Design Class Reflection

What did I learn in MAE 451?

At the end of every class there should be some take home message that you can take with you in the future. For some classes it might be the work load and the hours of time you put into the class and for other classes its the certain formulas and basic laws of physics that you learn. To me, MAE451, Design Process and Methods is a class that helps prepare you for your upcoming future as an engineer.

From the limited amount of experience that I have had working in industry (Smart Grid Intern for one summer). Much of the work that you will do is cross-disciplinary and working in teams to accomplish a task. Being thrown into 3 design projects with a 5 person team is no easy task, and is something that I would rather get the experience now in school, rather than at my first job. I have worked in teams before, but working on a project like this was an invaluable experience in working with a team.

Another thing that I will take away from this class, is that it helped me see that what I have been doing for the past 4 years is what I do want to continue doing. This was especially noticed by me as I wrote this very design portfolio, and looked through my previous work and designs, to see that I've been coming up with designs since I could coherently put a pencil to paper. What this class helped me do was help put a process to my design madness, but not lose any of the creativity that I have shown in the past.

I believe that two of my biggest strengths are my ability to look at the big picture, as well as being able to be creative. I feel that these strengths will help me in the future greatly as I begin to design new processes and products. Being able to see how a design fits in with the greater system, from interactions of the end user, to the environmental impact is key to designing a good product.

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