ME 4054 Advisor Meeting September 4, 2008 Prof. Thomas R. Chase Mechanical Engineering University of Minnesota

Outline l Quick introduction l Overview of the course l Advisor’s responsibilities l Suggestions on advising a team

Goals of the course l Provide real-world design experience for students l Generate value for sponsor l Teach a formal design process

Course structure l Teams of 4-5 students work on your project for 14 weeks l Weekly lectures that cover design process l About 12 hrs/week/student effort on your project l Common deliverables

Design Process

Example Portion of a Product Design Specification

Example Concept Selection Chart

What you need to do l Weekly Meet with your team once Review Technical Memos (& draft deliverables) l Midway through Attend mid-project reviews (October 21 or 23) Review notebooks Assign mid-course grade Attend site visit (11/11 or 13) or poster review (11/25) l At end Attend Design Show as jury member (Dec 9) Read final report (Dec 9-14) Review notebooks Suggest grades Attend grading meeting (Dec 15)

Logistics l Parking procedures Bring parking ticket (UMN ramps only) to Patricia Meyer (Room 240) for stamping l Meeting rooms See “Teams” link on main course page l Project $ Industry projects pay their own prototyping costs, work out reimbursement/ payment methods with students Faculty projects allocated $100 for prototyping, students must get authorization from advisors & submit to TA

Intellectual property l If nothing done up front, IP belongs to student inventors l May have students assign IP rights to company, alert them at first meeting l OK to have students sign non-disclosure agreements, but they should be allowed to present at mid-semester review, final report, and Design Show l Approved forms at: l If U-sponsored research projects, IP belongs to U

Contents of Advisor Pak 1. Welcome Letter 2. 1-Page “Adviser’s Guide” 3. Student Info (Schedule & Syllabus) 4. Project Descriptions 5. “First Meeting Agenda” (for 1 st team mtg) 6. “Team Responsibilities” (for 1 st team mtg)

How should I run my first meeting? l You lead the first meeting (it’s the only one that you lead) l Present project background l Walk thru “First Meeting Agenda” (tech memos, notebooks, …) l Go over “Team Responsibilities” form (agenda item 2) l Clarify that you expect a process (presented in lecture) and modeling to back up the final product l Assign Action Items: Gather customer requirements l Students develop draft mission statement after you leave

How are later meetings run? l Team leader prepares agenda; scribe takes notes (if leader rotates, last week’s scribe = this week’s facilitator; otherwise, rotate scribe) l Give team space…but keep on track l Facilitate access to experts and information l Team should develop all deliverables (specifications, etc.), but they should be approved by you l If needed, recruit coordinator to be the “heavy hand”

Grades l Team grading (A through C) Quality of design Quality of reports and presentation l Individual grading (+/- from team grade) Overall contribution to the project Understanding of design process

ME 4054W DESIGN PROJECTS Fall 2008 Advisor Pack Contents: 1. Adviser’s Guide 2. Student first-day info packet 3. Project List 4. Suggested “First Meeting Agenda” 5. Suggested “Team Responsibilities” forms (rotating or fixed leader) ME 4054 Staff: Thomas R. Chase (Coordinator) Emily Robin-Abbott (TA) Patricia Meyer (Course Assistant) Important dates: September 4, 2008 Project kick-off meetings Oct 21-23, 2008 Mid-semester review presentations Nov 11, 13 or 25, 2008Poster Show or Site Visit Dec 9, 2008 Design Show (Report submitted Dec 9) Dec 15, 2008 Advisors grading meeting