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Jacob Gassenheimer, a member of the class of 2023 majoring in Civil Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), recently completed a senior thesis that is required of all graduating seniors as part of the university’s distinctive project-based educational experience. The project, A Structural Redesign of Terminal E at Logan Airport, was Jacob’s Major Qualifying Project (MQP), one that is usually team-based and often focuses on very specific issues or needs of an organization that has partnered with the university to sponsor the student’s work.
“It’s inspiring to see the creativity and skills that our students bring to these projects, as well as the professionalism with which they present their research,” says Arne Gericke, interim dean of undergraduate studies and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “Their experience managing a major project like this-including identifying a problem and researching all of the implications and possible solutions while also managing team dynamics over an extended period of several months-sets them up well for success not only in their first jobs after graduation but throughout their careers.”
A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI, project-based learning offers students the opportunity to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives-an experience that changes the student and their world.
In addition to providing tangible work experience that proves valuable to employers, MQPs often lead to publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at regional and national conferences, patents, and entrepreneurial ventures. Others become useful innovations and products for their corporate sponsors.
Prior to their MQP, students complete an Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), usually in their junior year, with a team of other students across disciplines; the projects may or may not relate to the students’ fields of study and are sponsored by organizations across the globe to give students real-world experience addressing problems that lie at the intersection of science and society. Approximately 85% of WPI students complete a project at one of the university’s 50+ off-campus project centers located in more than 30 countries around the world.
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. WPI offers more than 70 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology; robotics and the internet of things; advanced materials and manufacturing; cyber, data, and security systems; learning science; and more. www.wpi.edu
Contact: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, media@wpi.edu
NOTE: You are receiving this press release because the student or their parents are from your area. This press release above was prepared for: Editor – Pinecrest Tribune.
