The Jeremy Project: a case study in undergraduate science and engineering education [in underwater ROV mission systems design]

In August 1998, Santa Clara University conducted a marine archeological expedition off the coast of Alaska with the use of a modified Deep Ocean Engineering phantom XTL underwater remotely operated vehicle. The mission goals were to locate a lost whaling fleet that sank near Barrow, Alaska in 1871 and to test NASA´s Mars Pathfinder 3D mapping technology for use in marine science. This paper reviews Santa Clara´s undergraduate engineering program in mission systems design and its use of remote extreme environment projects to entice the students to push their engineering talent and experience the process of delivering a product that satisfies requirements and performs real scientific research. The paper then describes the mission and accomplishments of the Jeremy Project as a case study of this educational philosophy