Design showcase features top projects
Winning projects in the Engineering Design Showcase were recognized during ceremonies on April 8 in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice.
“This was a great sampling of the many, many outstanding projects our students have worked so hard on,” said Maria Oden, director of the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and coordinator of the showcase. “The showcase provides an excellent venue for our students to show their work to the rest of the Rice campus, industry collaborators, alumni and faculty.”
The award for Best Engineering Design Project went to bioengineering major Andy Miller. His project, Versatile Field Microscope for the Developing World, involves a low cost, small, durable microscope designed to replace a larger and more fragile compound light microscope found in the Rice-developed Lab-in-a-Backpack. The backpacks are used for clinical field work in developing countries in the Beyond Traditional Borders program at Rice. Miller received a $400 prize.
The Best Engineering Design in Service to Society award went to mechanical engineering students Dana Helbling, Eastman Landry and Lauren Schaefer. Their project, Tactile Control for Respiratory Motion Management, focuses on developing a successful respiratory motion conditioning system, with tactile cues, to assist in producing a consistent breathing pattern in patients undergoing radiotherapy. The team received a $200 prize.
The Best Interdisciplinary Design Project award went to a project that was entered under two Rice departments, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering. Students Varun Rajan, James Deyerle and Nick Eckenstein led the effort, Pipe Inspection Robot Prototype, which involves the design of a small robot that can traverse the interior of pipes ranging in diameter from 3 inches to 9 inches. The team received a $200 prize.
The Best Conceptual or Computational Engineering Design Project award went to chemical engineering students Teddy Bucher, Jared Cocke, Sam Horn, Jung-Joon Kim and Jonathan Sanchez. The project centers on the conversion of hurricane debris into life-sustaining resources for people displaced by major storms. The team was awarded a $200 prize.
The Best Design Project by Underclassmen award went to bioengineering students Jocelyn Brown, Carmen Perez and Celestine Shih. Their project, Providing Surgical Eye Care in the Developing World, centers on two methods of providing diagnostic and surgical eye care in remote areas. One design is a diagnostic backpack, to allow ophthalmologists to screen patients for cataract surgery. The other design is a mobile cataract surgery system that enables ophthalmologists to transport cataract surgical equipment into remote locations. The team received a $200 prize.
In the Beyond Traditional Borders sponsored award category, a student team received the award for Best Global Health Technologies Engineering Design Project. Roxana Daneshjou, Greg Davis, Jenna Hook and Andy Miller were honored for their project, Improved Glucose Monitoring for the Developing World, which centers on increasing access to glucose monitoring in the developing world by allowing test strips to be reused. That could decreases per-use cost of strips by 95 percent. The team was awarded a $400 prize.
The National Instruments-sponsored Award for Engineering Design went to the project, PRIME: Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator. Students included Steve Xu, Jennifer Cieluch, Matthew Miller, Caterina Kaffes and Neel Sha. The team is developing a device to quantify intrinsic hand strength of pediatric patients with hand problems. The team received a $400 prize and was invited to attend the upcoming National Instruments Week National Student Design Showcase.
The Lynes Inc.-sponsored prize for Best Energy Related Engineering Design Project went to a wind turbine blade design project completed by Arin Lastufka, Kenneth Davis, Patrick Caldera, Patrick Tang, Stephanie Rice and Mason Colgin. The students use computational fluid dynamics and physical modeling of wind turbine blades to compare aerodynamic effectiveness levels. The team was awarded a $300 prize.
The awards were presented after more than 40 posters were displayed in Martel Hall. Industry representatives, faculty and students, families and guests attended the event. Winners received prizes in ceremonies held in McMurtry Auditorium just after the poster session.
Judges included representatives from major firms such as Exxon-Mobil, Shell, National Instruments, Fluor, Lyondell, and KBR, as well as members of the Rice Engineering Alumni organization.
Dwight Daniels, Engineering Communications