By JOSHUA DEERE
joshua@du2.byu.edu
When Robert H. Todd came to BYU in 1989 as a new professor of manufacturing engineering and engineering technology, he had been hearing his colleagues complain for years about graduates and their lack of realistic experience.
But he said one of the things that drew him to Provo was a developing program that would give BYU engineering students a chance to work on real-world projects with real-world results. Todd became the founding director of the program known as Capstone.
'When I came to BYU in 1989, they approached me and (Spencer P.) Magleby and (Carl D.) Sorenson and asked the three of us if we couldn't make it happen,' Todd said.
He said the first step was to see what was missing in the typical educational experience of an engineering student.
'We did a survey of companies that hire new engineering graduates,' Todd said. 'We asked them the weaknesses they see in new engineering graduates. Then we said 'let's devise an engineering class that will give these students an edge.''
According to Todd, Capstone is actually a two-semester course designed for seniors that puts them in a hands-on project in conjunction with, designed for and sponsored by major companies such as Boeing, 3M and NASA.
Since its inception, the Capstone students have completed more than 200 projects for different companies, including 30 this year, Todd said. Projects range from electric cars to medical developments to a Brigham Young robot.
He said in turn for a financial and tutorial sponsorship, companies receive the design reports, drawings, prototypes and ownership rights for the finished products. In addition, the average project requires around 800-1,000 student hours and 150 faculty hours.
But he said the advantage for sponsors goes beyond the product development. It gives them a chance to evaluate and recruit graduating students who would be prospective employees.
Chris Jones, 26, a mechanical engineering graduate student from Idaho Falls, Idaho, said he has already seen the results of Capstone.
He said he recently interviewed with Gear Systems in Park City and they were impressed with his experience, especially with the teamwork aspect.
But according to Jones, you get out of Capstone what you put in it.
'If the group doesn't pull its weight, then it's really no fun,' Jones said. 'The people that went into it with a good attitude had a good experience.'
Andrew Woodings, 25, a mechanical engineering graduate student from Basin City, Wash., said Capstone takes a lot of time, but is fun and worth it.
'It gives you a lot of good experience working with a team,' Woodings said. 'This is the closest thing to what we'll do in real life. It kind of sums up all your school work and applies it all.'