Senior Design

Engineering seniors design life-saving systems for mountain rescues

alse6588 — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:18:16 +0000

Engineering seniors design life-saving systems for mountain rescues alse6588 Tue, 05/26/2026 - 16:18

Alexander Servantez

At many universities, engineering capstone projects are built for industry sponsors or corporate clients.

The WCU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program allows students to obtain bachelor's of science degrees in biomedical engineering or mechanical engineering as ��ӽ紫ý graduates.

With this partnership, they will have the opportunity to complete their first two years as Western students, and the balance of their education as ��ӽ紫ý students, all while remaining on the Western campus in Gunnison, Colorado. Graduates in the partnership will receive a bachelor of science degree and diploma from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at ��ӽ紫ý.

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But two groups of ��ӽ紫ý mechanical engineering seniors at Western Colorado University (WCU) are doing something a little different: designing equipment for Mountain Rescue volunteers who navigate Colorado’s rugged backcountry.

The projects, sponsored by the Western Mountain Rescue Team, were developed by students in the WCU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program. As part of their senior design course, they aimed to solve real challenges faced during wilderness rescues.

For a university nestled in the heart of Colorado’s Western Slope, the projects were a natural fit. Western’s Mountain Rescue Team President Riley LeHane said outdoor access and recreation are central to the campus identity, allowing students to engineer solutions for problems tied directly to the mountain environment they experience every day.

“There was a lot of interest in the rescue projects during the fall,” LeHane said. “It’s unique in the engineering space to blend outdoor recreation with borderline medical care. I think these teams take a lot of pride in trying to improve rescue services and benefit the local community.”

The two teams showcased their work at WCU’s Engineering Expo event on April 23. Here’s a closer look at this year’s Western Mountain Rescue Team projects:

Team 6: Western Mountain Rescue Truck System

A team six student showcasing his group's truck-bed organization system at WCU's Engineering Expo event (Credit: Cassondra Grover).

Search and rescue teams often have a myriad of equipment—such as medical kits, rope and harnesses—piled in the back of their response trucks. But when emergency calls come in, the time it takes to scramble and find these materials could mean the difference between life and death.

That’s why the truck management team designed and built a custom truck-bed organization system intended to make rescue response faster and more efficient in the field.

The project aimed to reduce mission preparation time at the trailhead by 30%, from ten minutes to seven, while improving accessibility, safety and long-term usability. It features a series of labeled sliding drawers and storage compartments so that critical, expensive gear is protected and easily accessible.

“Everything has a place and it’s easy to see,” said LeHane. “No more crawling to the back of the truck or digging through stacks of gear.”

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of the project is its potential for long-term impact. Once fully implemented, the system is expected to remain in use for the lifespan of the rescue vehicle, supporting Western Mountain Rescue volunteers responding to emergencies for years to come.

“It’s something that these engineering students can look back on and be extremely proud of,” LeHane said.

Team 7: Western Mountain Rescue Litter System

Students from team seven showcasing their rescue litter system at Engineering Expo (Credit: Cassondra Grover).

Carrying an injured person on a litter out of the backcountry can require rescuers to navigate steep trails, rocky terrain and long distances on foot.

To help ease that burden, the rescue litter team developed a new wheel attachment system in an effort to improve maneuverability, reduce physical strain on rescuers and increase overall patient stability during wilderness evacuations.

The design centers around a large single wheel mounted beneath the litter, allowing rescuers to transport patients more efficiently across uneven terrain without relying entirely on hand-carrying techniques. But unlike the truck-bed system, designing field equipment for real-world rescue operations comes with a unique set of challenges.

“There are a lot of testing and liability standards that come with rescue gear,” said LeHane. “Working around these complexities was a great challenge for the students.”

LeHane said the engineering student group’s current prototype will be used primarily in training settings. However, she believes the program’s partnership with the Western Mountain Rescue Team will create more opportunities for future teams to improve upon the initial concept and create a system ready for the field.

Two groups of ��ӽ紫ý mechanical engineering seniors at Western Colorado University (WCU) designed equipment for Mountain Rescue volunteers who navigate Colorado’s rugged backcountry. The projects, sponsored by the Western Mountain Rescue Team, were developed by students in the WCU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program. As part of their senior design course, they aimed to solve real challenges faced during wilderness rescues.

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New student-designed brace could aid drop foot patients

alse6588 — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:49:01 +0000

New student-designed brace could aid drop foot patients alse6588 Tue, 05/26/2026 - 13:49

Alexander Servantez

For years, Grand Junction eye doctor Tom Politzer has struggled with drop foot. Even a short walk could become frustratingly complicated.

But this year, three engineering students at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), including students earning their bachelor’s degrees through the CMU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program, set out to make those steps a little easier during their senior capstone design course.

The CMU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program gives students the chance to earn a ��ӽ紫ý engineering degree entirely in Grand Junction.

The first two years of the program are taught by CMU faculty and the second two years are taught by ��ӽ紫ý faculty who live in Grand Junction. The partnership follows the same hands-on curriculum for civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or electrical and computer engineering at ��ӽ紫ý, culminating in a year-long senior design project.

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Working directly with Politzer, the team designed and tested a custom ankle foot orthotic (AFO)—a wearable brace intended to better serve drop foot patients by improving stability, comfort and mobility.

“We did a lot of research on current AFOs in the market, including some of the ones that Politzer preferred. However, we found that many fell short in providing long-term durability and effectiveness,” said team member and mechanical engineering student Emma Coates. “Our project addresses these deficiencies by combining various brace designs into one better alternative.”

Drop foot, a neuromuscular condition caused by weakness or paralysis of the ankle dorsiflexor muscles, can make it difficult for patients to lift the front portion of their foot while walking. It’s often characterized by instability, changes in gait and an increased risk of tripping or falling.

According to a study in the National Center for Biotechnology, drop foot affects approximately 19 out of every 100,000 individuals in the United States. That includes Politzer, whose experience with the condition became the foundation for the team’s project.

A close-up look at the team's ankle brace designed for drop foot patients.

“Last year, Politzer sponsored a project in the senior design program using his background as an eye doctor to help people with impaired vision,” said group member mechanical engineering technology student Sami Mettler. “This year, he chose to continue that contact with the school by drawing upon his own struggles with drop foot.”

Several commercially available brace designs already exist for drop foot patients, offering support in a neutral, lifted position while walking to prevent the foot from dragging. Among them is the TurboMed XTERN, a brace Politzer has relied on for years.

Still, the group said current AFOs on the market were far from perfect.

“The TurboMed brace was durable, but Politzer said it could be uncomfortable and still allowed his foot to catch at times,” Coates said. “Our design aimed to improve both comfort and force output, giving him better stability while walking.”

Using technology at CMU’s Human Performance Laboratory, the team was able to create a brace prototype that improved comfort, breakage and provided more adequate dorsiflexion assistance. But that wasn’t the group’s only impactful outcome.

Team member and mechanical engineering student Izaak Siefken said that their design could help make AFO devices more accessible, as well.

The team's motion capture testing, conducted at CMU's Human Performance Laboratory.

“The cost of purchasing a durable, medical-grade brace is high. Every two years, patients can get a new one through insurance, but obviously things happen. They can get lost or even break,” said Siefken. “Our goal was to find a way to develop an effective device that was less expensive than the existing options.”

Beyond the brace itself, Siefken said the project also highlighted a major gap in how AFO performance is tested, evaluated and prescribed.

“There isn’t a system within the orthotic space where they can quantify if an AFO works well for someone. The only thing patients can do is try a brace and see how it feels,” Siefken said. “We did a lot of testing and gathered a lot of metrics in the Human Performance Lab. Maybe one day, doctors can use that data to set up a criteria of performance that can justify a brace choice.”

After months of research and development, the team unveiled its project at CMU’s Student Showcase on May 1. Along with the AFO prototype itself, they displayed design iterations and motion-capture data collected from the lab, allowing visitors to see how the brace affected Politzer’s walking in real-time.

Despite some struggles early on, the group said they were extremely proud of how their project turned out. But they believe the lessons they learned throughout their capstone journey extend far beyond their presentation at the showcase.

“We’ve had some internships in the past where you’re working on small projects and tasks for others,” Siefken said. “But in the senior design program, you are in charge of the entire project from start to finish. It’s on you to bear responsibility, take risks and develop a product that works.

“That’s exactly how it is in the workforce, and I think we are all prepared to succeed in that environment.”

Three engineering students at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), including students earning their bachelor’s degrees through the CMU-��ӽ紫ý Engineering Partnership Program, designed and tested a custom ankle foot orthotic (AFO)—a wearable brace intended to better serve drop foot patients by improving stability, comfort and mobility.

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ME senior project turns waste heat into clean energy savings

alse6588 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:17:34 +0000

ME senior project turns waste heat into clean energy savings alse6588 Wed, 03/25/2026 - 13:17

Alexander Servantez

From craft breweries to steel manufacturing plants, many industrial facilities rely on cryogenic gases for processes such as cooling, materials testing or energy transport.

But before those gases can be used, they must be vaporized with electricity-intensive equipment that can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars each year.

A team of seniors in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering are working on a new solution. For their senior capstone project, the group is developing a heat-exchange device that captures waste heat circulating through refrigeration systems.

The project could help facilities drastically reduce energy consumption and operating costs, providing them with a sustainable new alternative.

“Think of a local business with a small facility like Avery Brewing. We found that they spend over $20,000 a year just to heat those cryogenic gases electrically,” said test and systems engineer Zachary Weiner. “Our device would cut that cost completely and recovering waste heat makes for a great green energy alternative.”

Members of the team chatting with local brewing industry professionals during a research visit.

However, the idea didn’t come together overnight. As part of the Senior Design program’s Engineering for Social Innovation (ESI) track, the team was responsible for developing their own project from scratch without being assigned to industry-sponsored prompts.

After extensive research, the team decided to explore waste heat recovery in the brewing industry. It wasn’t until they visited some local breweries and distilleries that the project truly came into focus.

“All the engineers we met with on our visits were so interested in our early concept and that’s what really inspired us,” said manufacturing engineer Ian Mcleod. “Some of these small and mid-sized businesses are trying to cut costs and be more sustainable so they can prevent them from closing down. Our passion in this project is about helping them save energy and remain open.”

The problem is simple: cryogenic gases are liquefied and stored at extremely low temperatures to maximize storage and enable easier transportation. In order to be used in industrial facilities, though, they must be vaporized into gas.

To do this, most places today use an energy-intensive electric pressure builder that draws directly from the power grid. But the group’s new heat-exchange device is different.

Instead of using electricity, the device takes in a hot, refrigerant liquid called glycol. In breweries, glycol is already being chilled and circulated through cooling systems to keep tanks and other equipment at safe temperatures.

Test and systems engineer Zachary Weiner working on the senior design project in the Idea Forge.

By using glycol, the team says the device can repurpose its existing heat rather than relying on new energy from the grid.

“We are essentially saving energy that would be taken out anyway through the glycol cooling process,” said project manager Gavriel Fox.

The group is currently working on a test article for their heat exchanger model. They plan to showcase the small-scale design and validate their simulations at this year’s Engineering Expo event in April.

But Engineering Expo is only part of the journey. The team will also be competing in the New Venture Challenge (NVC), where they will refine their business model and pitch the technology as a scalable solution for multiple industries.

“Our device is relevant wherever there is bulk gas that needs cooling. It can be oxygen in hospitals, nitrogen in oil and gas industries or even argon in commercial steel facilities,” said logistics manager Asaiah Gifford. “We see breweries as our market entry space. If the device works in breweries, then we know we can expand from there to much larger industries.”

If selected to compete at the NVC finals in April, the group will have capped off a year-long project with an exciting finish. And while the process has been stressful, the team says the experience has been equally rewarding.

“We have a great team and this project has pushed us to become independent thinkers with agency,” said Fox. “We’ve even become better engineers with a strong foundation of business knowledge.”

Join us at Engineering Expo 2026!

Everything ��ӽ紫ý engineering students learn culminates in capstone design projects, presented at the annual Engineering Projects Expo. Explore amazing new inventions and technologies created by our next-generation of engineers!

Who: K-12 students, prospective CU Engineers, and community members are all encouraged to attend.

When: Friday, April 17 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Where: Ford Practice Facility, 2150 Colorado Ave., Boulder, CO

Parking: Available in Lot 436 and the Regent Parking Garage for $5.

Many industrial facilities rely on cryogenic gases for processes such as cooling, materials testing or energy transport. But before those gases can be used, they must be vaporized with electricity-intensive equipment that can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars each year. A team of seniors are working to address that problem by developing a heat-exchange device for their senior capstone project that captures waste heat circulating through refrigeration systems.

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From left to right: Ian Mcleod, Gavriel Fox, Jasmine Bieniek, Keiron Hannula, Asaiah Gifford and Zachary Weiner

��ӽ紫ý students win big at collegiate hydropower competition

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:32:51 +0000

��ӽ紫ý students win big at collegiate hydropower competition Alexander Jame… Wed, 06/18/2025 - 16:32

Alexander Servantez

A powerhouse group of graduating seniors from the University of Colorado Boulder made waves in a sustainable challenge that’s all about energizing the future.

The CU Hydropower Team took part in this year’s Hydropower Collegiate Competition, where 12 teams from universities across the country were tasked with developing unique energy solutions using fresh, moving water—one of the Earth’s oldest forms of renewable energy.

The CU Hydropower Team holding up their award-winning testing apparatus on competition day.

But they weren’t just participants. They were overwhelming winners, earning first-place honors in a variety of contests within the competition, including the highly coveted Overall Best Team award.

“We had a great group and a really good workload sharing system,” said Logistics Manager Miles Salzer. “We weren’t really sure how we were going to do or what the outcome would be. There were a lot of challenges, but we overcame them and we’re proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

The competition, sponsored by the Department of Energy and the Water Power Technologies Office, was launched in 2022. It allows teams to showcase their engineering prowess by conceptually designing plans for either an electricity generating power dam or a functioning closed-loop pump storage facility.

The team chose to tackle the closed-loop pump storage facility—a novel hydropower solution that features two independent reservoirs that transport water back and forth, much like the sand in an hourglass. The system is also hydrodynamically sealed, preventing water from exiting the system.

CAD Engineer Jack Printup says this new pump storage concept is currently growing in popularity as a clean energy and sustainable alternative, but there are still some environmental risks involved.

“It’s basically a big water battery that lasts longer and is more consistent than other nonrenewable sources, but like nuclear plants, they can cause some damage to the area around it,” Printup said. “Our task was to choose and develop a site for our pump storage facility that was safe and could be implemented in the real world.”

CU Hydropower team members Sascha Fowler (left) and Pisay Suzuki (right) working on their testing apparatus in preparation for the competition.

But the competition doesn’t just focus on technical design. Judges also assessed the team’s ability to manage their facility’s finances and cybersecurity.

They even measured the group’s ability to use digital tools to increase community awareness or quickly pitch their plan to a panel of “investors” in an environment reminiscent of the hit TV show “Shark Tank.”

Luckily, Salzer said the group was perfectly equipped to handle the interdisciplinary obstacles with a well-rounded force of their own. The team featured students from the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Environmental Engineering Program, Integrated Design Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and even the Leeds School of Business.

“I think the different backgrounds made our group really unique,” said Salzer. “Hydropower—and renewable energy in general—are large and complex infrastructure projects. One of our team’s biggest strengths compared to other teams was our varied skill sets that allowed us to handle all of the challenges.”

Most importantly, however, the competition is designed to help college graduates develop skills, connections and interest in the hydropower industry.

Printup says increased activity and engagement in hydropower can be crucial, and this competition really sparked his passion.

“There are spurts in the hydropower industry—you build a large plant and then 60 years later it needs to be refurbished or new facilities need to be built,” Printup said. “I’m going into hydropower to continue developing this incredible technology, but also make sure public safety is at the forefront.”

The CU Hydropower Team had a strong showing in this year's Hydropower Collegiate Competition, bringing home multiple awards including the best design award, the cybersecurity award, the best quick pitch award and the highly coveted first-place honor in the overall competition.

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From left to right: Maximilian Schmid, Pisay Suzuki, Jack Printup, Patrick Liu, Luke Shaw, Sara Leschova, Charlie Loewenguth, Sascha Fowler, Miles Salzer, Tristan Wrable and Landon Nattrass.

Deployable antenna could provide more powerful communications on smaller space satellites

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2022 14:48:42 +0000

Deployable antenna could provide more powerful communications on smaller space satellites Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/02/2022 - 08:48

Rachel Leuthauser

Deployable Helical Antenna Team Members

Jackson Bilello – Electromechanical Engineer
GillianGrace Brachocki – Project Manager
Hector Calar – Systems Engineer
Benjamin Capek – Manufacturing Engineer
Ahmed Ferjani – Logistics Manager
Ayden Flynn – Financial Manager
Nicolas Garzione – Electromechanical Engineer
Caleb Morford – Test Engineer
Isaac Nagel-Brice – CAD Engineer
Manuel Preston de Miranda – Electromechanical Engineer

As the space industry evolves its focus from large satellites to smaller ones with the same functionality, there is a growing need for the hardware on board to shrink as well.

A group of mechanical engineering seniors at the University of Colorado Boulder have helped meet that need by designing a compactable antenna that would allow for more powerful radio communications on smaller satellites.

Lockheed Martin Space is sponsoring the project. The team of students from the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering designed and built the prototype for their Senior Design project.

“Our whole team has a passion for the space industry, and we wanted to be a part of the change and innovation that is occurring,” said GillianGrace Brachoki, the team’s project manager. “We found the push for deployable items in smaller units really interesting.”

The team’s prototype is a deployable helical antenna that starts in a compressed state. Current satellite antenna hardware is fully deployed upon launch. Those systems can be large and not aligned with the industry’s goal for smaller hardware.

“Small satellites and micro-satellites lead to a nimbler industry,” said CAD Engineer Isaac Nagel-Brice. “If you’re developing a satellite over two years instead of a decade, you’re able to get smaller buses up into orbit quicker and at a cheaper cost. That can push innovation and progression on a much faster scale.”

The helical antenna in its fully deployed state.

The students assemble the antenna by attaching the spring component to the base.

The students test the spring's strength in the Senior Design Lab.

The students designed their antenna to deploy once it is in space – activated by an on-board computer. This would trigger the device’s antenna component to extend four times its compressed height from 3.5 in. to nearly 20 in. for full functionality.

The team accomplished this by designing the antenna with the properties of a mechanical spring, which is an idea the industry has rarely attempted to build before. The students explained that optimizing the prototype to be both a spring and an antenna was difficult to do.

They had to take geometry, material and frequency band all into consideration. The students used spring calculators and high frequency structure simulator software to build an antenna that could stow and deploy with the properties of a mechanical spring.

“The antenna geometry resulted in a powerful spring,” said Nicolas Garzione, one of the electromechanical engineers on the team. “Part of our requirements is that it has to survive the equivalent of an Atlas V launch, which is pretty violent. We spent a lot of time on that restraint mechanism, which is a key part of our project for viability and safety.”

Lockheed Martin Space also required that the prototype needed to be scalable. Therefore, the students designed every part of the deployable antenna to be scaled plus or minus 50%.

The size of the device would also dictate the radiofrequency bands transmitted through the antenna. A larger spring circumference would require higher frequencies.

“I think this prototype could lead to a shift in the industry,” said Nagel-Brice. “Our antenna has some interesting design geometry, but it’s very intentional so that it can be built larger or smaller.”

The students have completed antenna functionality, deployment, mechanical shock and vibration tests on their prototype. The radiofrequency testing was done at First RF, a company specializing in antennas and radiofrequency systems, while the vibration testing happened at Lockheed Martin.

The team said that working with Lockheed Martin Space on this project has been both inspiring and informative. It has allowed the students to combine their mechanical engineering background with new skills they have learned on the job.

“It’s a lot of cutting-edge technology that hasn’t been implemented in this manner until now, thanks to some creative problem solving,” said Systems Engineer Hector Calar. “Shrinking the hardware down means the industry can add more advanced instrumentation, since you have more free space. Freeing up that space on rockets and satellites allows us to do more with the science of engineering.”

The team can now say that they are a part of that push for cutting-edge, compact technology. With their own innovative design assembled into a potentially revolutionary prototype, the students are well on their way to equipping the space industry for greater scientific impacts.

The Senior Design team presented their deployable helical antenna at the College of Engineering and Applied Science Engineering Projects Expo 2022 on April 22.

A group of mechanical engineering students at the College of Engineering and Applied Science designed and built the prototype with Lockheed Martin for their Senior Design project.

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Mechanical engineering students aim to make silicon wafer inspections more efficient

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:52:05 +0000

Mechanical engineering students aim to make silicon wafer inspections more efficient Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/19/2022 - 08:52

Rachel Leuthauser

Silicon Wafer Center-finding Improvement Team Members

Jack Carver – Project Manager
Dario Garcia – Logistics Manager
Prem Griddalur – Systems Engineer
Hank Kussin-Bordo – CAD Engineer
Marty LaRocque – Electro-mechanical Engineer
Ethan Plott – Financial Manager
Noah Sgambellone – Test Engineer
Gavin Zimmerman – Software Engineer

The shortage of semiconductors – the computer chips that products such as smartphones, laptops, cars and even washing machines rely on – continues to impact industries around the world.

The current supply chain issues are motivating engineers to make the inspection of the silicon wafers that semiconductors are fabricated from more efficient. It is a goal that the industry would focus on even without the global shortage. To help accomplish that, University of Colorado mechanical engineering students have developed a device that improves the inspection process.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering seniors have built a silicon wafer center-finding improvement device for KLA, a semiconductor manufacturing company. The Senior Design team’s prototype uses two cameras to capture the circular wafer’s edge, plus computer software to calculate the radius and find the wafer’s center.

“The reason this is important is that KLA has to inspect these wafers for defects, and when they find one, they need to know where on the wafer it is with a high-level of precision,” said Marty LaRocque, the team’s electro-mechanical engineer. “They have to establish a coordinate system on the wafer and the hardest part of that is finding the center.”

Marty LaRocque looks over the team's silicon wafer center-finding improvement device.

The device uses two cameras to capture the wafer's edge.

Currently, KLA is detecting the wafer’s center with ten different images around the edge. The team of students designed their device to find the center just as efficiently with only two images.

“On one of KLA’s inspection tools, it currently takes them eight seconds to align one wafer, and we’re trying to get that down to two seconds,” said Project Manager Jack Carver. “A 75% reduction is going to get so much more throughput. With the global silicon wafer supply shortage, any improvements in that would be greatly beneficial for them.”

The real-world impact that the students’ device could have on the industry is part of the reason this project enticed them.

“It’s interesting because KLA explained to us the real significance of our prototype,” said Prem Griddalur, the systems engineer on the team. “About every two years, the size of the semiconductor becomes smaller, and at the same time, the scale they’re manufacturing these at gets larger because of increased demand. KLA did a great job explaining why their equipment is important and how our project plays a role in the larger scheme of the industry.”

The team captured their first position of the wafer’s center in early March. They are now running statistical tests and taking measurements to check the device’s accuracy. They need the coordinates to be within 10 microns of the true center, which is the width of a human red blood cell.

Since the team’s device is a prototype, KLA’s system may not end up looking exactly like the students’ design. However, their prototype and tests will still provide the company with critical information to help guide decisions about future designs.

The students said that aspect is relatable to real-world scenarios. Typically, engineers are tasked with making current systems better, rather than creating new designs from scratch.

The global shortage of semiconductors – the computer chips that products such as smartphones, laptops, cars and even washing machines rely on – are motivating engineers to improve the inspection of the silicon wafers that semiconductors are fabricated from. To help accomplish that, Department of Mechanical Engineering students have built a silicon wafer center-finding improvement device

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Mechanical engineering students develop a soft robot to improve lung examinations

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 14:39:48 +0000

Mechanical engineering students develop a soft robot to improve lung examinations Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/15/2022 - 08:39

Rachel Leuthauser

Soft Robot for Surgical Interventions Team

Maxwell Anderson – Logistics Manager
Sean Dunkelman – Systems Engineer
Christopher Gonzalez – Software Engineer
Brady King – Electro-mechanical Engineer
Isaac Martinez – CAD Engineer
Brad Nam – Manufacturing Engineer
Caitlyn Robinson – Test Engineer
Renée Schnettler – Project Manager
William Wang – Electro-mechanical Engineer
William Watkins – Financial Manager

Seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder are designing a new soft robot to improve physicians’ ability to examine the deepest part of a patient’s lung.

Currently, there is only one system that can get down to the bottom of the lungs – a rigid catheter that could potentially cause inflammation. The team of mechanical engineering students are working with medical device company Medtronic on making the tip of that catheter more flexible.

“Our client is hoping to reduce the strain on the body by replacing the end of the device with something that is very compliant and soft, especially in comparison to the materials that are used today,” said Maxwell Anderson, the team’s logistics manager. “We’re trying to create a soft robot for the tip that will allow the physician to have more control of the end and have it be less abrasive toward the patient.”

The students are tackling this project as part of the department’s Senior Design course. They have spent the academic year researching, designing, molding and testing various iterations of their soft robot prototype.

An iterative design process

Renée Schnettler and Maxwell Anderson show how the soft robot bends with air pressure.

Sean Dunkelsman, William Wang and Brady King test the team's control system.

The team’s baseline design is a hollow, silicone tube with bubbles on the outside. The bubbles expand as the soft robot is inflated with air pressure, which causes the tube to bend. The students explained that the bending motion is the key aspect of their design, as that configuration is what allows the soft robot to move through the deeper parts of the lung.

“The catheter still does most of the work during the procedure, and then physicians control the soft robot at the very end to just move the tip,” said Renée Schnettler, the team’s project manager. “It can hook into different areas and allow doctors to send a needle through it to take a sample of any lung tissue they are studying.”

The team said they are constantly making new prototypes for testing purposes. The R&D process has resulted in 55 prototypes since fall 2021.

“A lot of what we’ve been doing is building off of our baseline design,” said Isaac Martinez, the CAD engineer on the team. “We watch how that prototype behaved and try changing certain dimensions. That would be one iteration. Then we change another aspect, like the number of bubbles, and that becomes a second iteration. We’ve been trying to put together this full picture from a lot of different prototypes.”

Each change in the prototype’s design has been targeted and intentional. That includes adjustments to the soft robot’s control system.

“Our control team has spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how we can tell where the tip of the robot is,” said electro-mechanical engineer William Wang. “We have been trying to improve our control systems to hit the desired positions, but each iteration of our prototype behaves slightly different depending on the material properties. We’ve been trying to find more robust techniques to control all of them.”

The seniors are working with Medtronic to design a soft robot that would give physicians more control as they examine the deepest part of a patient's lung and make the procedure less abrasive for the patient.

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Mechanical engineering students build machine to automate scrap metal disposal

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Mechanical engineering students build machine to automate scrap metal disposal Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/12/2022 - 00:00

Rachel Leuthauser

Machining Chip Disposal System Team Members

Matthew An – Logistics manager
Casey Cole – Test engineer
Blake Fardulis – Project manager
Kate Nichols – Manufacturing engineer
Wesley Schumacher – Systems engineer
Andrew Stiller – CAD engineer
Aleksey Volkov – Finance manager

A team of seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering have designed and built a device that automates the disposal of scrap metal, making it safer and more efficient.

The students created the device as their Senior Design project sponsored by Accu-Precision, a Littleton-based manufacturer of custom parts for customers in aerospace and industrial sectors. The Machining Chip Disposal System can lift and dump 600 lbs. of scrap material with the push of a button, cutting down the time it takes to dispose of the material from 30 minutes to five. That decreases the time spent per year on this cumbersome task from more than 1,000 hours to about 170 hours.

“Accu-Precision has 30 machines at their machine shop in Littleton, and they have a bin underneath each of them that gets filled up with scrap,” said the team’s project manager Blake Fardulis. “They have to dump those bins once a day, so the high-paid machinists have to stop what they are doing and haul the bins out to the dumpster. They either have to lift the bins themselves or use a forklift.”

The Machining Chip Disposal System automates this procedure. The device, made up of more than 110 different machine parts, can be remotely activated to save time and physical strain.

The team of seniors conduct official testing of the Machining Chip Disposal System.

The Senior Design team said they are proud that their device will be used in industry. The disposal system is a functional piece of machinery, rather than a prototype or design idea.

“There is a lot of purpose to what we’re doing,” said Systems Engineer Wesley Schumacher. “It’s not just something we will send to the client that will be on the backburner for years. Accu-Precision will use it every day.”

The students said they were drawn to this project because of the purely mechanical work they would be tasked with. The students brainstormed and completed various CAD designs even before their application for Accu-Precision to be their sponsor was accepted.

“This is one of the most mechanical Senior Design projects, and the requirements that have been developed around that have flowed into the whole process,” said Andrew Stiller, the CAD engineer on the team. “It pushed us to question our ability to design devices and analyze them as well. It’s been a good process.”

Most of the team’s time creating the disposal system was spent in the Idea Forge Machine Shop for about 150 – 200 hours to fabricate 110 custom parts. The students said they were in the shop on day one of the spring 2022 semester to get started.

“The machining logistics could have been quite a nightmare, but we got it done on time,” said Manufacturing Engineer Kate Nichols. “We also had a welder through Accu-Precision, so that worked out very nicely. We sent what we needed over to them, and they helped us with that.”

The Machining Chip Disposal System lifts and dumps scrap metal.

The team said another rewarding aspect was the R&D process. The experience gave them a first-hand look at what a career in design and engineering consulting would be like.

“There are a lot of companies whose sole purpose is doing exactly what we did,” said Aleksey Volkov, the team’s finance manager. “The client comes to them with an idea and it’s the consultant’s job to solve that problem. One day it could be in aerospace; another day it could be in a different industry. Short-term ideation is really valuable.”

The students are now testing the Machining Chip Disposal System and finalizing the device’s appearance by routing wires properly, as well as making a smaller control box to for a sleeker look.

The team will be presenting the disposal system at the College of Engineering and Applied Science Engineering Projects Expo 2022 on April 22.

Explore all 2021-22 Senior Design Projects

The students' device makes the disposal of scrap metal safer and more efficient. They completed the design as part of their Senior Design project sponsored by Accu-Precision, a Littleton-based manufacturer of custom parts for customers in aerospace and industrial sectors.

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Mechanical engineering seniors aim to sink purple sea urchin population with underwater vacuum

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:16:10 +0000

Mechanical engineering seniors aim to sink purple sea urchin population with underwater vacuum Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/06/2022 - 09:16

Rachel Leuthauser

Urchin Merchants Team Members

Josh Ayers – Systems and testing engineer
Dorothea French – Project manager
Heather Hunt – Logistics manager
Justin Kirchner – Financial manager
Jacob Lawrence – Manufacturing engineer
Zach Sorscher – CAD engineer

April 28 update: The team spent the last few weeks of the spring 2022 semester testing their prototype in the University of Colorado Boulder Rec Center pool. New video shows the underwater vacuum in action, from inside the prototype.

The 200 miles of ocean along California’s coastline was once filled with seaweed called bull kelp. The seaweed created rich, underwater forests until the population began to die out in 2014. In the seven years since then, 95% of bull kelp beds off the coast of California have died.

Urchin Merchants, a team of seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, is tackling that problem by designing and building a large, underwater vacuum that can help reduce one of the bull kelp’s greatest threats – purple sea urchins.

“Our project is really aimed at collecting large amounts of those urchins and improving the collection rates of divers, which is not possible with the current methodology,” said Josh Ayers, the group’s systems and testing engineer.

The number of purple sea urchins living on the ocean floor has exploded in recent years. The population has grown by 10,000%, destroying miles of bull kelp since the urchins eat and live off the seaweed.

Researchers currently estimate that it will take 15 to 20 years to clear the urchin barrens. Urchin Merchants’ specialized suction device could increase collection rates by six times the current rate, decreasing that 20-year timeframe to under five years in a single location.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hol-lOvCM]

“We knew we wanted to save the kelp forests and we figured the best way to do that would be removing purple sea urchins rather than planting kelp,” Project Manager Dorothea French said. “We thought we might try to build an autonomous, underwater robot, but that would take 10 to 15 years and we need a solution now.”

The prototype is 11 feet tall, with a large tube at the top that serves as a sorting system. The tube shuffles larger urchins to one side and smaller urchins to another. Any non-urchin material such as small animals or sand go straight out the top. On the other end of the vacuum is a flexible hose that divers can use to collect urchins on the ocean floor.

The team received insight from conservation organizations and professional divers to design this efficient vacuum. The divers wanted a system that was easy to use and inexpensive.

Urchin Merchants tested the prototype in the ��ӽ紫ý Rec Center pool.

The seniors used marbles instead of urchins when running their first tests.

“The vacuum uses a highly efficient air lift pump that is able to collect large quantities of small objects from the ocean floor,” said Zach Sorscher, the team’s CAD engineer. “Think of it as a super tool that we would give to a diver to accompany them on their dives to improve collection rates.”

The team spent the spring 2022 semester building the prototype as part of their capstone project in the department’s Senior Design course. They are currently testing the vacuum, with the goal of getting the product in user’s hands.

“We just want to see an impact,” Josh said. “We want more urchins to leave the ocean because of us, whether that means someone pays for the prototype or we give it to a conservation organization as goodwill. It feels like we are doing the right thing either way.”

While Urchin Merchants has focused on the kelp beds in California, they acknowledged that the population boom is a growing issue around the world. There are thousands of acres of urchin barrens on coastlines from North America to Europe and Australia.

The team hopes their prototype will have a meaningful impact and inspire others to advocate for the environment.

“We just want to design and build a project that could help the world,” Logistics Manager Heather Hunt said. “We are using our engineering expertise to make a difference.”

Urchin Merchants recently won fourth place in the New Venture Challenge’s (NVC) Climate Change sub competition for their underwater vacuum. They will be competing in the full NVC competition and presenting their prototype at the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s Engineering Projects Expo on April 22.

Explore all 2021-22 Senior Design Projects

The vacuum, designed and built by the student team Urchin Merchants, could help save California’s underwater kelp forests by making it easier for divers to collect the purple sea urchins that are destroying the bull kelp population.

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Mechanical engineering team presents innovative solution to fight climate change, win funding

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 18:45:12 +0000

Mechanical engineering team presents innovative solution to fight climate change, win funding Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/09/2022 - 11:45

Senior design team Urchin Merchants, who placed fourth, hope to market a specialized suction device to divers and conservation groups that could help save kelp forests off the coast of California and ecosystems around the world from exploding purple sea urchin populations.

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Senior Design

Engineering seniors design life-saving systems for mountain rescues

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Mechanical engineering students develop a soft robot to improve lung examinations

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Mechanical engineering students build machine to automate scrap metal disposal

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Mechanical engineering seniors aim to sink purple sea urchin population with underwater vacuum

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Mechanical engineering team presents innovative solution to fight climate change, win funding

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��ӽ紫ý students win big at collegiate hydropower competition