OHIO University Mechanical Engineering Project Proposal Report
PROJECT TITLE
(TIMESNEW ROMAN, 12, BOLD)
Team Name (Times New Roman, 12)
First Author (Times New Roman, 12)
Second Author (Times New Roman, 12)
Third Author (Times New Roman, 12)
...continue to list all authors / team members
Date (Times New Roman, 12)
Abstract (Times New Roman, 12, justified)
The report should start with an abstract of approximately 100 words, summarizing the contents of the report and the objective, results, and conclusions of the projectas specifically as possible.
The heading of the Abstract should be italic.
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THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FORMAT FOR DESIGN PROJECT REPORTS
[ADAPTED FROM ASME GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION]
Report Formatting suggestions:
The entire body text of the report should be Times New Roman, 12, and justified.
Major headings should be numbered consecutively, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc, typed in bold face with a font size of 16.
Sub-headings should be numbered consecutively, 1.1, 1.2, etc, typed in bold face with a font size of 14. S
Sub-sub-headings should also be numbered consecutively, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc., typed in bold face with a size 12 font face.
It is not recommended to go beyond three levels of headings.
This is a formal Design Report, so third person passive voice is preferred.
1.0 Introduction (Times New Roman 16, Bold, left)
Use the introduction section to provide background information on the overall design problem domainand to set the context so that the remainder of the report makes sense to the reader. The overall purpose of the project and the scope of the work should also be clearly communicated. This section should also identify the individual or organization that the team will be partnering with, but the actual determination of the customer’s needs is normally covered in section 2.
The introductory information should come from a broad-based approach to information gathering, including a literature search that makes use of the library, the internet, and other appropriate sources. Please pay special attention to finding relevant and illustrative pictures and figuresto include in the report.
Note: A research assignment and interactions with an engineering reference librarian are used to help teams develop this section of the report.
All ideas and information and images that are included in your reports that originated from another source must be properly referenced. For your reports, please use the Chicago Style Manual and parenthetical references with the author-date system: (Muriru and Daewoo, 2002), (Peters et al., 2001).
1.1 Initial Needs Statement (Times New Roman, 14, left)
The culmination of the Introduction section is a succinct initial needs statement. The initial needs statement is sometimes provided to the design team rather than created by them. However, the design team is responsible for refining the needs statement through ongoing interactions and research.
For example, in the case of participation in the NISH National Student Award Competition, part of the initial needs statement comes from NISH as indicated below:
There is a need for “assistive technology devices / systems that address employment barriers for people withsevere disabilities” (NISH, 2009).
You should supplement the general needs statement with some specific information about the specific need that you are addressing.
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