Work in progress - evolution & implementation of a roller coaster (design-build) project for a first-year program

The fundamentals of engineering (FE) sequence at The Ohio State University consists of two courses that involve skill development applicable for all engineering disciplines. The second course includes a new design-build project, implemented in the winter of 2004. From a curriculum standpoint, the goal has been to create a project that is challenging, sustainable, and cost-effective. Total construction time for students was reduced by providing a set of interchangeable and interlocking parts - leaving students more time to experiment with multiple designs and orientations, and to solve real-world problems. In order to ensure the use of design methods that would result in accurate models, a physics-based approach was used, and all teams had to have a paper design approved before construction. Complete project documentation, a final systems test, and an oral presentation by each team serve as culminating events for the project.