RIT Capstone-Project Presentations Slated for This Week

Two groups of Rochester Institute of Technology students will present graduate-student capstone projects this week.

Presentations by students in RIT’s master’s program in product development will be from 1 to 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14, in Xerox Auditorium in the James E. Gleason Building.

Topics include:

An Exploration into the Fuzzy Front End of Innovation

Creating Competitive Advantage in the Commodity Markets: The Implications of Product Modularity on the Product Development Process

Discovering Hidden Assets in Large and Small Companies

Radical Innovation in Medium-Size Companies

Strategic Alliances: Dynamic Factors That May Impact Competitiveness

"Capstone projects provide students the opportunity to apply their experience and knowledge gained from the MPD program to real-world problems at sponsoring companies," says Mark Smith, director of product development and manufacturing programs in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.

Represented in this year’s class are professionals from Branson Ultrasonics Corp., Eastman Kodak Co., Gleason Inc., NexPress Solutions LLC, Vanlab Corp. and Xerox Corp. A graduation ceremony will be on Nov. 23.

Also on Nov. 14, beginning at 6 p.m., Mikel Hill will present "Thermal Media Drying" and Dale Ryan will discuss "Product Development Utilization of CAE Tools with a Focus on Tolerance Design." Presentations will be in the Max Lowenthal Building, room 1115. Hill and Ryan are graduate students in RIT’s Center for Multidisciplinary Studies.