Identifying Alternate Resources and Adjusting Expectations for Senior Design Projects During the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required capstone design course instructors to transition to online learning. Student project teams were denied access to resources needed to construct and test prototypes scheduled to be delivered to project sponsors and clients at the end of the semester. Face-to-face collaboration was replaced with virtual team meetings.

A Student-Centered Learning Approach to Design for Manufacturability: Meeting the Needs of an Often-Forgotten Customer.

A hands-on learning module was implemented at Marquette University in 2012 to teach biomedical engineering students about basic manufacturing processes, lean manufacturing principles, and design for manufacturability. It incorporates active and student-centered learning as part of in-class assembly line simulations. Since then, it has evolved from three class periods to five.

Lessons Learned from a 10-Year Collaboration Between Biomedical Engineering and Industrial Design Students in Capstone Design Projects.

Engineers and industrial designers have different approaches to problem solving. Both place heavy emphasis on identification of customer needs, manufacturing methods, and prototyping. Industrial designers focus on aesthetics, ergonomics, ease of use, manufacturing methods, and the user's experience.

Active learning in capstone design courses.

There is a growing trend to encourage students to take a more active role in their own education. Many schools are moving away from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side model where the instructor is a facilitator of learning. In this model, the emphasis is more on learning and less on teaching, and it requires instructors to incorporate more active and student-centered learning methods into their courses.

Preparing students for capstone design [Senior Design].

The senior capstone design course is the culmination of the previous three years of the undergraduate curriculum. The goal of this course is to develop students' communication (oral and written), interpersonal, teamwork, analytical, design, and project management skills through a team-based design experience. Students learn about the product-development process and gain experience solving open-ended problems.

Making the transition from technologist to manager.

To prepare for the transition to management, technical personnel must (1) develop their administrative, communication, and interpersonal skills; (2) learn to delegate, and (3) learn management principles and concepts. This last activity can be accomplished through in-house management training programs, on-the-job training, or formal management degree programs. These activities will help increase the chances for success among technical personnel making the transition into management in a clinical or industrial setting.

The electrochemical and mechanical behavior of passivated and TiN/AlN-coated CoCrMo and Ti6Al4V alloys.

The mechanical and electrochemical behavior of the surface oxides of CoCrMo and Ti6Al4V alloys during fracture and repassivation play an important role in the corrosion of the taper interfaces of modular hip implants. This behavior was investigated in one group of CoCrMo and Ti6Al4V alloy samples passivated with nitric acid and another group coated with a novel TiN/AlN coating. The effects of mechanical load and sample potential on peak currents and time constants resulting from fracture of the surface oxide or coating, and the effects of mechanical load on scratch depth were investigated to determine the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the oxides or coating.

In vitro corrosion testing of modular hip tapers.

The in vivo fretting behavior of modular hip prostheses was simulated to determine the effects of material combination and a unique TiN/AlN coating on fretting and corrosion at the taper interface. Fretting current, open-circuit potential (OCP), and quantities of soluble debris were measured to determine the role of mechanically assisted crevice corrosion on fretting and corrosion of modular hip tapers. Test groups consisting of similar-alloy (Co-Cr-Mo head/Co-Cr-Mo neck), mixed-alloy (Co-Cr-Mo head/Ti-6Al-4V neck), and TiN/AlN-coated mixed-alloy modular hip taper couples were used.

A multicenter retrieval study of the taper interfaces of modular hip prostheses.

A multicenter retrieval analysis of 231 modular hip implants was done to investigate the effects of material combination, metallurgic condition, flexural rigidity, head and neck moment arm, neck length, and implantation time on corrosion and fretting of modular taper surfaces. Scores for corrosion and fretting were assigned to medial, lateral, anterior, and posterior quadrants of the necks, and proximal and distal regions of the heads. Neck and head corrosion and fretting scores were found to be significantly higher for mixed alloy versus similar alloy couples.