UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After 15 weeks of hard work, Penn State College of Engineering students displayed their capstone design projects at the Fall 2017 Capstone Design Project Showcase held on Dec. 7, at the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus.
Eighty-five senior capstone design projects, intended to solve real-world challenges posed by industry sponsors and other clients, were judged by a panel of industry experts, comprised of current and past sponsors as well as members of the Learning Factory Industry Advisory Board.
Two projects came in first place for the Lockheed Martin Design Award for best project: “Standardizing the Full-Body Skin Exam Process,” for Penn State’s Department of Dermatology by Elaine Demopolis, Micaela Fisher, Meghan Glaviano, Amanda Martin, Marilyn Myers and Camille Pereira, advised by Charlie Purdum, assistant teaching professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering; and “Laminar Flow Viscometer” for Penn State’s Fluids Lab 2 by Adam Albert, Joshua Bentzel, William Drum and Weizhi Liao, advised by Jason Moore, associate professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering.
Second place for best project went to “Tensile Bioreactor for Culture of Living Tendon Explants” for Penn State Department of Biomedical Engineering by Sara Ahmad Matar, Christie Kaschak, Rachel Lee, Ved Patel, Brandon Pierce, Rachel Richards and Noah Roberson, advised by Daniel Hayes, associate professor of biomedical engineering; and “Design of a Mobile Maker Cart to Support Early-Stage Engineering Education” for Penn State’s Made By Design Lab by Katie Carle, Zheng Ge, Aakash Sondhi and Matt Vipond, advised by Wallace Catanach, lecturer in the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs.
Third place best project recipients were “Stormwater Runoff Filter” for New Pig Corporation by Ayman Demais, Jichao Li, Isabela Madinabeitia and Alana Mitchell, advised by Wallace Catanach, lecturer in the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs; and “Development of a Scale Compactor Model for Experimental Verification of Directional Drum Vibration Control” for Volvo Construction Equipment by Matt Green, Faris Haddad, Nathan Leibowitz, Gannon Pond and Gabriel White-Vega, advised by Robert Campbell, senior research associate, mechanical and nuclear engineering.
Three teams received best poster awards. First place went to “Development of a Scale Compactor Model for Experimental Verification of Directional Drum Vibration Control”; second place was awarded to “Design and Prototype a Tool for Inserting O-Rings Into a Housing” for Bosch Rexroth Corporation by Ibrahim Alzahrani, Vatsan Ramesh, Pantita Saithip, Andrew Storz and Vamshi Voruganti, advised by Robert Campbell, senior research associate, mechanical and nuclear engineering; and third place went to “Design Optimization of Vertical Drop Lifts in Automotive Assembly Plants – Team 1” for KCF Technologies, Inc. by Dhruv Bohara, Robert Harhai, Michael Prickett and Zachary Shaulis, advised by Wallace Catanach, lecturer in the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs.
The BP People’s Choice Award went to “Boeing Mars Rover – Global Project with Belgium Campus” for The Boeing Company by Michael Babilya, Harry Barrett, Siyang Chen, Srikar Danda, John Grant, Ian McKinney, Callie Protchko, Yifeng Shi, Mitchell Tabor, Zian Wang, Zeyu Zhang and Belgium students Hein Leslie, Werner Grundlingh, Jason Du Plessis, Xingjing Sing and Daniel Terblanche, advised by Mike Erdman, Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development and instructor of engineering science and mechanics.
JP Tambourine from FirstEnergy Corporation received the Best Sponsor Award.
The College of Engineering is looking for industry sponsors for spring 2018 capstone design projects. For more information on how to become a sponsor, including how to sponsor a successful project, visit http://www.lf.psu.edu/sponsors/SubmitaProject.aspx. The final deadline to sponsor a project is Jan. 2, 2018.