A combination of a record number of design projects and relocation to the university’s Student Life Center ballroom sparked a rise in visitors to the School of Engineering’s annual Design Day.
A crowd of about 400 visitors packed the expanded SLC ballroom causing a din that required leaning in to hear senior engineering students in 73 teams – up from 55 in 2015 – explain the design problems they had devoted the better part of two semesters solving.
“It’s clear that the venue change offered us the space for more visitors from across the university and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to see our seniors’ design projects,” said Associate Dean Cynthia Paschal, who serves as senior design coordinator. “The space also offered greater flexibility for our project sponsors, our judges and even some parents who came to the event.”
Also new this year were the number of awards for outstanding projects. AT&T representatives again presented the AT&T Innovation Award, and Dean Philippe Fauchet presented five inaugural awards:
- 2016 AT&T Innovation Award – Biomedical Engineering: Medical Rounds Communication System. Team members: Hayley Ryskoski, Maria Linn, Courtney Mason, Chase Mu and Nicholas Blair.
- Best Prototype – Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering: Autonomous Utility Robot. Team members: Taylor Almeter, Alexandra Polak, Ilham Hasnul, Mark Chambliss and Sheralia Abdullah.
- Best Computational Prototype – Mechanical Engineering: NASA Additive Manufacturing Project. Team members: Emily Schwartz, Ryan Dick, EmmaKate Mortillaro, Forrest Tinnin and William Podolak.
- Best Process – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Mobile Wastewater Treatment System for Hydraulic Fracturing Waste. Team members: Brooke Bartley, Brendan Milik and Brandon Smith.
- Best in Healthcare – Biomedical Engineering: LUMASIL: A Device for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers. Team members: John Mendoza, Brandon Fross, Laurel Piper, Siegfried Schlunk, Eliza Stedman and Ahbid Zein-Sabatto.
- Best in Sustainability or Societal Impact – Civil and Environmental Engineering: Solar Powered Desalination with Capacitive Deionization. Team members: Alexander Macklis, Muhammad Azeem Mohd Yunus, Ruisa Hinds, Francis Xavier Guitart, Deanna Schauben, Ali Ashraf Mohd Rozaiddin and Krisjanis Harry Whittaker-Lee.
Other projects on display April 25 were a number of energy projects for Sterling Ranch, a sustainable community currently under construction a few miles south of Denver; a hearing aid FM device, fibrotic liver ultrasound-based imaging diagnostic system, a photovoltaic water heating system, an autonomous utility robot, a Baja off-road vehicle, a Karakuri engine kit cart, an exhaust gas recovery device, and a suborbital rocket.
Corporate sponsors this year included DENSO, Nissan North America, Metova, Quality Manufacturing Systems and Sterling Ranch Development Company. Other sponsors were NASA, NSF, a number of Vanderbilt University Medical Center departments and several area engineering firms.
“In the school’s design courses, students learn how to assess client needs, research existing designs, and apply both creativity and engineering concepts to produce design solutions, all while working in teams upholding professional, ethical, and business standards,” said Paschal. “The senior design experience and Design Day exposition are a culmination and celebration of their undergraduate education.”
The 2015-2016 faculty advisers in electrical engineering and computer science are Julie A. Adams, Ralph Bruce, Yevgeniy Vorobeychik and Jules White; mechanical engineering, Robert Webster III and Thomas Withrow; biomedical engineering, Matthew Walker III; chemical and biomolecular engineering, Russell Dunn and Scott Guelcher; civil and environmental engineering, Sanjiv Gokhale and Lori Troxel.
Contact:
Brenda Ellis, (615) 343-6314
Brenda.Ellis@Vanderbilt.edu
Twitter @VUEngineering
- 2016 AT&T Innovation Award – Biomedical Engineering: Medical Rounds Communication System. Front, l-r, Hayley Ryskoski, Maria Linn, Courtney Mason and AT&T sponsor Dana Moore. Back, l-r, AT&T sponsor Dustin O’Brien, Nicholas Blair, AT&T sponsor Ron Douglas and Chase Mu. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt)
- Best Prototype – Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering: Autonomous Utility Robot. Left to right: Taylor Almeter, Alexandra Polak, Sheralia Abdullah Ilham Hasnul and Mark Chambliss. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt)
Best Computational Prototype – Mechanical Engineering: NASA Additive Manufacturing Project. Forrest Tinnin, Emily Schwartz, Ryan Dick, EmmaKate Mortillaro and William Podolak. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt) 
- Best Process – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Mobile Wastewater Treatment System for Hydraulic Fracturing Waste. Brendan Milik, Brooke Bartley and Brandon Smith. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt)
Best in Healthcare – Biomedical Engineering: LUMASIL: A Device for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers. Front Eliza Stedman, Brandon Fross, Laurel Piper. Back, l-r, Siegfried Schlunk, John Mendoza and Ahbid Zein-Sabatto. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt) 
Best in Sustainability or Societal Impact – Civil and Environmental Engineering: Solar Powered Desalination with Capacitive Deionization. Front, l-r, Krisjanis Harry Whittaker-Lee, Deanna Schauben and Ruisa Hinds. Back, l-r, Alexander Macklis, Francis Xavier Guitart, Muhammad Azeem Mohd Yunus and Ali Ashraf Mohd Rozaiddin. (Chris Rowe/Vanderbilt)