Proposal

For my capstone project, I decided for the topic to be on trains. I chose this topic because I am

interested in engineering as a future career. To gain firsthand experience on what a

professional does, I plan on job shadowing a civil engineer. Their work place in Vancouver deals

with designing trains and related infrastructure. While I am there I will pay attention to things

such as proper workplace etiquette (how people address each other, what proper attire is,

etc.), as well as what each member of the group does to contribute to their projects. For

example, I could focus on the people making designs for the tracks and see what other peoples

reactions are (will they accept it, make any changes, etc.). Mainly, I will see how they

communicate and share ideas. If possible, I will take pictures of my trip (at least 1-2 pictures

each visit, with permission) and document my findings in a journal-style format.

As an extended project, I will be making a train model based off of our sky trains. To start off,

the trains main body will be of a lightweight material (cardboard/cardstock) and will be shaped

like a rectangular box. If I find that it is too light, I can glue together pieces of wood to make a

hollowed box. This way, the speed can be controlled by the bodys weight. For the motor, I plan

on using a small, 3 volt toy motor which will connect itself to the wheels using a rubber band.

When the motor spins, the rubber band spins with it, allowing the wheels to rotate and give the

train forward movement. For the tracks, I plan on it being an oval for the train to loop around

in. The material will be of a plastic sheet (corrugated plastic cardboard) or plywood. There will

be grooves made to guide the trains wheels. In the center of the tracks is where I plan to place

an incomplete circuit. It will be comprised of a battery (AAA battery box) to power the motor

and a switch (on/off switch) to start and stop the train. The switch will connect to the battery,
which will connect to the trains motor, and back to the switch, thus completing the circuit. The

battery and the switch will be placed on a platform that allows rotation (much like a Lazy Susan

found in Chinese restaurants). I can use ball bearings (like ones used for skateboard wheels) to

make the rotation of the platform possible. This way, the wires wont get wound up and will

also prevent the circuit from breaking apart. I will connect the circuit together using copper

thread (or another conductive thread).

For the research portion, I will mainly talk about trains. I will cover the history on trains (where

it started, how the first train worked, and how it evolved to our more modern trains). The main

focus of my research will be effects that trains have brought to our environment. Although

trains have boosted human movement (trade, sharing of ideas, sharing of culture, travel, etc.),

they have brought negative impacts to the environment. I will cover topics such as paving way

for new tracks and railroads (and why thats a bad thing), the fossil fuel emissions from burning

fuel (for locomotive trains early in the days) and using up electricity (for trains nowadays).

I plan on spending at least 3 months for my research/extended project. I will start in October

and start with my research. Mid-October will be when I start on my extended project (model

train). I hope to finish my research before winter break, that way I can have plenty of time to

make necessary corrections. For the extended project, I plan on finishing it before December. I

believe that my train should only take about 2 months to finish. There should be plenty of time

to make the train, fix the mistakes, and make the changes. For job shadowing, I plan on job

shadowing (a minimum of) 5 times over the semester. I plan for the days which I will be visiting

to be on Pro-Ds, but some days I may need to leave early (miss Block E, with permission but on

some days I have both block C and D off).

1. Reason for choosing this career or area of interest (briefly explain why you chose this

career/interest and what you hope to learn from completing this project).

I chose Civil Engineering because I plan on becoming an engineer in the future. I am

planning on job shadowing a civil engineer. There, I hope to learn about what goes on in

the daily life of a professional.

2. What prior knowledge (if any) do you already have which relates to this project?

(Explain how this project will help you gain new knowledge or information)

I know that civil engineers design infrastructure, not buildings (roads and bridges as

opposed to cinemas and malls).

3. How will completing this project help make a connection between your academic and

career goals?

Once I complete this project, I hope to expand my knowledge on things regarding

engineering.

4. List any other related information that you feel should be included in the Proposal.

For job shadowing, I may need to miss some days (mainly day 4s as they are in ABCDE

order and I have both block C and D off on those days). However, I have planned to go

during my Pro-Ds, to lessen the amount of days missed.