The Capstone Honours is an event which recognizes Mechanical Engineering designers of the future. The awards are presented jointly by the University of Alberta’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Northern Lights Chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. The Capstones recognizes the best design presentations by members of the graduating class of Mechanical Engineering students participating in the major design project class, MecE 460. Two teams are selected from the Fall Semester and two from the Winter Semester to attend the Capstone Honours Awards Banquet each year.

Each year the Capstones Board continues to organizing the event and obtain sponsorship in order to continue the tradition of honouring design excellence from the department of Mechanical Engineering. The Board comprises University faculty, industry representatives, recent graduates and former Capstones winners.

If you are interested in contributing to the Capstones Board, please contact us.

- View The Past Winners -

MecE 460 is the major design project of the final year of Mechanical Engineering. The projects, originating from industry, offer young engineering designers many new challenges. To meet the goals of their clients, student designers must apply knowledge and techniques learned in their courses and must use resources and methods from commercial sources. The best designs feature creativity, ingenuity and sound methodology. The four groups that are selected to present at the Capstone Honours Awards Banquet will have effectively communicated objectives, constraints and solutions, will have shown creativity and demonstrated sound methodology and will have successfully responded to technical questions.

The Junior Honors Design Award recognizes the outstanding design team competing in the second year Mechanical engineering design course.  Every year second year students are required to conceive of, design and build a vehicle that must perform various feats of derring-do. 

This second year design course is the first chance for mechanical engineering students to experience the joys and turmoil of a design project.

The Junior Honors Design Award recognizes these students ingenuity and offers them a chance to see what career in design can hold in store for them.

The course objectives are to introduce second year Mechanical Engineering students to the design process and to further develop the engineering analysis tools introduced in first year (primarily Free Body Diagrams). Theoretical material covered in the course includes study of the stages in the design process, design goals, report writing, engineering codes and standards, engineering ethics, and some analytical design tools including 3D stress analysis, combined loading, introduction to failure theories, introductory concepts involving materials and manufacturing, and some simple machine elements (springs, cams, etc) as time permits. The use of a design and build project reinforces the fact that there is never one correct solution to a design problem. The project also allows the opportunity to experience working in a group setting, which is an important part of being an engineer. Further details on the material covered can be found in the course outline.

Each April, following the Winter Semester MecE 460 design presentations, the annual Capstone Banquet is held which gathers University alumni & faculty as well as members of Alberta’s industry for an exciting evening comprising the banquet, design presentations and awards ceremony. The evening is open to anyone who wishes to attend: faculty, alumni, friends & family and industry members. There is an excellent opportunity for networking and maintaining relationships within the education and manufacturing community.

There are four distinct awards given during the Awards Banquet (one for each team); after presentations are complete, winners for each category are chosen along with an overall winner. Below are the categories along with prizes available to the students:

Thorsten Watterodt Award for Excellence in Design Creativity
Intended to recognize excellence in innovative and creative design applied to the solution of a practical engineering design project.

• Awarded for exercising innovation and creativity to practically solve a problem
• $1000 cash prize
• 1-year student copy of Solidworks Designer (includes COSMOSWorks Design)

Precimax Design for Advanced Manufacturing Award
Intended to recognize the superior selection and incorporation of advanced materials and manufacturing processes within a practical engineering design project.

• Awarded for the application of advanced technical concepts to obtain a design solution
• $1000 cash prize
• 1-year student copy of Solidworks Designer (includes COSMOSWorks Design)

Universe Machine Corporation Design for Manufacturing Award
Intended to recognize the superior selection and incorporation of practical and economical materials and manufacturing processes within a practical engineering design project.

• Awarded for exercising incorporating effective, practical and economic concepts to obtain a design solution
• $1000 cash prize
• 1-year student copy of Solidworks Designer (includes COSMOSWorks Design)

Excellence in Technical Design Award
Intended to recognize the superior application of sophisticated engineering and design methods to provide a solution to a practical engineering design project.

• Awarded for incorporating advanced manufacturing techniques as a method of economically producing a successful design
• $1000 cash prize
• 1-year student copy of Solidworks Designer (includes COSMOSWorks Design)

Each year, one of the design teams is selected as the Capstones overall winner and chosen to represent the University of Alberta’s Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National Design Competition put on by the Canadian Society of Manufacturing Engineers (CSME).

A trophy is presented to each participant in the annual Capstone Honours Awards Banquet. The trophy itself is a key part of the Capstones, and it is a special piece of hardware that winners take great pride in. The trophy was designed by Curt Stout, P. Eng., and it is manufactured in Edmonton and presented to each winner with a personalized nameplate. The design is based on a successful product called the DT Hub, developed by Thorsten Watterodt (University of Alberta B.Sc. ’88). The DT Hub is a 2-speed planetary-geared truck hub manufactured by NAF in Germany and marketed worldwide. The trophies, worth $2000 each, are fully functional and come with a set of tools to disassemble them. Depending on availability, alternatively a glass award with artwork engraving or a scaled plastic RP model trophy may be presented to the participant.