Worcester Art Museum: Creation of a Green Café

The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) is looking to tap into the large population of college students in Worcester, MA. The goal of our project was to identify what the WAM can do to increase attendance of 18-21 year olds and help the museum determine the feasibility of a sustainable cafe that would appeal to this demographic. We interviewed museum staff and surveyed visitors and college students to understand what they like about the WAM, what recommendations they have, and what components of sustainability they found important. Our research revealed a need for advertising and programming geared towards college students, as well as a desire for sustainable components in the cafe. We recommend new café design concepts and options for specialized programming, advertising, and extended hours

Engineering a Bamboo Bicycle

The primary objective of this Major Qualifying Project was to design and construct a bamboo bicycle that could be made available in developing nations and be assembled quickly with minimal training. In order to meet this objective, the project was decomposed into three main components: bicycle joint design, manufacturing fixture design, and safety and testing. The project team was divided into three corresponding groups, utilizing axiomatic design to break down each of the three components. The team successfully manufactured a prototype bamboo bicycle using the Joints Team\u27s system of gussets, the Jig Team\u27s manufacturing fixture, and the bamboo selected by the Safety and Testing Team