UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Engineering Learning Factory Capstone Design Project Showcase for the fall semester took place virtually from Friday, Dec. 11 to Friday, Dec. 18. Students shared the culmination of their semester-long projects on the showcase’s website.
All capstone design projects, intended to solve real-world challenges posed by industry sponsors and other clients, were displayed on the website. All projects were then judged by a panel of industry experts, comprised of current and past sponsors as well as members of the Learning Factory Industry Advisory Board.
Two teams received the first place Lockheed Martin Design Excellence Award for best project:
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“Hands Free Bathroom Stall Latch System” for Mid Atlantic Technical and Executive Consulting by Joshua Uberti, Rachel Sullivan, Blake Dickerson, Stephen Waskiw and Minkyung Kan, advised by Gary Neal, director of mechanical engineering capstone design projects
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“Ergonomic Analysis of Workers During Cannabis Cultivation Activities to Reduce Musculoskeletal Injury” for NCRMA and Atlas Performance Group by Samantha Schindler, Brayden Borromeo, Jenny Lynch, Renuka Tiwari and Lohith Reddy, advised by Ed De Meter, professor of industrial engineering and mechanical engineering
Second place for best project went to:
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“Lockheed Martin Electric Propulsion Conceptual Design” for Lockheed Martin by Andrew Parks, Nicholas Leise, Taeyoon Lee, Ian Cheatle and Ryan Gist, advised by David Cubanski, associate teaching professor in electrical engineering
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“Improve and Automate Process Flow” for King Krunch Gourmet Brands by Kyle Yoder, Sam Muscarella, Sophia Lopez, Sophie Haas and Vincent Wojnar, advised by Charlie Purdum, professor of practice and director of industry relations in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Third-place best projects recipients were:
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“Assistive Chair for a Child with Cerebral Palsy” for the Satkovich Family by Caroline Ferrara, Cynthia Letting, Halie Ralston, Muhammad Rafi and Jarrod Schultz, advised by Lyndsey Hylbert, adjunct lecturer in biomedical engineering
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“PA Horse Racing Association Virtual Reality Motion Simulator” for the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association by Nicholas Petrella, Yuhan Dong, Christian Cooke and William Mellinger, advised by Gary Neal, director of mechanical engineering capstone design projects
Three teams received best poster awards:
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First place: “Hands Free Bathroom Stall Latch System” for Mid Atlantic Technical and Executive Consulting by Joshua Uberti, Rachel Sullivan, Blake Dickerson, Stephen Waskiw and Minkyung Kan, advised by Gary Neal, director of mechanical engineering capstone design projects
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Second place: “Design of Test Fixtures for Protective Devices Used in Endoscopic Skull Surgery” for the Penn State Center for Biodevices by Kevin Litzinger, Kristen Quasey, Alexandra Ferri, Zachary Ebert and Justin DePhillipo, advised by Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering
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Third place: “Wave Energy Harvesting Device” for Flowserve by Benjamin Aronson, Zaid Hmoud, Sean Mervosh and Matthew Vogel, advised by Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering
Three teams received best video awards:
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First place: “Design of Test Fixtures for Protective Devices Used in Endoscopic Skull Surgery” for the Penn State Center for Biodevices by Kevin Litzinger, Kristen Quasey, Alexandra Ferri, Zachary Ebert and Justin DePhillipo, advised by Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering
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Second place: “Assistive Chair for a Child with Cerebral Palsy” for the Satkovich Family by Caroline Ferrara, Cynthia Letting, Halie Ralston, Muhammad Rafi and Jarrod Schultz, advised by Lyndsey Hylbert, adjunct lecturer in biomedical engineering
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Third place: “Hands Free Bathroom Stall Latch System” for Mid Atlantic Technical and Executive Consulting by Joshua Uberti, Rachel Sullivan, Blake Dickerson, Stephen Waskiw and Minkyung Kan, advised by Gary Neal, director of mechanical engineering capstone design projects
Best corporate sponsors, as voted by students:
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William Frantz from Armstrong World Industries
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Paul Shields and Jason Satira from Lockheed Martin Corporation
Two teams received people’s choice awards:
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BP People’s Choice Best Project Award: “Three Terminal Test Bed for Magnetic Field Alignment of Synaptic Materials” for Penn State’s Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems by Michael Williams, Matthew Orehek, Jesse Orrs, Abdulla Alkaabi and Hamad Al Ali, advised by Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering
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Gangnam Stylish Video Award: “PA Horse Racing Association Virtual Reality Motion Simulator” for the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association by Nicholas Petrella, Yuhan Dong, Christian Cooke and William Mellinger, advised by Gary Neal, director of mechanical engineering capstone design projects
Best K-12 engagement award went to:
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First place: “Wave Energy Harvesting Device” for Flowserve by Benjamin Aronson, Zaid Hmoud, Sean Mervosh and Matthew Vogel, advised by Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering
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Second place: “Developing Micro-credentials for Capacity Building in Sustainability” for Penn State Law, Policy, and Engineering by Alex Myers, Tyler Bodnar, Zach Wertz, David Mancosh, Aidan Mikula and Jacob Borland, advised by Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering
The awarded capstone design projects can be viewed here. All capstone design projects from the spring showcase can be viewed here.
The College of Engineering is looking for industry sponsors for spring 2021 capstone design projects. For more information on how to become a sponsor, including how to sponsor a successful project, visit http://bit.ly/LFprojects. The final deadline to submit a project is Dec. 21.