The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science recently held its senior design project presentations on February 24. The event was well-attended by department alumni and industry professionals, providing students with the opportunity to test their public speaking skills and receive critical feedback from their peers, faculty members, alumni, and industry professionals in attendance.
One of the students who presented, Duncan Marshall, found the experience to be helpful in pitching ideas. Despite feeling a bit nervous, Marshall and his team felt confident in the progress they had made on their project. The presentation also brought up unexpected questions that were specific to their project, allowing them to learn and grow from the experience.
Daniel Schwartz, an alumnus and lead electrical engineer at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, shared positive feedback about the event. He praised the teams for condensing the design work they had done over the last semester and a half. The presentations not only serve as a way to evaluate students for future employment but also allow industry professionals to see the projects students have been working on and draw parallels with their own work.
Presenting at the event helped Marshall improve his patience, speaking skills, and ability to clearly convey information. Despite some questions that were specific to safety concerns that they had planned to address after the presentation, they received valuable advice from experienced professionals to start addressing those issues sooner rather than later.
Arielle Williams, a controls engineering manager for Marshalltown and an alumni of the department, mentioned that she enjoyed attending the presentations. Having gone through similar experiences during her time in the department, she commended the presenters for a job well done. She also expressed her support for the students and was proud to see some of her former interns presenting at the event.
The students will have another opportunity to present their projects at the upcoming annual Engineering Expo on April 25 at Bud Walton Arena.
