2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Infusion of Design Justice Principles into an Undergraduate Capstone Project Course Sequence

Presented at Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) - Societal Impact in Design

Infusion of Design Justice Principles into an Undergraduate Capstone Project Course Sequence

The main goal of this paper is to present the inclusion of Design Justice principles into a multidisciplinary engineering curriculum, specifically focusing on a capstone project course sequence. Per [1], “Design justice rethinks design processes, centers people who are normally marginalized by design, and uses collaborative, creative practices to address the deepest challenges our communities face.”
Currently, our undergraduate curriculum features significant design coursework in 6 out of 8 semesters, starting with Introduction to Engineering and culminating with a three-semester entrepreneurially-minded capstone sequence. While the infusion of Design Justice into our curriculum involves multiple stages, the current paper is focused specifically on the capstone sequence. [2]
In previous versions of the capstone sequence, we used Pugh’s Product Design Specifications (PDS) as a central tool for design. [3] In recent iterations, we have used an updated model, infusing principles from the Design Justice framework into Pugh’s model. In this paper, we analyze the impact of this infusion on student work. We review final reports from capstone courses, analyzing the depth and quality of Design Justice-related content present, before and after the changes to the course sequence.

[1] Design Justice Network. www.designjustice.org
[2] Read-Daily, B., & Estrada, T., & Degoede, K., & Batista Abreu, J. (2022, August), From Problem to Project: An Entrepreneurial Model for a Three-Semester Multidisciplinary Capstone Sequence Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. https://peer.asee.org/40775
[3] Pugh, S., 1990. Total Design-Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering. 1st edition. Wokingham: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Authors

Rachel Eva Waggoner Massachusetts Institute of Technology [biography]

Rachel Waggoner is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is interested in the design thinking process and its application to product design, particularly with respect to creative designing in industry.
Jessica Meza Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Sara A. Atwood Elizabethtown College [biography]

Dr. Sara A. Atwood is the Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Engineering at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. She holds a BA and MS in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College, and PhD in Mecha
Ms. Madhurima Das http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6847-9391 NuVu Studio [biography]

Madhurima Das graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since then, she has been working as a Design and Technology Fellow for NuVu Studio teaching design and engineering to K-12 students, wi
Anastasia Kouvaras Ostrowski Purdue University
Shannon M Clancy http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2779-0746 Elizabethtown College [biography]

Dr. Shannon M. Clancy (she/they) is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. She earned all of her degrees in Mechanical Engineering: B.S. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), M.S. from the University of Michigan, and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (U-M). They also received an Engineering Education Research Certificate during their time at U-M.

Her research interests include front-end design practices, sociotechnical knowledge and skills, and queer student experiences in engineering. They use qualitative methods and fields across engineering design, psychology, learning sciences, education, and STEM education to dive deeply into these topics, understanding the how’s and why’s of engineers’ experiences, decision-making, and sharing their stories.

Dr. Clancy is motivated by their passion for and experiences with equity-minded teaching and holistic mentorship of students as people and professionals. She particularly enjoys intertwining engineering technical practices and social implications to prepare students to become socially responsible engineers. She seeks to reimagine who can be an engineer, what engineering is, and the impact engineering has on society for a more equitable world.
Dr. Tomas Estrada Elizabethtown College [biography]

Dr. Tomas Estrada is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Physics at Elizabethtown College.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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