First Virtual Design Expo Showcases Swanson Undergrads’ Ingenuity
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PITTSBURGH (Dec. 14, 2020) — Every semester, University of Pittsburgh engineering students make their way to Soldiers and Sailor Memorial Hall to put forth their best designs at the Design Expo. However, like so many events in 2020, this year’s event had to go virtual. The first ever Virtual Design Expo at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering took place on Nov. 23 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Using the conference platform Accelevents, students presented their work from the School’s Capstone Design courses or highlighted concepts and prototypes from the Product Realization and Art of Making courses. The students prepared to present their projects in their individual online “booths,” and judges, who are industry professionals from around the world, visited the online spaces in turn to talk with students and view their work. “We’re proud and impressed by our students’ ability to adapt to this virtual event and bring their best, most innovative work to the table,” said Mary Besterfield-Sacre, Nickolas A. Dececco Professor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Director of the Engineering Education Research Center. “This year may have changed the format of this important event, but what hasn’t changed is our students’ talent, skill and perseverance.” This year’s winners are: Best Overall Project MEMS-5: Enhancement of Metal 3D-Printed Respiratory Filter DesignNathan Knueppel, Frederick Wohlers, Jared Melnik, Andrew Harmon, and Zach OstranderAdvisors: Marchus Chmielus and David Schmidt People’s Choice Award BioE-9: Trauma-Informed Speculum RedesignNeharika Chodapaneedi, Hannah Geisler, Justin Amritha, Katherine Miller, Oreoluwa Odeniyi, Joseph Sukinik, Joanna Siegel, Sydney Rinderknecht, and Susanne KushernickAdvisor: Mark Gartner DEPARTMENT AWARDS Bioengineering 1st Place: BioE-5, System to Improve Glove DonningKlaire Dickey, Emily Hilerick, Rachel Lau, Seth Queen, Simon Shenk, Michael Shulock, Christopher Snodgrass, Katherine Stevenson, and Leo JulianAdvisor: Mark Gartner 2nd Place: BioE-11, Expressive Aphasia Patient Communication in a Hospital Setting Following StrokeRosh Bharti, Audrey Case, Harris Chishti, Mitchell Dubaniewicz, Jessica Weber and Benjamin WongAdvisor: Mark Gartner 3rd Place: BioE-4, Addressing Self-Harm in Patients with ASDDavid Chan, Mateus Pinho, Yannis Rigas, Gloriani Sanchez, Sean Tighe, and Shivani TuliAdvisor: Mark Gartner Civil and Environmental Engineering 1st Place: CEE-9, Fly Ranch Water Treatment FacilityDana Vidic, Claire Sattler, Maria Stopenski, and Trent GreenerAdvisor: John Sebastian 2nd Place: CEE-7, Landslide Slope StabilizationDustin Chickis, Perry Hoover Jr., Col McLaughlin, and Jack DeckerAdvisor: John Sebastian 3rd Place: CEE-1, SBTRA Small Bridge and Spillway ReplacementKatherine Paraskiewicz, Patrick Schorr, Anthony Bove, and Ivan MenzAdvisor: John Sebastian Electrical and Computer Engineering 1st Place: ECE-5, Bidirectional Foot Traffic Monitor for Single Entry SpacesAlyssa Jordan, Richard Kuerzi, Daniel Mingey, and Calvin YuAdvisors: Mohamed Bayoumy and Steve Jacobs 2nd Place: ECE-1, Two-Channel Oscilloscope/Spectrum AnalyzerErin Welling, Justin Long, Dillon Garrett, and Jacob HeilmanAdvisors: Mohamed Bayoumy and Steve Jacobs Industrial Engineering 1st Place: IE-1, Supply Chain Risk ManagementAlexandra Lee, Elizabeth Lee, Michael Urzillo, and Mara WrzesniewAdvisors: MECCO, Catalyst Connection, and Michael Sherwin 2nd Place: IE-8, Flu Season ModelingClaude Corbett, Venice Pascual, Nathan Sugrue and Sofia VidicAdvisors: Hyo Kyung Lee, Caroline Kolman, Michael Sherwin, and Insightin Health Mechanical Engineering and Material Science 1st Place: MEMS-5, Enhancement of Metal 3D-Printed Respiratory Filter DesignNathan Knueppel, Frederick Wohlers, Jared Melnik, Andrew Harman, and Zach OstranderAdvisors: Marcus Chmielus and David Schmidt 2nd Place: MEMS-15, Integrating Sports into STEM Education for 6th-12th Grade Black Students: Basketball SleeveDan Quiroga, Gaby Moore and Terrell GallowayAdvisor: David Schmidt 3rd Place: MEMS-11, Development of a Robotic Work Cell for Automated Handling of Small PartsBenjamin Koo, Andrea Davis, Samuel Taylor and Gabriel DetterAdvisors: Aerotech, Stephen Ludwick, and David Schmidt Product Realization 1st Place: PR-5, Kensington Medallion RefinementAdam Grachen, Emily Hearty, Ben Somerville, and William ZhengAdvisors: Rick Winter and Marc Weber Tobias 2nd Place: PR-6, Level-Lock Reverse EngineeringRobert Brown, Jonathan Perlman, Cynthia Rosensteel, and Michael LinAdvisors: Rick Winter and Marc Weber Tobias Art of Making 1st Place: AOM-2 Link Pad: Connecting Your Loved Ones with YouDavid Herr, Spencer Zacher, Benjamin Somerville, and Elizabeth SidelnikovAdvisor: Joseph Samosky 2nd Place: AOM-1 Slide Guide: A Manual Wheelchair Seat Transfer DeviceCelia Davis, Noah Ziemba, Katelyn Spadavecchia, Michael Kugler and Ashley ZagariAdvisor: Joseph Samosky
Maggie Pavlick