Students engineer solutions to industry challenges

The work of students in UC Berkeley’s Capstone Project course — more than 50 displays and demonstrations — was unveiled recently at Hearst Memorial Mining Building. This video by Berkeley News’ Hanna Juehan Ye and Stephen McNally highlights three energy-related devices: one that produces electricity from ocean waves, a saltwater-powered battery and a trendy electronic tattoo.

Capstone is a nine-month course offered by the Master of Engineering degree program and run by the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership in the College of Engineering. Under the mentorship of a faculty member or an adviser from a private company, government agency or nonprofit, teams of three to five students carry out independent projects to address present-day engineering industry challenges. Students prepare a report and deliver oral presentations to accompany their project, which can be anything from product prototypes to algorithms, conceptual design and software code.