First-Year Design

Start Building Something

Are you ready to learn with your hands? To step into The Foundry? To distinguish bandsaw from a miter saw?

Ready to experiment with lasers? (Safely, of course. There are parents reading this.)

Are you ready to team up with brilliant, inspiring peers from around the world? To work on projects for real-world clients with very real expectations?

Yes? That’s great. Because we start when you get here.

First-year engineering students tackle a service project during their EGR101L course, Engineering Design and Communication, in the Design Pod. Taught by biomedical engineering instructor Kevin Caves, students work in a team to learn and apply the engineering design process to solve an open-ended, client-based problem drawn from a community partner.
First-year engineering students tackle a service project during their EGR101L course, Engineering Design and Communication, in the Design Pod. Taught by biomedical engineering instructor Kevin Caves, students work in a team to learn and apply the engineering design process to solve an open-ended, client-based problem drawn from a community partner.

The Curriculum: Active Hands-On Learning

While many engineering programs start with years of analytical coursework, in First-Year Design, students form multidisciplinary teams to build prototype solutions to problems presented by real clients. Students feel the rigors of engineering school and begin learning the technical, project-planning and team-communication skills needed to thrive. They also experience the satisfaction that comes with building something and seeing its impact on the world.

See featured projects and learn more

Maker Space: Your Place to Create

First-year Duke Engineering students think, collaborate, plan and build in spaces specially designed for imaginative solutions and rapid prototyping. And did we mention they have lasers?

Design Pod

The Design Pod

The Lawrence Lenihan Design Pod is our flagship space for First-Year Design. This 5,000-square foot discorectangle (we dare you to look it up) boasts rack upon rack of rapid prototyping machines, a pegboard bristling with hand tools and cabinets loaded with supplies.

Foundry

The Foundry

7,600 square feet of maker space for students and student groups to build ideas from the ground up. Some First-Year Design course sections meet here. Professional staff provide safety training and guidance.

First-year students participating in Project Seed, an Experiential Orientation program for incoming students, use a laser cutter at the Co-Lab to create designs.

Tech Engagement Center

The TEC is a creativity incubator that connects students with resources and programming to jumpstart personal projects. Among its many features is a wall of networked 3D printers.

Pratt Student Shop

Student Shop

Reserved for course work, this space is a workshop equipped with manual and computer-controlled machine tools for cutting, drilling, shaping and welding. Managed by master toolmakers who teach a required safety course.

Garage labs on the main level of the Wilkinson Building not only offer makerspace for engineering design teams, but garage doors that open onto a wide patio to facilitate work on large projects such as electric vehicles, monowheels and more.

Garage Labs

These maker spaces for design-course work take their name from the tall and wide doors that open onto a broad patio, facilitating work on large-scale projects such as electric vehicles, major robotics and more.

Ali Stocks

Once they get their feet wet and realize they can make things, they’re off and running.

 Ali Stocks Manager, The Foundry
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