Engineering Commons^™

Cochlear Electrode Insertion Training Model, Sarah Powell, Kaelyn E. Kraley, Nathan J. Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Cochlear implant surgery is a delicate procedure performed by Otolaryngologists (ENTs) to implant an electronic device into the inner ear to provide a sense of sound for people who are profoundly deaf or hard of hearing. The current practices of training involve cadavers and 3D-printed models. Cadavers are commonly used but are expensive, single-use, and do not provide visual and haptic feedback, which are essential for medical students. 3D printed models are less commonly used and are hard to fabricate and not as realistic. If medical students are not properly trained for this delicate procedure, then risks are significantly increased …

Head Mounted Surgical Robot, Mason Currens

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this design project is to utilize a six degree of freedom, robotic system that will be head mounted device that can either assist in, or perform, facial and optical surgery. The six degree of freedom idea came from current systems used in flight simulations. By optimizing the system to fit the figure of a patient’ s head, many of the present errors in surgical robotics can be reduced. One of the major errors when using a facial tracking robot is sudden impulses, such as a cough or a twitch, that the robot can't precisely track. Mounting the …

Cost-Effective Brake Rotor Resurfacing Tool, Raider Morgan, Benjamin Vaughan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Brake rotors can develop uneven spots over time, causing vibration and poor braking performance. Commercial brake lathes are effective but often too expensive or complicated for at-home mechanics. This project aimed to create a low-cost tool, around $200–$300, to resurface four rotors in under two hours. We explored two main designs: a pad file system and a motorized endmill powered by a handheld drill. Calculations ultimately showed that the pad file was not viable, so the final prototype produced was the endmill-based design. Our testing showed we were limited by poor stiffness in the endmill and unforeseen loading. Although the …

Zips Baja Chassis Manufacturing Design, Alex Love, David Scruppi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Society of Automotive (SAE) annually organizes collegiate design team competitions for university organizations nationwide. Baja SAE tasks teams comprised entirely of students with developing, iterating, manufacturing, testing, and competing with an offroad race buggy in accordance with all SAE regulations. Teams are responsible for producing a tech compliant vehicle for each competition season, travelling across the United States to put their designs to the test. In the 2022-2023 competition season, SAE introduced ruleset clarifications on the chassis manufacturing process, essentially mandating the production of all vehicle frames to be manufactured entirely in house with no external assistance. A chassis …

Autonomous Landscape Exploration Rover Using Imaging Surface Navigation (Alexis), Noah Jones, Dominic Salupo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective is to develop a small-form-factor rover prototype that can be used to prove out a novel traversal method for use on extraterrestrial surfaces. The novel traversal method being proposed is LIDAR/CV-enhanced navigation, provided by a detachable flight vehicle that can communicate with the rover. On planets with thin atmospheres, cold gas thrusters or similar may be needed, but for the scope of this project more traditional flight/propulsion methods will be used.

Effects Of Polyolefin Types On Catalytic Hydrocracking, Kenneth Jackson Seeber

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Plastic waste recycling has become an important conversation in the last couple of decades with pollution on the rise. One of the few ways to recycle plastics is by breaking these long-chained polymers down via catalytic processes. Due to many plastic products being a blend, it is imperative that any chosen catalyst that could be used for recycling should be able to handle different types of polymers. This paper discusses how tungsten carbide over silica (W_xC/SiO₂) catalyzes the degradation of a few selected polymers and polymer blends. From this research it was determined that W_{x …}

Comsol Simulation Of Pipeline Corrosion With Cathodic Protection, Ethan Scalzo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Cathodic protection (CP) is a widely used technique to mitigate corrosion in buried steel pipelines. This study uses COMSOL Multiphysics to model and analyze the performance of both sacrificial anode and impressed current systems in a simulated 3D environment. The model solves for pipeline potential, current density, and corrosion rate within a surrounding soil domain to assess protection coverage across the pipeline. Simulations were conducted to evaluate the influence of electrode and electrolyte properties on CP effectiveness. The study demonstrates that COMSOL Multiphysics is an effective tool for modeling CP systems, offering insights that align with established industry practices. While …

Polystyrene Plastic Waste As An Organic Hydrogen Carrier, Alaina Bachmann

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The proposed research develops and studies catalytic chemical processes that enables using polystyrene (PS) plastic waste as solid “organic hydrogen carriers” (OHC). Demands for OHCs are driven by desire to alleviate climate change, by replacing carbon-based energy sources with hydrogen. However, hydrogen is highly flammable and difficult to store and transport so OHCs are needed to facilitate its transportation. Common OHCs are liquid petroleum chemicals with unsaturated chemical structures. They can be hydrogenated to store hydrogen and dehydronated to release hydrogen at desired application sites. The proposed research aims to investigate the following cycle: hydrogen storage by hydrogenation of PS …

Silent Sabotage: Identifying And Preventing Cyber Attacks From Inside Actors, Autumn Groen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly common and damaging as technology advances each year. Many businesses cannot afford the latest security technologies, and even with the highest security measures, there can still be room for employee error or insider threats that are not taken into account. It is crucial to keep these factors in mind when securing a business network of any size or financial standing.This project will aim to simulate a business environment by first building a small network with three routers and a switch, and implementing some of the common best practices for network hardening from credible organizations like NIST …

Passive Phosphorus Filtering System Design, Ryan T. Bailey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this project is to find an efficient way to remove phosphorus from surface water through passive filtration. Specifically, the project will focus on the upper Cuyahoga River. Ongoing research being conducted by Dr. Teresa Cutright from The University of Akron and Jessica Glowczewski from the City of Akron’s Watershed Division serves as a basis for this project.

Fertilizers used in agriculture are often washed off by rainfall and enter the groundwater and nearby streams. The phosphorus contained in the fertilizer can be harmful to the environment by increasing the frequency of large algal blooms. To reduce the …

Quantifying The Effectiveness Of Rhamnolipid As A Biocide: Assessing Comparability Of A Modified Solution, Rosemary Sterling

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The CO2 induced corrosion of carbon steel in oil and gas pipelines, exacerbated by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), poses a serious threat to infrastructure. This study evaluates the effectiveness of rhamnolipid (RhL), a biosurfactant, as a corrosion inhibitor and potential SRB biocide in simulated pipeline environments. Using a Postgate-C Modified Produced Water Simulant, which demonstrated electrochemical behavior comparable to industry-standard solutions while sustaining SRB, corrosion trials were conducted with and without RhL. Mass loss and electrochemical data revealed that RhL significantly reduced corrosion rates—by 85% on average and up to 99% instantaneously in a 4-day trial. Visual and analytical results from …

Akronauts Turbopump Research Project, Gerald Drabeck Iii, Michael Mccalla, Joshua Skelton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The idea of this project is to design a turbo pump template capable of fitting into future Akronauts rocket designs. This allows the rockets to travel higher due to the reduced net weight. Many methods were used to verify the rigidity and feasibility of the design, such as Finite Element Analysis and fluid dynamics simulations.

Smart Material Actuated Flap, James Lyons, Kristofer Johnson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate a smart material actuated aerodynamic control surface to determine the viability of these new systems as alternatives to conventional electromechanical and hydraulic systems. The research will begin with the selection of a control surface and actuator design. The concept will then be tailored to create an experimental model for the purposes of this project. Smart materials that suit the model requirements will be selected and procured. Next, the actuators will be shape trained and characterized to meet the model requirements. Then, a benchtop model will be produced for design verification, …

Kb Bioenergy Mobile Dewatering System Research, Wyatt Balser, Nathan Szymczak

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report outlines the design and development of a mobile skid-mounted dewatering system intended for high-solids sludge processing at wastewater treatment facilities. The goal was to create a self-contained, transportable unit capable of reliably separating water from sludge using a screw press, while integrating upstream processes such as polymer conditioning, sludge maceration, and pumping. The final design prioritizes serviceability, structural integrity, and operational simplicity, featuring a consolidated equipment layout, engineered piping diagrams, and vendor-specified components.

Throughout the project, multiple design alternatives were evaluated using a weighted decision matrix, leading to the selection of a skid platform over a trailer configuration …

All-In-One Security System, Nathaniel Rohr, Elizabeth M. Daniels, Kyle H. Sturgin, Jonathan R. Carozza

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The proposed All-in-One Security system is a security system capable of automatically or manually arming and disarming the building it is installed in. When armed, the system rolls down the window shades and locks the front door. When disarmed, the system unlocks the front door and rolls up the window shades. The system will have a keypad by the front door for arming and disarming the system. Additionally, there will be a smartphone app that can arm and disarm the system via bluetooth.

Delivery Method For Dissolvable Staples, Brian Nguyen, Colleen Kroah, Bethany Fogle, Sean Brown

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Surgical staples play a vital role in modern medicine by enabling efficient wound closure and tissue repair. However, traditional metal staples often require removal, increasing patient discomfort and the risk of infection. Dissolvable staples offer a promising alternative, eliminating the need for removal while maintaining secure wound closure. Despite their potential, current delivery systems for dissolvable staples face significant challenges, including inconsistent deployment, lack of precision, and inadequate integration with surgical workflows.

Developing an optimized delivery system is critical to maximizing the benefits of dissolvable staples. Such a system must ensure reliable performance, precision, and ease of use while maintaining …

Hot Staging Module For Multistage Rockets, Nanami Whitman, Daniel Montano-Lobe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Historically, the Akronauts Rocket Design Team builds and launches two-stage rockets that rely on black powder charges as a way of stage-separation. With a hot-staging module, the second stage is ignited while still connected to the first stage, and the thrust from the second stage induces separation. To prevent rotation of the sustainer during the booster stage, the sustainer motor and fins will be axially interlocked with the module in a similar manner to the Akronauts’ previous stage separation modules. This method would reduce the number of failure modes and reduce the number of components required for stage separation. This …

Structural Analysis And Design Methodologies Of Roller Coasters, Benjamin Komar

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project explores the structural analysis behind the design of roller coaster tracks and supports as practiced by modern engineers. It also examines various roller coaster design methods currently in use. This research will be used to craft a detailed explanation of the roller coaster design process. Additionally, a 3D model of a roller coaster was developed based on the researched design procedures, featuring three track sections with different loading conditions to create a supporting structure for 2D truss analysis. The results of the truss analysis were then compared to those obtained using RISA-3D, a finite element structural design software.

Vector Estimation For Continuous Tracking Of Observed Radio Signals (V.E.C.T.O.R.) Lunar Navigation System, Dimitry Melnikov, Evan Bartel, Andrew Burrier, Goran Gjorgievski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

NASA's Artemis program requires precise navigation capabilities to establish the first sustained presence on the lunar surface. However, as launches bring necessary orbital infrastructure, the Artemis program will face a critical period during which reliable lunar navigation is not possible. To address this challenge, the V.E.C.T.O.R. system tracks assets, such as rovers and astronauts, as User Terminals relative to a pre-existing cell tower, or Base Station. To do so, the system leverages existing Base Station hardware to calculate the location of User Terminals in conjunction with existing communications infrastructure.

Frictionless System For Planetary Simulant Testing, Hailey Zackiewicz, Morganne Neuman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The engineering design process is used to create a frictionless system for planetary simulant testing. Research about different types of bearing is used to brainstorm ideas about how to construct a tray and rail system with minimal friction. Using thought-walkthroughs and a weighted decision matrix, it will be determined which ideas can move forward with a tabletop experiment. Based on the results of the experiment, it will be determined which system will be fabricated and installed for the testing system.

Dual Rotating Mount For Forward Facing Sonar, Javid Miller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project aims to create a mount for forward facing sonar (FFS) that will allow anglers to be able to rotate their sonar transducer manually, or in unison with their trolling motor. When in use with the trolling motor, the rotation will be transferred using a belt and pulley assembly. This assembly will be able to be disengaged to allow for manual rotation. This device is designed for use with the Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor.

Lilly Reich: La Mente Detrás Del Mobiliario Moderno Que La Historia Olvidó, Noa Llanas Angrill

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

La historia ha sido escrita desde una perspectiva que se ha invisibilizado las contribuciones femeninas en su desarrollo. Este artículo se centra en Lilly Reich (1885-1947), figura clave del diseño moderno, cuya autoría ha sido eclipsada por la de su colaborador Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. La investigación evidencia que la diseñadora no solo contribuyó al diseño de mobiliario moderno y de espacios expositivos, sino que lideró proyectos clave y que su trabajo ha impactado en el diseño expositivo, textil y mobiliario moderno.

Improving The Robustness Of Compressed Deep Learning Models Against Class Imbalance, Baraa Saeed Ali

Wayne State University Dissertations

Deep Learning (DL) models are deployed ubiquitously, as they power a wide range of critical applications, including image classification, fraud detection, autonomous vehicles, robots, and NLP. However, their massive size and huge memory footprint (overparameterization) represent a serious challenge to the efficient deployment of such models, especially in resource-scarce environments such as wearable devices, smartphones, edge devices, and embedded systems. Therefore, model compression techniques are typically used to shrink the model size to the currently available computational and memory budget and to accelerate training and inference without sacrificing model accuracy and performance. Therefore, the DL research community considers model compression …

Integrating Turtle Graphics And Engineering Design: Enhancing Problem-Solving And Critical Thinking Through Digital And Physical Prototyping, Abigail Erskine

Indiana STEM Education Conference

This research brief is a review of literature on integrating Turtle Graphics and engineering design to enhance students' problem-solving and critical thinking through prototyping. Integrating Turtle Graphics with digital and physical prototyping engages students in the engineering design process, helping them bridge abstract mathematical concepts with real-world applications. By combining programming and engineering design, Turtle Graphics supports complex tasks like visualization and design modeling, which improves students’ critical thinking, design thinking, and problem-solving skills. Through iterative testing and refinement, students gain practical insights into engineering concepts such as modeling and creating prototypes.

Rebuilding The Spatial Visualization Test, Maerianna Artang, Maia Catterall, Yagmur Onder, Nrupaja Bhide, Dhinesh Balaji Radhakrishnan, Jennifer J. Deboer

Indiana STEM Education Conference

Literature demonstrates that spatial visualization skills are crucial for students entering engineering and are used as early indicators of success. Historically, studies stated that students of gender or cultural minorities in engineering scored lower than their White, male counterparts. However, recent studies critically question the research approaches used in such studies (Bartlet, 2023; Önder et. al, 2023). We investigate the possible reasons for this score discrepancy and explore the construction of an asset-based spatial visualization assessment. Our work expands the area of spatial visualization development as applied in engineering design, specifically for the scope of marginalized learner contexts. We incorporated …

Proceedings Of The Tenth Annual Indiana Stem Education Conference: Generational Advances Through Stem Education, William S. Walker Iii, Lynn A. Bryan, S Selcen Guzey

Indiana STEM Education Conference

The Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference are edited by the Center for Advancing the Teaching and Learning of STEM (CATALYST, https://www.education.purdue.edu/catalyst/) at Purdue University. The theme for the 2025 conference is Generational Advances through STEM Education. This year’s conference provides opportunities to learn about effective STEM education strategies, curriculum, and resources to engage students by considering the advances and impact of STEM.

Ginger: The Effect Of Illustrated Storybooks On Children’S Response And Teachers’ Facilitation In Stem Education, Defne Yabas, Tugba Abanoz, M. Sencer Corlu

Indiana STEM Education Conference

This study aims to explore children’s and teachers’ responses to the integration of illustrated storybook content into STEM activities in early childhood. The correlation between STEM content and illustrations in children's storybooks conveying scientific information is a crucial aspect that can impact children's learning of STEM. Studies have reported the utilization of storybooks in STEM education for young children (Abanoz & Yabaş, 2022; Pantoya et al., 2015), yet an absence of research has been noted regarding the impact of illustrated storybooks on children's engagement in STEM education. There is substantial research evidence that early childhood teachers have low self-efficacy beliefs …

Informal Education Experiences: Why Stem Camps Matter, Jeffrey A. Nowak, Dale Ruppert

Indiana STEM Education Conference

This research brief details some of the positive impacts of student participation in after-school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) camps provided by universities and informal education centers as described in published literature. In addition, the authors reviewed 2,841 anonymous participant surveys of 1^st-12^th grade students involved in nineteen STEM camps held at Purdue University Fort Wayne from 2019-2024 for related findings. Findings indicate that providing an enjoyable and enriching learning environment for STEM camps can foster a mindset of curiosity and a love for learning. Students who attend STEM camps likewise often experience a range of …

Mathematical Modeling For Interdisciplinary Stem Problem-Solving, Dayat Hidayat, Signe Kastberg

Indiana STEM Education Conference

STEM education supports students’ real-world problem solving by utilizing connections between STEM disciplines. Yet teachers have questions about how to provide such support. Mathematical modeling involves the use of mathematics content and processes to solve problems in integrated STEM contexts. In this research brief we illustrate how mathematical modeling can support students’ integrated STEM problem solving.

Ripples Of Change: Middle School Students Navigating The Future Of Our Watershed Through Eco-Stem, Elizabeth Andrew Thiel

Indiana STEM Education Conference

Ripples of Change is an eco-STEM unit designed to address Indiana’s environmental education goals by fostering environmental literacy and informed decision-making among middle school students. By engaging students in community-based learning activities that empower students to address watershed issues, this eco-STEM unit promotes culturally sustaining integrated STEM education. Preliminary findings indicate increased student awareness and responsibility for their impact on local ecosystems using evidence-based reasoning, highlighting the potential for Ripples of Change to inspire global citizenship in students and scalable eco-STEM approaches.