L AU N C H C R E AT I V E I N Q U I RY
2017
The challenge of competition page 30
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COL L EG E OF EN G I N EER I N G
FROM THE DEAN Welcome to the second edition of Launch — the college’s biennial publication featuring the projects and successes of our nearly 20 competitive creative inquiry teams. Much has taken place since our 2015 inaugural edition, including remarkable growth in the number of participants — between fall 2016 and spring 2017, more than 550 students took part in creative inquiry events and competitions. A boost to student interest and success has been the expanded and continued use of the Alan and Jan Levin Student Design Team Suite on the ground level of Engineering Hall. Student leaders from creative inquiry teams occupying the suites recently commented on changes and benefits the space has brought to their undergraduate research experience: • “This dedicated design space has allowed our team to work more efficiently — the location is ideal for being productive between classes.” • “I appreciate being close to the other design teams so we can see what they are working on as well.” • “Having our own area allows us to be more competitive with other design schools.” Developing practical skills in leadership and collaboration, while turning ideas into real systems is the continuing success story of our student creative inquiry teams.
Dean Darren Dawson
L AU N C H C R E AT I V E I N Q U I RY
2017
COL L EG E OF EN G I N EER I N G
CONTENTS 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 29 30 32 34 35
Supporting Creative Inquiry Architectural Engineering Institute Design Team Associated Schools of Construction Association for Computing Machinery Baja SAE Team Chem-E-Car Team Combat Robotics Team Concrete Canoe Team Cyber Defense Club ECE Robotics Team Fountain Wars Team Game Development Club GeoWall Team Helwig Farms Quarter-Scale Tractor Team Powercat Motorsports Team SAE Aero Design Team Steel Bridge Team Unmanned Aerial Systems Team Wildcat Rocketry Club Wildcat Wind Power Team Creative Inquiry Team Roster About LAUNCH Alan and Jan Levin Student Design Team Suite
ON THE COVER TEAM MEMBERS TACKLE ELECTRONICS AND CONTROLS FOR COLLEGIATE WIND COMPETITION.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS ARE/CNS BAE CE CHE CS ECE IMSE MNE
Architectural Engineering and Construction Science Biological and Agricultural Engineering Civil Engineering Chemical Engineering Computer Science Electrical and Computer Engineering Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
LEFT CREATIVE INQUIRY TEAM MEMBERS APPLY THEIR SKILLS IN THE ALAN AND JAN LEVIN STUDENT DESIGN TEAM SUITE.
LAUNCH
is published by the Kansas State University College of Engineering, 1046 Rathbone Hall, 1701B Platt St., Manhattan, KS 66506. It is available online at engg.k-state.edu. Issue No. 2, Summer 2017 Editing and design . . . . . . . Engineering Communications Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K-State Communications and Marketing; National Renewable Energy Lab, U.S. Department of Energy – Collegiate Wind Competition 2017 Technical Challenge; Parker Robb, The Collegian; Wes Agresta, Argonne National Laboratory
Supporting Creative Inquiry
Helwig Farms
GIFT SUPPORTS
THRILL OF COMPETITION
Philanthropic contributions to Kansas State University are coordinated by the KSU Foundation. The foundation is leading Innovation and Inspiration: The Campaign for Kansas State University to raise $1.4 billion for student success, faculty development, facility enhancement and programmatic success. 4
K-State College of Engineering
Carl and Melinda Helwig, owners of Helwig Farms, Columbus, Kansas, competed together in tractor-pulling competitions — and placed nationally in the early 1980s — while raising wheat, corn, soybeans and grain sorghum on their southeast Kansas farm. Accustomed to working weeks of all-day and late-night harvests, coming together for the thrill of competing was part of their success in tractor-pulling competitions. When the Helwigs were searching for ways to invest their harvest proceeds, creating a gift of grain and charitable remainder trust with Kansas State University proved the most efficient means. They were able to focus the gift of grain to support the College of Engineering’s quarter-scale tractor team. In recognition of the Helwigs’ gift, K-State’s competitive tractor program, previously known as Powercat Tractors, has been renamed the Helwig Farms Quarter-Scale Tractor Team.
S RM
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“We have had a good life, a lot of luck in grain production … and enjoyed the thrill of competition,” said Carl Helwig. “We wanted the students to have every opportunity to be on top.” By Allie Lousch
I G FA
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ARE/CNS • CE
Architectural Engineering Institute Design Team With a goal of engaging in a real-world design scenario, the 10-member Kansas State University Architectural Engineering Institute, or AEI, Design Team was one of only 10 teams in the country invited to compete at the AEI Annual Conference and Student Competition in April 2016 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The competition, among universities from across the country, involved designing a 17-story building located in Boston. Teams presented proposals for structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design, as well as the construction process. The task involved composing multiple
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reports detailing the design process, coordination, team structure, calculations and proof of design. The K-State team was awarded the Resilient Design Award. The two-day event allowed students the opportunity to work with a full design team on a project and interact with disciplines outside of their primary focus during the design process. The first day was made up of student presentations as they related to the competition. Day two consisted of meetings and breakout sessions pertaining to architectural engineering, and concluded with an awards banquet that night.
Team leaders Christopher Bolin Mechanical Systems Spencer Combs Mechanical Systems Austin Curnutt Structural Systems Hunter Elliott Construction Manager Cassandra Ford Structural Systems Seth Heronemus Structural Systems Paul Kempainen Electrical Systems Emily Krampe Construction Manager Nicole Sabourin Electrical Systems Christopher Wearing Project Manager
Faculty adviser Chris Ahern, ARE/CNS assistant professor
ARE/CNS
Associated Schools of Construction The 2016 Associated Schools of Construction, or ASC, competition held in Nebraska City, Nebraska, offered four division choices: design-build, commercial, heavy highway and residential. Kansas State University sent teams in the design-build, commercial and heavy/highway divisions to compete in both the 2015 and 2016 ASC competitions. In October 2015, 18 students and three faculty advisers attended, and in October 2016, 17 students and three faculty advisers took part. Design-Build Team The 2016 Design-Build Team competed against other schools in ASC Region IV. Under a time crunch of 18 hours, teams submitted a design, schedule, estimate and full project plan development combined into a formal proposal seeking a project award. Upon completion, they presented their plan to industry partners who had been involved with the actual project being judged. This competition phase familiarizes each team with the design-build project delivery method, as well as the process of submitting and presenting a formal construction proposal. The K-State team placed second overall. Commercial Construction Team The ASC Commercial Construction Team competed in the 2016 Region
IV ASC and were given a set of construction documents including drawings, specifications, and addenda to accomplish a quantity takeoff, estimate, schedule and site-specific considerations plans. The logic behind the commercial team lies in students’ ability to organize all given information in order to submit and present, in a way that best represents an actual construction company, to a panel of judges who had built the project. The K-State team placed third overall. Heavy/Highway Construction Team Competing in the 2016 ASC Region IV Competition, the Heavy/Highway Team was tasked with creating a formal proposal for the project in 18 hours. Charged with determining means and methods, a schedule, an estimate, and the necessary planning to complete a heavy/ highway project, the only materials teams had available to do this were the actual construction documents used by the sponsoring partner. This was done to give students who may not be exposed to this large of a project an accurate depiction of the preconstruction needed for a project to be successfully won. The K-State team did not place.
Team leaders Kofi Anane-Sekyere Sam Blaha Tyler Coonrod Mohammed Dinn Zach DuPont Noah Easterling Andrew Eigsti Branson Kocher Kaleb Koerperich Adam Kramer Shane Maloney Sean Mitchell Clayton Pearce Danny Pruit Tyler Shields Chris Turner AJ Wertzberger
Faculty advisers Ray Buyle, ARE/CNS department head and associate professor James Goddard, ARE/CNS professor Katie Loughmiller, ARE/CNS assistant professor
Second- and thirdplace finishes at 2016 ASC Region IV Competition
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CS • ECE • MNE
Association for Computing Machinery Team leaders AJ Cabanatuan Alex Todd Haley Canfield Kevin Beashore Clay Boley William Carter Kyle Eisenbarger Joy Hauser
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Event Chair Industry Liaison Webmaster Open House Chair
Faculty advisers Dan Andresen, CS professor Russel Feldhausen, CS instructor
The K-State Association for Computing Machinery, or ACM, Student Chapter promotes an increased knowledge of and greater interest in science, design, development, construction, languages, management and applications of modern computing. It is made up of 10 officers who meet weekly and organize general meetings, help sessions, industry workshops, programming contests, elementary school STEM nights, as well as other computer sciencerelated events. The chapter hosts two programming competitions annually in Engineering Hall. The fall 2016 contest saw 100 K-State students compete on 52 teams for 8
K-State College of Engineering
prizes and a chance to advance to the regional and national ACM International Intercollegiate Programming Contests. The spring 2017 event had 70 K-State students competing on 34 teams. ACM members hosted a binary bracelet workshop to teach area Girl Scouts fundamentals of binary during the computer science department’s spring 2017 Programming with Scratch event for Kansas scout troops. In December 2016, the chapter hosted an Hour of Code event, joining 160,000+ other organizations in 180 countries to give kindergarten through 8th grade student participants an introduction to computer science.
The K-State Baja SAE Team or Wildcat Off-Road Team designs, builds and competes with a singlepassenger off-road vehicle, which takes nearly a full school year to design and build. Competitions are held across the U.S., as well as worldwide in South Korea, India and Egypt. Each competition has 100 participating teams. Competitive events include cost report, sales presentation, design report, hill climb, acceleration, maneuverability, suspension and a four-hour endurance race where all 100 teams race on a single course — a real-life version of Mario Kart.
K-State Baja took part in the following competition locations in 2016-17: Houghton, Michigan, February 2016, eighth place; Gorman, California, May 2016 and April 2017, 42nd and 35th places, respectively; and Pittsburg, Kansas, May 2017, 52nd place. The team also toured the Farrar Corporation, Norwich, Kansas, in September 2016, as well as Grasshopper Mowers, Moundridge, Kansas, in January 2017, gaining information on parts’ materials and driving experience.
Team leaders Connor Munk Colin January Jacob Leuthold Theresa Collins Brandon Hulet
President Vice President Shop Manager Treasurer Treasurer/Webmaster
CE • ECE • MNE
Baja SAE Team
Faculty adviser Gregory Spaulding, MNE assistant professor
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BAE • CHE • MNE
Chem-E-Car Team The K-State Chem-E-Car Team works in several small groups throughout the year to design and build a car that runs off of a chemical reaction. When competing, the goal is always to have the most accurate car, as the winner is whichever car can carry a predetermined weight closest to a predetermined distance marker before stopping. The distance the car must travel is not known until the day of competition. Teams must also present a poster about their car as part of the competition. Most recent national and regional competition results are as follows: • National: November 2015, Salt Lake City, Utah Twelve students attended, placing 14th out of 36 teams in performance competition and second in poster presentation.
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K-State College of Engineering
• Regional: April 2016, hosted at Kansas State University Thirty students attended, placing first and third in performance competition, and first and third in poster presentation. • National: November 2016, San Francisco, California Twelve students attended, placing 16th out of 42 teams in performance competition and winning Most Inherently Safe Car Design Award.
Team leaders Aaron Spicer Katie McWilliams Jacob Karlin
Co-Captain Co-Captain Treasurer
Faculty adviser Keith Hohn, CHE professor
• Regional: April 2017, Tulsa, Oklahoma Fifteen students attended, placing fourth and seventh in performance competition, and second in poster presentation.
Second place in poster presentation, fourth and seventh in performance competition at the 2017 regional competition
CHE • CS • ECE • MNE
Combat Robotics Team Team leaders Noah Imel Nick Askew Jeffrey Payne
President Vice President Treasurer
Faculty adviser Warren White, MNE associate professor
The K-State Combat Robotics Team is a group of engineering students working together to design and build robots that battle in gladiator-style competitions on the regional and national level. Utilizing skills learned from their classes and partnering with local manufacturing companies to learn more about designing and machining parts, team members have been able to hone valuable skills regarding teamwork, leadership and communication. The overall goal of the group is to bring manufacturing and machining careers to the spotlight in an interesting, fun and educational way. With a new team in 2017, members have plans to compete in the BotsKC competition in Kansas City as well as the National Robotics League competition.
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ARE/CNS • CE • CS • ECE • IMSE • MNE 12
Concrete Canoe Team The K-State Concrete Canoe Team is a diverse group of engineers who design and build a canoe made of concrete, and race it in competitions. This involves designing a hull, performing a structural analysis and then designing a concrete mix to meet the strength requirements found in the structural analysis. The canoe and display for competition are built around a specific theme and the team practices for races at Tuttle Creek Lake in a practice canoe. Competitions are broken down into four sections: final product, design paper, oral presentation and races. Each section is worth 25 percent of
K-State College of Engineering
the final score. Races include men’s and women’s sprints, and endurance races. Two people compete at a time, and a coed sprint race involves two men and two women racing. In April 2016, the team competed at the Mid-Continent Student Conference in Rolla, Missouri, under the theme Castaway. They placed 11th overall and took first place in men’s sprints. In April 2017, the same competition was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Under the theme Stormchaser, the team placed 12th overall. Approximately 25 students took part in each of the competitions.
Team leaders Luke Augustine Mary Madden Laura Neilsen Ramie Taylor
Captain Captain Treasurer Paddle Coach
Faculty adviser Asad Esmaeily, CE professor
CS
SPOTLIGHT
Cyber Defense Club K-State’s Cyber Defense Club has earned top-tier recognition from Argonne National Laboratory. Six club members tied for second place at the laboratory’s second Cyber Defense Competition April 1, 2017 in Lemont, Illinois. The competition included 15 teams from colleges and universities across the country. “I’m very proud of our team,” said Richard Petrie, president of the Cyber Defense Club. “I am especially proud that we maintained a positive attitude, even when things started to go wrong. Our team fixed any problems, patted each other on the back and kept working. Mistakes are a part of competition. You fix them, learn from them, and keep working to accomplish the task.” The competition included a staged real-life scenario. Collegiate teams — called blue teams — had three weeks to create and design a cyberdefense network for a green team, which represented a utility company and its employees and customers. The collegiate teams set up their systems at Argonne National Laboratory, where a red team of professional hackers tried to infiltrate and disrupt the cybersecurity networks designed by the collegiate teams. The students had to defend their networks from cyberattacks while still providing services to the green team. The collegiate teams were scored based on the security of their
network as well as the accessibility of their services to members of the green team. “These competitions give students practical, hands-on experience that you just don’t get in the classroom,” said Logan Prough, safety and ethics officer for the Cyber Defense Club. “It’s important to not only learn cybersecurity concepts, but also use and practice them in a realistic environment like these competitions so students are prepared to face real-world challenges.”
Team leaders Richard Petrie Caleb Fleming Logan Prough
President Treasurer Safety and Ethics Officer
Faculty adviser Eugene Vasserman, CS associate professor
“The club has 26 members for the 2016-17 school year. All members regularly train for competitions and contribute to the success of the team members who attend,” said Eugene Vasserman, associate professor of computer science and faculty adviser to the club. “I am proud of the team’s success at the latest national competition, which followed several weeks of preparation, training and hard work from all club members,” Vasserman said. “We would not be able to maintain our strong competition track record without the involvement of everyone in the Cyber Defense Club. Through guest speakers, training sessions and education activities, our members challenge each other to improve their skills and knowledge of cybersecurity. Our success is truly a team effort.”
Second-place finish at Argonne National Laboratory Cyber Defense Competition
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Cyber Defense Club
SPOTLIGHT
“Being a member of the Cyber Defense Club has opened my eyes to the entirely new world of cybersecurity. It has helped give me the knowledge and skills needed to go out and help defend our country from a myriad of cyberthreats. It has also been a humbling experience being able to help share that knowledge and experience with other members of the team as an officer this last year.” — Caleb Fleming, treasurer
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“KSUCDC is an awesome and unique experience; high-speed and high-stress competitions test everyone's knowledge in ways that are impossible to prepare for. Just like the real world, you can only guess what attacks and challenges you will have to face. This past year we had to adapt to a lot of changes in our club as well as in competition rules, but now the entire team is better prepared for the future.”
Cyber Defense Club
SPOTLIGHT
— Richard Petrie, president
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CHE • CS • ECE • MNE
ECE Robotics Team Team leaders Denton McAdam Daniel Wagner Lee Evans Isaiah Garrett Nicholas Moehring Matt Rofrano Jordan Spoor Benton Van Der Wege Battlebots Chao Wang
Co-President/Secretary Co-President/Treasurer Vice President Software Lead, Mercury Mechanical Lead, Mercury EE Lead, Mercury Software Lead, Battlebots Mechanical Lead, EE Lead, Battlebots
Faculty adviser William Hageman, ECE assistant professor
The K-State ECE Robotics Team strives to teach students how to apply their knowledge to realistic applications. Robotics is a multifaceted field relying on mechanical, electrical and computer engineering skills. Team members meet weekly and are encouraged to attend free tutorial classes, do homework, study and work on competition robots. A goal for this multi-disciplinary team is for students to learn from exposure to other majors. Free tutorial classes are offered in fields such as 3-D modeling, programming, PCB design, code repository management and soldering. In March 2017, the team competed at BotsKC in Kansas City where six 16
K-State College of Engineering
students presented a combat robot named Tornado Warning. It survived two rounds and was then knocked out in a free-for-all round. The robotics team also competed in two Mercury Challenge competitions at Oklahoma State University in 2016 and 2017. The 2016 robot completed a portion of the course, but ran out of time after having technical difficulties. In the 2017 OSU Mercury Challenge, a team of four students presented a custom fabricated robot named LaBoRR, which completed a portion of the obstacle course but had network connection difficulties that prevented it from finishing.
BAE • CHE • ECE • MNE
SPOTLIGHT
Fountain Wars Team Team leaders Aaron Akin Devon Bandad Cody Deas Teddy Gillespie Jessica Stanton John Wempe
Co-President Co-President Secretary Treasurer Fundraising Chair Social Chair
Faculty adviser Trisha Moore, BAE assistant professor
Third place at 2017 ASABE Fountain Wars Competition
Another year, another strong finish. For the sixth time in past seven years, a team from Kansas State University finished in the top three in the 2017 Fountain Wars Competition, a segment of the G.B. Gunlogson Student Environmental Design Competition. The July event is a hands-on, real-time design contest in which students design and model their entry before
the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ annual international meeting. Awards are based on combined scores of written report, video abstract, oral presentation, construction, technical tasks and an aesthetic display. The team integrated a Lord of the Ringsthemed aesthetic display with its fountain design to accomplish this
year’s technical tasks: a beach ball launch and an egg toss. The K-State Fountain Wars Team, advised by Trisha Moore, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, received a cash prize and trophy for its entry in the competition.
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Fountain Wars Team
SPOTLIGHT
“Fountain Wars has allowed me to explore creative solutions to complex problems. As president, I have gained valuable experience both designing and working with the rest of the team, as well as the opportunity to help shape a positive future for the team.” — Aaron Akin, co-president
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Fountain Wars Team
SPOTLIGHT
“I have learned to keep innovating, to explore new ideas and to not be ashamed to fail. An hour in the shop is worth 10 in the field.” — Nick Coon, team member
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CE • CS
Game Development Club The K-State Game Development Club is dedicated to the practice of making video games for multiple purposes — from the background programming to the art and music. The games serve as educational supplements as well as expressions of creativity with the medium. Each spring semester the club hosts its annual game jam weekend where the rest of the university, as well as those from other campuses, compete to make a video game within 48 hours. Club members also travel to compete in game jams hosted by other universities.
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At these competitions, teams of four or fewer are given a theme to follow, after which they brainstorm for ideas and create the game, and then submit it for judging. Club activities also include Q&A sessions on Skype with video game companies, and each year a few of the students are able to attend the Game Development Conference in San Francisco to help improve the College of Engineering’s connections with the industry.
Team leaders Lauren Lynch Carson Holt Steven Zwahl Jesse Molenda Nathan McClain Dayton Taylor Kyle Ingram
President Vice President Treasurer Industry Liaison Event Manager Website Manager Social Media Manager
Faculty adviser Nathan Bean, CS instructor
CE • IMSE
GeoWall Team Team leader Jacob Studer
Captain
Faculty adviser Stacey Kulesza, CE assistant professor
The K-State GeoWall Team designs and builds a mechanically stabilized earth wall using supplies designated in competition rules established each year. Typically, materials used for reinforcement are poster board and 60-pound Kraft paper. However, the only reinforcement allowed for 2017 was the Kraft paper. The goal is to build a competitive wall that can hold back sand inside the box while withstanding additional loading.
The three-member team competed in April against three other universities in the GeoWall competition at the 2017 ASCE Mid-Continent Student Conference hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The competition consisted of three stages: reinforcement fabrication, construction and loading. Twenty minutes were allotted for the reinforcement fabrication stage
and twenty-five minutes for the construction stage. After the loading stage, the wall was scored based on criteria specified in the rule book. Though not the winners, members were pleased their wall was able to withstand the loading stage without catastrophic failure and they feel better prepared for next year.
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BAE • MNE
Helwig Farms Quarter-Scale Tractor Team Team leaders
The Kansas State University Helwig Farms Quarter-Scale Tractor Teams, formerly Powercat Tractors, came home with two top-five finishes in the 20th annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ International QuarterScale Tractor Student Design Competition. The teams competed June 2-4 in Peoria, Illinois, against 27 teams from universities in the U.S., Canada and Israel. K-State’s A team took fifth place overall and its X team second overall. This is the 19th time in the last 20 years that one of the university’s teams has won or placed in the top three at the event. “Our now 20-year record speaks for itself,” said Joe Harner, head of the biological and agricultural engineering department. “To continually rank in the top tier of this international competition 22
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reflects well on our program, our students and our advisers.” A panel of industry experts judge each design for innovation, manufacturability, serviceability, maneuverability, safety, sound level and ergonomics. Teams submit a written design report in advance of the competition, and on site must sell their design in a formal presentation to the panel. Finally, machines are put to the test in three performance events — three tractor pulls, a maneuverability course and a durability course. The A team — juniors and seniors — won both the Safety and FirstTime-Through awards, and placed third in written report, first in oral presentation and fifth overall. The X team — freshmen and sophomores — took first in the pulling event and second overall.
A Team Lucas Weller Gabriel Bergmann Megan Workman Alexander Nytko Wade Stroda Curtis Doughramaji Conor Hamilton Braden Mishler Jesse Meier William Moreland
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Shop Foreman Jr. Shop Foreman Fundraising Co-Chair Fundraising Co-Chair ESC Representative ESC Representative
X Team William Friesen Brett Schwarz Jace Shirley Evan Ridder Garret Schneider
President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Shop Foreman Shop Foreman
Faculty advisers Ed Brokesh, BAE instructor Lou Ann Claassen, BAE administrative specialist Dan Flippo, BAE assistant professor John Kramer, retired BAE extension ag engineer James Pat Murphy, BAE emeritus professor James Schmidt, vice president of engineering, Mechanized Design Jonathan Zeller, BAE research technician
Second and fifth place overall at 2017 ASABE annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition
Formula SAE is a collegiate engineering design competition with the goal of developing and constructing a single-seat race car for autocross racing. Formula SAE teams must consider every aspect of design, manufacturing, performance and cost to create the best overall package. The K-State Powercat Motorsports Team creates a new race car every year from the ground up to maximize design optimizations. This season’s goal was to integrate a new large-engine platform, while reducing wheel weight and size. These changes were implemented to allow the team to better reach its target of a top-10 accelerating team.
Multiple international competitions are held annually. The team competed in FSAE Michigan 2016 and placed 71st out of 120 teams, following unexpected engine difficulties and a sudden drive chain break preventing the team from finishing the endurance race. Each competition consists of technical inspections, design presentation and judging, cost/ business analysis and skidpad/ autocross/acceleration/endurance racing. The team competed in FSAE Michigan 2017 and FSAE Lincoln 2017.
Team leaders Patrick Harwell Zachary Bair Brett Cook Trevor Duerksen Aaron Gleason Brendan Gundy Tyler Hinnen Dwight Pearson Tim Spencer
President Business Lead Aerodynamics Lead Drivetrain Lead Chassis Lead Ergonomics Lead Electrical Lead Engine Lead Suspension Lead
ECE • IMSE • MNE
Powercat Motorsports Team
Faculty adviser Kevin Wanklyn, MNE instructor
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SAE Aero Design Team The Kansas State University Society of Automotive Engineers, or SAE, Aero Design Team is made up of 12 mechanical engineering students. From scratch, each year this group designs and builds an electrically powered radio-controlled aircraft. The goal of the team is to design a plane that will lift the most amount of weight.
On days two and three, teams fly their planes, typically doing five to six rounds of competition.
Two competitions are held each year in locations such as Fort Worth, Texas; Van Nuys, California, and Lakeland, Florida. SAE sets the rules and regulations of these competitions, with each having a similar schedule. On day one, planes are inspected and teams give presentations about their design. A high percentage of the each score is based on the team’s written design report and oral presentation.
• SAE Aero West, Van Nuys, California, April 2016 – six members placed 31st overall.
K-State College of Engineering
The K-State Aero Design Team competition record for the past two years is as follows: • SAE Aero East, Fort Worth, Texas, March 2016 – six members placed 23rd overall.
• SAE Aero West, Fort Worth, Texas, March 10-12, 2017 – seven members placed 29th overall. • SAE Aero East, Lakeland, Florida, April 21-23, 2017 – six members placed 11th overall.
Team leaders Austin Schuberth Cameron Rohleder Kevin Garcia Giselle Gaunes Caden Hilger Bryce Zimmerman
President Vice President Vice President/Treasurer Secretary Shop Manager Recruitment Chair
Faculty adviser Terry Beck, MNE professor
Steel Bridge Team The K-State Steel Bridge Team designs, manufactures and competes with a 1/10th-scale steel bridge. In the fall semester, upperclassmen design a steel bridge following a set of constraints set by the competition committee. The faculty adviser provides experienced guidance during this process. During the spring semester, student team members manufacture the structure in a campus steel shop. This includes cutting, grinding, welding, and milling steel members and connections. All manufacturing is completed by students in the shop. The bridge is then judged in several categories including strength, weight and construction efficiency.
For the first time in 12 years, when competing at the 2016 Regional ASCE Mid-Continent Student Conference in Rolla, Missouri, the team’s bridge failed to qualify for national competition due to side sway, and was disqualified. Returning to the regional conference in 2017, this time in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the team and its bridge took first in lightness and structural efficiency, and won first place overall.
Team leaders Isaac Klugh Andrew Foerster Mark Zarybnicky
Co-Captain Co-Captain Shop Lead
Faculty adviser Hayder Rasheed, CE professor
CE • CHE • IMSE • MNE
SPOTLIGHT
First place overall at 2017 Regional ASCE Mid-Continent Student Conference
The team competed at the 2017 National Student Steel Bridge Competition hosted by Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.
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Steel Bridge Team
SPOTLIGHT
“Steel Bridge Team has two great benefits. First, it provides an opportunity for new students to meet others with similar interests. Second, it gives students a chance to apply class material to design a solution, build it and compete against other schools so they can really experience the full scope of the project.” — Isaac Klugh, president
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Steel Bridge Team
SPOTLIGHT
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CS • ECE • MNE
Unmanned Aerial Systems Team Team leaders Caleb Fleming Tyler Hinnen Meg Jones Alex Kim Mike Devoe Blake Smethers Steven Blits Ben Hower Ryan Lawless
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Webmaster Safety Officer Subteam Lead Subteam Lead Subteam Lead
Faculty adviser Dale Schinstock, MNE associate professor
The K-State Unmanned Aerial Systems Team consists of membership from across the College of Engineering, all who share an enthusiasm for unmanned systems. The team participates in the AUVSI SUAS Competition in Pax River, Maryland, competing against teams from around the world. The team’s system is judged on its ability to autonomously fly and navigate a series of waypoints, its ability to take and process images from a search area, and its ability to perform these tasks while avoiding a collision with several simulated obstacles in the airspace. Attendance at the Pax River event in 2017 saw the team take 19th place out of more than 40 competitors. Presentation activities included pre-prepared videos, a live presentation in front of a panel of judges and a flight demonstration. Judging criteria covered effectiveness of the team’s solution, the design process undergone while working on the solution and professionalism during the demonstrations.
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K-State College of Engineering
The K-State Wildcat Rocketry Club researches, designs, manufactures, tests and otherwise advances new rocket technologies for propulsion, avionics, aerodynamics, payload experimentation and safety purposes. It is the group’s goal to provide a place where students can learn real-world engineering and management practices in the exciting fields of sounding and suborbital rocketry. Four members competed at the Spaceport America Cup in June
2017, an international rocketry competition in New Mexico. Their goal was to build an altitudetargeted rocket capable of launching an 8.8-pound scientific payload to the target apogee of 10,000 feet. All components of the rocket were designed in-house and most were also built in-house. Primary activities of the competition were project displays, rocket inspections, project documentation and the launch itself.
Team leaders Daniel Franken Taylor Carlson Kyle Swift Philip Harsh Zack Darpinian Fred Heinecke
President Vice President Treasurer Ambassador Team Leader Team Leader
Faculty advisers
CHE • CS • ECE • MNE
Wildcat Rocketry Club
Warren White, MNE associate professor Bruce Babin, MNE instructor
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CE • ECE • MNE
SPOTLIGHT
Wildcat Wind Power Team Team leaders Lawryn Edmonds Lee Evans Jake Meyer Caitlin Ingham Broden Bowell Alex Dzewaltowski
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer EE Team Lead ME Team Lead
Faculty advisers Ruth Douglas Miller, ECE associate professor Warren White, MNE associate professor
Second place in 2017 Technical Challenge of the Collegiate Wind Competition
K-State’s Wildcat Wind Power Team stormed the competition and came away with second place in the 2017 Technical Challenge of the Collegiate Wind Competition. The April 20-22 event at the National Wind Technology Center near Boulder, Colorado, featured teams from 10 of the universities that participated in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition, including K-State who placed fifth last year. For the technical challenge, teams were focused on testing a smallscale wind turbine in a wind tunnel with the additional challenge of 30
K-State College of Engineering
testing a turbine in yawed inflow. To participate, teams had to design and build a turbine that is able to yaw, which allows the turbine to adjust to changing wind directions; that is safe, reliable and effective; and that uses sound electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic practices. The turbine also had to feature a load system that could match the power being generated. The team prepared for the challenge by building and improving a wind tunnel for testing its turbine, and developing a computercontrolled data acquisition system. The mechanical engineering
students tried new techniques for blade-building, and the electrical engineering students enhanced electronics and controls, said Ruth Douglas Miller, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. Douglas Miller and Warren White, associate professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, are faculty advisers to the team. The second-place finish provides great momentum, White and Douglas Miller said, as K-State has been selected to participate in the 2018 Collegiate Wind Competition, May 7-10, 2018.
“My experience with Wildcat Wind Power taught me to persevere when things go wrong and new challenges come about, which they inevitably will. You have to outweigh time, expenses and performance of the project. This skill is extremely valuable for members of the team before they go to work for an engineering company.”
Wildcat Wind Power Team
SPOTLIGHT
— Lawryn Edmonds, president
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ARE/CNS • BAE • CE •CHE • CS • ECE • IMSE • MNE 32
Creative Inquiry Team Roster Emmanuel Adeniji Josh Affholder Aaron Akin Chloe Alexander Kofi Anane-Sekyere BreAnn Anshutz Andrew Arnold Victor Arrellaga Nick Askew Luke Augustine Olivia Baalman Dylan Babcock Zachary Bair Evan Balthazor Devon Bandad Brett Bandy Calvin Bauer Kevin Beashore Zane Beattie Filip Belsky Daniel Benavides Lisandro Benitez Dean Bennett Reece Berens Gabriel Bergmann James Berry Jaxon Bilski Henry Bins Sam Blaha Steven Blits Clay Boley Christopher Bolin Duncan Boudreaux Broden Bowell Daniel Bramucci Nathan Braynock Logan Brecheisen Matthew Brooks Susan “Betsy” Burke Carson Burkholder Skyler Burns Evan Burroughs Clark Busenitz AJ Cabanatuan
K-State College of Engineering
Mike Caddell Josh Camarena Haley Canfield Chendi Cao Taylor Carlson William Carter Alison Chan Eujun Chin Benjamin Chitwood Chandan Chowdhury Shelby Coen Corbyn Coffelt Ashley Coleman Theresa Collins Spencer Combs Jerrod Conley Brett Cook Alexander Coon Nick Coon Tyler Coonrod Billy Crady Austin Curnutt Zack Darpinian Maria De La Torre Cody Deas Jack Devault Mike Devoe Nathan Dewell Mohammed Dinn Jacob Dokos Zachary Doll Joshua Donnoe Curtis Doughramaji Tanner Driggers Zach Dubois Trevor Duerksen Matthew Duncan Zach DuPont Braxton Duran Alex Dzewaltowski Noah Easterling Ethan Eccles Lawryn Edmonds Andrew Eigsti
Kyle Eisenbarger Matt Elder Hunter Elliott Dylan Evans Lane Evans Lee Evans Brian Everhart Andrew Fales Jared Fangman Stephanie Farney Brenden Feldt Cole Fincham Thomas Finley George Fischer Caleb Fleming Andrew Foerster Cassandra Ford Daniel Franken Gerald Frayre David Freeman John Freshnock William Friesen Samuel Fruth Spencer Fuller Lillian Fulton Connor Gannaway Chengyao (Joshua) Gao Kevin Garcia Isaiah Garrett Giselle Gaunes Teddy Gillespie Nathan Gladfelter Aaron Gleason Hunter Goddard Andre Gregoire Brendan Gundy Dalton Hahn Quentin Hahn Eero Halbleib Charlie Hamilton Conor Hamilton Braden Hansard Weston Harder Philip Harsh
Patrick Harwell Joy Hauser Fred Heinecke Nathaniel Helgeson Erin Henderson Seth Heronemus Joseph Hewitt Caden Hilger Cole Hinkle Tyler Hinnen Kara Hinshaw Scott Hirsch Matthew Hixon Carson Holt Nathanael Hood Matt Hopkins Colton Horne Joe Hoskinson Jonathan Howard Ben Hower Christian Hughes Zack Hughes Brandon Hulet Noah Imel Caitlin Ingham Kyle Ingram Austin Jantz Colin January Eli Janzen Andrew Johnson Michael Johnson Wesley Johnson Caleb Jones Meg Jones Cherian Joshua Jacob Karlin Griffin Karr Lev Kavs Jake Kehr Julia Keiter Katharine Kellogg Paul Kempainen Jeff Kilian Alex Kim
Anastasia King Shawn Kirby Patrick Kliesner Isaac Klugh Branson Kocher Tyler Kodanaz Rajat Kodira Kaleb Koerperich Eli Koziol Adam Kramer Emily Krampe Drew Krause Swapnil Kumar Adam Kunkel Robert Lafferty Alice Lam Jacob Larson Ryan Lawless Shawn Lay Richard Lee Tyler Lentz Jacob Leuthold Xin Li William Lies T-Ying Lin Jiaji Liu Mark Loevenstein Damien Loya Matthew Loomis Christopher Lopez Muhjaazee Love Daniel Lovell Ashton Lundy Lei Luo Lauren Lynch Mary Madden Simran Malhi Stephen Malone Shane Maloney Justin Mann Bailey Martin Colton Maxwell Sarah May Denton McAdam
Nathan McClain Jack McCraney Mackenzie McDaniel Robert McDevit Logan McGinley Jonathan McHenry Evan McMillan Trudor McRae Katie McWilliams Sagar Mehta Jesse Meier Austin Metcalf Jake Meyer Nicholas Meyer Ethan Mills Braden Mishler Angie Mitchell Caleb Mitchell Sean Mitchell Nicholas Moehring Jesse Molenda William Moreland Evan Morrical Jeremy Morris Jeffrey Morrow Nathan Moyer Connor Munk John Nachtigall Troy Nagle Aimee Neilsen Laura Neilsen Brian Newmaster
Tyler Nielson Krystof Novak Alexander Nytko Jacob Ockerhausen Jacob Offermann Janie Osif Jonathan Pasowicz Virashree Patel Aswini Patro Jeffrey Payne Clayton Pearce Dwight Pearson Quentin Pease Jevin Peitzmeier Richard Petrie Lance Pettay Kirk Pfannenstiel Garrett Pieper Casey Poole Cullen Povilonis Christian Powell Bri Priddle Logan Prough Danny Pruit David Pullen Idan Reed Evan Ridder Krishane Riegodedios Andrew Rieschick Glen Riley Matt Rofrano Cameron Rohleder
Trent Rose Ramin Rostampour Daniel Rowland Marshall Ruetti Nicole Sabourin Brett Sanford Caullen Sasnett Eric Schmar Trey Schmidt Tricia Schmitz Garret Schneider Brad Schoonover Austin Schuberth Brett Schwarz William Scriven Brandon Shaver Westin Shehi Tyler Shields Jace Shirley Mary Siebert Spencer Slane John Slattery Blake Smethers Rayne Son Tim Spencer Jennifer Spero Aaron Spicer Mark Spicer Jordan Spoor Dylan Staatz Jessica Stanton Kirk Stewart
Dylan Stidham Garrett Stous Wade Stroda Jacob Studer Kyle Swift Dayton Taylor Ramie Taylor Clifford Temple Alex Thompson Michael Tiede Alex Todd Kyle Toom Michael Toy Alina Truong Chris Turner Samuel Turner-Lill Troy Underwood Benton Van Der Wege Varun Varshney Casey Veith Jordan Voss Daniel Wagner William Walker Michelle Wallace Chao Wang Li Wang Elena Watson Christopher Wearing Matt Webb Samuel Weinhold Lucas Weller John Wempe
Phillip Wendte Alec Weninger AJ Wertzberger Alex Westrope Ashton Wherry Angelica White Daniel Wiens Adam Wilcox Chris Willcutt Geordy Williams Ryan Williams Alexis Wilson Samuel Wilson Aerian Winzer Casey Wise Lynette Wolf Graham Wood Reagan Wood Zachary Woods Megan Workman Yihong Yan Michael Yangmi Abraham Yihedego Benjamin Young Trevor Young Brandon Yutzy Mark Zarybnicky Jie Zheng Bryce Zimmerman Steven Zwahl
ARE/CNS • BAE • CE •CHE • CS • ECE • IMSE • MNE
SPOTLIGHT
Every effort has been made to produce a comprehensive listing of team members for the 2016-17 academic calendar year. We apologize for any incorrect listings, misspellings or omissions.
LAUNCH 2017 33
About LAUNCH
Launch is produced by the K-State College of Engineering to document the accomplishments in building our student creative inquiry teams and solving extreme technical challenges. Each year, hundreds of students participate on nearly 20 creative inquiry teams — K-State’s highly successful blend of undergraduate research and practice — to compete in regional, national and international events on topics ranging from wind power to unmanned aircraft. Most competitions are sponsored by technical societies such as SAE International — the global association of engineers — and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. Working professionals create challenging problems they know from first-hand experience are difficult to solve and will test skills needed in industrial practice after graduation. Competition organizers know the winning solutions will require innovative ideas that can be shaped to meet realistic constraints such as safety, cost or time limits, the way real-world research and development is done. These daunting tasks show how K-State students have risen to these challenges.
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K-State College of Engineering
Alan and Jan Levin Student Design Team Suite
“Attending Kansas State provided me with many opportunities. After attending high school in a small Kansas community, Kansas State opened the rest of the world to me. As a student in mechanical engineering, I learned how to study different opportunities and make educated decisions.”
Alan and Jan Levin Student Design Team Suite
SPOTLIGHT
— Alan Levin, ME ’69
The Alan and Jan Levin Design Team Suite, located on the ground level of Engineering Hall, offers a designated space for creative inquiry teams to work on engineering designs, while also developing practical skills in leadership and collaboration.
Founder, Port of Tucson, LLC; owner, Cushing Business Center, Century Park Research Center, Tucson Frozen Storage, and Levin & Sons Construction Company
How to give Philanthropic gifts help drive team success by funding equipment, materials and travel costs that give students hands-on training and industry exposure. Student teams give members a competitive edge in the job market, and support the college mission and K-State’s 2025 goal to enhance the student experience. To learn how you can invest in student team success, contact the engineering development office at 785-532-7564 or engineering@found.ksu.edu. LAUNCH 2017 35
College of Engineering 1046 Rathbone Hall 1701B Platt St. Manhattan, KS 66506-5200
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION Kansas State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex (including sexual harassment and sexual violence), sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, ancestry, disability, genetic information, military status, or veteran status, in the University’s programs and activities as required by applicable laws and regulations. The person designated with responsibility for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerning nondiscrimination policies is the University’s Title IX Coordinator: the Director of the Office of Institutional Equity, equity@k-state.edu, 103 Edwards Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4801, 785-532-6220. The campus ADA Coordinator is the Director of Employee Relations, charlott@k-state.edu, who may be reached at 103 Edwards Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4801, 785-532-6277. Revised July 7, 2015.