ASME Student Design Expositions provide a platform for all engineering
students to showcase their innovative design and build projects to a broad audience.
Bringing practicing engineers, faculty and students into one venue, this program
also provides educational and professional development opportunities for exhibitors
as well as spectators. For students, it is an opportunity to demonstrate their
products or present their design concepts to potential employers and
even investors. For industry leaders, the Expos are like career fairs in reverse;
an opportunity to observe the landscape of student design, get to know extraordinary
engineering students in the region and see first-hand the innovative ideas and
skills students can bring to their companies.
Student Design Expos are a special feature of ASME Student Professional Development
Conferences (SPDCs), which take place in ASME regional Districts around the
world in the spring. The Expos are independent of the annual ASME Student Design
Competitions and the Old Guard Oral Competitions, but where a Design Expo is
held, it will serve as the venue for the Old Guard Technical Poster Award
ELIGIBILITY & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible to participate in an ASME Design Expo, each exhibitor/exhibitor team must be undergraduate(s) with an original design, a poster presentation, or computer simulation of their design to showcase. Multi-disciplinary engineering/non-engineering design teams are encouraged.
Participants need not be members ASME, however, awards are increased for design teams whose members are all ASME student members.
Each exhibitor must register for the Student Professional Development Conference (SPDC) at which the Design Expo will occur, adhere to SPDC registration deadlines and pay all registration fees as required.
Students who wish to participate must:
In addition to completing his/her registration for the SPDC, each exhibitor
must also submit the Student Design Expo Entry Form (Appendix A)*. This form must first be modified by each SPDC host to list only those A/V and technical equipment options available at the host institution. It is important for exhibitors to notify the SPDC host in advance of their specific spatial requirements, as well as A/V or other technical equipment needed for his/her exhibit.
JUDGING & SCORING CRITERIA
All exhibitors are to be judged by the same individuals throughout, or for large Expos, by teams of judges who collectively arrive at a joint decision. Each exhibit should be evaluated by a minimum of five judges, preferably practicing engineers and/or other industry professionals. Judges should be selected along with one or two alternates by the Chief Judge, a member of the SPDC host institution. Local ASME Sections and District Leaders may be asked to cooperate in the search for judges. Judges must exhibit strict impartiality in assessing the design teams and judge solely on the basis of the criteria provided.
Each design must address a technical, economic or environmental aspect of engineering or other basic engineering theme. The design team’s total score is based on the ingenuity of their design, their research and development process as presented, the value and potential impact of their design to its sponsor and beneficiaries, and their ability to communicate or demonstrate the features and value of the design and design approach.
The use of visual aids (poster, laptop, etc) is advisable and contingent upon resources made available by the SPDC host institution. Any video content used as an aid must be under one minute long. Professional practice and courtesy requires that appropriate credit be given during the presentation for any outside help related to the reported project.
Exhibits will be judged based on a scoring ratio of 60% design, 40% presentation.
This ratio is guided by the following categories:
Context and Relevance
What kind of impact does this product have (social, environmental, economic,
etc.)? Does it address a real and specific design need? Does the product offer
lasting value? How well was the project objective it satisfied? Does it address
a pressing challenge or serve a wide base of end users?
Innovation and Creativity
Is there any novel approach to the subject or problem that inspired
this design? Is work independent and original? Is there evidence of creativity
in both form and function?
Efficiency and Feasibility
How practical was this project in view of contemporary engineering standards/practices?
Were factors influencing the design adequately considered (cost, manufacturability,
sustainability)? Were design alternatives evaluated with realistic constraints?
Communication and Presentation
Is the project objective clearly identified? Is there sufficient background
information provided to introduce the audience to the design? Does the
exhibitor effectively convey the context of his/her design to spectators? Does
the exhibitor engage with spectators with sufficient knowledge, confidence and
clarity? Does his/her interaction enhance the presentation of the project?
How effective are the visual aides (if any)?
Judges are to use the Scoring Sheet provided Appendix
B as the basis for judging the Design Expo at any Student Professional Development
Conference. Scoring Sheet samples should be sent to the judges for familiarity
ahead of the contest. Judges should be informed that they must agree to serve
through the entire contest, be it one or two days.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Judges at each conference are to select one “Best Overall Design”
award winner, as well as any locally determined design category based on the
criteria specified in the competition score sheet. A “Spectator Favorite”
award may also be offered, at the SPDC host’s discretion, wherein a secret
ballot would be administered at the door of the Expo venue and all SPDC attendees
would be invited to vote. It is the responsibility of the SPDC host to organize
a team of volunteers to administer and monitor the ballot process where this
recognition is given.
STUDENT DESIGN EXPO AWARDS AT EACH SPDC
Best Overall Design (Society-Level)
$500.00† ($1,000 for ASME-member teams)
Old Guard Technical Poster Award
$200 (where applicable)
* Projects resulting from a US Military, Government or corporate contract/sponsorship
require written permission from the sponsor along with the student's Design
Expo Entry Form.
†The top prize is DOUBLED for 100% ASME Student Member Design Teams
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