By Travis Menghini, Upper School Math & Science Teacher
This semester, students in the MICDS Computer Science Research & Development course tackled an ambitious Capstone Project. The project blended independent research, software development, and professional collaboration, resulting in a dynamic showcase of their skills.
The process began with a Project Proposal that outlined a topic suitable for a five-page IEEE-format research paper. Students explained the topic’s importance, their motivation for choosing it, its historical and current technological context, and their plans for research and development, supported by four to eight citations.
A critical element was partnering with a Professional Mentor from the software development industry, excluding family members. Students secured mentors, held three meetings, and invited them to the final presentation. Mentors received formal documents detailing the partnership, and students maintained professionalism and expressed gratitude throughout.
The Capstone Project Program required a live or prerecorded demo, where students showcased a functional software project. The Capstone Project Paper, spanning three to six pages in IEEE format, included an abstract, keywords, introduction, literature survey, conclusion with four to five key assertions, and four to eight citations.
Additionally, students designed a Capstone Project Poster. The poster featured an introduction, a conclusion, and highlighted findings.
The project culminated in a Presentation, where students combined insights from their paper and poster, followed by a Q&A session.
This comprehensive project sharpened students’ technical expertise, honed their professional communication skills, and fostered independent problem-solving, preparing them for future endeavors in computer science. This rigorous project not only hones technical skills but also fosters professional communication and independent problem-solving, preparing students for future challenges in computer science.
Congratulations on these successful projects and presentations!
- Norah Wright ’25, Codebreaking/Enigma Machine
- Hattie Sloane ’25, BIM Models Into CAD
- Ellie Reardon ’25, CPUs in Video Games
- Ryan Jan ’25, Self Balancing Robot
- Geoffray Lee ’25, Algorithms in Social Media and Positive and Negative Effects
- William Collings ’25, How Data Gets Sent
- Harper Carnahan ’26, DNA Sequences
- Aniket Joshi ’25, Comparing Neural Networks
- Sophie Yokoo ’25, Human Computer Interaction
- Reed Risner ’25, Motion Detection
- James Morey ’25, Boot Loader