Paragon Innovations Grant Funds to Texas A&M Engineering Students Senior Project

A $5,000 grant from Paragon Innovations supports Senior Capstone Experience at Texas A&M Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution Department.

Plano, TX, November 13, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Paragon Innovations, Inc., a leading engineering and product development firm, announced today it has awarded a $5,000 grant to Texas A&M Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution Department’s Senior Capstone Experience. The EET/TET Senior Capstone Experience (http://capstone.tamu.edu) is a two-course sequence that requires teams of undergraduate students to plan, execute, and control the design and development of a demonstrable prototype device/system suitable for commercialization.

“Paragon Innovations is a very special customer of ours,” said Dr. Joseph Morgan, Course Director of Capstone Design Projects. “Not only are they Texas A&M alumni, they also bring years of engineering design expertise to our program and students. The students working on their project are highly motivated, and we hope to extract best practices through the feedback Paragon provides during this experience.”

Paragon Innovations provided a commercial specification for a Pinewood Derby Management System (PDMS) to Valance Solutions — the project team awarded the grant money. Valance Solutions will design a new PDMS that will improve the efficiency and management of running large pinewood derby races conducted by the Boy Scouts of America.

“We strongly believe that providing real-life business situations is a critical component of a student’s educational experience,” stated Mike Willey, Chief Technical Officer with Paragon Innovations. “This grant is part of our continued support to Texas A&M, and we are excited to be involved with a very talented team of engineering students on their senior project.”

The Capstone Senior Project is a unique program that requires the students to have a working prototype at the end of the project. Each team has a faculty advisor that works closely with the students and the sponsor. Paragon Innovations will provide management oversight throughout the project, and will participate in design reviews and milestones. At the end of the project, the team must demonstrate the product meets the specifications provided by the sponsoring company.

“Paragon Innovations has provided a project that is both timely and serves a need in the marketplace,” stated Dr. Rainer J. Fink, a faculty advisor for the Capstone Senior Project. “I have a personal interest in the product, since my son is a cub scout, and the students are very excited about developing this technology.”

About Paragon Innovations
Paragon Innovations, Inc. is a leading engineering and product development services provider specializing in medical devices, video displays, portable wireless devices, and a variety of other markets. Founded in 1990, Paragon has worked with Fortune 500 companies, as well as startup ventures, to provide turn-key electrical, mechanical and industrial design engineering services from concept development to market launch. For more information, visit www.paragoninnovations.com.

About Capstone Senior Experience
The EET/TET Senior Capstone Experience at Texas A&M University is a two-course sequence that requires teams of undergraduate students to plan, execute, and control the design and development of a demonstrable prototype device/system suitable for commercialization. For information about sponsoring a senior project, please contact Dr. Joseph Morgan at morganj@suddenlink.net.

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Paragon Innovations, Inc.
Marjie Price
214-575-2225
www.paragoninnovations.com
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