Engineering: It's all about design

Most of the objects that surround us and make our daily lives easier or more convenient were designed by engineers. At Rice, exposure to engineering design begins in the freshman year and extends throughout the senior year. To strengthen the design experience, we have just opened the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK), which brings together students from all engineering departments under one roof and provides opportunities for interdisciplinary design experiences and activities.

Resources in the OEDK include a machine shop, computer lab, rapid prototyping systems equipment, and a wet lab. There are several conference rooms, and one is set up for videoconferencing for collaboration with industrial mentors and team members not at Rice.

In its first year of use, students put the OEDK to the test working on a number of projects to improve peoples' lives. You can read about some of those projects here. Students are also working on a solar house with Rice architecture students. The house is part of the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition and will be fully powered by solar panels. After the competition, the house will be moved to a low-income neighborhood in Houston where it will serve as someone's home and as a model for low-cost power-efficient housing for the area.

Design teams are also working extracurricular projects through organizations like Engineers Without Borders, Beyond Traditional Borders and the Rice Robotics Club.