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Da Vinci Concentration Thesis

The da Vinci Concentration at Notre Dame gave students the opportunity to explore a coherent collection of academic interests in the College of Arts & Letters and apply what they learned to the engineering major.

The da Vinci Concentration was a new offering by the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department my sophomore year. I jumped at the opportunity to create a cohesive concentration around design and design thinking. This area was of particular interest because the combination of technical engineering with the power of storytelling, empathy-based design, and design research created a base to learn how to create impactful products. Additionally, I supplemented this concentration with more design classes. The thesis attached below presents my writings on the power design thinking can have in the field of engineering, and the importance of teaching engineers to design with more than numbers and regulations, but to design with empathy, a staple in any design class but unfortunately overlooked in most engineering projects.


Da Vinci was a renaissance man through and through. Engineers of the 21st century can learn a lot from this breadth of knowledge. The ability to design with empathy, communicate a story visually and orally, and think creatively are requirements of the 21st century engineer.

"If engineers are relegated to the role of technician, they will no longer command the levels of responsibility that will enable them to successfully compete in the global economy or assume leadership roles."


You can read the thesis report here. The presentation slides are below for reference  I'd love to discuss either!

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