2002 ASME

Student Mechanism Design Competition

(Graduate and Undergraduate Divisions)

Introduction | Eligibilty | Entering | Judging | Awards | Organizers | Other Sites

Sponsored by

Introduction

A student mechanism design competition will be featured at the 27th Biennial ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conference to be held under the auspices of the 2002 Design Engineering Technical Conferences in Montreal, Canada from September 29-October 2, 2002. The competition has separate categories for undergraduate and graduate submissions and the finalists will present their work in two separate sessions at the conference. Award certificates and cash prizes will be awarded to the winners at the conference luncheon.

Important dates (Preliminary Listing)
Letter of intent Due: May 1, 2002
Project report Due: July 3, 2002
Notification to finalists: August 10, 2002

Oral presentations: September 29, 2002

Eligibility

Any graduate or undergraduate student who is registered in school full time through the Spring of 2002 is eligible to participate. Both individual and group projects are welcome. Any individual may participate in several entries provided each submission is on a different subject.

The scope of the "mechanism" in this contest is rather broad. For the purpose of this conference, a "mechanism" is defined as: “Any device that transmits a force or a motion in a deterministic way to serve a mechanical task. It may consist of rigid or deformable bodies connected with kinematic or flexural joints. It can be made of any type of materials including smart and other active materials. It can be actuated using any transduction principle using any form of energy input. The size of the device can range from nano scale to macro scale.” Contact the conference organizer if you have any questions about whether your mechanism lies within the scope of this contest.

Submission Information

1. Send one copy of a letter of intent by May 1, 2002 to the student mechanism design competition organizer. It should have:
• Project title
• Name(s) of the participants and one contacting postal address and e-mail address
• University affiliation
• Category (undergraduate or graduate)
• 100-200 word description of the project
• Faculty sponsor's signed letter stating the eligibility of the student(s) to participate
  
  
2. Send three copies of the project report by July 3, 2002 to the student mechanism design competition organizer. It should have:
• A cover page with:

(The judges will not see the cover page).

• Project title
• Name(s) of the participant(s) and one contacting postal address and e-mail address
• University affiliation
• Category (undergraduate or graduate)
• Faculty sponsor's name
• Faculty sponsor's signed letter stating the eligibility of the student(s) to participate
• Project description with:

(Please do not mention your name(s) or affiliation anywhere in the project description.)

• A 500-1,500 word report including all figures, tables, photographs, etc.
  It should include:
1. brief background
2. functional description of the mechanism
3. a clear statement of the novel features of the mechanism
4. procedures used to design the mechanism
5. benefits and possible applications of the mechanism
6. an acknowledgment of help received by the participant(s) from others including faculty, machine shop personnel, laboratory technicians, etc.

The report should be prepared with a word processor and submissions are requested in electronic format (MS Word, Postscript or PDF). Participants may format the report in anyway they like to maximize the readability and presentation of the technical content. Please contact the organizer if you have any questions in this regard. Do not send demonstrative models or prototypes. If you are selected as a finalist, you can bring them to your oral presentation.

Judging

• The letter of intent will not be evaluated. It is required only for the planning purposes by the conference organizer (e.g., choosing judges)
• The project reports will be evaluated by three judges chosen from both industry and academe.
• Five finalists from the undergraduate category and five from the graduate category will be selected. Finalists will be notified by August 10, 2002.
• Criteria for choosing the finalists will be based on:
1. creativity and novelty
2. practicality
3. integrity of analysis and design procedures
4. manufacturability
5. proof-of-concept (whether a demonstrative model is made)
6. quality of the project report
• All the finalists will be required to make oral presentations at the sessions devoted for this purpose at the conference on September 29, 2002. Travel expenses to the conference will be the responsibility of the particpant(s) or the faculty sponsor although a certain amount of money will be made available to help defray travel expenses.
• Each oral presentation will be for 15 minutes followed by 5 minute question and answer period.
• To determine the winners, the judges (who will be present at the oral presentations) will consider the criteria listed above and some additional criteria listed below:
1. quality, organization, and technical content of the presentation
2. demonstrative model (if one is made available)
3. the manner in which questions from the judges and the audience are answered.

Winners will be announced at the Mechanisms and Robotics Conference luncheon.

Awards

Prizes and award certificates will be presented at the Conference Luncheon. Awards, kindly provided by Mechanical Dynamics Inc., will be distributed among the winners in both divisions. Attendance at the conference is required to receive a cash award, and each finalist entry with a representative at the conference will receive an award. Awards will range from $100 to $400. Additionally, some travel funds will be made available will be evenly divided between the finalists. These funds can be used to reimburse travel costs by submitting a written request along with receipts after the conference. In the event that not all finalists are able to attend the conference, the associated award and travel funds will be distributed to those in attendance at the conference, thus increasing the award amounts.

Competition Organizer

Project submissions and questions should be addressed to:

Venkat Krovi
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
State University of New York at Buffalo
318 Jarvis Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260

vkrovi@eng.buffalo.edu
Phone: (716) 645-2593 x2264
Fax: (716) 645-3668

Related Web Sites

· 2002 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences

· 27th Biennial Mechanisms and Robotics Conference