Barrett Information

Program information

College: Manufacturing Systems and Networks
Academic Unit: Manufacturing Engineering, Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Campus: Polytechnic

About

In addition to the requirements specified by the Barrett Honors College, the Manufacturing Engineering and Robotics and Autonomous Systems programs in the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering offer honors students several opportunities for honors credit and thesis research. These programs are where project-based courses are the norm and innovation and an entrepreneurial focus is crucial to success.

Dan Aukes	Brady Hamilton

What qualifies?

Most courses in our programs are offered for honors credit through the honors enrichment contract. Students wishing to receive honors credit should confer with the course instructor at the beginning of the semester in order to develop a mutually acceptable plan for the honors contract activity. Most honors contracts involve either a project that extends the ideas and techniques covered in the course or outside research on topics relevant to the course work. Students have the responsibility to apply for the honors contract through the Barrett Honors College. The Honors College contacts the instructor to approve the contract only after the student has initiated the process. Some courses have honors sections. Honors credit should be conducted in conjunction with an active faculty member, and the faculty member should be qualified to evaluate your performance in your selected project.

Examples:

• Lab-based research related to topics in your course, or well-aligned with your instructor’s research interests.
• Design, development, and implementation of an independent project, especially those resulting in a scholarly work.
• Human studies or social research conducted under the appropriate guidance of the appropriate faculty members.

Recent Honors Theses Topics:

• A Supernumerary Wearable Soft Robotic Arm for Task Execution Assistance
• Parent Roles in Young Making: Informing Implications for Making in Museums
• Phantom Forces Haunting Free Body Diagrams: Misconceptions in Statics & Dynamics
• Jaipur Prosthetic Foot Fatigue Machine
• Leadership Characteristics within the Making Community
• Measuring Air Quality Using Wireless Self-Powered Devices

Academic Preparation

Depending on the topic, students may be expected to have completed upper-level courses in the topic as guided by their thesis director. This is often an organic process, as good thesis topics typically arise from collaborations within class projects. For example, after taking a junior-level design project course, a student may wish to expand on their in-class project by studying their design more in-depth.

Recommended Timeline

Typically students reach out to professors in the Spring before graduation and submit their prospectus over the Summer.

Find deadlines posted at https://barretthonors.asu.edu/academics/thesis-and-creative-project.

Other Honors Oopportunities

Honors contracts are created on a case-by-case basis; you should reach out to a faculty member you are interested in working with more to develop a plan for your contract. Some successful examples include:

• Creating a new assignment that can be used by younger students when learning a difficult concept
• Developing and sharing a new tutorial that can help others to learn a new skill in class or in the lab.
• Creating an app or script that helps research or teaching go faster, better, or easier.
• Shadowing a graduate student and learning a new research, computer, design, or prototyping skill.
• Helping out in a public-facing outreach event to teach a skill to others.

Faculty & Research Interests

Students looking for engineering and manufacturing engineering program faculty members to supervise their honors theses can review the following list.

Guidelines for a Successful Honors Theses

The following provides general guidelines. Please check with the Barrett Honors College guidelines for updated information.

• Meet with the Honors Academic Coordinator Brady Hamilton, for your mandatory junior advising to go over the thesis process.
• The student is responsible for formulating the thesis topic, for requesting faculty to serve on the committee, to submit the necessary forms to the Honors College, and to inform the chair of the committee of all Honors College requirements and deadlines.
• Thoroughly review the Thesis/Creative project handbook and reference it throughout your project. Be aware of the deadlines and expectations of the project.
• Brainstorm ideas for your topic. Think of topics that you have a passion for and that may assist you with future goals. The students can start thinking of thesis topics as early as their freshman and sophomore years. The students should definitely have a clear plan of the thesis topics or research by their junior year.
• Investigate the research areas of the faculty in your department or in a related field and Create a list of questions and topic ideas to discuss with a potential thesis director.
• Set up a meeting with a potential thesis director. Refer to the Faculty Honors Advisor in your department, if you need additional assistance.
• Once you have a confirmed thesis director, register for the appropriate thesis course(s) (XXX492 and/or XXX493) through your director’s department.
• Select the second reader in collaboration with your thesis director.
• Write your prospectus, have it reviewed and signed by your director and second reader.
• Submit your prospectus to the Barrett Advising office by the appropriate deadline.
• Meet regularly with your thesis director and second reader on the progress of your thesis/creative project.
• Schedule your thesis defense.
• Complete and file (if appropriate) the thesis reimbursement application.
• Finalize your manuscript with the guidance of your committee, and prepare for your defense.
• Plan to give your committee members a hard copy of your manuscript at least two weeks prior to the defense.
• Present at your oral defense and have your Signature page correctly formatted and signed by your committee.
• Submit your final unbound manuscript to the Barrett Advising office with correctly formatted Signature page containing original signatures (not photocopied) of all committee members, as well as an electronic copy of your thesis. See Final Copy Submission/Formatting section for campus specific emails.
• Confirm that your thesis/creative project director submitted a grade for the completed project and changed the Z grade if one was submitted in a prior semester (for 492).
• Remember to submit the Barrett Graduation form online through MyASU during your final semester.