"They came up with a new approach that we’d not pursued previously.
We’re taking one of their concepts further this summer, leveraging one of our Iowa State co-op students to get the idea market ready."
- Kevin Gaul, Pella Corporation
Student Projects at ISU
Several colleges at Iowa State University, including the College of Engineering, require every student to complete a capstone project to graduate. Many of these projects are sponsored by companies. A team of senior students work with the company to apply learned principles, which could include engineering analyses and design recommendations. Project topics reflect Iowa State’s various colleges and departments – e.g., mechanical, electrical, software, computer, industrial, agriculture, material sciences, or chemical. Projects may take place during one or two semesters and are offered twice per year (fall and spring semesters).
Typical capstone project areas include product design, machine design, process improvement and modeling, plant layout, new concept exploration, or data analytics. Students can access Iowa State labs and expertise of faculty as part of the project.
Iowa companies receive two significant benefits from their involvement in a capstone project:
- Additional technical resources to solve problems and explore ideas
- Access to students, who can also be assessed as future employees
To submit a captstone project request, please fill out this form. To seek guidance about capstone design projects or to schedule a no-cost assessment, contact your Regional CIRAS Strategic Advisor or Project Manager Mayra Ramirez.
Click here to learn more about the Iowa State College of Engineering Capstone Program.
CIRAS provides several related services, including: