2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering Education via Solar Car Design: A Case Study

Presented at Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) - Team-Based and Experiential Learning

Design projects are crucial to engineering education and the learning process for students. They allow for academic knowledge to be used in specialized applications and environments. Projects like this also allow for developing new applied skills and knowledge. The University's Solar Car team is the first interdisciplinary, big-build competition team at a primarily undergraduate institution. This team recently competed for the first time in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, representing their university on the international collegiate level. Solar car racing presents a unique opportunity for students to gain valuable experience and skills not included in the standard curriculum. This research sought to determine the perceived educational benefits of participating in this extracurricular activity.
A survey was given to team members, gathering prior experience, team contributions, knowledge, and professional skills gained from participating in the team and competing at the competition. This survey showed students significantly advanced skills and knowledge, primarily in design and manufacturing methodology. Qualitative data highlighted experiences, positive impacts, and other students' experiential gains. The results from this research seek to encourage the participation and development of more similar-style teams at universities.

Authors

Caleb Z. Smith Florida Polytechnic University [biography]

Caleb Smith is a graduate-level student studying at Florida Polytechnic University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently working on design and manufacturing education research under Dr. Elisabeth Kames.
Elisabeth Kames Ph.D. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5455-4100 Florida Polytechnic University [biography]

Elisabeth Kames is an Assistant Professor at Florida Polytechnic University. Her focus is on engineering design and manufacturing, with special focus on engineering education within the mechanical engineering department. Her research focuses the impact of motivation on performance and persistence in mechanical engineering, design cognition and neurocognition, and manufacturing training in design courses. Elisabeth is an active member of ASEE, ASME, Tau Beta Pi, and Order of the Engineer.
Dr. Alexander R. Murphy http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8806-6378 Florida Polytechnic University [biography]

Dr. Alexander Murphy is currently an Assistant Professor at Florida Polytechnic University. Before this position, he held a Research Associate appointment at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). He was awarded an ASEE eFellows fellowship funded by NSF for the postdoctoral research position at UTD. He completed my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in July of 2021 at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. In Spring of 2018, he was awarded an NSF GRFP fellowship in STEM Education and Learning Research. Dr. Murphy's research areas include engineering design theory, design methodology, design cognition, design education and engineering education. His research involves human-subject studies with both quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques including experiment design, rubric development, inter-rater analysis, and semi-structured and structured interviews. His current research is focused on exploring how system representation affects engineering designer behavior, how trained facilitation impacts the design process, and how experience affects students’ approaches to CAD modeling.

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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