Final Report and Poster

Please note that this report and presentation should include everything you have learned to date about your water treatment device, including material found in the midsemester report and presentation. However, just as with the midsemester report and presentations, it should not include the results of the adsorption experiment. Of course, completing the adsorption experiment (and report) should help students understand the operation of water treatment devices that incorporate activated carbon, and this understanding may be incorporated into the final report and presentation.

Purpose of Report

I. To summarize the results of investigations of your water treatment device.

II. To propose a new water treatment device that will be competitive with your treatment device, without patent infringement.

Format of Written Project

Submit one report per team. Include your graded midsemester report as a separate attachment. Reports must be printed and stapled in the upper left-hand corner and have 2.5 cm margins on all sides. The type font must be 12 points. The line spacing should be double-spaced. Each page should be numbered (in Word, use Insert, Page Numbers). For help on report writing refer to the chapters "Representations of Technical Information" and "The logical structure of Technical Reports, Section by section" in the course text. The written project must contain the following:

1) A letter of transmittal addressed to your section professor stating the report title, what is in the report and why you are submitting it.

2) Cover Sheet - Use a descriptive title (give the brand and model) include team names, submittal date, and course and instructor name.

3) The body of the report, containing the following sections (see "The logical structure of Technical Reports, Section by section" in the course text for detailed descriptions):

Abstract

Introduction

Methods and Materials - this is called "the procedural section" in your course text.

Results - Include appropriate tables (e.g., specifications, parts list, testing results), figures (e.g., drawings, graphs of testing results), and photos (of the treatment device) after their first mention in the text. This section should cover the following:

i) Form of your water treatment device: For example: What does it look like? Is it ergonomic? What is it made of? Include a parts list.

ii) Function of your water treatment device: Describe how it works. Describe how it is constructed. Incorporate material, mechanical, electrical, and assembly factors into your discussion.

iii) Intellectual Property of your water treatment device: Describe any patents on the product, including subcomponents. Use http://www.delphion.com/ (you'll need to open a "free basic registration" account), http://www.uspto.gov/, or other patent sites. When do the patents run out?

iv) House of Quality analysis of the water treatment device.

v) Results of all tests of your water treatment device conducted to date (simple physical testing, water quality testing, ergonomic and aesthetics testing, stroke force testing, pressure testing, ...). Note: the adsorption test is not included in this report.

Discussion - It should cover the following:

i) Summary of the desirable characteristics of your water treatment device.

ii) Summary of the test results (to date) for your water treatment device.

iii) Proposal for a new water treatment device that will compete with the water treatment device you evaluated.

The discussion section is based only on information presented in previous sections, with the exception of the material on the proposed new water treatment device.

Drawings - Include drawings in the Results section (and the Discussion section if you want to include drawings of the proposed new treatment device).

Appendix - include the raw results of testing in the appendix.

PowerPoint Poster - The poster will cover the same material as the report. It will contain the following slides/sections:

Title Slide (must include your treatment device + your names)

Overview Slide (main purpose and what you will cover in presentation)

Basic information on water treatment device (multiple slides on the form/function/intellectual property)

Results (multiple slides on simple physical testing, water quality testing, ergonomic and aesthetics testing, stroke force testing, pressure testing, ...)

Proposed New Water treatment device (multiple slides)

Conclusions Slide (summary of activities/results to date)

Think about your objectives and intended audience. Does your poster meet your goals? Will the intended audience understand it? Will it keep their interest? Make sure that all material included on the slides can be read by the audience. Avoid slides that are too busy. Use bullet points. Make sure the order is obvious. Practise!