May 4, 2012

VCU School of Engineering Announces 2012 Senior Design Expo 'Excellence in Design' Awards

Innovative engineering event for the Richmond community reaches more than 2,000 visitors

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By Joan Izzo
VCU School of Engineering

VCU School of Engineering presented Excellence in Design awards to 11 senior student project teams on Friday, April 27 during its 10th annual Senior Design Expo held at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Independent industry and engineering leaders from the greater Richmond area judged 64 student Senior Design team projects.  Senior Design project presentations have been a part of the School of Engineering curriculum since 1999 and are a requirement for graduation. Projects from the biomedical, chemical and life science, mechanical and nuclear, electrical and computer engineering, computer science, interdisciplinary and microelectronics engineering departments were presented to more than 2,000 Expo visitors. Award-winning projects include:

  • Biomedical Engineering – A non-invasive therapeutic hypothermia blanketing device for emergency medical technicians to quickly cool patients suffering from a heart attack, stroke or malignant hyperthermia during transit, engineered by Dilawar Khokhar and Zachary Zemore and faculty advisor Gary L. Bowlin, Ph.D.;

  • Chemical and Life Science Engineering – A functional drug-delivery system constructed with a silk biopolymer that is biocompatible, biodegradable, non-toxic and non-inflammatory, engineered by Adam Lisbeth, Carl Najdyszak, Priyanka Ramsinghani and faculty advisors Raj Rao, Ph.D. and Vamsi Yadavalli, Ph.D.;                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
  • Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering – A safe, low-cost mechanical alternative for hand- gathering seeds from the Jamun fruit, used for nutrition, medicine and religious rites in India and other Middle Eastern nations, engineered by Matthew Donaldson, Robert Edgeworth, Harrison Gentry, Chris Hockaday and Kevin Lohr with faculty advisor, James McLeskey, Ph.D.;

  • Electrical Engineering – A radio frequency identification tracking system for animal-care facilities to quickly and wirelessly identify owner and animal information, engineered by Jason Phillips, Jonathan Stelter with faculty advisor, Robert H. Klenke, Ph.D.;

  • Computer Science tied with two projects; a rewritten web application with collaborative, social and mobile technologies for ATSC, an information technology company tasked by a federal corporation that manages the pensions of 44 million American workers and retirees, designed by John Emanuel, Justin Moulton, Brendan Slezak and Brian Todd with faculty advisor, Wanyu Zang, Ph.D. and a Chat Bot (chattering robot instant messenger computer program) to allow CapTech’s consulting firm employees to maintain timesheets across firewall boundaries, created by Kyle Hedie, Dillon Jason, Daniel Tanner and Jon Willis with faculty advisor, Wanyu Zang, Ph.D.;

  • Interdisciplinary—An engineered robot hand controlled via sensor glove system allowing workers a safe distance from dangerous conditions without sacrificing strength, dexterity and precision, designed by Nicole Clark, Grady Fields, Brittany Posey, and Jack Vo with faculty advisors from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Robert H. Klenke, Ph.D. and Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Robert Sexton, Ph.D.;        
        
  • The Wright–Virginia Microelectronics, W-VMC Cup first place was a tie between two microfabrication projects in the yearlong competition that included grades, presentations and design reviews over the last two semesters; solar cell efficiency improvement methods comparing process methodologies to affect standard solar cell design engineered by Samuel Elzarian, Chris Sheffler, and Anthony Timok and faculty advisor Gary Atkinson, Ph.D.; and development of a nickel plated surface-micromachined accelerometer process to fabricate accelerometers such as those found in air bag deployment systems, engineered by Alex Richard, Ravi Shah and Richard Tuck with faculty advisor, Gary Atkinson, Ph.D.;

  • People’s Choice, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering – A real-world application design to reduce high fuel consumption on semi-trailer trucks using an aerodynamic drag device on truck corners, engineered by Will Buchanan, Rory Heim, Tilghman Marden and Ghassan Saroor with faculty advisor, Karla Mossi, Ph.D.

The Senior Design Expo is supported through donations by local corporations and organizations, including Dominion Resources, Engineers Plus, Clark Nexsen, Keith Fabry Reprographic Solutions, James River Air Conditioning, the Science Museum of Virginia and the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society. This year the School of Engineering Foundation Senior Design Grant funded 14 projects.

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering, located in Richmond, Virginia, opened in 1996 and houses three premier engineering facilities, The School offers more than 300,000 square feet of the highest quality classrooms and laboratory space.  Driven to be the national model for innovation in engineering and research, the School offers BS, MS, and PhD degrees in mechanical and nuclear, biomedical, electrical and computer, chemical and life science engineering, and computer science.  Interdisciplinary research opportunities are offered through the Center for Nanomaterials and Characterization, the Institute for Engineering and Medicine, the C. Kenneth and Dianne Harris Wright Virginia Microelectronics Center, and the da Vinci Center for Innovation. For more, www.egr.vcu.edu.