Engineering Commons^™

Validation Of Electromagnetic Shower Development In A Reduced Alice Focal-E Detector Model Using Geant4, Isaac Lara Romo

Physics

This project focuses on the preliminary simulation of a reduced FoCal-E detector model for the ALICE experiment at CERN. Beamline tests were simulated using an electron gun at various incident energies, and the results were compared with those of the FoCal group. The longitudinal charge deposition per sensor layer was compared between the two setups to verify that the reduced model exhibited expected calorimeter behavior. Additionally, the transverse signal across the high-granularity sensor layers was examined to determine whether the reduced model reproduced the expected lateral development of electromagnetic showers. The results obtained from these measurements show that the reduced …

Tracking Continuous Non-Differentiable Trajectories In Euler–Lagrange Systems With Continuous Dynamics, Nilay Kant

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tracking controllers for Euler–Lagrange systems are designed under the assumption that reference trajectories are continuous, and at least twice differentiable with respect to time. However, this assumption precludes several use cases, such as when a robot end-effector must track a path with corners at constant speed. This paper introduces the control design for tracking continuous but non-differentiable trajectories in fully actuated Euler–Lagrange systems that have continuous-time dynamics. The proposed controller combines a continuous feedback law with impulsive inputs, that are intermittently applied at the instants of non-differentiability. A Lyapunov stability analysis establishes global exponential convergence of the tracking error to …

A Carbon Fiber-Based Self-Sensing Approach For Monitoring Damage Evolution In Coal Pillars, Shan Ning, Weibing Zhu, Jie Gao, Wei Qin, Guang Xu, Jingmin Xu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Under long-term high stress and dynamic disturbances, damage accumulation within underground coal masses can induce sudden instability, posing a considerable threat to coal mine safety. Real-time acquisition of coal damage information is essential for disaster prevention and control. This study proposes a coal damage and fracturing monitoring approach based on a carbon fiber composite mortar (CFCM) coating. By applying the CFCM coating to coal specimen surfaces and monitoring resistance changes, the dynamic evolution of damage can be tracked. The study combines experimental mechanical loading, continuous electrical resistance monitoring and acoustic emission recording with detailed numerical modelling to comprehensively evaluate sensing …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Vibration On Signal Reflection In Coaxial Cable Connectors For Vibration Sensing In Aircraft Structures And Systems, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Anthony C. Okafor, Jeremiah J. Rittenhouse, Daniel S. Stutts, Jie Huang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates the effects of vibration on signal reflection (S11) in aerospace data transmission line (ADTL) and commercial data transmission line (DTL) connectors for their alternative use as vibration sensors. The impact of vibration on the S11 signal was investigated on five ADTL and four DTL connectors at six vibration frequencies (20 Hz, 40 Hz, 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 320 Hz, and 640 Hz) and four vibration accelerations (0.5G, 1 G, 2 G, and 4G). The experiment was conducted using a split-plot design with a cable type assigned as the main-plot factor, with vibration frequency and acceleration as subplot …

Eliminating Barriers For The Implementation Of Automation In The Mining Industry, Sefiu O. Adewuyi, Kray Luxbacher, Kanagy David, Miller Ben, Miller Hugh, Michael Moats, Savit Mark

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The integration of new technologies into U.S. mining operations is necessary for achieving continuous improvement in worker health and safety, as well as improving operational efficiency, but many have questioned why uptake of autonomy in the U.S. mining industry has been slow compared to other nations. Despite extensive research on mining automation, there remains a critical gap in understanding and systematically identifying the barriers to its adoption within the U.S. mining industry and globally. To quantify these barriers, a workshop model of data collection was employed. A total of 708 invitations were extended to professionals to participate in nine different …

Robotic-Assisted Pedicle Screw Placement Achieves High Accuracy And Narrows The Experience Gap: A Preclinical Evaluation, Anna T. Reza, Matthias Walper, Mitchell K. Ng, Paul G. Mastrokostas, Andrew S. Lee, Rafael G. Rafael, Kornelis A. Poelstra, Ratliff K. John, Rajiv K. Sethi, Michael A. Mont

Rothman Institute Papers

To assess a robotic-assisted system versus open manual techniques to: (1) compare pedicle screw accuracy between fellows and attendings with and without robotic assistance, and (2) evaluate executed versus planned trajectory fidelity relative to prior reports. Robotic-assisted spine systems aim to improve the accuracy, reproducibility, and safety of pedicle screw placement. Limited evidence compares outcomes across differing surgeon experience levels. A total of 255 thoracolumbar pedicle screws were placed in synthetic torsos simulating adult degenerative anatomy. Four surgeons (two fellows, two attendings) each placed half their screws using open fluoroscopy-guided techniques and half using a minimally invasive percutaneous approach with …

Sanitizing Manufacturing Dataset Labels Using Vision-Language Models, Nazanin Mahjourian, Vinh Nguyen

Michigan Tech Publications

The success of machine learning models in industrial applications is heavily dependent on the quality of the datasets used to train the models. However, large-scale datasets, especially those constructed from crowd-sourcing and web-scraping, often suffer from label noise, inconsistencies, and errors. This problem is particularly pronounced in the manufacturing domain, where obtaining high-quality labels is costly and time-consuming. This paper introduces Vision-Language Sanitation and Refinement (VLSR), which is a vision-language-based framework for label sanitation and refinement in multi-label manufacturing image datasets. This method embeds both images and their associated textual labels into a shared semantic space leveraging the CLIP vision-language …

Project Strata, Hobbs Hegedus, Antony Chen, Adrian Scancich, Peter Constantine Psefteas, Ryan Kreis Roth, Jack Douglas Mitchell

Mechanical Engineering

Project STRATA is a lunar sample acquisition and storage system developed in support of NASA’s Artemis mission objectives and the 2026 NASA RASC-AL competition. The overall mission concept utilizes a dual-rover architecture consisting of HARVEST, a sample collection rover, and SILO, a storage rover designed to preserve and organize lunar ice-regolith core samples collected from permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar south pole. These regions contain scientifically valuable volatile-rich materials but present significant challenges due to extreme cryogenic temperatures, abrasive lunar regolith, and the absence of solar energy.

This report is a collection of all major work from the …

Custom Animatronic Puppet, Jake Schuman, Fredy Herrarte, Madison Reedy, Jackson Reynolds

Mechanical Engineering

This project involved the design, fabrication, and implementation of a custom audio-animatronic puppet modeled after Dr. Brian Davis for the California Polytechnic State University Mechanical Engineering Department. The objective was to create an expressive, lifelike character capable of synchronized speech, head movement, arm gestures, and seated-to-standing motion while demonstrating the integration of mechanical design, controls, manufacturing, and artistic fabrication.

The final system consists of an 18-degree-of-freedom animatronic platform utilizing servo-driven facial and upper-body actuation combined with a pneumatic standing mechanism. A modular aluminum and 3D-printed structural framework was developed using SolidWorks and validated through engineering analysis. Character shells were digitally …

Compressor Rotor Joints And Interference Fit Study, Isabela Jimenez, Aubrey Perez, Isaiah Guerrero, Jireh Velasquez

Mechanical Engineering

Solar Turbines need a comprehensive study on the effects axial and radial inference fits have on turbine compressor rotor stiffness. The aft weldment of the compressor has press-fit dowel pins and pilot joints to connect one weldment section to another. These fits need to be assessed through a finite element modal analysis, as well as practically tested through modal impacts to investigate how the fits affect the stiffness of the turbine’s connected weldments. The experimental data will be used to validate the finite element analysis (FEA) model.

Raytheon Rtx Autonomous Vehicle Competition (Avc) - Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Ugv), Bryant Jonathan Martinez-Bautista, Geovanni Lara, Jared Herrera, Jose Barrera

Mechanical Engineering

Raytheon RTX has four universities participating in a competition to successfully complete various challenges with a UAV and UGV including navigation and landing. The students must work collaboratively to integrate and manufacture a working UGV that is compatible with the UAV.

Our sponsor is Raytheon, more specifically Mr. Luis Esparza. Important stakeholders also include Cal Poly and the entire team of ME & CPE working on the project. Raytheon and Luis are looking for innovative solutions that can be applied for real world scenarios where UAV’s and UGV’s are applied. Cal Poly is gaining recognition, and the team is gaining …

Peltier-Based Hydration Accumulation Terminal (P.H.A.T.), Jenner Mucher, Ethan Pace, Renee Robolledo, Sabrina Luo, Taehoon Lee, Tarsem Pal

Mechanical Engineering

The objective of this project is to design an innovative potable water dispenser capable of safely delivering hot, ambient, and chilled water on demand for human lander missions. The system will support astronauts’ hydration and food rehydration needs while minimizing mass, power, maintenance, and contamination risks in microgravity and partial-gravity environments. Current spacecraft dispensers, such as the International Space Station (ISS) system, provide only heated water and have limited temperature control, cleaning accessibility, and microbial resilience. Building on NASA heritage designs and lessons learned from the ISS Potable Water Dispenser, this project advances a lighter, simpler, and more energy-efficient concept …

Mass - Modular Acoustic Suppression System, Julia Megargle, Michael A. Milner, Lucas Kaemmererer, Jonathan Corvera, Gabriel Choi, Emmi Cayer

Mechanical Engineering

The Modular Acoustic Suppression System (MASS) is a mass tuned damper that reverberates a membrane atop a cavity to absorb select acoustic frequencies produced by the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) within NASA's Artemis Human Lander. The height of the reverberation chamber is adjusted to mitigate a range of varying tonal frequencies within the human lander.

Electronic Bike Chopper, Caleb S. Bermack, Joey Lederer, Ethan Dea, Evan Herrera, Fred Agregado

Mechanical Engineering

Our sponsor, David Royce, built an initial e-bike chopper prototype and desired an improved, next generation version. Our team designed and manufactured an electric bicycle to achieve the rugged visual style of a classic chopper motorcycle while improving stability and usability. The team built a functional E-Chopper prototype using a 4130 steel frame, custom dropouts, a long front fork, wide rear tire, ape-hanger handlebars, and prebuilt electric components such as the battery, hub motor, controller, throttle, and display. The design focused on reducing excess weight, improving frame rigidity, and meeting California e-bike regulations.

Me3328 Buckling Lab, Willem Bitterolf, Samantha Flores, Jacy Gonsalves, Brooke Thompson

Mechanical Engineering

The objective of this senior design project is to design and develop an instructional buckling apparatus (hereafter referred to as a “buckling tester”) to enhance student comprehension of column buckling behavior through direct experimental investigation. The apparatus is specifically intended to bridge the gap between theoretical predictions and observed physical response of structural column members subjected to axial compressive loading. In particular, the system will allow students to examine how column behavior transitions between Euler’s elastic buckling theory, which governs long, slender columns, and the Johnson parabolic formula, which more accurately describes intermediate and shorter columns influenced by material yielding. …

Buell Motorcycle Extended Swing Arm, Joseph Camuccio, Riley Clark, Vincent Sclimenti, Tristan Turcios

Mechanical Engineering

Buell motorcycle riders, including our sponsor Rick Lasko, need a way to easily and affordably manufacture and replace their swing arms with extended versions (4”, 8”, 12”, and 16”) that maintain the stock Buell aesthetic while also meeting the safety standards required for performance-intensive applications, such as drag racing. Each extended swing arm must be just as safe, strong, and rigid as the original swing arm. Currently, there is no convenient and affordable solution to this problem, which is why our sponsor, Rick Lasko, wanted a validated, repeatable manufacturing process and design that would allow riders to safely and consistently …

Guitar Pickup Testing Fixture, Koen Graue, Ethan Rezentes, Max Schecter, Timothy Webb

Mechanical Engineering

Small guitar pickup manufacturers and hobbyists have an interest in developing guitar pickups with unique tonal characteristics and responses, but currently lack a reliable way to test these pickups and characterize their sound. I.M. Bohannon Mechanical Design approached the team to develop a solution to this problem. In response, the team researched current technologies, customer needs, and existing products on the market to define the scope and requirements for a guitar pickup testing fixture. This report documents the work completed during the project scope and definition phase of Cal Poly's senior project process. It discusses researched topics and existing solutions, …

Xylem: A Comparative Analysis Of Gpu Dispatch Pipelines For Large-Scale, Procedural Environments, Srinivas Sundararaman

Master's Theses

The real-time rendering of large-scale, procedural scenes presents a significant performance challenge for traditional CPU-bound rendering pipelines. The high volume of draw calls and the need for complex culling and level-of-detail management create bottlenecks that limit scene complexity and visual fidelity. This thesis investigates the evolution of GPU-driven rendering paradigms via the Xylem renderer within NVIDIA’s Donut rendering framework as a solution to these challenges.

A comprehensive benchmarking framework is developed to implement and quantitatively analyze three distinct rendering strategies for a procedurally generated, parameterizable, large-scale forest scene. The evaluated pipelines include: (1) traditional instanced rendering, (2) compute-driven indirect rendering …

Pet Mobility Project, John Shelby, Lily-Rose Jolie Bacon, Andrea Yasmine Reyes

Biomedical Engineering

The Pet Mobility Project, sponsored by Terri Smith and Jasper Jackson, is an initiative aimed at providing a custom mobility aid to a pet in the San Luis Obispo community. Amber Rappozo’s young German Shepherd, LeDoux, was selected as the project’s recipient. LeDoux suffers from hindleg weakness and, as a result, has limited mobility. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the Pet Mobility Project, detailing the motivation, background, and design approach behind the development of a LeDoux’s custom mobility aid.

Cardiac Twitch Force Measurement System, Tara Hoffman, Sebastian Carrascal Gómez, Julian Macdonald

Biomedical Engineering

The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost and accurate force measurement system and method of measurement to be used in the testing of grown cardiac tissue samples. The primary stakeholder in this project is Dr. Luke Perreault, a biomedical engineering professor at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo who is studying grown cardiac tissue rings, and any of his student lab personnel. Other stakeholders include other researchers in the tissue engineering field who require a similar form of testing to the methods developed in this project.

This document will introduce the identified problem and background as …

Recycling Aged Crumb Rubber-Modified Asphalt Pavements: A Review, Kwadwo Ampadu Boateng, Meng Wu, Dongzhao Jin, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

This study provides a comprehensive review of current progress and challenges in recycling crumb rubber-modified asphalt (CRMA) pavements. It examines key aspects, including mechanical performance, rejuvenation methods, chemical characterization, practical case studies, and environmental implications. Particular emphasis is given to the technical barriers that influence recyclability, such as the mix design for recycled mix, accounting for the combined aging of both the asphalt binder and the crumb rubber particles, and optimizing the rubber content alongside chemical interaction of rejuvenating agents. Existing research indicates that several traditional recycling practices, especially full-depth reclamation and hot central plant recycling, are generally suitable for …

Nodal Elimination For E3 Hemp Mitigation: A Physics-Informed Graph Theory Approach, Connor A. Lehman, Rush Robinett, Quinnlin R. Lehman, David G. Wilson, Wayne Weaver

Michigan Tech Publications

This paper presents a comparison of methods to determine the minimum number of placement locations for neutral blocking, global linear quadratic regulator (G-LQR), and local linear quadratic regulator (L-LQR) controllers throughout a power grid to prevent transformer saturation during the onset of an E3 high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) disturbance. Different device placement configurations yield different efficacies in E3 HEMP mitigation. The first placement method discussed is a genetic algorithm (GA), which serves as a baseline optimizer test case. The scaling and run time of the GA depend on the complexity of the objective function and often times becomes intractable as …

Autonomous Vision-Based Litter Collection Rover, Dante Michael Benedetti, Benjamin Scott Tavares, Nathan Heil

Electrical Engineering

This report documents the design, implementation, and testing of an autonomous litter-collection rover developed as a Senior Project Design Lab (EE 460/463/464) at California Polytechnic State University. The rover integrates autonomy, computer vision, embedded real-time control, mecanum-wheel omnidirectional mobility, and a two-degree-of-freedom robotic arm to detect, approach, and collect small ground-level litter such as bottles, wrappers, and paper fragments.

The system uses a two-layer compute architecture: an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano running ROS 2 for perception, SLAM, and path planning, paired with an STM32L4A6ZG microcontroller for real-time motor control and odometry. The robot is built on a multi-level aluminum frame …

Elevate Grill, Brady Alexander

Electrical Engineering

The Elevate Grill Senior Project is a Santa Maria style grill with an electrical lifting/lowering mechanism and temperature sensor feedback. The grill allows for a dynamically controlled cooking surface, able to be automatically set or manually set by the user. The grill’s user interface informs the user about the temperature in different zones on the grill and alerts the user when the target temperature is hit. Additionally, the user can program preset temperature ranges and apply them to the grill’s control system. The system incorporates safe failure modes in the event of a power outage and also allows the user …

Pcb Design For Place Cells Vlsi Chip, Gavin Reaksecker, Alex Krier, Joshua Lin

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a 2 layer test-bench printed circuit board (PCB) for evaluating the functionality of a custom 40-pin VLSI integrated circuit. The objective is to create a reliable and portable platform capable of supplying configurable bias voltages, generating variable input signals, and monitoring both analog and digital outputs. The board integrates adjustable bias networks using potentiometers, digital and analog buffering stages, and optional battery supply operation. The VLSI device under test is mounted in dual-in-line (DIP) sockets to enable rapid replacement and repeated characterization. Dedicated test points are incorporated throughout the PCB to facilitate …

Solving Linearly Constrained Quadratic Programs Using Field Programmable Analog Arrays, Tyler Wynn, Alonzo Arroyo

Electrical Engineering

This paper presents a field-programmable analog array (FPAA) implementation for solving linearly constrained quadratic programs (LCQPs) directly in the analog domain. The solver is based on a continuous-time primal-dual control architecture with integral action, anti-windup compensation, and a piecewise-linear nonlinearity for enforcing affine inequality constraints. A switched-capacitor implementation using three AN231E04 FPAAs is developed, and coefficient scaling methods are introduced to keep internal and output signals within the voltage limits of the hardware. A global scaling factor is used to reduce internal signal excursions, while solution-space scaling is shown to modify the implemented optimization coefficients and alter the local closed-loop …

Autonomous Rover Solar And Battery Management System: Team B, Karla Jazmin Lira Gonzalez, Paige Ambriz, Kunj Shah, Elhom Delasa Sheykhi

Electrical Engineering

This project focused on the software and printed circuit board (PCB) integration for Poly1Rover’s battery management system (BMS). Poly1Rover is a student organization dedicated to building a low-cost autonomous rover designed to operate on Mars. Since solar availability, temperature, and other conditions on Mars vary, the rover requires a reliable battery management system that accurately monitors battery health and status. This team’s work included the communication and control side of the BMS. The subsystem was designed around the Renesas ISL94202 battery monitor and the MSP430 controller. Battery information was read from the ISL94202 registers through I2C communication, converted from raw …

S-[2-(Hydroxyamino)-2-Oxoethyl]-O-Octyl-Dithiocarbonate Ester (Ehaox): Performance And Adsorption Mechanism, Yue Zhou, Jiaxiang Li, Hongli Fan, Zhilong Li, Yuesheng Gao, Tian Lin, Haiyan Tang, Tingting Wang, Wei Sun

Michigan Tech Publications

This study explores the interfacial interactions between a novel collector, S-[2-(hydroxyamino)-2-oxoethyl]-O-octyl-dithiocarbonate ester (EHAOX), and bastnaesite mineral surfaces during selective flotation. Compared to conventional octylhydroxamic acid (OHA), EHAOX demonstrated superior recovery, achieving an over 40% absolute increase in recovery compared to octylhydroxamic acid (OHA) at the same collector concentration (1 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L) and pH 8.0, and selectivity for bastnaesite, attributed to its optimized hydrophobicity (supported by CLogP calculations). Mechanistic studies via zeta potential, UV/vis spectroscopy, and FTIR revealed the formation of a complex composite via chemisorption between EHAOX and Ce³⁺ sites on the bastnaesite surface, with coordination occurring …

Skip The Grid: Bringing Renewable Energy To Off-Grid Navajo Homes, Zion Hall

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service-learning project that provides sustainable energy solutions to families with school-aged children living in the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In March 2026, a team of 23 students from five academic disciplines at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) partnered with Heart of America, SOLV Energy, and NextPower to complete the fifth year of the program. The project's purpose was to improve quality of life and support educational success by providing reliable access to electricity, lighting, and refrigeration in underserved communities. Participants were organized into five installation teams consisting of Cal Poly students, faculty, industry …

Thematic Analysis Of Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities Required For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Transit Workforce, Steven Dandurand

Construction Management

The adoption and implementation of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) in public transit creates opportunities for reducing emissions and a greener future, but causes challenges related to workforce readiness and training. This research uses thematic analysis to analyze interviews with professionals to evaluate the current knowledge and skill levels of transit bus drivers, maintenance personnel, and infrastructure teams, with the goal of identifying knowledge gaps that may cause problems with the implementation of hydrogen buses on a larger scale. Data was collected through a review of transit agency resources, and interviews with drivers, technicians and agencies. The findings indicate …