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Engineering students demonstrate manufacturing know-how

How mundane kitchen objects come into being is probably not a matter of your deepest interest. Unless you’re an industrial engineering student.

June 17, 2008

The fondue set Elie Kodsi has manufactured.

Dr. Harik chatting with students at the outdoor exhibition.

Stands showcase the posters of kitchen utensils, while Assistant Professor Barbar Akle asks students questions on the manufacturing processes they have used.

CAD/CAM fall 2007 students in front of a Mirage at the Dassault Aviation Argenteuil factory, with Harik and company representatives.

Harik surrounded by the Advanced Manufacturing class students.

Mahmoud Jalloul and Rouba Salibi answer Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Pierette Zouein's questions on their new Collaborative/Concurrent Engineering approach.

Kitchen utensils manufactured by the students themselves are displayed at the exhibition.

Joanna Daaboul and Amjad Hibri present their application of DFA concepts on the design of an ornithopter.

Click any image to view all eight pictures.

How mundane kitchen objects come into being is probably not a matter of your deepest interest. Unless you’re an industrial engineering student.

In that case, you’d also know that for a critical curriculum requirement, knowing exactly how to manufacture things entails lots of fun and creativity.

That was evident at last week’s event in Byblos, where students showcased their projects, related field trip experiences and demonstrated their manufacturing skills and knowledge to everyone who cared to learn something new.

Among many items on display were a gyrating fork made with spaghetti in mind; a high-tech potato peeler with a savvy marketing strategy; and a rotating fondue set that won the highest mention for a thorough production job.

The utensils in the exhibit resulted from an assignment to execute original ideas by means of all basic production methods. The students’ work was then carefully evaluated, from concept to outcome, and shown to the community.

Assistant Professor Ramy Harik, from the Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Department, said that LAU’s industrial engineering program—the only one in Lebanon—seeks to provide a bridge between academia and industry.

Besides plenty of hands-on experience, the curriculum includes field trips abroad.

In February, the CAD/CAM class traveled to France to visit the Dassault Aviation head offices and factory, as well as Dassault Systèmes and L’École Normale Supérieure de Cachan in Paris. They also toured the Atelier Inter-Etablissement de Productique de Lorraine (AIP Primeca) and the Research Center for Automatic Control (CRAN).

At last week’s event, the students had an opportunity to recount that experience. They also held a poster session explaining the projects they had exhibited earlier, and answered questions from a sizable audience that included faculty members and LAU administrators.

“The personal satisfaction of the students was at an all-time-high,” said Harik.

He added that at least two student research papers were accepted by premium journals and four other papers were to be presented in conferences, demonstrating the department’s “excellent overall performance.”

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