Capstone Events

Before the academic year begins, corporate sponsors solidify their capstone project and start refining it if needed with the T&M team. About one month into the semester, September pre-capstone class sessions are reserved for affiliates to give their capstone project pitches. Most students have already met the speaker at an office takeover, making it easier for them to envision themselves working alongside the project lead for six months. The capstone project pitches also allow affiliates to get feedback in the form of the Q&A session on how our interdisciplinary students would propose tackling their problem. This academic year, we revealed the groups online, and teams immediately went to breakout rooms with their company sponsors.

Maegan Sherrill delivering the Southwire pitch to the Class of 2022.

Madeleine Geller (business), Abbey Salas (biology), Grace Pfohl (computer science) and Tyler Smith (civil engineering) from the Caterpillar capstone team.

The Caterpillar capstone team traveled to Texas this November, and here’s what team member Grace Pfohl had to say: “We traveled for a three-day immersion trip to explore Caterpillar's facilities in Austin, Texas, and the surrounding region. We visited the HOLT CAT dealership in Georgetown, Texas. We met with Craig Johnson (Service Manager) and Gregory Brown (Parts Manager) to understand how the CAT dealership operates within the Caterpillar value chain. We also toured the Caterpillar Seguin engine plant with Chris Koers (Engineering Manager) to see how Caterpillar manufactures engines. The main purpose of this trip was to understand the different parts of the Caterpillar value chain and how our project on 3D printable structures may be able to assist each part.”

Matthew DoVale (mechanical engineering), Courtney Canouse (operations & supply chain management), Michael Mandujano (finance), Benton Poore (affiliate), Jamison Porter (alumnus and affiliate), and Zach Sewell (IT management).

The Georgia-Pacific LLC operations capstone team traveled to their site visit in style. Here’s what team member Michael Mandujano had to say: “We joined Jamison Porter (GP corporate sponsor and T&M alumnus) and Benton Poore on a trip to the Savannah River Mill, where we were given a tour of the 2,000-acre facility site. We learned the process behind turning pulp into paper and everything in between. Our main goal of the trip was to gain a current understanding of how paper cores are being used and stored today and talk with on-site managers about how our team’s deliverable can help with forecasting and core storage to potentially save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The Class of 2022 Capstone “Draft” Board

Class of 2022

Corporate affiliates remain involved throughout the year as they interact with their capstone team and the T&M staff. In April, capstone students presented their findings in-person or over video conferencing platforms. One of more T&M staff members attended the 14 final presentations to the corporate sponsors and fellow executives.

The corporate affiliates were overwhelmingly impressed with the students’ presentations. Twelve out of 14 projects were recommended as Best Project of the Year by at least one of their sponsors.

NCR team presenting.

John Stanford (T&M), Kate Mandrell (NCR VP), Judah Krug (computer science), Stephanie Yao (computer science), Owen Sullivan (NCR COO), Zachary Bellis (mechanical engineering), Divita Chillakuru (industrial design), Alex Kalenchits (computer science), Patrice Graves (NCR CHRO), Tony Burdett (NCR University Relations), and Daniel Herrmann (NCR VP).