Florida Gulf Coast University
U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering
EGN 6941 Project, Spring 2026
Last updated: Oct 14, 2025
Report Requirements: Link
Ahmed S. Elshall, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering
U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering (Joint Appointment with The Water School)
Office: Holmes Hall 423 (inside 416)
Research Website: https://aelshall.weebly.com
Office Hours:
Individual work culminating in a professional practice-oriented report.
This course provides credit hours for executing the research project developed in EGN 6457 Research Methods (prerequisite), as outlined in the “Big Picture”. You will independently conduct, complete, and present your project with guidance from your research supervisor through regular progress meetings.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
No textbook required. Materials will be posted on Canvas.
This schedule is tentative and may be adjusted based on individual student needs and progress. Due dates are tentative and final deadlines will be posted on Canvas. Progress meetings are one-on-one meetings spread over 3 weeks.
| Week | Date | Activity | Milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Jan 7 - Jan 18 | Kickoff meeting (individual meeting) | Draft proposal |
| 3-5 | Jan 19 – Feb 8 | Progress meeting 1: Discuss final proposal (individual meeting) | Final proposal |
| 6-8 | Feb 9 – Mar 1 | Progress meeting 2: Discuss draft report (individual meeting) | Draft report |
| 9 | Mar 2 - Mar 8 | Spring break | |
| 10-12 | Mar 9 – Mar 29 | Progress meeting 3: Discuss interim report (individual meeting) | Interim report |
| 13-14 | Mar 30 – Apr 12 | Progress meeting 4: Discuss draft final report (individual meeting) | Draft final report |
| 15 | Friday Apr 17 | Presentation due at Eagle-X (8:00 am - 1:30 pm) | Presentation |
| 16 | Sunday Apr 26 | Final report due by 11:59 pm | Final report |
| Grade | Percentage | Grade | Percentage | Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 94–100% | A- | 90–93.99% | B+ | 87–89.99% |
| B | 84–86.99% | B- | 80–83.99% | C+ | 77–79.99% |
| C | 74–76.99% | C- | 70–73.99% | D+ | 67–69.99% |
| D | 64–66.99% | D- | 60–63.99% | F | Below 60% |
In the kickoff meeting, you will plan with your research supervisor for the rest of the semester. The one-on-one progress meetings with your research supervisor are mandatory and graded. Additional non-graded meetings for guidance can be requested by either the student or the research supervisor as needed.
Your participation grade will reflect your professional attitude. You are expected to attend on time from your laptop (not from phone), be prepared, treat the meeting as a serious work session, and effectively address feedback. Additionally, effective time management is part of the participation evaluation. For example, students who request additional final report reviews, need to do this at least one week before the final submission deadline to allow for meaningful feedback. Last-day requests should be limited to specific and legitimate questions, not for reviewing entire reports or resolving issues stemming from ignored feedback throughout the semester. Also, teamwork is a key skill and the student is expected to engage with the supervisor as collaborative team members. Your participation grade will assess your professional attitude and professional maturity during the course based on the rubric below. At the end of each meeting, you will reflect on your professional maturity through self-grading using the rubric below.
| Criteria | Good (9-10 Points) | Satisfactory (5-8 Points) | Needs Improvement (0-4 Points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punctuality (5%) | Attends meeting on time, ready to begin | Late but provides valid reasons | Late with repeated invalid excuses |
| Preparedness (35%) | Prepared with clear updates, progress, and specific questions | Somehow prepared with some updates | Unprepared with vague updates |
| Responsiveness to feedback (35%) | Applies instructor feedback constructively and shows steady improvement | Applies feedback inconsistently or delays acting on it | Frequently ignores feedback or repeats previous mistakes |
| Time management (15%) | Manages deadlines effectively and requests feedback well in advance | Requests feedback with insufficient time for a meaningful response | Misses deadlines or depends on last-minute help |
| Teamwork and communication (10%) | Engages respectfully and professionally with the instructor and advisor as collaborative team members, and responds promptly to emails/requests | Communication is polite but lacks consistent collaboration | Dismissive, uncooperative, or unprofessional behavior |
Important dates:
You need to submit a draft proposal by week 1 following the kickoff meeting guidelines, and incorporate feedback for final approval by your first progress meeting. Your proposal needs to adhere to these guidelines. The project proposal will be graded as “meets expectations” (full credit) or “does not meet expectations” (no credit), with potential deductions for unaddressed review comments from instructor.
In-person final presentations are scheduled for April 17 (8:00 AM –1:30 PM) at Eagle X. Winning an Eagle X Research Award guarantees an “A” grade, provided that the project report and poster are submitted on Canvas. Your poster must be well-organized, professional, and include visual aids. Your poster must adhere to the final presentation guidelines and rubric.
Students are required to complete their projects and document their independent work in a professional and polished report. The report must follow and adhere to this rubric.
Any instance of data falsification or fabrication will result in a grade of zero for your report and further actions as per FGCU policies and procedures. Data falsification involves manipulating real data to misrepresent results. Data fabrication involves inventing data that does not exist. Also, your proposal, report and presentation must adhere to citation and plagiarism policies, including proper referencing practices
Permitted with proper citation. Students must document AI usage in the appendix. Non-compliance will be treated as academic dishonesty.
This link provides information on FGCU Writing lab, access to high performance computing (HPC) resources, program learning outcomes and other useful resources.
FGCU has a set of central policies related to student recording class sessions, academic integrity and grievances, student accessibility services, academic disruption, generative AI, and religious observances that apply to all courses at FGCU. Be sure to review these online