greatly. “About 25%of students in this class haven’t used a screwdriver
before, while others have done robotics. Somehave their own 3D printers at home. We really havethe full spectrum,” said Aleks Zosuls, research

Kara Mogenson, laboratory supervisor at EPIC

engineer, instructor, and lecturer at Boston
University. “3D printing allows students to iterate
quickly, and learn the skills needed to prototype
their designs.”
Tools for SuccessInstructors are careful to let the teams work
independently, treating it as if it were a job. “If they
were at a company, no one would be grading theirhomework,” said Zosuls. “There’s no one solution
to the client’s problem. By not pushing them toone solution, they get to be more creative.”“Design experience, learning and creating
something, and having that fail and thenredesigning it and creating it again, teaches
you the ins and outs of using different types ofmanufacturing processes,” said Kara Mogenson,laboratory supervisor at EPIC.
The results of the class have empowered students,
and yielded innovative designs. “When you give
undergraduate students professional tools, theyachieve professional results,” said Fine. “We wantthem to be great professional engineers, and thesooner we give them professional tools, the soonerthey achieve that goal.”

Barry Wu, junior electrical engineer and lab assistant at EPIC

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Boston University

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