Amperometric Sensing of Glucose with Catalytic Microstructures

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Benjamin Brownlee and Brian Iverson, Mechanical Engineering Introduction The objective of this project was to characterize the increased rate of hydrogen peroxide oxidation using a carbon nanotube microstructure. This is an important step in creating a glucose sensor capable of detecting low concentrations, such as those in saliva. A glucose sensor with this capability would […]

Designing Consumer Furniture for a Positive Mental Well-Being

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Nichole Cross and David Morgan, School of Technology Introduction Currently there are several common considerations to factor in when designing furniture for the consumer market such as ergonomics, color trends, manufacturability, materials, regulatory standards, shipping costs, economic forecasts, etc. The objective of this exploration was to research the psychological effects of design elements, such as […]

New Treatment for Optimization of Whole Organ Decellularization

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Robert Fuller and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering I. Introduction Decellularized porcine tissue is currently used for allografts of tendons, blood vessels, and dermal tissue. The success of these procedures has been attributed to the conservation of collagen structures across mammalian species, making porcine collagen nearly identical to that of humans. Signaling chemicals for cellular […]

Finite element analysis of the biomechanical consequences of schmorl’s nodes

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Boston Barham and Anton Bowden, Mechanical Engineering INTRODUCTION Schmorl’s nodes are intrusions of the disc into the vertebral endplate in the lumbar spine and are common in spinal imaging (figure 1). They are significantly associated with the presence and severity of spinal disc degeneration [1], which is a major cause of work disability and a costly […]

Women in Engineering and Technology Barriers Project

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Carrie Etherington and David Morgan, Industrial Design With women making up less than 18% of positions in engineering and technology fields, I feel there are many doors that still can be opened. My intention with this project was to identify what was acting as a barrier keeping women from these fields and to use euthenics […]

Thermal Properties of Natural-Colored and Darkened Portland Cement Concrete Pavement

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Tenli Waters and W. Spencer Guthrie, Civil and Environmental Engineering The purpose of this project was to measure thermal properties of natural-colored and darkened portland cement concrete in order to explain observations from field data already collected. While portland cement concrete pavement offers a durable surface and long service life when designed and constructed properly, […]

Comparing Model Predictive Control and Input Shaping

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Phillip Hyatt and Marc Killpack, Mechanical Engineering Introduction Many advances have been made in the control, modeling and applications of robots within the past several decades. Robots have been made to operate very quickly within very tight tolerances. Generally, these quick and accurate robots require high gear ratios and vast amounts of electrical power. Recently, […]

A Load Shaping Demand Response Mechanism for Energy Consumers in a Smart Grid

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Gerrit Noorda, Braden Hancock and Christopher A. Mattson, Mechanical Engineering Department Introduction In our proposal for an ORCA grant, we planned to use machine learning to socially benefit others with our research. In the early stages of the research, however, we came across a different, more urgent problem. We decided to use the same principles of […]

Natural Movement as Input to a Virtual World

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Kyle Bryant and Derek Hansen, Information Technology With Facebook’s recent acquisition of Oculus Rift, the virtual reality (VR) craze has left the den of nerds and tech enthusiasts and gone mainstream. Sony, Steam, and other big name companies’ pledges to develop their own VR platforms have further confirmed the coming of VR to every-home USA. However, this […]