Engineering Design Studio Learning by Making in the Brown Design Workshop

Course Description

The importance of design practice and developing hands on approaches to solving engineering projects is becoming increasingly important in industry and academia. Multidisciplinary projects are pioneering the way we think and engage with technology. From MIT’s prestigious Media Lab, to Google and Space-X, the future of innovation relies on students with equally creative and analytic backgrounds.

Engineering Design Studio is a course for students who are interested in learning through making. The class will utilize the Brown Design Workshop (BDW), a newly renovated maker-space located in the Prince Engineering building, where students can learn first-hand how to design, build and test projects. Throughout this class we will explore how to identify important problems worth solving and think critically about our surroundings. We will navigate design thinking, specifically how ideas are materialized through the iterative prototyping process. We will learn about safety and how to best utilize prototyping tools like the laser cutter and 3D printer to take ideas and turn them into physical objects. In addition to establishing a technical and conceptual foundation, students will learn about form, function, and engineering analysis in design.

At the end of this course students will walk away with a clear understanding of how to solve problems through product design, going from ideation to production and how to use iterative prototyping skills to create projects of their own. They will develop skills on machinery they would otherwise not have access to and will be able to leave with the beginning of a design portfolio they can build on and develop for college. This class weaves together engineering and design principles and provides an introduction to form, function, and engineering analysis. Students will also learn how to present work in front of their peers as part of their final critique - learning how to pitch products and ideas to each other.

Prerequisites: Students should have taken Algebra 1 prior to enrolling in this class. Other than that, students should be excited to participate in the design-build process. Experience with other hands-on projects is helpful but not required.