UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Fifteen engineering teams won awards at the 2014 Student Design Project Showcase on May 1 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The showcase is the culmination of a semester-long effort that challenges students with solving industry-sponsored projects that expose them to the technical demands, pitfalls and professional expectations they would experience as working professional engineers.
The event featured 159 projects from first-year students through seniors, including 125 senior capstone projects involving 570 seniors.
Projects were judged by a panel of industry experts and awarded at the industry partners' dinner and award ceremony following the showcase.
Three teams won first place for best project in the Lockheed Martin Design Awards:
-- "Binders for Dust and Erosion Control Study" sponsored by Bayer MaterialScience. The team included Anthony Farah, Kasey Morgan, Dylan Reap and Mohammad Uddin, and was advised by Allen Kimmel, assistant professor of materials science and engineering;-- "Affordable Portable Filter Press" sponsored by the Penn State Reservoir Studio. The team included Christopher Guzman, Joshua Lashbrook, Anthony Pomorski, Sean Rooney and Bradley Scott, and was advised by Tiffany Camp, mechanical engineering research associate with the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL); and-- "Adaptive Motor Frame Design – Assembly Line Main Conveyance" sponsored by Ford Motor Co. The team included Drew Golterman, Christopher Graham, Michelle Johnson, Robert McBride and Cullen McClain, and was advised by Damian Rose, an ARL engineer.
Four teams were awarded second place:
-- "IV Therapy UV-C Light Disinfecting Device" sponsored by B. Braun Medical. The team included Benjamin Carey, Andrew Leber, Xinzhou Li, Khalil Ramadi and Philip Watta, and was advised by Mike Erdman, Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development;-- "Smart Safe" sponsored by Rocky Mountain Safe (Team 1). The team included Charles Barna, Stephen Giardinelli, Milton John, Roshan Paul, Jack Pokras and Mingyang Zhan, and was advised by Mike Erdman;-- "Vlad's Table" sponsored by Vladimir Elliott. The team included Alex Bauer, Kelly Carey, Sarah Krisher, George Moroney and Thomas Riley, and was advised by Maggie Slattery, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; and-- "Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering (MNE) Boeing Innovation Competition" sponsored by Vortic Watches LLC (Team 1). The team included Erick Bennes, Jonathan Kolenda, James McMahon, Sean McWhirter and Zachary Ryan, and was advised by Damian Rose.
Two teams were awarded third place:
-- "MNE Boeing Innovation Competition" sponsored by Sunfresh Foods. Team members included Matthew Duffy, Alexander Durrani, David Manley, Matthew VanHefter and Deidre Wilson, and was advised by Dom Santavicca, professor of mechanical engineering; and-- "Interactive Game" sponsored by FedEx. Team members included Michael Kavsak, Luke Keniston, Tyler Pilato, Ruiwen Su and Ryan Van Fleet, and was advised by Lennart Bilen, instructor in computer science and engineering.
Best poster awards went to:
-- "Affordable Portable Filter Press" sponsored by the Penn State Reservoir Studio;-- "Plant Operations Training Modules" sponsored by Solutionwerks. Team members included Abdullah Albaijan, Jonathan Davis, Anthony Petrella and Mengyang Zhang, and was advised by Tiffany Camp; and-- "MNE Boeing Innovation Competition" sponsored by Vortic Watches LLC (Team 1).
The BP People's Choice Award went to the project "Telescoping Band Design" sponsored by Vortic Watches LLC (Team 2). Team members included Thomas Bremer, Tyler Harshey, Henry Itani, Riley Mcguigan and Kyle Moore, and was advised by Rhett Jeffries, instructor in mechanical engineering.
Two teams were honored with Capstone Video Competition Awards:
-- The Boeing Company VTOL – Team 2. Team members included Lovedeep Bhela, Jeffrey Glusman, Kyle Maguire and Mingyang Zhou, and was advised by Wallace Catanach, instructor in engineering design; and-- Vlad’s Table.