Design Day Fall 2025
Design Day is an opportunity to share our Senior Design Showcase with the public. Seniors work in groups with faculty to design and test projects.
Senior Design Projects: Fall 2025
Description: The goal of the Broadhead Assembly Optimization project is to automate the process of applying nylon adhesive to the threaded portion of the ferrules. The nylon adhesive will help reduce the vibrations after release and ensure more security. The device contains multiple subsystems, and the job is to make them all work together to reduce manual labor and enhance the broadheads.
Team: Andrew Kennington, Abdiqadir Ibrahim, Sawyer Greaves, Xuan Thang Bui
Advisor: Jiyoung Chang
Description: The Custom Nails Solution project has the goal of making custom nails for all ranges of people. The scanning of a user’s fingernails in a controlled environment for the best possible results is the first step. From the scans taken of the user’s nails there will be an automated system in place to create a point
cloud and mesh from the scans taken and proceed to send the mesh to a 3D modeling software. After doing so, using the generated 3D model using the best material defined by the research group the custom printed nails will be 3D-printed to fit the user’s preference.
Team: Adam Dabb, Spencer Morrill, Kyler Ingles, Edwin Prieto, Reynaldo Villarreal Zambrano, Tim Dixon
Advisor: Reid Rouse
Description: An automated, desktop-sized candy wrapping machine capable of efficiently wrapping caramel sized candies. The system integrates mechanical rolling and twisting mechanisms to secure each candy in cellophane, mimicking commercial wrapping techniques on a smaller, more sustainable scale. The project applied principles of mechatronics, motion control, and materials handling, with an emphasis on scalability, safety, and user-friendly operation.
Team: Landon Nipko, Andrew Carlson, Evan Rand, Ryder Jordin, Cohl Tibbits, Brennan Beecher
Advisor: Dr Todd Easton
Description: The design and assembly of a test stand, as well as relevant code for the purpose of calculating the b-value of a mechanical inerter.
Team: Winston Rudisin, Jensen Coombs, Grayson Spencer, Gavin Tobin, Chad Perry, William Raley, Slater Hart
Advisor: Pai Wang
Description: This project creates a material inspired by otters’ fur, trapping air to provide insulation. It has two states: one for warmth and one for cooling, giving the user simple control over thermal conductivity.
Team: Ocean Armstrong, Heather Karina, Gabriel Astié, Ashley Howell, Leaticia Mimche, Alli Richards, Catie Ritchie
Advisor: Dr Cristian Clavijo
Description: Cooling Innovation’s Group’s project is a revolutionary cooling vest designed to assist welders, manual laborers, and those who are otherwise exposed to high heat conditions. The device provides portable, robust, and near indefinite cooling through the use of a dual-loop design where a user is cooled by a circulating liquid flowing in to and out from a backpack-style housing unit that maintains the liquid at a desired temperature.
Team: Max Palacio, Tristan Coronado, Abraham Gaucin, Ari Sanders, Mohammed Hajar
Advisor: Brent Edgerton (Sponsor), Dr Tianli Feng (Advisor)
Description: This project presents the design and testing of a sub-degree temperature control bioreactor developed to study how cells regulate temperature. The system integrates precise thermal control with real-time microscopic imaging, enabling observation of cells under varying conditions. Temperature stability is maintained through a PID-controlled heater and continuous fluid circulation, minimizing temperature gradients across the system. This bioreactor provides a novel platform for investigating cellular thermoregulation, with potential applications in thermoregulatory disorders such as Leigh Syndrome and Huntington’s disease.
Team: Hobey Pollack, Matt Alyk, Michael Lovitt, RJ Allen, Jesse Lujan, Kevin Kaae
Advisor: Dr Cristian Clavijo
Description: Low concentration methane capture is an emerging market, needing to overcome the hurdle of profitability. This bioreactor is designed to use methanotrophs (prokaryotes that metabolize methane as their source of carbon and chemical energy) to convert this low concentration methane into a protein film. The produced film, once harvested and dried, can act as a supplementary source of animal feed. This project seeks to develop a prototype bioconversion system leveraging these methanotrophic bacteria by creating a environment for growth and means of collection. The bioreactor design maximizes surface area, limiting the required footprint for sufficient methane consumption.
Team: Christian Heckathorn, Jonathon West, Ian Montes, Alea Harris, Nels Anderson
Advisor: David Evenski
Description: Our project is focused on developing a vibration-isolated manual wheelchair that improves user comfort by reducing the transmission of road vibrations through the frame. The core feature is a pair of rear composite leaf springs designed to flex under load and absorb vibration without compromising structural strength. This will be achieved without significantly increasing the overall weight of the wheelchair or the rotational inertia of the wheels, ensuring the wheelchair remains easy to maneuver and efficient for the user.
Team: Dylan Willick, Jack Woodhead, Jake Divilio, David Melonas, Tyler Spencer, Cole Reynolds, Jacob Wilson
Advisor: Dr Ken Monson
Description: For the first time ever, there is one hard boot splitboard binding for both the climb and the descent. It’s engineered to work with all modern touring boots and built in-house for the kind of precision and durability demanded in the backcountry. Our toe adapter, compatible with all touring boots, mates with the binding for efficient touring on the skin track. When it’s time to drop in, the same binding screws onto your pucks and locks in with a confident, glove-friendly latch. Fewer parts to manage, faster transitions, and a solid board feel in a lightweight package.
Team: Logan Queen, Jesse Kennedy, Zachary Lemieux, Will Connors, Will Crump
Advisor: Dr. Pedro Huebner
Description: The Interlock press team builds a hydraulic actuated press that mitigates both the environmental impact and logistics required for traditional building techniques. Existing earth material (dirt/soil) from a build site is refined to exclude any large particulates. This material combined with water, lime and clay is deposited into the press with the hydraulic retracted. The hydraulic cylinder, operated from the hydraulic manifold and control system of the useful robot, compresses the composite dirt mixture to a specified force controlled by the pressure given to the incoming hydraulic lines. The newly compressed earth block (CEB) is ejected from the top, to be placed in a designated drying area prior to structural use. The scope of this project is to build and refine a press that can properly compress material to produce a CEB.
Team: Chad Keveny, Carson Ledesma, Jaydon Burgon, Andrew Ballman,
Advisor: Reid Rouse