Universit y NEWS STUDENT ENGINEERS PITCH SOLUTIONS TO LOCAL TECH FIRMS
Stags Earn Six NCAA Awards for Academic Achievement
Six Fairfield University athletic teams were recognized by the NCAA as the organization announced its annual Public Recognition Awards. The men’s soccer team, the women’s basketball team, the men’s and women’s golf teams, as well as the men’s and women’s tennis teams received the honor for their performance in the classroom.
Last spring, seniors in the School of Engineering (SOE) pitched their senior design projects to their fellow students, professors, and industry mentors such as Precision Combustion, Inc. of New Haven, Conn., ASML of Wilton, Conn., Covidien LP, Northeast Laser & Electropolish of Monroe, Conn., and the Federal Aviation Administration. Among some of the projects was a device that makes drug testing more humane, a system that helps make air traffic control safer and a machine that makes jewelry manufacturing more efficient. The teams worked for two full semesters and through multiple design phases to develop their plans and in some cases, prototypes. The student teams, from four undergraduate engineering programs (computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and software engineering) received
funding for their research and development through the Hardiman-Lawrence research funding endowment and other professional mentors. Student teams had to apply either to the University or to an outside company with a formal proposal for acceptance before beginning research and they were not allowed to use any pre-build kits or plans. After the presentations the student projects live on in multiple ways. If they were sponsored by an outside organization, that organization will work to complete the actual system and implement it in their process. Some projects need refinement and the SOE will spend another year developing a final working product. Additionally, some students go on to participate in the annual Fairfield StartUp Showcase, with the possibility of investors fully funding their projects to give them market F accessibility. l
NCAA Public Recognition Awards are based on the teams’ most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR), an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. These six Fairfield teams posted scores in the top 10% of their sport. Nearly 300 schools placed at least one team on the top APR list. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years. The APR measures eligibility, graduation, and retention each term. It provides a clear picture of the academic performance of each team in every sport. lF
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | fal l 2017 5
