• A group of people taking a photo with a gear like tool
  • People holding award plaques with a medal inside
  • Two people looking at a amachine that is producing bubbles
  • Four people wearing navy blue scribes holding a mechanical tool
  • Two people standing next to a small tractor

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition

Held each semester, the Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition encourages engineering and computer science students to use everything they’ve learned in their program to create practical, real-world solutions to challenges in their field.

About the Competition

The projects that students present for the Senior Design Competition serve as the capstone of their academic experience. Each student chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this program designed to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship. The competition helps to focus students to increase the quality and potential for commercial application for their projects, as well as provide the experience of working in teams, sourcing materials and honing their presentation skills.

Through the generosity of patrons, Fred and Harriet Cox, as well as award sponsors, the College of Engineering reimburses teams for the costs associated with the creation of their prototype. This ensures that teams are not working under unfair financial constraints, but have the resources they need to excel.

Awards and Recognition

During the competition, students present their latest creations in tech advancement to a panel of local industry representatives. Judges choose winners in each category based on innovation, commercial potential, presentation quality, and sustainability. Cash prizes for first and second place are given in each discipline, as well as various categories.

In 2015, the $3 million Fred and Harriet Cox Endowed Senior Design Fund was established to permanently help fund the bi-annual competition and awards ceremony. The ceremony celebrates the students’ achievements and provides their families, faculty and the greater Las Vegas community an opportunity to share the excitement of their work.

Upcoming Senior Design Dates

We are currently planning for the upcoming competition. Check back soon.

Become an Industry Partner

Are you an industry or community partner who has an interesting engineering problem to solve or a concept you’d like to submit? Our teams benefit from your ideas and are eager to solve real-world challenges! Various levels of interaction are possible, from suggesting an idea, to sponsoring a senior design project, or mentoring and coaching student teams.

Benefits for Industry Partners

  • Gain access to possible engineering hires for recruitment
  • Accomplish needed engineering work
  • Provide early training to future recruits
  • Receive access to university resources for collaboration
  • Network with university researchers

Get In Touch

If you or your company are interested in becoming a team project mentor, discussing a project idea, or receiving our Senior Design Project Handbook to find out how you can get involved, contact the college’s Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, Yingtao Jiang at yingtao.jiang@unlv.edu or 702-895-2533.

If you have an idea for a Senior Design project that our students could work on, complete our Senior Design Idea form.

Sponsorship Opportunities

In addition to mentoring students or providing project ideas, you or your company can support Senior Design through the gift of sponsorship. Sponsorship opportunities are available for both the competition and awards ceremony. Sponsorship recognition varies by level with all sponsors receiving a table at the awards ceremony and recognition in the commemorative program.

Sponsorship categories and opportunities include:

  • Competition day event assets
  • Awards ceremony event assets
  • Prize category sponsor
  • Student material and support sponsor

For more information about sponsorship, please contact Kerry Sallee, senior director of development, at kerry.sallee@unlv.edu or 702-895-2913. For event inquiries, please contact Molly Marks, director of special events, at molly.marks@unlv.edu or 702-895-3281.

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