LPRDS: A Requirements-Driven team-Based Design of a 2kW Solar Energy System

This paper will describe a capstone senior design course that features a teambased requirements-driven project.The project scope is selected such that the technical requirements are sufficiently complex to require a team-based solution.The project implementation is designed to force the students to consider realistic formal engineering requirements and specifications while offering significant opportunities for student leadership.The most recent embodiment of this project is the Lafayette Photovoltaic Research and Development System (LPRDS) which addresses the design, fabrication, and testing of a 2kW solar energy system.This project will be described to illustrate various pedagogical objectives of the capstone course.