Engineering Commons^™

Seat Belt Data Collection Methods: A Comparison Between States And National Guidelines, Madison R A Richards

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Thousands of fatalities related to vehicle crashes occur every year. One method to reduce fatalities is to encourage seat belt use compliance. To promote statistics regarding seat belt use, there first must be reliable data on seat belt compliance and this comes from good survey design.

This report is a comparative analysis of seat belt data collection methodologies for Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, in addition to an evaluation of how each state aligns with standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The framework for this analysis focuses on NHTSA’s five core survey design requirements: selection of observation …

Security Onion Ids Case Study: Detecting And Investigating Threat Traffic Using Suricata, Zeek, And Pcap Evidence, Daryna Myroniuk

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A key component of cybersecurity is network intrusion detection, which is used to examine network traffic for any malicious activity. Many organizations deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) but still face challenges such as validating detections, investigating alerts in a timely manner, and producing clear and repeatable evidence of what has occurred, especially when live traffic capture may be limited to risks, permissions, or privacy concerns. The goal of this project was to use Security Onion, which includes Suricata and Zeek to create and demonstrate a controllable and manageable evidence-based IDS investigation workflow. This project is focused on deploying and validating …

Analyzing Network Traffic And Data Exfiltration Via Smb In Post-Vm Escape Scenarios, Noah M. Disanza

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Virtual machines (VMs) play a crucial role in modern IT infrastructure environments by providing isolation and enhanced security, among other things, for both personal and corporate systems. VMs are heavily rely upon to safely test malware, manage infrastructure, and reduce risk to host systems. This reliance is so substantial that the idea of reducing risk to the host system is believed to be erasing risk entirely. However, this mindset has shown to be challenged time and time again by the emergence of exploits known as virtual machine escapes. These exploits allow malicious actors to break out of the virtualized environment …

Lumacurve Control System Update, Jacob Kustra, Caleb Wengerd

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The existing track heater control system used by Lumacurve has become outdated and requires frequent maintenance due to inconsistent operation and component failures. This project aims to modernize the system through the implementation of a programmable logic controller (PLC), infrared non-contact temperature sensing, and an automated pneumatic ejection mechanism.

The redesigned system improves temperature monitoring accuracy and reduces operator intervention by automatically ejecting heated plastic tracks from the heater once the desired temperature is reached. An emergency ejection subsystem is also incorporated to safely clear tracks from the heater in the event of improper operation or system faults. Additional emphasis …

Rapid Skin Stapler, Emma J. Patterson, Allison M. Milligan, Morgan E. Dunlap

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Severe burn injuries frequently require split-thickness skin grafts, with metal surgical staples serving as the current standard for fixation. While staples provide rapid and secure placement of graft material, they also introduce significant challenges. Removal is painful, time-consuming, and often requires sedation in pediatric patients, leading to added risk, resource strain, and poor patient experience. These drawbacks highlight the need for improved fixation methods that maintain graft stability while reducing procedural burden. This project applies the engineering design process to address these challenges through identification of user needs, translation into design inputs, risk assessment, and development of a prototype aimed …

Lunar Regolith Densometer, Liam Lee, Vincent Innocenzi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Testing of extraterrestrial rovers is a growing concern as lunar exploration as an industry is becoming increasingly commercialized. Currently, the way rover testing is conducted is on a soil regolith which is already available. The structure of the soil, however, is harmful to humans and requires a full bunny suit and respirator to be worn during the conduction of the experiment. This limitation, along with the expensive price tag, prevents college university students and companies from establishing a rover test area in labs. The goal of the overall project is to create a safer testing environment by mimicking the soil-to-tire …

Analyzing The Effect Of Network Properties On Self-Assembly Of Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles In Vitrimer Nanocomposites, Tyler Eakin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project aims to show the how polymer grafted nanoparticles behave in a vitrimer composite network. The effect of varying the network parameters such as the grafting density, the volume fraction of nanoparticles, and the ratio of polymer chain length : graft chain length will be studied. The assemblies formed by the polymer grafted nanoparticles will be visually analyzed and assigned one of 5 possible conformations. A phase diagram of grafting density vs network chain length / graft length will be constructed. The phase diagram will provide valuable insight into how nanoparticle self-assembly can be manipulated through changing network parameters

Ai-Based Music Mood Analysis With Historical And Real-Time Data, Biswash Bhattarai

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Music Mood Analyzer Dashboard identifies and visualizes the emotional tone of songs using audio features like tempo, energy, and valence. It classifies tracks into moods such as happy, sad, or calm and presents insights through an interactive dashboard. The project combines music analysis and data visualization to help users understand how sound relates to emotion.

Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Lower Critical Solution Temperatures Of Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) And Poly(Vinyl Methyl Ether), Joseph Joaquin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this study is to compare how four different Hofmeister anions (Cl-, SCN-, F-, and I-) affect the Lower Critical Solution temperature (LCST) on two thermo-responsive polymers: poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAAM) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME). pNIPAAm is commonly used in the environmental applications such as monitoring, oil-water separations, or antifouling materials, and in medical industry from drug delivery to tissue engineering. When pNIPAAM or PVME reaches a temperature above their LCST, they become hydrophobic, and the polymer chains coiled, leading to their aqueous solutions turn opaque. PVME exhibits a similar LCST as that of pNIPAAM, so it can be …

Proceedings Of The Eleventh Annual Indiana Stem Education Conference: Stem Journeys, William S. Walker Iii, S. Selcen Guzey

Indiana STEM Education Conference

The Proceedings of the Eleventh 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 2026 conference is STEM Journeys, celebrating the multiple pathways and experiences that advance student learning in STEM education.

Renewable Energy Innovation: A Mathematics-Driven Integrated Stem Approach For K-12 Classrooms, Humphrey Chinenye Ochulor, Dayat Hidayat

Indiana STEM Education Conference

This research brief presents Renewable Energy Innovation (REI) as a mathematics-driven Integrated STEM (iSTEM) approach for engaging upper elementary and middle school students to design, analyze, test, and refine solar cars and wind turbines through mathematical modeling (MM) and problem solving (PS). Research suggests that renewable energy activities support students’ abilities to design systems, quantify variables, construct multiple representations, and refine mathematical models to clarify relationships between energy output and design features. Positioning mathematics as the driver in REI iSTEM engineering design contexts aligns with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and foregrounds mathematics as a primary organizing discipline …

Stem Integration Through Environmental Data Analysis For Real-World Problem Solving, Abigail Erskine

Indiana STEM Education Conference

Integrating authentic, environmental-based data can make STEM instruction more meaningful. As part of a broader high school STEM curriculum, I designed a lesson that connects mathematical and statistical concepts, technology, and environmental data through environmental data analysis to develop real-world problem solving. Using local deer mortality data, I examined how descriptive statistics and data interpretation could reveal population and ecological patterns. Designing with real data highlighted how mathematics can serve as a lens for understanding environmental issues and promote connections across STEM disciplines. This research brief focuses on the instructional design and reflection as the lesson designer.

Breech Baby, Madison Kaufman, Cassidy Allen, Lilian Mills

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our project aims to develop a non-invasive device to assist in turning breech babies to a head down position before delivery. Pregnant women facing breech presentations often need safe and effective solutions, yet current options like external cephalic version (ECV), maternal positioning techniques, and cesarean sections can present challenges. Key barriers include variability in maternal and fetal anatomy, patient comfort, compliance, and training for healthcare providers, along with cost and insurance concerns.

Our innovative device will address these issues by providing clear guidance and support throughout the process. It will prioritize minimizing discomfort and risk, ensuring adaptability for various stages …

From Coursework To Research: A Scalable Model For Student-Industry Ai Collaboration, Hyeong Kyun Park, Andrew Joon Cha

Indiana STEM Education Conference

Preparing students for advanced technical careers requires more than foundational theory; it demands a shift to genuine research methodology. With the rising need for university-industry partnerships in AI innovation, this case study dissects a successful student-industry AI engineering collaboration project and transforms it into an essential preparation model easily adopted by technology personnel. The student participants include undergraduate and graduate engineering, data science, and computer science students working directly with practicing industry AI engineers. While universities publish most AI research and generate higher-novelty work, industry contributes state-of-the-art models, large datasets, and computational resources. Students gain research readiness, data literacy, and …

Undergraduate Student Support Survey And Scoring Guide, Kerrie A. Douglas, Adrian Gentry, Julie P. Martin, Tiantian Li

School of Engineering Education Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Nail Salon Appointment Management System., Alexander Tran

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I will create an appointment management system for my family's nail salon. This will contain a database and tables that keep track of data of the employees, customers, and the receptionist to make it easier to book appointments for the nail salon. This was originally made to create an appointment system because I have family members who don't understand technology well and wanted to make something simple and intuitive for anyone to use, since the appointment system that we currently use is extremely off the cuff, and this should remedy that.

Length Modulatin Hip Implant, Ethan Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Leg length discrepancy is a well-documented complication of total hip arthroplasty, commonly known as hip replacement surgery. Even small differences in leg length can lead to an altered gait, increased joint stress, and long-term postural issues that may affect a patient’s overall mobility and comfort. The current method for correcting this discrepancy often involves a follow-up surgical procedure, which extends recovery time and increases the physical and financial burden on the patient. To address these shortcomings, we developed a concept for an adjustable hip implant that can be lengthened noninvasively after surgery. The design incorporates an internally housed battery and …

Analysis Of Sessile Drop And Captive Bubble Contact Angle Measurements On Metallic And Hydrophobic Surfaces, Jack H. Darnell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Contact angle measurements are widely used to characterize surface wettability and determine changes in surface energy, yet the choice of measurement technique can significantly influence the results. This study compares the sessile drop and captive bubble methods for measuring contact angles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions on carbon steel, stainless steel, and a hydrophobic wafer. Additionally, the time‑dependent wetting behavior of water, SDS, polysorbate 20 (commercial name Tween 20), and rhamnolipids on a hydrophobic wafer was evaluated over a five‑minute period. Results show that the sessile drop method consistently produced higher contact angles than the captive bubble method on …

Surface Immobilization Of Stimuli-Responsive Polymers Using A Network Of Aminopropyltriethoxysilane, Walter Bungard, Ryan Nixon

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this honors project is to develop a cost-effective and accessible method for entrapping stimuli-responsive polymers onto solid substrates using aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The entrapment network process will first be replicated on glass or silicon using APTES and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), involving spin coating and thermal annealing to chemically bond the polymer to the substrate. Once validated, the method will be applied to other stimuli-responsive polymers, including thermo-responsive, electroactive, and pH-sensitive types, with APTES as a control. For each sample, film stability, responsiveness, and surface behavior will be evaluated using contact angles, optical microscopy, and spectroscopic analysis, followed by statistical evaluation. …

The Impact Of Surveying, Nicholas A. Cosper

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My project consists of three parts. The first part will be helping the public. To do this I will be helping the Boy Scouts earn their surveying merit badge. This badge is known to be one of the hardest for scouts to obtain. In the next part of my project, I will be running a 3-wire level on the Davey Tree Seed Campus. This project will be extremely useful to them (the rest of this information is confidential). In the final part of my project, I will be conducting a topographical survey for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a …

Effects Of Coupling Agents On An Epoxy Coating And Consequent Corrosion Resistance Of Carbon Steel, Breck A. Mooney

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will include the determination of how coupling agents affect corrosion resistance on select carbon steel when combined with a polymer coating. This research will explore 2 different silane coupling agents: 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and 3-glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS). 1 polymer coating, Bispenol A diglicidyl ether (BADGE), will be explored as well. These coatings will be applied to select carbon steels in various ratios to determine their effects on corrosion.

Network Merge, Alexander York

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will be simulating the merge of two company's networks. Company A will contain two sties connected with a VPN, and will extend this VPN to one site for Company B. This project will focus on researching how merging a network works, how routes are commonly redistributed across different routing protocols, and how each site can run their own but link servers(DHCP, DNS, etc.). Both sites will be secured from both outside and inside attacks through passwords and other network security features such as VLANs & BPDU Guard.

Adaptive Lighting System, Jacob Samerdak, Ethan Schwartz, Brandon Breen, Matthew Carozza

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Adaptive Lighting System is a modular network of components that requires minimal installation in homes. Additionally, all components of the system communicate wirelessly and interface with a mobile application. The system utilizes occupancy and daylight sensors to detect the environment of a room and adjust the lighting accordingly. The system detects ambient lighting as well as occupancy within a room. Using the data collected from the sensors, the system adjusts lighting temperature, color, and brightness. The user can also manually control these settings. The Adaptive Lighting System aims to help regulate circadian rhythm, so there is a configuration in …

Breaking The Vapor Barrier And Scale: Revolutionizing Steel Quenching With Ultrasound Technology, Anthony O. Santos

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The quenching process is a fundamental heat treatment used to enhance material properties by heating steel to its austenitizing temperature and rapidly cooling it to form high-strength martensite. However, this process is often hindered by two surface barriers: the Leidenfrost effect (vapor blanket) and oxide scale. These cooling limitations restrict the use of steel in high-performance aerospace applications due to inconsistent material properties and unpredictable engineering properties. This research investigates the use of fully submersible, 50-watt 40 kHz ultrasound technology to improve cooling rates in a Jominy test [4]. Through numerical simulations and experimental validation, the study demonstrates that acoustic …

Analyzing Network Traffic Utilizing Aws Developer Tools And Artificial Intelligence, Michael K. Spatafore

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Alert fatigue occurs during long hour shifts and high stress situations. Constant notifications and on-call shifts can create overstimulation and desensitization, which leads to delay responses and increased vulnerability. Malicious actors have weaponized alert fatigue by storming a network with a vast number of low-priority events to mask their malicious activity, also known as alert storming. This project focuses on the reduction of alert fatigue by automating log analysis with Large Language Models. The project uses Amazon Web Service and its many features, such as Amazon GuardDuty, Lambda, and Bedrock. Amazon GuardDuty detects anomalies, then lambda sends those anomalies to …

Optimized Returning Floating System (Orfs/Orfeus), Jordan A. Mcclelland, Adam J. Belluardo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We are developing a proof-of-concept modified guitar tremolo system for an electric guitar that can automatically optimize tuning adjustments when a player transitions between tuning schemes using a cam system. Currently, changing tunings takes about 10–15 minutes because adjusting the tension on one string affects the tension of the others. Our design aims to compensate for these interactions and significantly reduce the time required to switch tunings.

Large Telescope Mount For Long Exposure Photos, Payne M. Landis, Anna J. Gray

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

When viewing the stars through a telescope, it is common that the object you are viewing drifts out of view. Many amateur astronomers seek to capture long exposure images of the stars, planets, and galaxies with commercially available sky tracking telescope mounts. The complication is that these telescope mounts are both incredibly expensive and have low weight limits. These issues limit accessibility to these products based on the telescope. For each person, telescope parameters determine the amount of light and magnification that can be viewed, which then determines exposures time for adequate photo results. The options on the market for …

Optimization Of Post-Processing Methods For Additively Manufactured Metals, Julia R. Carano

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Ultrasonic Nanocrystal Surface Modification (UNSM) is a process used to change the surface hardness of flat-faced materials. It is a machining process using a high-powered laser and a blunt-tipped tool at high speeds which aims to improve the uniformity of the surface on most metals. By heating and pressing the surface of the workpiece, the grains of the material become less rounded and more cohesive on a microscopic level. This, ideally, results in a workpiece with improved material properties. The changes were previously observed through hardness testing.

Thermal Radiation Effects On Particles From Plasma Arc Radiation, Reece Davis, Joseph Mcgee

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Understanding the radiation heating and transport of both microparticles and nanoparticles is a phenomenon that is critical for both space and Earth sciences. In space, these particles are heated by plasma arcs within ionized space clouds or solar flares and can be present the path of deep space missions and orbital satellites. While on Earth, processes such as forest fires, nuclear fusion, and microchip manufacturing include the plasma arc heating of particles. These particles lay within the Mie Scattering Regime and Rayleigh Scattering Regime and emit radiation differently based on their diameter. New mathematical and computational modeling has been conducted …

Dashboard And Racing Telemetry, Cole Barach, Jacob Koshel, Ethan Zifzal, Matthew Sullivan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The main goal of the project is to design and manufacture a combined dashboard and data logger for the vehicles produced by the Zips Racing design team. The dashboard will intuitively display real-time information to the driver and record all received information while driving. This information may be pulled off the device later for performing data analysis. This project will incorporate custom PCB design, surface mount soldering, embedded software development, and the CAN communication protocol.