Alternative fuel for planes, purification system for well water highlight Engineering Expo

By Steve Lundeberg, 541-737-4039, [email protected]

Source: Chris Palmer, 541-737-4416, [email protected]

This news release is available online: https://beav.es/TJG

Photos: https://flic.kr/p/274saZ8, https://flic.kr/p/TCaAoL

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Alternative fuel for airplanes, a purification system for wells contaminated with metals, and menstrual pads that test for hormone levels associated with disease are among the roughly 200 senior capstone projects that will be on display Friday, June 9, at the 2023 College of Engineering Expo.

About 1,200 students will take part in the event, which is free and open to the public. The expo will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside and outside the Kelley Engineering Center, 2500 Monroe Ave., and an awards ceremony and reception will follow.

“The Engineering Expo is a highlight of our year,” said Scott Ashford, Kearney Dean of Engineering. “It’s incredible to see how all of our talented students showcase the skills they learn here at Oregon State.”

Students share their work through models, demonstrations and posters at the expo, which is sponsored by Pacific Power. Everything on display to in-person visitors can also be viewed online, and another 40 projects will be shown online only.

Individuals, companies, national laboratories and other government agencies sponsor the projects and provide mentorship to the students. Boeing, Daimler, Genentech, Hoffman Construction, HP, Jacobs, NuScale, Pacific Power and Portland General Electric also sponsor awards; representatives from the companies will act as judges and presenters.

Capstone projects on display in person also include:

• A robot that follows a patient and alerts caregivers of falls or abnormal movements associated with cardiac events or seizures.
• A study testing the effects of wind forces on photovoltaic panels.
• Retrofitting the Beaver Classic food truck to operate on sustainable energy.
• A design for an energy generation system for a scientific mission to Mars.

 

Among the online-only projects are a mobile app to help firefighters estimate how much equipment they need to bring to an active fire; a drone camera for gathering data about sea turtles; and an app that identifies birds by their songs.

In addition to the student capstone projects, a range of College of Engineering clubs and organizations, including the Concrete Canoe Team, Formula One Racing, Baja Racing, and rocketry and aeronautics groups, will have displays at Kelley.

About the OSU College of Engineering: The college is a global leader in artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing, clean water and energy, materials science, computing, resilient infrastructure and health-related engineering. Among the nation’s largest and most productive engineering programs, the college awards more bachelor’s degrees in computer science than any other institution in the United States. The college ranks second nationally among land grant universities, and fifth among the nation’s 94 public R1 universities, for percentage of tenured or tenure-track engineering faculty who are women.

On-campus TV and radio services: Oregon State University is equipped with on-campus television and radio studios/services that can be used by journalists. Live or live-to-tape broadcast television and radio interviews can be conducted using Vyvx, Zoom, Webex or Comrex (IP Audio). Oregon State staff can also gather b-roll and coordinate live-to-tape interviews on locations throughout campus. For radio, Oregon State’s Comrex (IP Audio) provides a broadcast-quality audio feed.