Dozens of courses throughout the Cockrell School include substantial projects that challenge students to find and build creative solutions. Facilitated by the professor or course instructor, students collaborate and problem-solve with the support of Texas Inventionworks staff, programs and facilities. In addition to established courses, students utilize Texas Inventionworks to design products, devices and other creations for team competitions, startup companies and simply because they have an idea.
The listing below is only a sampling of the Texas Engineering courses with significant components that utilize the makerspace facilities. Several additional courses are being created or modified to include project design and build activities. To find out more about courses in your major, contact your departmental academic advisor or an advisor in Engineering Student Services.
Sampling of Courses
ARE 320K – Introduction to Design
Introduction to design principles, concepts and problem-solving approaches. Issues addressed by a series of two- and three-dimensional studies.
ASE 361L - Aircraft Design II
Preliminary and detail design of systems-engineering-based aircraft, including building, flight testing and demonstrating. The overall approach is applicable to all aircraft but the specific project is a small unmanned air system designed to meet defined mission requirements.
BME 214L - Computational Fundamentals of Biomedical Design
Development of biomedical engineering design concepts, including hands-on learning applications in the lab.
BME 261L - Development and Analysis in Biomedical Design
This course provides students with hands-on experience in biomedical engineering design principles through open-ended, challenging applications.
BME 303L – Introduction to BME Design
Biomedical engineering design concepts with hands-on learning applications.
BME 362E - Medical Device Innovation
This course provides an introduction to the development of medical devices. In addition to design and fabrication, money, markets and entrepreneurship will be covered.
BME 371 - Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design
Development of team projects in biomedical engineering with emphasis on prototype development and quantitative analysis and written and oral reporting of the outcome.
BME 377T - Design of Artificial Organs
Students in this course will learn about a variety of technologies that are being applied to assume the functions of human organs. Teams of students will have opportunities to design, build and test small machines during the course. An example machine from a recent course is an assistive blood pump design to work with the heart.
CE 397 – Sustainable Building Design
The class provides an overview of design considerations related to energy, building materials and future maintenance and upgrades.
CHE 102 - Intro to Chemical Engineering
Introduction to chemical engineering, including problem-solving and study skills. Opportunities and responsibilities of a career in chemical engineering. One lecture hour and one recitation hour a week for one semester. May not be counted toward any engineering degree. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.
CHE 264 - Chemical Engineering Process and Project Lab
Experimental studies of unit operations, laboratory safety, statistical data analysis and written and oral reports.
EE 107S – Printed Circuit Board Design
Students work through several stages of electronics design culminating in the design and fabrication of an original PCB circuit.
EE 302 - Introduction to Electrical Engineering
The scope and nature of professional activities of electrical engineers, including problem-solving techniques, analysis and design methods, engineering professional ethics, analysis of analog resistive circuits including Thevenin/Norton equivalents, mesh analysis and nodal analysis and operational amplifiers (DC response). Substantial teamwork is required for laboratory work in this course.
EE 319K - Introduction to Embedded Systems
Introduction to embedded systems, machine language execution, assembly and C language programming, local variables and subroutines, input/output synchronization, analog to digital conversion and digital to analog conversion, debugging and interrupts.
EE 445L - Embedded Systems Design Lab
Design of microcontroller-based embedded systems, interfacing from both a hardware and software perspective. Applications, including audio, data acquisition and communication systems. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester.
EE 445M – Embedded and Real-Time Systems Laboratory
Understanding and practice of embedded microcomputer systems; implementation of multitasking, synchronization, protection and paging; operating systems for embedded microcomputers; design, optimization, evaluation and simulation of digital and analog interfaces; real-time microcomputer software; and applications, including data acquisition and robotics.
EE 462L – Power Electronics
Analysis, design and operation of power electronic circuits; power conversion from AC to DC, DC to DC and DC to AC; rectifiers, inverters and pulse width modulated motor drives. Laboratory work focuses on the use of energy from renewable sources such as photovoltaics and wind.
EE 464K - Senior Design Project
Design and experimental projects done in Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering laboratories, learning the ethics of design for safety and reliability, with an emphasis on written and oral reporting of engineering projects.
EE 464S – Start-Up Senior Design Project
Completion of a practical engineering product design and validation of the design through prototype construction and testing, modeling and simulation and manufacturability analysis. Development of a completed company prospectus, seeking venture funding for the project.
ES 119 – First-Year Design Experience
Overview of design based on solving a problem that requires the design and fabrication of some kind of physical device. This course is designed to be the start of design experiences that give students opportunities to operate like engineers, a skill they will use throughout their undergraduate curriculum.
IDT 110 – Introduction to Prototyping
This one-credit, five-week course puts students in the role of a product designer. During the final day, teams present their product prototypes to a panel of industry experts. The course begins with an overview of the design process and, each week, guest mentors visit to talk about their experiences and help teams with their projects.
IDT 350 – Longhorn Startup Lab
Focuses on skill development and mentoring in startup formation, technology development, market validation, marketing, sales, operations, human resources, program management and finance. Emphasis on written and oral presentation of startup activities.
ME 210 - Engineering Design Graphics
Graphics and modeling fundamentals for engineering design: freehand sketching, computer modeling of solid geometry and generation of engineering drawings. Introduction to reverse engineering, computer-aided design, rapid prototyping and manufacturing. Application of the design process to problem-solving. Individual and team design projects.
ME 266K – Mechanical Engineering Design Project
Creative design, analysis, selection, development and fabrication of engineering components and systems. Development of a team project with faculty advisor and sponsoring engineer.
ME 277K - Projects in Mechanical Engineering
Independent project carried out under the supervision of a faculty member in mechanical engineering. Student prepares a project proposal and a final report, each of which is evaluated by the faculty committee on individual projects.
ME 302 - Introduction to Engineering Design and Graphics
Introduction to mechanical engineering education and practice through lectures and laboratory experiences. Graphics and modeling fundamentals for engineering design: freehand sketching, computer modeling of solid geometry and generation of engineering drawings. Introduction to reverse engineering, computer-aided design, rapid prototyping and manufacturing. Application of the design process and problem-solving through individual and team projects.
ME 338 - Machine Elements
Analysis for the design and manufacture of basic mechanical elements and their role in the design of machines, and application of finite element modeling.
ME 366J - Mechanical Engineering Design Methodology
An examination of structured methodologies for designing mechanical systems, reverse engineering/redesign projects and conceptual design projects.
ME 380R - Robot Mechanism Design
This course allows students to explore the analysis and synthesis of mechanisms in order to design robotic systems. Motion properties of mechanisms including degrees of freedom, velocity and acceleration will be studied. Discusses design ideas and motion analysis for robotic systems for a wide range of applications including spatial, industrial and medical robotics. Simulates and analyzes motions of multi-link mechanisms in the MATLAB programming environment. Design and build robots with interesting mechanisms and mechatronics elements as part of group projects. Studies machining, assembly, mechatronics and programming through the projects.
ME 395 – The Enterprise of Technology
Studies the basis for assessing emerging technologies. Describes the process of technology commercialization, including identifying marketable technologies, defining products and matching products to markets. Also studies intellectual property protection and strategy and the steps and processes necessary to the successful design and manufacture of a product or service.
PGE 301 - Engineering, Energy, and the Environment
Overview of energy supply and demand. Studies subsurface engineering and engineering problem-solving methods, with an emphasis on fossil energy exploitation and geologic CO2 storage. Includes aspects of basic petroleum geology.
UGS 303 – How Things Work
Large-group lecture and discussion class focusing on a contemporary issue. Designed to introduce undergraduates to scholarly analysis from an interdisciplinary perspective. Includes an introduction to university resources, such as research facilities, museums and attendance at university lectures or performances as assigned. Multiple sections may be offered in the fall and spring with various topics and instructors.
