Creative Decisions and Design

Last Updated: Wed, 12/17/2025
Course prefix:
ME
Course number:
2110
Semester:
Spring
Academic year:
2026
Course description:

ME2110: Creative Decisions and Design is a hands-on course focused on design, prototyping, and testing of solutions to complex problems. Students work in teams to build autonomous robots for a competitive design challenge, applying principles of design thinking, prototyping, sensing and controls. The course emphasizes iterative development, system integration, and root cause analysis, supported by CAD modeling, technical report writing, and rapid prototyping. Students learn to plan experiments, analyze data, and communicate the value of design decisions under multiple constraints. The course builds creativity supported by technical rigor and teamwork skills to prepare students for Capstone and engineering practice.

Course learning outcomes:
  • To learn the fundamental procedures used for solving engineering design problems.
  • To analyze and synthesize design solutions with flexibility, adaptability, and creativity.
  • To learn techniques that can enable one to tackle unsolved, open-ended problems.
  • To learn by doing through team and individual projects and assignments.
Required course materials:

W. Singhose, J. Donnell, Introductory Mechanical Design Tools (optional)

Grading policy:
  • 40% individual, 60% team project grades. A=90%, B=80%, C=70%, D=60%, F<60%
  • Class participation grades will be based on instructor and TA evaluations of your participation in studio. (10%)
    Peer evaluation grades will be assessed based on your relative performance on your teams as measured using 3 to 4 structured peer evaluations over the course of the semester.
  • Studio preparedness will be evaluated as determined by section instructor. (10%)
Attendance policy:

You are required to attend all lectures and all studio sessions.

Missing studios will result in a final grade penalty where 1 missed studio equates to 1 letter grade reduction. If you arrive late to lecture or studio, you will be noted as tardy. Two tardy marks equate to one absence. Furthermore, there will be several short in-lecture quizzes. The quizzes may occur at the beginning of lecture, so do not be late. There are no make-ups for these quizzes. If you are more than 15 minutes late for studio, then you are considered absent. All students are expected to attend and participate in the Final Competition and Design Review.

In the case of a personal emergency or Institute-approved absence, please consult the information on the Division of Student Life website (http://studentlife.gatech.edu/content/class-attendance) and follow the appropriate steps. The Dean of Students Office will make the decision and contact your professors stating what (if any) accommodations will be provided. Please notify your studio instructor and TA immediately for coordination purposes if you will not be able to attend lecture or studio due to any illness.

Academic honesty/integrity statement:

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.

  • LLMs such as ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, etc. can be excellent tools to generate ideas, stress‑test reasoning, and identify gaps in analysis. They are not substitutes for doing the engineering work (modeling, measurement, testing, and justification).
  • Do not copy LLM text into deliverables. Treat LLM output like any web source. Verify facts with authoritative references and cite those, not the LLM.
  • Unacceptable use of LLM's include:
    • Copy‑pasting blocks of LLM text into your report or slides.
    • Using LLMs to fabricate data, citations, specifications, or test results.
    • Presenting LLM output as authoritative without independent verification.
    • Asking LLMs to write your analysis or conclusions for you.
Instructor First Name:
Martin
Instructor Last Name:
Jacobson
Section:
A
CRN (you may add up to five):
27113
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Department (you may add up to three):
Mechanical Engineering

Capstone Design

Last Updated: Tue, 11/18/2025
Course prefix:
ME
Course number:
4182
Semester:
Spring
Academic year:
2026
Course description:

Seniors will work in teams to apply a systematic design process to real multi-disciplinary problems. Problems selected from a broad spectrum of interest areas, including biomedical, environmental, mechanical, industrial design, electrical, and thermal/fluids. Projects must be based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier coursework, and incorporate appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints. Emphasis is placed on the design process, the technical aspects of the design, and on reducing the proposed design to practice.

Course learning outcomes:

Outcome 1: To enable students to synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired in their undergraduate curriculum, in the context of a realistic design project.

1.1 Students will be able to identify relevant topics from earlier courses and then apply them to their design project.

1.2 Students will be able to critically evaluate designs using engineering criteria and predictive usage.

Outcome 2: To develop in students the ability to address a broad range of requirements, including most of the following: performance, economic, marketing, environmental, sustainable, manufacturing, ethical, safety, social, and regulatory.

2.1 Students will demonstrate an ability to identify and specify design requirements, from general problem
descriptions within the applicable realistic constraints.

2.2 Students will be able to systematically develop a design from the problem statement to a detailed, proof-of-concept design meeting all of the specifications.

Outcome 3: To prepare for the professional design environment, through teamwork and by enhancing students’ communication abilities.

3.1 Students will be able to clearly communicate design ideas and information.

3.2 Students will be able to work collaboratively and responsibly as a team.

3.3 Students will demonstrate the ability to facilitate their learning by identifying design issues and questions that require additional investigation beyond their basic undergraduate curriculum knowledge, then formulating appropriate courses of action.

Required course materials:

All required materials are available free to students through the Canvas LMS and online course websites (mecapstone.gatech.edu)

References: 

  • Eugene A. Avallone, Theodore Baumeister, and Ali M. Sadegh, Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, 11th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2007.
  • Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger, Product Design and Development, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2011.
  • Harold Rothbart and Thomas H. Brown, Mechanical Design Handbook, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2006.
  • Richard G. Budynas and J. Keith Nisbett, Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2011.
  • George E. Dieter and Linda C. Schmidt, Engineering Design. A Materials and Processing Approach, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2012.
  • ME 4315 Energy Systems Analysis and Design references.
Grading policy:

The final grade will be assigned as a letter grade according to the following scale:

  • A 90-100%
  • B 80-89%
  • C 70-79%
  • D 60-69%
  • F 0-59%

 

  • Team component of grade (75%)
    • Weekly lab team meetings, weekly deliverables (5%)
    • Studio-level assignments like Team Charter, Expo Teaser Video, and Expo Participation (5%)
    • Oral presentations and written reports (65%)
  • Individual Component of Grade* (25%)
    • Peer evaluations
    • Individual participation during weekly meetings and progress presentations
    • Individual attendance, quizzes, and participation during studio meetings

* All team members MAY not receive the same grade.

Attendance policy:

Attendance is required for the studio discussions and lab meetings with the faculty advisor. 

Academic honesty/integrity statement:

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.

Instructor First Name:
Amit
Instructor Last Name:
Jariwala
Section:
A
CRN (you may add up to five):
27114
27241
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Department (you may add up to three):
Mechanical Engineering

Computer-Aided Design

Last Updated: Wed, 11/19/2025
Course prefix:
ME
Course number:
6104
Semester:
Spring
Academic year:
2026
Course description:

The course will cover the fundamentals of CAD, including geometric and solid modeling, parametric representations, features, and human-machine interactions, as well as the applications to design, analysis, and manufacturing.

This class does not teach how to use commercial CAD software tools themselves, assuming students learned the basics in their undergraduate years. We focus more on geometric modeling (mathematical and computational foundation) which CAD tools are based upon. 

Topics:
  • Homogeneous Coordinates, Transformation
  • Parametric Surfaces (Hermite, Bezier, B-spline)
  • Solid Modeling (CSG, Euler-Poincare formula, Euler Operators)
  • Implicit Surface Modeling (R-function, Offset, Metamorphosis)
  • Artificial Intelligence for Design
Course learning outcomes:

Students are expected:  

  •  to learn the fundamentals of geometric modeling and visualization for computer-aided design and engineering;
  • to be familiar with algorithms and methods in computational geometry 
Required course materials:

Reference books (not required):

  • Michael E. Mortenson, Geometric Modeling, 2nd Edition, John Wiley, 1997
  • Requicha A. Geometric Modeling: A First Course (online)  https://sites.usc.edu/requicha/home/geometric-modeling-a-first-course/ 
Grading policy:
  • Homework/mini projects       (50%)
  • Quizzes                                     (20%) 
  • Final Project                            (30%) – Project presentation is regarded as oral exam 
Attendance policy:

Regular class attendance is required for all students enrolled in Section A. The fact that classes are scheduled is evidence that attendance is important; students should, therefore, maintain regular attendance if they are to attain maximum success in the pursuit of their studies.  Distance-learning students in Section Q have access to all lecture recordings and are not required to attend class live.

Academic honesty/integrity statement:

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.

Instructor First Name:
Yan
Instructor Last Name:
Wang
Section:
A, Q
CRN (you may add up to five):
28303
28304
View PDF
Department (you may add up to three):
Mechanical Engineering
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