Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tues., Dec. 8, SEDP conference: 89 seniors offer 32 projects

The 45th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects (SEDPs) is set for Tues., Dec. 8, at the Parkview Campus; 89 seniors from six departments will present 32 projects from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The 25-minute presentations are scheduled to begin between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; all projects start exactly on the hour and half hour. No projects are scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. The event (including parking) is free and open to the public.

From the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering (MAE), 23 students are presenting 10 projects in D-109.

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MAE: Using parametric solid modeling and CFD simulation software, (L to R) Geoff Van Gemert, Nicholas Haydon, and Michael Nienhuis are designing a gasoline direct-injection fuel system to improve the fuel economy of the WMU Formula SAE vehicle.  The project is being presented at 9:30 a.m. in D-109.

From the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME), 8 projects prepared by 31 seniors are scheduled in D-201.

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IME: Eddie Brabandt, a manufacturing technology major, examines improvements that he and teammates Dan Jasperse, Cory Niemi, and Curtis Stack have made in redesigning a hydraulic bike for competition in the next Chainless Challenge.  The project is featured in a presentation at 10:30 a.m. in D-201.

From the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), 16 students are offering 5 projects in D-115.

From the Department of Computer Science (CS), 11 students are scheduled to present five projects in D-208.

Beginning at 9 a.m., 6 students from the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering (CCE) will offer 2 presentations in D¬204/5. Following the CCE presentations, 2 seniors in the Department of Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging will present their projects in the same room.

Sponsors for this semester’s projects include the following: City of Battle Creek Wastewater Division, DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, Inc., Eaton Corporation, Kalamazoo Animal Rescue, Kalamazoo County Road Commission, Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes Warehouse,
Kalamazoo Public Library, Panther Arms, Reflex Industries, Inc., Stryker Medical, Tech Care TronLabs, WMU’s Western Herald, and the WMU School of Music.

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MAE: Dressed for work in the CEAS Clean Room, Joseph Mowat worked on a project with Tyler Ondracek and Doug Ford.  It involved ferrogels and the study of the characteristics of hydrogels infused with magnetic nanoparticles.  They have potential applications ranging from sensors to targeted drug delivery.  The presentation on the project is at 1 p.m. in D-109.

About 30 faculty and administrators are serving as advisers for one or more projects. Professors chairing the various sessions are Dr. John Polasek (CCE); Dr. John Kapenga (CS); Dr. John Gesink (ECE); Drs. Betsy Aller and Bob White (IME); Drs. Claudia Fajardo, Rameshwar Sharma, and Pnina Ari-Gur (MAE); and Dr. Peter Parker (PCI).

For more information, call Tamara Bergman at (269) 276-3248 or see project details at http://www.wmich.edu/engineer/senior-design-conference.htm