2021 Capstone Projects

To support Kaleideum’s pursuit of creating a space for life-long learning through discovery, this team is developing an interactive exhibit on supercooled water in hopes of creating an engaging learning environment while also encouraging STEM education for young people. The interactive exhibit will be able to instantaneously demonstrate supercooling water to visitors of all ages and abilities in a safe and self-directed manner. By designing and implementing this complex and exciting exhibit, the team hopes that the instantaneously reliable and wonder-worthy illustration of the natural phenomenon of supercooled water will inspire visitors to feel excited about science while also aiding local school teachers in creating a memorable experience for their students.

Students: Charlotte Van Houtven, Sophie Ballou, Ayana Edwards, Hank Shaw
Coach: Dr. Erin Henslee

To help citizens of the Bahamas reliably access electricity while transitioning towards renewable energy sources, this team is designing a low-cost and high efficiency solar thermal system. The solar thermal system will be created with environmental and structural confines in mind to provide a sustainable product that can maintain energy-access during hurricanes while proactively combating climate change by decreasing CO2 emissions. In developing this durable and stand-alone device, the team hopes to aid in the promotion of economic and cultural growth on the islands by creating jobs and providing off-the-grid electricity to remote areas.

Students: Morgan Wallace, Cameron King, Claire Griffin, Aidan McCormack, Hannah Grimm
Coaches: Dr. Hunter Bachman & Dr. Paul Allaire

To support the Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA)’s goal of mastering autonomous flight in order to study the Amazon rainforest more efficiently, this team is developing a new autonomous system to provide real-time mapping updates to the drones. The system will utilize Light Detection and Radar (LiDAR) technology to detect inconsistencies in the digital elevation models (DEMs) due to changes in the forest canopy such as growth or deforestation. Supplying the drones with this updated data will allow them to avoid new obstacles, fly closer to the canopy, and investigate areas that were inaccessible in out-dated maps. Disseminating map updates to all of the drones in the system will enable more accurate data collection to support conservation efforts and rainforest science.

Students: Noah Handwerk, John Hobson, Maxim Belyayev, Charles Cadena
Coach: Dr. Kyle Luthy

To support NGO Mwanzo’s mission of positively impacting the lives of Rabuor, Kenya’s residents, this team is designing a filtration and sanitation system to improve the village school’s rainwater capture and delivery system in hopes that the filtered water will also become available to the surrounding community. The team is working closely with stakeholders to modify the school’s existing cisterns to include a UV treatment system that is easy to maintain and affordable. By developing this cost-effective and long-lasting system, the team hopes to provide a reliable source of filtered water to the Rabuor community school which will simultaneously affect educational and economic growth as women and children will be able to dedicate water-collecting time to other initiatives.

Students: Kenneth Edwards, Liza Fahey, Nick Rucinski, Meredith Vaughn
Coaches: Dr. Courtney Di Vittorio & Dr. Kyana Young

To support a variety of entities who benefit from tissue engineering, this team is creating a hybrid method of cell seeding using both static and dynamic methods in order to encourage overall homogeneous cell seeding throughout a scaffold which is a major challenge within the field. The homogenous cell seeding procedure will use microbeads, an electrospun scaffold and a hybrid static-dynamic seeding method while also utilizing appropriate mechanical analysis to seed homogenous scaffolds reliably and consistently. By establishing this method, the team hopes to improve biomedical engineering research outcomes to allow for the development of more complex research tissues while also advancing regenerative medicine technologies for an overall heightened physician and patient experience.

Students: Regan O’Donnell, Marguerite Walk, Lucy Vaughn, Zack Pagnani, Jake Safee
Coach: Dr. Carlos Kengla

To support renal patients, healthcare professionals in nephrology, and medical device manufacturers, this team is developing a sensor that accurately detects significant stenosis in arteriovenous grafts in order to avoid discrepancies during check-ups for hemodialysis patients. Stenosis is a blockage caused by endothelial damage, which causes blood flow turbulence and can lead to inadequate or failed dialysis treatment. Current monitoring methods are costly, not readily available, and require extensive nurse attention. By creating a minimally-invasive, self-contained, and more accessible sensor system, the team hopes to decrease the probability of life-threatening complications related to arteriovenous graft failure and improve the overall quality of life for hemodialysis patients, while also allowing healthcare providers to focus their time and energy on other human-dependent tasks.

Students: Danielle Cantoni, Brad Dhillon, Garrett Odell, Jemima Odetokun
Coach: Dr. Saami Yazdani

To support pathologists, surgical oncologists, and appendiceal cancer patients in combating the challenge of misdiagnosis, this team is developing a machine learning algorithm in combination with an image processing algorithm to more accurately classify appendiceal cancer subtype. Due to its low prevalence, appendiceal cancer is understudied and is oftentimes detected only after a patient has developed symptoms of appendicitis. When patients are diagnosed, the subtype of cancer is often misclassified which causes the patient to undergo improper treatment since prognosis and treatment varies significantly with the subtype of appendiceal cancer. By using digital histological samples of appendiceal cancer specimens to train a subtype classification algorithm, the team hopes to contribute to the medical community’s overall understanding of this disease while improving classification rates and clinical outcomes.

Students: Gabrielle Prichard, Margaret Nyamadi, Bryan Bennett, Ethan Cooley, Hao Tong
Coaches: Dr. Olga Pierrakos & Dr. Melissa Kenny

To support pediatric and otolaryngology healthcare providers and patients who require tracheostomy tubes, this team will be integrating a system of sensors into the design of a tracheostomy tube. This integration will enable immediate detection of decannulation, which occurs when a tracheostomy tube becomes dislodged from a patient’s airway, potentially causing serious health issues. Current monitoring systems do not react promptly and require the combined use of other medical equipment. By designing and delivering a prototype of this reusable, low-cost, integrated sensing system, the team hopes to provide the families of patients and healthcare providers with comfort, knowing that notification of decannulation will occur immediately.

Students: Jack Holekamp, Zhijun Zhang, Brayan Martinez, Wells Barefoot
Coach: Dr. Hunter Bachman