4.18.24
5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
University Club
4.18.24
5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
University Club
April 18, 2024
Welcome to the Swanson School’s nineteenth Design EXPO! We thank you for joining us this evening to celebrate our students’ talents and achievements. Tonight’s Design EXPO will feature 89 student projects that traverse the design space from problem identification, specification of objectives and constraints, conceptual development, to, in many cases, result in an actual prototype. In this way the EXPO provides an opportunity for students to display their creativity and ingenuity.
Many of our student projects come directly from the Swanson School’s Capstone Design Courses and were submitted by graduating seniors. The Capstone Design Courses enable students to address real-world problems either posed by industry or identified by the teams themselves. Alongside these projects our EXPO will also highlight concepts and prototypes from students in our product realization courses.
As in past years, we welcome everyone in attendance to text in a vote for their favorite project as a part of the EXPO’s “People’s Choice Award” while our judges from industry evaluate the projects to determine:
• Best in the department
• Best Overall Design
Judging will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 7:45 p.m. Winners will be announced after the results have been calculated.
We hope that you enjoy learning more about these exciting projects and have opportunities to discuss details with our students. We are proud of all their accomplishments. Enclosed you will find a list of the design projects, team members, and faculty advisors who have joined us this evening for this special event.
We would like to thank Interim Dean Sanjeev Shroff, Associate Dean Mary Besterfield-Sacre, the Swanson School of Engineering faculty members, and our generous industry partners who have provided guidance to the student teams. Special thanks to the judges for their time and support of this exciting endeavor. We would also like to thank the family, friends and community members and partners who have gathered here to support our students.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mark Gartner
BIOE-1 Improved Fetal Monitor
Luke Yackovich
Arun Guduru
Shivani Ravi
Emilea Suplick
Victoria Chiusano
Colin Riggins
Kayla Seigel
BIOE-2 Improved Tool for Transspeheroidal Procedure
Oldrich Virag
Matthew Belch
Benjamin Leslie
George Barakat
Nikita Reddy
Andrew Theophanous
BIOE-3 Lateral Patient Transfer Device
Joseph Scolieri
Mackenzie Stiles
Elizabeth Ibata-Arens
Andrew Daoud
Gabrielle Wilson
Eva Mischler
Katelyn Larson
BIOE-4 Colorimetric Urinometer Apparatus
Stephanie Hackem
Edwin Rock
Katelyn Lipa
Christopher Garland
Zainab Almuallim
Nckolas Sierra
Ariella Tucci
BIOE-5 Adaptive Equipment for Assisting Stroke Patients to Stay Upright in Seated Position – A
Elizabeth Medvedeva
Mikayla Kim
Carli Starman
BIOE-6 Tracheostomy Fixation Device
Shaharoz Tahir
Alec Maraska
Ian Buscay
BIOE-7 Nasal Surgery Tool
Sebastian Gutensohn
Briana Malik
Alisa Zhang
Kaitlyn Colucci
Shail Patel
Leah Kohlmeyer
Raymond Murray
Natasha Mody
Claudia Kiely
BIOE-8 Improving Radiographs for Special Needs Dental Patients
Enya Rohatgi
Sejeal Vikas Katiyar
Bridget Buchanan
Haajar Ahmad-Ali
Hansini Kumar
Stephanie Frankel
BIOE-9 Nasogastric Tube Securement
Samuel Lord
Rachel Eskander
Madison Keczmer
Tarryn O’Rourke
Keegan Blain
Shannon Roman
BIOE-10 Trans-Tibial Self-Adjustable Prosthetic Socket
Abigail Geary
Samantha Mnich
Maggie Walker
Alyssa Zito
Rachel da Cruz
BIOE-11 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) Protector
David Situ
William Wojton
Charles Potash
Hannah Parks
Emma Scarton
Jacob Chabrier
BIOE-12 Improved Footplates for Motorized Wheelchairs
Leslie George
Dylan Reddish
Noah Makowicz
Ezekiel Bibbo
Julianna Werner
Mia Maksin
Margaret Herron
BIOE-13 Regional Adjustable Pressure Prosthetic Socket
Madeline Viteri
Camilo Rodriguez Rozas
Katherine LeClaire
Savannah Waymer
Kristin Bindas
Azariah Torain
BIOE-14 Improved Communication Tool for Non-Verbal Children
Grant Snyder
Owen Flaugh
Rutuja Kulkarni
Emma Stein
Noah Rick
BIOE-15 Noise Muffling for 7T MRI System
Nicholas McDonald
Owen Boccabella
Ananya Shivakumar
Celeste Lintz
Venkata Krishna
Moorthy Daita
Julia Kisslinger
Emily Kirkpatrick
BIOE-16 Improved Otoscope for Blockage Removal
Adriana Cocco
Saifuddin Mohammad
Rayna Schoenberger
Emmet Nikolaus Halton
Claudette Moul
Christopher Chengshi
Diedre Felix
BIOE-17 Improved Foley Bag
Logan Geffen
Sofia Lusvardi
Kathryn Walter
Cara Klinger
Julia Gesell
Alexis Moodie
BIOE-18 Avoiding Air Bubbles in IV Tubing
Evan Streeter
Owen Hohner
Laurel Koehler
Jennie Bostich
Garrett Ryan
Abby Lowe
BIOE-19 Adaptive Equipment for Assisting Stroke
Patients To Stay Upright in Seated Position – B
Charles Blackledge
Rajiv Anne
Alina Dziamko-Chuhaj
Urmi Choudhary
Carli Starman
Faculty Advisor: Professor John Sebastian
CEE-1 Quantico Station Improvements
Faculty Mentors: Prof. John Sebastian, Dr. Ogul Doygun, Dr. Kent Harries
Industry Mentors: Anna Fiducia, Archer Western Construction
Logan Gray
Ethan Du
Jack Schechterly
CEE-2 ALCOSAN Dropshaft
Connor Stuewe
Fiyinfoluwa Odeniyi
Gabriel Salgado
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Prof Adam Walkowaik
Industry Mentors: Zachary Hughes, Jeff Argyros – ALCOSAN
Jack Brookshaw
Isaac Conway-Phillips
Brian Milot
CEE-3 Landslide Mitigation
Anthony Vaccaro Jr
Paul Fehrenbach
Eugene Kwon
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Dr. Ogul Doygun
Industry Mentor: Matt Geary, Duquesne Light
Matthew Niznik
Ryan McColgan
Darius O’Neal
Kevin Vricella-Stokes
Spencer Matan
Linxia Wang
CEE-4 Jacobs Creek Dam Removal
Faculty Mentors: Prof. Werner Loehlein, Dr. Ogul Doygun, Dr. David Sanchez, Dr. Alessandro Fascetti
Industry Mentors: Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy – American Rivers, John Cenkner and Cameron Bobnar – Cenkner Engineering, Ross Volkwein – Wade Trim
Michael Schimizzi
Luke Hulbert
Elizabeth Killenbec
Andre James Scheflen
Kira Klein
Kara Schmitt
CEE-5 Railroad Track to Pedestrian Trail
Faculty Mentors: John Yadlosky, HDR, Bill Crawford –TW Engineering, Dr. Kent Harries
Industry Mentors: Jason Zang, Keith Cornelius, Leigh Anne Crouse, Keith Dougall – PennDOT
Alexandra Lopez
John Demarco
Bryce Rhodes
CEE-6 Rachel Carson Trail Renovation
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Mark Magalotti
Industry Mentors: Joseph Neubert – Independence Excavating, Mark Eyerman – Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy
Rachel Kertis
Isabella Mannino
Ethan Shulman
Maxwell Olesen
Alex Kijowski
Edmund Jermyn
Michael Toth
CEE-7 West End Neighborhood Connector
Faculty Mentors: Dr. John Oyler, Dr. Mark Magalotti, Dr. Kent Harries, Prof John Sebastian, Dr. Ogul Doygun, Dr. Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Dr. Alex Stevanovic
Industry Mentor: Gavin White & Maria Riley – Riverlife, Benjamin Williams – Seneca Resources
Cain Pfoutz
Jared Broscious
Madde Huebner
Allyson Trexler
Alexa Hartman
Garrett Koch
CEE-8 Wharton Township Antidegradation Study
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Leonard Casson, Dr. Carla Ng, Dr. David Malehorn
Industry Mentor: Terry McMillen – McMillen Engineering
Amanda Lee
Tess Harper
Julie Huck
George Kay
Ryan Musto
George Strish
CEE-9 Retrofitting Pitt’s Healthy Home Lab
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melissa Bilec, Dr. Tony Kerzmann, Dr. Meng Wang
Industry Mentors: Bill Spohn – Tru Tech Tools, Ryan Deighan – Palmetto Solar, Rhett Major – The Energy Doctor, Russ King – KwikModel, Clint Noack & Kartik Ganjoo – Duquesne Light
Alex Demko
Percy Curtis
Emily D’Angelo
Jonna Rinehart
Melissa Sedlock
Mason Kent
Abigail Gerhart
Ethan Rihn
Lucas Ritz
CEE-10 Food Waste Diversion
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Vikas Khanna, Dr. Sarah Haig
Industry Mentors: Emily Potoczny and Aurora Sharrard –Pitt Office of Sustainability
Sophie Catanzaro
Jessica Chamberlain
Kyle Durrwachter
Samuel Mahsoob
Caymus Ruffner
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Mohamed Bayoumy, Dr. Guangyong Li, Dr. Mai Abdelhakim
ECE-1 First-Person View Rover for Navigating Dangerous Locales
Industry Mentors: Mr. Alexander Short and Mr. Brandon
Ferruzza – Navel Nuclear Laboratory
Peter Smith
Nathaniel Stofesky
Avi Dave
Ryan Caginalp
ECE-2 Animal Identification and Localization
Ryan Recker
Luka Stratimirovic
ECE-3 Rubik’s Cube Solver
Chase Gastan
Braden Change
Colin Sim
ECE-10 Passive Cell Balancing Battery Management System
Industry Mentors: Mr. Sean Dowhy and Mr. Ray Kovacs –Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI)
Nicholas Genco
Caiti Minahan
Lucas Troy
Edward Loveday
Veronica Bella
ECE-11 Automated Connect 4 - Group A
Braden Kullback
Joseph Maciolek
Abigail Miller
Shelby Wilson
ECE-4 Smart Drones - Group A
Seth Nordeen
Karey Stone
Sean Matheis
Aleksa Rodic
ECE-12 Automated Connect 4 - Group B
Owen Knight
Aidan Myer
Berfin Bircan
Cassandra Pace
ECE-5 Smart Drones - Group B
Ryan Kerber
Zeb Smith
John Kla mut
Andrew Davidson
ECE-13 Collaborative Manufacturing for Robotic Manipulation
Hayden Feddock
Aidan Iannetti
Wesley Saville
Ralph Gonsalves
ECE-6 Optimal Blackjack Play via Computer Vision
Nadin Kajan
Lauren Duffitt
Kaleb Foster
Mikayla Bernhard
ECE-7 4-Channel Digital Audio Mixer
Reed Yulis
Tom Dziamniski
Michael Cassara
Jon Hallowell
ECE-8 Amateur Radio Repeater Controller
Kyle Armstrong
Adam Aukamp
ECE-9 Smart Patient
Keegan Borig
Dylan Himes
Jared Kinneer
Jason Head
ECE-14 Pressure Pulse: Monitoring System for Portable EMS Oxygen Tanks
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Samuel Dickerson
Industry Mentor: Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania
JJ Oswald
Mark Hofmeister
Bronco York
Adam Brower
ECE-15 Water Flow Sensor and Notification
Tyler Wiseman
Sushmit Acharya
Aaron Wang
Andrew Andoh
Rick Brophy
Mark Roberts
William Dodson
Zach DeGore
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Scott Streiner
IE-1 Electrical/Mechanical Subassembly Improvement
Industry Mentor: Alstom
Austin Ferraioli
Yunhao Liang
Anthony Robol
Pedro Schmitt
Haoran Zhang
IE-2 Operating Room Turnover Time
Industry Mentor: UPMC
Lexington Li
Xiyuan Liu
Anastasia Romanchik
Anvi Viji-Anand
Zekun Yang
IE-3 Model of Care for Centralized Discharge Process
Industry Mentor: UPMC
Kyle Halstater
Nikki Konley
Allena Riggio
Kayla Trahey
Ruhan Wei
IE-4 Day of Admission Surgery’s Rapid Recovering Process
Industry Mentor: UPMC
Yu Hao
Rie Huntington
Katelyn McGovern
Anna Pascarella
Fanghan Xiang
IE-5 Minimization of Waiting Times and Fuel Consumption Using Non-Linear Optimization Techniques
Industry Mentor: UPMC
Rodriguez Cervantes
Qingyang Cheng
Hao Duan
Yuyan Ma
Sean Zubey
IE-6 DEVCOM Facility Layout with Automated Material Handling Methods
Industry Mentor: US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center
Kyra Cunningham
Emma Gravgaard
Alexander Loladze
Tessa McCormick
David Wiwel
IE-7 Revolutionizing Production: DEVCOM’s Facility Layout for Additive Manufacturing
Industry Mentor: US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center
Matthew Blumenstock
Ethan Gales
Natalie Gleeson
Juliana Oliveira
Adam Prenatt
IE-8 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): Has RFID Overtaken Barcodes?
Industry Mentor: FedEx Ground
Zhinuo Chen
Chelsea DeSalve
Haoran Gao
Maggie Kuehn
Zixing Wang
IE-9 Increase in IDL Printing Machine Utilization
Industry Mentor: IDL Print
Xinyue Du
Camryn Russell
Peter S eeney
Xian Wu
IE-10 Damaged Die Set Dilemma
Industry Mentor: Kennametal
Ian Brusse
Matthew Burnette
Kexin Tang
Yushan Xie
Ady Zhang
IE-11 RocketWatch: GEO Satellite Threat Assessment System
Industry Mentor: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Nathan Carney
Lauren Hoge
Jessica Kneller
Alison Linares Mendoza
IE-12 Marketing Content Efficiency Initiative
Industry Mentor: PPC Pitbulls
Yifei Li
Andrew Mays
Evan Mitchell
Ruochong Zhu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Schmidt
MEMS-1 Joule Annealing Manufacturing Process for Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Ribbons in Electric Power Grid, Space Exploration, and Electric Vehicle Applications
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Ohodnicki
Nicholas Zuraswsky
Jared Garthwait
Lauren Clapp
Samuel Triplett
MEMS-2 In-Situ Monitor of Binder Jet Printing Build Bed
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Markus Chmielus
Tingchen (Mill) Li Zisong Wang
MEMS-3 Development of an Internal Tracking Device for Bicycles
Industry Mentor: Mr. Jumoke Davis – Cyclebox
Jacob Randall
Francis Talty
Zixin Ye
Vitoria Pereira
Zhe Feng
Hassan Jafarah
MEMS-4 Sliding Wall Squat Machine
Industry Mentor: Mr. Tim Taylor – Cobra Systems
Caden Wargo
Karinna Martin
Marissa Santoro
Kiana Bouyer
Jason Zipfel
Caroline Lehrer
MEMS-5 Development of a Remote Handling Vehicle for use in Irradiated Environments
Industry Mentor: Mr. Connor Sullivan – Naval Nuclear Lab
David Jensen
Julian Schweikert
Chris Wilkinson
Tomas Mayer-Costa
Joseph Martino
MEMS-6 Incorporation of Electronic Fibers into Drones
Academic/industry Mentor: Dr. Paul Liu, Army Sponsor
Piper Toto
Ryan Alston
Carter Gassler
Richard Lane
Kimberly Newhall
MEMS-7 A Shell Based Flexible Robot Manipulator
Academic Mentors: Dr. Nikhil Bajaj (MEMS), Dr. Ravi Shankar (IE)
Tianyi Bi
Edwin Noel
Justin Baker
Conner McDermond
Kyle Zhang
Noah Reimert
MEMS-8 Projects in the Ocular Biomechanics Laboratory
Academic Mentor: Dr. Ian Sigal (Laboratory of Ocular Biomechanics)
Chris Beatty
Ann Marie Howald
Evan Garbaccio
Addison Mueller
Tyler Hutsko
Yiding Li
Lucas Zwastetzky
Hannah O’Connell
Wei Zhang
MEMS-9 Integrating Sports into STEM Education for 6th–12th Grade Underrepresented Students: Basketball Sleeve
Mentor: Dr. Bajaj and Mr. Terrell Galloway
Zack Carr
Alexander Steltz
James Pakerson
Lihan Wang
Zhengyang Xiao
MEMS-10 A High Precision Fixation System for Human Joint Testing
Academic Mentor: Dr. Pat Smolinski
Yiding Wen
Yuchen Shan
Xin Meng
Xiohang Ding
Yifan Wang
Zachary Kushnir
MEMS-11 Development of a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) System for the Inspection of Used Piping for Reuse
Industry Mentor: Mr. Niko Pasberba
Stephen Gorshe
Jacob Horning
Emma Spatz
Temesgen Agizie
MEMS-12 Development of Small UAV Detection System
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Markus Chmielus, Dr. Nikhil Bajaj
Industry Mentor: Army Sponsor
Peter Johnson
Matt Marchese
Camden Burdsall
John Morrison
Colin Casey
Daniel Serna
MEMS-13 Waste Heat Recovery and Re-use From Steelmaking Process
Industry Mentor: Mr. Niko Paserba - Hatch
Nolan Pernia
Sean Recktenwald
MEMS-18 Development of a Process to 3D Print Parts for Vintage Cars
Academic Mentor: Dr. Dave Schmidt
Chris Hess
KT Pasindu Chandrasiri
Nikhil Chandramouli
Fanbo Feng
Jingwei Yi
Matthew Montani
ESCI-1 Identification of Healthy Cells Using SPNs (Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles)
Robert Consalvo
Aron Wiener
MEMS-14 Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Sheath for the Delivery of an Endovascular Device
Academic Mentor: Dr. Johnathan Vande Geest and Dr. Ali Behrangzade (BioE)
Xinyu Wan
Zhehao Li
Zehua Wang
MEMS-15 Development of a Cylindrical Burst
Experimental Apparatus to Assess Vascular Tissues
Academic Mentor: Dr. Chung
Eric Schwanke
John Buttles
Ziyu Xia
MEMS-16 Development of a Discreet Power Generator
Industry Mentor: Army Sponsor
Sarah Russell
Joshua Kolesar
Harrison Ameye
Sean McCarthy
MEMS-17 Education Focused Illustration of 3D Printing – Binder Jet Printing
Academic Mentor: Dr. Xiayuan Zhao
Anthony Wright
Tavo Campos
Guangiao (Jarvis) Li
Sophia Buda
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joe Samosky
AOM-1 Water Walker: A Modular Floatation Device to Enhance Disabled Children’s Relationships with Swimming
Community Partners: Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children and Shaler Adaptive Aquatics for Health
Lorenzo Basa
Luke Byun
Soumik Chakraborty
Tyler Fritz
Timmy Green
Brandon Haines
AOM-2 CommChamp: Improving Hospital Staff Communication
Community Partner: Standardized Patient Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Megan Baker
Ben D’Ambrosia
Anthony Paladino
Veda Panchagnula
Alex Tsvetkov
AOM-3 Grabbing Attention: Improving Engagement at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children as Students Learn to Grab
Community Partner: Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
Jake Chinchar
David Hand
Reuel John
Varun Patel
Nicholas Town
AOM-4 GymNexus: Where Efficiency Meets Education in Fitness
Community Partner: Baierl Student Recreation Center, Petersen Events Center, University of Pittsburgh
Thomas Eble
Ben Markworth
Harry Tye
AOM-5 HandSwell: Expanding the Grabbing and Releasing Abilities of Children with Limited Motor Skills
Community Partner: Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
Josie Belkin
Mia Falbo
Sarah Ginck
Andrue Herold
Reilly Koitzsch
AOM-6 Grow and Go: Accessibility in Revolutionary Agriculture Techniques and Technology
Jack Bender
Garrison Brown
Alex Brunco
Daniel Cooper
Sean Lipton
Teagan Posey
Vinay Thulasiram
Luke Vincent
AOM-7 Sit Fit: Developing Better Sitting Habits by Standing Periodically
Felipe Correa
Dennis Ephraim
Jessie Jin
Luke Wang
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Winter
PR-1 Enclosed Space Control
Jacob Frank Cameron Griffith
Kim Pettersen
Abhishek Suman
Jacob Suppes
PR-2 Li-ion Battery Safety – PEDs
Semira Kizhakkey
Zack Koerbel
Madison Perrett
Blake Profio
Jason Worrell
PR-3 Li-ion Battery Safety – Pers Transp
Ryan Ging
Devin Hennessey Rose
Ryan McLinden
George Spann
Jeffrey Zheng
PR-4 Macy at the Door (Final)
Roshen Abdullah
Maya Green
Andrea Moore
PR-5 MyDose Demo Unit
Bryce Aniszewski
Alina Dziamko-Chuhaj
Angelina Pampena
Chirag Rajesh
Ethan Unik
Dylan Tobey
Niccolo Valerio
PR-6 Protecting Product Inventory
Madison Keczmer
Logan Mchugh
Luke McLinden
Myles Naylor
Felicity Thatcher