Senior engineering design projects showcased Tuesday

KALAMAZOO--Plans for a new bridge in Constantine, Mich., to serve as a bypass for traffic; a human-powered vehicle for students or maintenance workers; and design of a personal light jet that lowers costs of a propeller-driven aircraft will be among the projects presented at Western Michigan University's 50th Conference on Senior Engineering and Design.

WMU students will showcase and demonstrate their projects from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on WMU's Parkview Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Nearly 220 seniors will present the results of 89 projects they have completed to solve problems facing business and industry. Many of the projects are sponsored by southwest Michigan companies, including Denso North America Foundation Inc., Kellogg Co., Otsego Paper Inc. and Pfizer Inc., and by state and local government.

Participants hail from a variety of disciplines, including civil and construction engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering, mechanical and aeronautical engineering, and paper and chemical engineering. The conference is held twice each year, in April and December, to showcase the work of graduating seniors in the engineering disciplines who are required to complete a real-world capstone project.

For more information, visit the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at wmich.edu/engineer or contact Tamara Bergman at @email or (269) 276-3248.