On Tues., April 14 ... 69 seniors showcase their design projects

The 44^th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects – set for Tues., April 14 at Parkview – features 69 projects by 180 seniors from seven CEAS departments. The 25-minute presentations begin on the hour and half hour between 8 and 4. No projects are presented from noon to 1 p.m. The free event is open to the public, and parking is available.

Here is the schedule with start times:

Civil and Construction Engineering (CCE):
34 students / 10 projects – 9 to 2:30 in D-204-5.

Computer Science (CS):
13 students / 6 projects -9 to 11:30 in D-210.

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE):
22 students / 7 projects – 8:30 to 11:30 in D-208.

Industrial Design (ID):
14 students / 14 projects – 8:30 to 4 in D-115.

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME):
33 students / 10 projects – 8 to 1:30 in D-201,
and 2 multi-disciplinary projects with MAE.

Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering (MAE):
48 students / 16 projects in concurrent sessions –
9 projects – 9 to 2 in D-109 and 7 projects – 9 to 2:30 in D-212.

Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging (PCI):
16 students offer 6 projects – 1 to 3:30 in D-208.

This semester’s project sponsors include American Axle & Manufacturing, Armstrong International, Battle Creek Area Habitat for Humanity, Biomet Orthopedics, CSM Group, DENSO North America Foundation, Eaton Aerospace, Eaton Corp., Eliason Corp., Fabri-Kal, Graphic Packaging International, Humphrey Products, I.D. Systems Inc., Kapenga Design, Kellogg Co., Kelm Acubar, Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan Biodiesel, Midwest Business Exchange, Miller-Davis Co., National Transportation Research Center, Inc., Noble Networks.net, Parker Hannifin Corp., Project H Design, Stryker Medical, Terra Trike, VSA Arts of Michigan, WACO Classic Aircraft Corp., and W.K. Kellogg Institute.

For more information, call Tamara Bergman at 269-276-3248. A complete schedule of project presentations is available at http://www.wmich.edu/engineer/senior-design­conference.htm

CEAS showcases engineering in Gagie School outreach

Students from Gagie School, a private Kalamazoo elementary and middle school, examined the world of engineering and applied sciences for four consecutive Friday mornings earlier this semester. CEAS faculty, administrators, and students from three CEAS departments and from career services offered each new group a taste of engineering. Based on their thank you notes, the students approved of the CEAS efforts.

Dr. Tycho Fredericks Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) faculty, and Heather Highhouse, CEAS career adviser, organized the community outreach program.

Each Friday, students from two grade levels were welcomed by Dr. Paul Engelmann, IME chair. Scot Conant, CEAS outreach coordinator, then provided guided CEAS tours led by Jennifer Soetaert, outreach graduate assistant and John Ihling, student ambassador. Fred Sitkins, CEAS director of co­operative education, presented the Sunseeker.

Dr. Koorosh Naghshineh, MAE faculty, and Kyle Myers, a graduate student, started demos and hands-on activities in the Noise and Vibration lab by demonstrating a shaker table, which can simulate vibrations of vehicles, and the anechoic chamber, a heavily insulated room that absorbs sound into the walls. "The floor that simulated the back of a truck was really cool," a student said in a thank you note.

In the manufacturing lab directed by IME faculty Dr. Tarun Gupta, Srinivas Ghattamaneni, a graduate student, described the FIRST competition robotics and encouraged the students to interact with RoboBronco. “I really liked the robots,” a student put in his note.

In the Parker Motion and Control Lab, Dr. James Kamman, MAE faculty, showed students the two hydraulic bicycles. “We discussed how the bikes functioned and compared them to the bikes they have at home,” he said. “They were intrigued that the bikes had no chains and were curious about how the bikes were driven by hydraulic oil.”

For the first/second grade and third/fourth grade visits, Larry Ahleman, Lois Lemon and Matt Stoops – faculty in the Department of Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging (PCI) – provided hands-on experience. “We emphasized the idea of a template because screen printing uses templates or stencils so we can create images that are the same size and shape every time,” Lemon said.

One highlight of each visit was the various design challenges provided by Fredericks and Dr. Steven Butt, IME faculty, with the assistance of graduate students Supreeta Amin, Fehime Utkan, Amanda Glick, Ilgin Acar, and Ashley Hovenkamp.

Each week, various age-appropriate design challenges included the building of spaghetti towers, marble transport systems, and 30-second “junk” timers.

Conant is planning similar visits for other area elementary and middle school students. “We are thrilled to provide these exciting hands-on opportunities to area youth,” he said. “Future Bronco engineers are sure to come from programs like this.”

IME Night offers students career opportunities, fun, and prizes

More than 100 students attended the third annual IME Night last month at the CEAS Parkview Campus. For three hours, attendees ate pizza and learned about IME programs and projects. They also received advice on preparing for employment and dialogued with representatives from local companies, faculty, and students doing co-ops and internships.

Slobodan Urdarevik, IME faculty, coordinated the event, which included prizes and games. All students were welcomed, including the 28 students who registered with undecided majors.

Alumni from area companies discuss their products and hiring practices.  From left: Mike Ziemelis, Wayne Nicolen, and Mark Wallace answer questions of students attending IME Night

The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) offers four undergraduate programs: manufacturing engineering technology (MFT), engineering management technology (UEM), engineering graphics and design technology (EGR), and the new industrial and entrepreneurial engineering (IEE).

Chris Briolat (seated second from the left), discusses IME programs with Fred Sinkins (left), Trent Kentworthy (standing left), an IE master's student, and Slobodan Urdarevik

Fred Sitkins, IME faculty and CEAS director of co-operative education, emceed the event.  Stryker's Mike Ziemelis, Glassmaster Controls' Wayne Nicolen, and Tenneco's Mark Wallace shared information about their respective companies.

 
Key organizers of the third annual IME Night (from left): Fred Sitkins, Nicole Maggio, and Slobadon Urdarevik

Nicole Maggio, career development and cooperative education graduate assistant, and Anna Perez, a first-year chemical engineering student, coordinated the check in and collected names for the 14 prizes offered.

Several IME students participated in the event. Josh Weise, an UEM senior who is presently interning at Post, shared information about the work he is doing. Timothy Gaston, a MFT senior, explained the value of belonging to professional organizations such as Sunseeker and engineering fraternities. Trent Kenworthy shared his experiences with attendees, and MFT senior Jordan Kimble displayed the IME hydraulic bike. Srinivas Ghattamaneni, an IE graduate assistant, supervised RoboBronco, who welcomed the attendees electronically.

Jordan Kimble, a MFT senior, with the hydraulic bike that is the focus of a senior engineering design project which he is presently involved.

Others who assisted with the event included IME faculty Dr. Steven Butt, Dr. Tycho Fredericks, Dr. Tarun Gupta, Dr. Pavel Ikonomov, and Mr. Troy Place; IME office assistant Mary Fosburg; CEAS career advisor Heather Highouse; and volunteers from many CEAS organizations: IEE, SME, SPE, and Sunseeker.