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Senior Design

Led by Assistant Professor of Teaching Amir Saeidi, the materials science and engineering senior design experience combines materials design with analysis of real materials synthesis, processing, fabrication, and technological applications, including critical assessments of economic, manufacturing, and ethical constraints. Various principles of materials science are integrated into a culminating team design project. 

Each year, an Outstanding Senior Design Team is recognized for exemplary product design, teamwork, communication, and solution-building. Other criteria include: 

  • Technical aspects of a project: students show an understanding of the fundamentals of the project while employing hands-on activities 
  • Non-technical: teamwork, goal setting, execution, problem-solving skills, communication, results, and articulation of the broader context of the project

2023 Outstanding Senior Design Team

  • Team name: GGB
  • Project title: Dendrite Mitigation in Zinc–Bromine Batteries
  • Team members: Cyrus Haag, Zubayr Mohammad, Sam Schardt, Yu Cheng Wang
  • Sponsor: Golden Gate Battery

“We develop zinc anode-based batteries for industrial backup applications. While our current product is manufactured with our legacy technology, we started the collaboration with [UC Davis materials science and engineering] students to explore our next generation chemistry.

The results in the last few months have been quite outstanding. I am very impressed with the students’ dedication. This research, when continued and brought to fruition over the course of another 2-3 quarters would help us extend the cycle life of our battery by 50-100%, which would effectively reduce the cost of the system by 20-30%.”

- Dr. Saroj Sahu from sponsor Golden Gate Battery

Catalyze Your Progress with Tomorrow's Engineers: Partner with Our Senior Design Class!

Opportunity

If you are an industry leader with unique, non-urgent challenges, you have an opportunity to ignite the careers of aspiring engineers while addressing your engineering challenges. We will work with you to transform your challenges into dynamic senior projects, where our skilled students dedicate their talents and creativity to your goals for 3 academic quarters.

What We Offer
  • Dedicated Student Teams: Motivated, senior-level students eager to apply their skills to your project.
  • State-of-the-Art Resources: Access to our campus facilities such as AMCaT at internal recharge rates.
  • Expert Insight: Students have a direct connection to field experts and academic leaders.
  • Opportunity to Enhance Your Team’s Skills: An opportunity for your team to hone their mentorship and leadership skills by working with our students.
Your Role in Shaping the Future
  • Engage with Bright Minds: Regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings with our students to make sure they are on the right track.
  • Foster Innovation: Financially sponsor your project, empowering students with real-world resources. The expense varies based on the required resources and is anticipated to fall between $1,000 and $5,000.
  • Benefit from Fresh Perspectives: Experience the energy and novel approaches of our senior students.
Previous and current sponsors

We are proud of our collaboration with a multitude of companies, ranging from dynamic startups to well-established industry leaders. Our partners have played a pivotal role in providing real-world challenges that enrich our students' educational experience. Here is a list of our recent collaborators:

Our Students' Achievements

Our senior design students have consistently exceeded expectations, delivering projects that not only demonstrate their technical knowledge but also their ability to innovate and solve real-world problems. Here are a few highlights of their exceptional work:

  1. Zinc anode-based battery: Zinc is an inexpensive metal with low toxicity that has a high energy density when used in batteries as the anode. However, in charging and recharging cycles it forms dendrites that puncture the membrane that separates the cathode and anode. In this project, students designed and assembled battery cells and evaluated the performance of zinc-based batteries with different electrode and electrolyte chemistries. The students used scanning electron microscopy to study the dendrite formation.
  2. Aesthetically masking of conductive inks on fabrics: metal-complex inks display a silver residue when deposited on various fabric types which is a major drawback to commercializing this product from an aesthetic perspective. This project investigated the possibility of masking the color of silver-coated fibers and tested the ink adhesiveness to the fabric surface when exposed to commercial washing conditions.
  3. Characterization of silicon thin films used in solar cells: In this project, students used different characterization techniques such as XRD, AFM, SEM, and UV Vis. to study crystallinity, surface roughness, morphology, and recombination characteristic of provided samples.

Your engagement will provide invaluable industry insights and guidance, further enhancing the quality and relevance of our students' work.

Interested in this mutually rewarding partnership

Reach out to Dr. Saeidi to learn more about the class, sponsor a project, and be a catalyst in these future engineers' careers