By Steve Frandzel
After major rainstorms, Pine Creek outside of Halfway, Oregon, floods surrounding farmland and threatens nearby homesteads and sewage holding lagoons.
Will Dickman and his fellow Expo team members considered several possible solutions to mitigate the flooding and presented their recommendations to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Continue reading
By Steve Frandzel
Seeking a way to improve the navigational ability of robots, Colin Comard and his Expo team turned to the animal world — specifically the bat’s remarkable ability to maneuver quickly and precisely using sonar.
“Bats have specialized anatomy and biology that allow them to navigate with echolocation,” said Comard, who is getting a degree in electrical and computer engineering. “We’re trying to use that evolutionary advantage for our own robots to help them navigate better.” Continue reading
By Steve Frandzel
Sophia Uchiyama and her Expo team have designed a small, inexpensive radiation detector which will enable anyone with a smart phone to “photograph” radiation and determine in a flash if they’re being exposed to high levels of radiation.
“We wanted something that’s easy to understand for people who are not trained in nuclear science, and which literally presents a picture of the radiation around them,” said Uchiyama, who will graduate next year with a degree in radiation physics after finishing coursework for a math minor.
Congratulations to the award-winning teams and their outstanding work at the 2016 Undergraduate Engineering Expo! Here’s a summary of the winners: Continue reading
Four students in the College of Engineering received prestigious awards through the National Science Foundation Fellowship Program. This program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the United States. Fellows receive a three-year stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees.
The recipients include Elizabeth Holzenthal, Ph.D. candidate in civil engineering; Phylicia Cicilio, M.S. candidate in electrical engineering; Maoya Bassiouni, Ph.D. candidate in water resources engineering; and Mark Surette, Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering.
Hanna Rolston, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering, received the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship. Awarded by the Department of Defense, these three-year graduate fellowships are offered to individuals who have demonstrated the ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering.
Iftekhar Ahmed, Ph.D. candidate in computer science, received an IBM Ph.D. Fellowship. This competitive program awards Ph.D. students who have an interest in solving problems that are important to IBM and fundamental to innovation in many academic disciplines and areas of study. Ahmed will receive a $20,000 stipend for the academic year and a $10,000 education allowance.
Alexandra Simpson, M.S. candidate in Civil Engineering, and Dylan Jones, M.S. student in robotics, received Honorable Mentions.