SEED begins at the end of the junior year when project teams of four to six students are formed, and students start research on an assigned project. All projects have an internal or external customer who defines the problem to solve. When students return for their senior year, it's full speed ahead on project work. Teams create official project proposals, carry their design through the "on-paper" phase, and then begin hands-on work in the lab.
Faculty mentor students throughout the process and keep teams on schedule. The projects culminate with multimedia group presentations in the spring to which parents, faculty, students, and industry representatives are invited. A panel of industry representatives judge students on their presentations and prizes are awarded to the highest scoring teams.