Learning by doing: Senior Design Day celebrates student innovation

The University of 91自拍视频 News

04/29/2025

On Friday, April 11, more than 550 attendees gathered at the John S. Knight Center in 91自拍视频 to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduating seniors from the University of 91自拍视频’s (UA) College of Engineering and Polymer Science (CEPS). Senior Design Day, one of the college’s most anticipated annual events, showcased the culmination of these students’ academic journeys — capstone projects that represent the knowledge and experience gained through years of rigorous coursework, hands-on learning and collaborative research.

Attendees included graduating seniors, faculty, staff, family members, classmates, high school students and their teachers, alumni and industry partners who were all eager to engage with student teams and their innovative solutions. The event demonstrated the college’s commitment to experiential education, as seniors presented working prototypes and project displays ranging from liquid-fueled rocket engines and sustainable fuels to custom surgical tools and musical electronics.

“Senior Design Day is a signature event for our college,” said Dr. Joan Carletta, associate dean of CEPS. “It’s our day to celebrate our graduating seniors and the hard work they have done on their capstone design projects to integrate the knowledge and skills they’ve acquired during their studies. It’s wonderful to see the variety and creativity of their designs and to see them interacting with our faculty and members of our industrial advisory boards. The day is also a great opportunity for future students and the community to learn more about engineering, engineering technology and computing.”

Students across a broad range of disciplines participated, representing the college’s exceptional programs in aerospace systems engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, corrosion engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering technology.

This year’s event also served as an outreach opportunity for local high school students and educators. A total of 107 high school students attended, many experiencing the scale and depth of collegiate design work for the first time. Teachers and counselors expressed appreciation for the chance to show students engineering in action — and to offer a realistic preview of the time, effort and collaboration involved in projects of this scale. Many shared how meaningful it was to see former students, now pursuing engineering at UA, featured in the displays. Reconnecting with alumni while introducing current students to them created a full-circle moment that was inspiring for everyone involved.

Senior Design Day underscored CEPS’s continued excellence in preparing students for the next phase of their careers. Whether heading into graduate study, industry or entrepreneurial ventures, these seniors have demonstrated their ability to apply theory to practice and innovate for real-world impact.

Department of Biomedical Engineering

The Department of Biomedical Engineering Senior Design courses followed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Medical Device Design Process, which included design controls, risk management, verification and validation of engineering and customer requirements. Students were placed into teams of three or four students based on projects in which they were most interested.

This year, the department collaborated on eight projects with both industry and regional hospitals including Next Step Arthropedix, 91自拍视频 Children's Hospital, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Cleveland Clinic, UA鈥檚 School of Nursing and The Ohio State University Burn Center on student team projects.

Projects ranged from customized retractors for pediatric or carpal tunnel surgeries to reusable training models for practicing cochlear implant placement to improved modular burn dressings. Several teams filed provisional patents on their project designs. The goal was to learn the design process, gain experience managing a project and working on a team, and produce a functional prototype by the end of the courses. The projects were coordinated by Dr. Justin Baker.

Department of Chemical, Biomolecular and Corrosion Engineering

Chemical Engineering, Corrosion Engineering

For the first time, students from the Process Design 2 class, taught by Dr. Bi-min Newby, showcased their capstone design projects at Senior Design Day. Their presentations highlighted the critical role of chemical process safety in plant design. Students demonstrated their knowledge in hazard analysis with a focus on strategies to safeguard process equipment and assess the potential environmental, health and societal impacts of potential chemical releases and subsequent fires and explosions. They utilized various Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) software tools to evaluate chemical compatibility and reactivity for proper storage and mapped potential threat zones to inform optimal plant location decisions. The class was divided into ten teams, with each team presenting a portion of the overall project, offering the audience a comprehensive view of the complexity and depth involved in designing a safe chemical plant.

Additionally, seven undergraduate research projects in corrosion and chemical engineering were featured. Highlights included:

Sustainable fuel and plastic recycling research by Culp and Seeber (advised by Dr. Chen)
Corrosion and cathodic protection research by Chow, Segretario and Scalzo (advised by Dr. Zhou)
Campus-based corrosion detection and mitigation by Murray, Chow, Bailey, Kristoff and Smudz (advised by Dr. J. Lillard)
AI-driven protective coating formulation by Bailey (advised by Dr. J. Lillard)
Glass transition temperature prediction by Wolfe (advised by Dr. Khabaz)

The Chem-E Car Design Team, which recently placed fourth at the AIChE North Central Regional Conference and qualified for nationals, showcased their shoebox-sized car, powered and stopped entirely by chemical reactions. Joining them were members of ChemE-Sports, who earned first place at regionals, and ChemE Jeopardy participants. All teams engaged with prospective UA engineering students to share insights into these unique design and competition opportunities.

Department of Civil Engineering

The Department of Civil Engineering showcased senior design projects completed by graduating seniors during their capstone course. These projects reflect the culmination of students鈥� academic and hands-on learning experiences as they developed plans, design details and specifications for real-world projects under the mentorship of professional engineers from sponsoring agencies.

Final deliverables included 3D renderings, construction drawings (CAD) and preliminary cost estimates. Students drew upon knowledge gained over three years of coursework enriched by the practical training they received through co-op rotations. Posters for the following three projects were on display during Design Day:

Eastern Ohio National Cemetery
The team proposed site enhancements including a new asphalt perimeter road, redesigned parking lot, water and sewer line extensions, a bridge culvert and a new storage building. Sponsored by Integrity Federal Services and mentored by Mr. Greg Schunck, P.E.
Middleburg Heights Public Library
This project included structural and site design of a one-story library based on architectural plans provided by Thorson Baker and Associates. Students addressed stormwater, utility, grading and demolition plans. Mentored by Mr. Dave Morgan, P.E.
Lake Rockwell Upground Reservoir Implementation
Aimed at improving 91自拍视频鈥檚 water supply system, the project included reservoir and dam design, pump and fish screen selection and hydraulic modeling using EPAnet. Sponsored by the City of 91自拍视频 - Water Supply Bureau with Mr. Bob Geiser, P.E. as mentor.

Dozens of high school students also visited the department鈥檚 exhibit during the event, learning about academic programs and career opportunities in civil engineering鈥攎aking Design Day an even more impactful experience.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Twelve student teams — comprising 46 seniors — showcased an exciting range of projects under the mentorship of Dr. Osama Alkhateeb, Dr. Farhina Haque, Dr. Yang Zhang, Dr. Nathan Ida and Dr. Robert Veillette. Their designs combined innovation with practical application and addressed real-world challenges across various industries.

Projects included:

Automated systems: home security, smart blinds, robotic lawn mowers, cat care devices and a self-moving chessboard
Wearable and assistive technologies: a concussion-detecting football helmet and electrically warmed boots
Communication and control: a mobile weather satellite receiver, a modular drone, a trace flight computer and a radio signal vector estimator
Transportation technology: an electric vehicle control system

Each team’s project demonstrated a strong integration of hardware and software design skills, critical thinking and teamwork.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Aerospace Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology

This year, 104 seniors across Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering disciplines participated in 52 capstone projects. Of those, 40 were publicly presented at Senior Design Day, while the remaining 12 involved proprietary information and were conducted under Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Projects ranged from self-scoring corn hole boards and drone systems to smart material actuated flaps, helmet liner improvements, and sustainable solutions like recycled rocket fuel and mobile dewatering skids. Other standout projects included a hexapod navigation robot, an EV cooling system, a fluid-powered bike and a frictionless system for testing lunar soil simulants.

Senior design coordinators Dr. Gopal Nadkarni and David Peters advised and instructed students throughout the semester, guiding them to form cohesive teams and develop design, build, model and test deliverables for specific engineering challenges.

Fifty-one students from the Mechanical Engineering Technology program brought 35 capstone projects to life during Senior Design Day. Of these, 26 were sponsored and mentored by industry partners while six were interdisciplinary efforts guided by faculty mentors. Projects ranged from revising and enhancing a spline interference calculator and developing a livescope turret/control system to designing a sensor system for composite manufacturing and an automated handfed circular saw testing apparatus.

Dr. Mehmet Baysal, the coordinator of the design projects, emphasized the importance of following a formal engineering design process and applying sound project management principles. These projects are structured to meet ABET requirements and align with recommendations from the department鈥檚 Industrial Advisory Board. Students received direct feedback from both faculty and industry mentors throughout the semester along with formal rubric-based evaluations to support consistent assessment and professional growth.

These projects exemplified the students’ mastery of design processes, testing, analysis and problem-solving, preparing them for professional success in diverse industries.

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