Opportunities For Early
Student Design Topic Investment:
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
(Student Engagement of Topics
for Undergraduate Projects)
Dr. John DesJardins
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
Bioengineering Faculty
Dr. John D. DesJardins, Senior Lecturer in Bioengineering
Education/Experience
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, 2006 Clemson University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1994 U. Pittsburgh
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1992 Carnegie Mellon
Bioengineering Research Posts:
U. Pittsburgh, U. Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, U. College London
Research Interests
Biomaterials Tribology
Orthopaedic Biomechanics
Design/Evaluation of Orthopaedic Implants
Teaching Interests
Biomechanics, Biomedical Design
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
Clemson University
A State University in South Carolina
Clemson, SC (2 hours North of Atlanta)
Founded 1889 (Former Military School)
Land Grant University, Ag&Eng dominant
14,000 Undergrad., 3,000 Grad.
27th Public Univ. Ranking
Clemson Tigers
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
Clemson University
Department of Bioengineering
17 Full-time T/TT Faculty
2 Endowed Chair Positions
85 Graduate Students, 60 Undergraduate Students
Degree Programs
1963 - Ph.D. Program, 1966 – M.S. Program, 2006 – B.S. Program
Founder: Society For Biomaterials (1974)
Annual Clemson Awards in Biomaterials Research Excellence
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
Opportunities For Early
Student Design Topic Investment:
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
(Student Engagement of Topics
for Undergraduate Projects)
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
BioE 401 Senior Biomedical Design
One Semester, 3 Credit Capstone Design Course
Spring 2007, 6 students (next-to-last class of BioE minors)
4 Biosystems Engineering, 1 Mechanical, 1 Electrical
Course Content
Principles of Engineering Design Process
Project Proposal Development
Engage in Biomedical Design
ABET Criteria (a-k)
c) Ability to design to meet a needs
d) Function on multi-disiplinary teams
h) understand eng. impact on society/world
j) Knowledge of contemporary issues
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
The Design Topic Selection Problem:
Professors Objectives
Discipline relevant, Potentially successful, Related to
funding, Research or career building, Multi-Year
Design intensive, Team Oriented, Challenging
Students Objectives
Straight-forward, Dual-serving, Minimally team dependent,
last-week-of-class attainable, A+ deserving
The Solution:
BIOENGINEERING
“SET-UP”
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Week 1-2: (The Introduction)
Course lectures: Introduction to design, Brainstorming, Team building,
Process flowcharting, Idea evaluation, QFD
Introduction to Design Project Ideas: (National, Regional),
Brainstorming, Student/Professor Interaction, Site Visits, Guest Lectures,
Investigative Assignments into Biomedical Design Issues
End of Week 2: (The Interest)
Student self-selection and engagement of topic
Each student selects their favorite design topic and distributes a 1
page description of design topic to student peers for review
Students assigned to rank them for potential merit
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Start of Week 3: (The Investment)
Student Peer-Review and Presentation
Students rank abstracts, best abstracts get presented
10 minute conference-style presentation
Students sell their topic, and themselves
charisma
oral-written skills
leadership abilities
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Final Design Topic Selection (The Engagement)
Students vote for best design/presenter
(not their own)
Topic Presenters rewarded as Team Leader
Team Leaders select team-mates by
Draft, Lottery and/or Polling
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Advantages
Design Topic Diversity Explored
Significant exploration/development of design topics
Professor/Student interaction/discussion early
Critical examination of field from design perspective
Student Engagement Assured
Students identify and share “invested” topic with peers
Students review and critique topics of peers
Students present and/or review formal presentations
Students vote for best topics, and their own team leader
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Advantages (continued)
Professor Wins
Student interaction/discussion early in semester
Early identification of team attributes
(thinkers, leaders, troublemakers, etc.)
New (student) design ideas discovered
No “assignment” of topics needed
Best Design Topics Selected
CLEMSON
BIOENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Disadvantages
Professors design topic interests not assured
Persuasion and guidance critical
1-2 Class Periods devoted to initial student
presentations
Charismatic Presenter ≠ Best Topic?
Latent student investment in original topic
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
Spring 2007
Experience
Students = 6
Teams = 2
Student Topic Abstracts
Burn Care Band-Aid
Ultra-Sonic Tooth Brush
Driver-Friendly Walker
Easy-On/Off Compression Stocking
Mouth-Wand for Quadriplegics
Driving Stress Sensor System
Team Car-Diac
A Stress Testing Device
for a Driving Simulator
BIOENGINEERING
Team Burned-Aid
A Novel Burn Treatment
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
(Student Engagement of Topics
for Undergraduate Projects)
Discussion/Conclusions
Early Engagement of Student in Design Topic
Early Professor/Student and Student/Student Interaction
Positive, Non-Assigned, High Quality Designs Selected
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins
The Early SET-UP Design Strategy
(Student Engagement of Topics
for Undergraduate Projects)
Thank You
BIOENGINEERING
CLEMSON
UNIVERSITY
Dr. John DesJardins