Senior Design Background and Refection

The Donald E Davis Arboretum is an area near the southeast corner of the Auburn University
campus. It is a host to events such as weddings, graduation celebrations, and reunions. In order for the
Arboretum to continue hosting these events, it must maintain a good aesthetic. Directly north of the
Arboretum is the University President's Estate. During large storm events, heavy runoff is flowing from
the estate onto the Arboretum. There is a parking lot in the northeast corner of the Arboretum where
the majority of the runoff flow is concentrated. The flow passes through the parking lot, down a slope
and into the Arboretums pond. This flow pattern creates a problem because of the erosive forces it
applies to the slope and the sediment it adds to the pond. The erosive forces are causing rill erosion and
damage to a walkway that passes through the area, while the sedimentation in the pond is lowering its
storage capacity. Because of this, the arboretums management personal has requested for a group of
engineers to develop a water management system would control existing and future runoff issues for
this area.

As the semester progressed it helped with developing some soft skills, but mainly professional.
This this is due to the fact that I wanted to be taken seriously, and that I was not uneducated in the
project. Another aspect that the project improved me on was analytical thinking when designing the
water management system. This project is a very complex real world problem, unlike what I have seen
in other courses. It was not easy at first, when presented the problem, to visualize a solution, but as the
semester continued it really strengthened my analytical skills. Also, one area that I have never been
strong at is presenting in front of people, but for this project we were required to present our design
multiple times to other student groups, faculty, and most importantly the clients. This has developed my
presentation, oral, and professional skills. One thing about this course is that there is not a strong
structure to it. This is unlike other courses with in the Biosystem curriculum. Because of this, I had to be
more timeline driven. This was difficult for me to adjust to, because I have always been deadline driven.
Although this course has some due dates the deliverables cannot be achieved without continually
working. Lastly, I believe this course has significantly improved my overall engineering skills, and given
me real world application and professional experience.