Since 2002, the Kate Gleason College of Engineering (KGCOE) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has seen its Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) program grow from a small pilot project into a college-wide initiative involving four departments and almost 400 students annually. While subtle adjustments have been made each year, a major redesign effort was undertaken prior to the 2006 academic year to improve program alignment with departmental objectives, to improve delivery efficiency and effectiveness, and to improve student and faculty satisfaction. Coordination of related projects and sharing of information between approximately 60 design teams in a given year, and preserving continuity of information from one year to the next has proven to be a challenging hurdle. This paper addresses the project definition process, which was overhauled to focus on the definition of related projects within a set of disciplinary "tracks," consistent with academic programs and faculty interests. Emphasis was placed on the development of reusable and scalable platforms to lay the foundation for future project extensions, and to encourage cross-project and cross-department collaboration. The process by which project tracks, project families and individual projects were identified, screened, modified and ultimately selected will be discussed. The integral relationship between the Design Project Management course, which trains the future project managers and technical leaders of the multidisciplinary project teams, and the project definition process will be illustrated. The development of the Aerospace Systems and Technology Track, with particular emphasis on the Microsystems Engineering and Technology for the Future Exploration of Outer Space Regions (METEOR) family of projects will be used as a case example to illustrate the process.

is a Professor and Department Chair of Electrical, Computer, and Telecommunications Engineering Technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He teaches courses technical programming and embedded systems design. His research interests include algorithm development and implementation in Field Programmable Gate Arrays.

He is a recipient of the 2000 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. At RIT, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in applied mechanics, computational techniques, and materials science.

He also holds the endowed Russell C. McCarthy Chair and serves as the Director of RIT's Environmental Management Leadership Initiative. He has directed or co-directed six international symposia in the US and Europe in the areas of environment and sustainability.

This paper describes the objectives, strategies, assessment and evaluation, and special program features of the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Multi-department Engineering and Engineering Technology (MEET) Scholars Program. This program began in December, 2004 and is designed to recruit, retain and graduate additional transfer students in our selected engineering and engineering technology degree programs. The MEET Scholars Program represents a collaborative effort of five academic departments across two colleges, and the Enrollment Management and Career Services Division at RIT. All of the programs in the five participating departments are ABET-accredited, and require students to obtain one year of industry coop experience before graduation. The MEET Scholars program builds upon our excellent infrastructure for mentoring students, and involves our mandatory cooperative education program-both of which help students address their financial needs and facilitate placement in the high technology workforce. RIT has an exceptional record in engineering student placement in industry after graduation and an excellent record for both retaining and graduating upper-division transfer students.