Current Projects

Spring 2024 Projects

Check majors below to filter projects by those majors only:

 

Legend: 1 = Primary Discipline | 2 = Secondary Discipline | 3 = Optional Discipline(s)

Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
AB Volvo Penta 1 - Global with Chalmers Bi-Directional Charging - - Global with Chalmers Smith, Tahira 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Design several possible designs for bi-directional (BD) charging including a business model with multiple partners
• Create a simulation model for energy balancing for one week, using a car or a boat
• Try to scope a US & Swedish scenario of what’s governing and the limits the use of a battery
• What does it take to operate off-grid, and how complicated will the installation become
• Build a business model for one year in operation wi&wo DB-charging
• Find out the legislative limitations, as well as the technical & safety constraints
• Will the extended use of a car/boat battery use up the battery quicker
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
AB Volvo Penta 2 - Global with Chalmers Penta Island - Global with Chalmers Smith, Tahira 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Design a floating island for marine charging including a business model with multiple partners
• Find out the right size for the island and energy and design the island so that it becomes a popular place
• The island should work the whole year and it should operate off-grid (how much and from what?)
• Charging Interface outlet CCS1 & CCS2&NACS (depending on region)
• Off grid water production (placeholder for energy)
• Local production of food (placeholder for design)
• Boat renting including a shuttle service system, B&B and a potential research platform
• If needed challenge the prerequisites
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
AB Volvo Penta 3 - Global with Chalmers Sustainable Snow Groomer - Global with Chalmers Smith, Tahira 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

• Study propulsion/fuel technologies that could be applied – literature, simulation, IP.
• Use a 400kW power size for the dimensioning.
• Investigate and/or propose reasonable properties/requirements, e.g., temperature and weight
• Most likely some alternatives will require refueling more often, so find a size/weight balance
• Put all possible systems in a matrix and select the top 3 systems based on requirements
• Design energy & propulsion systems for the selected top 3
• Sustainability, service intervals, size, cost, ease of use and performance are key requirements
• Provide design sketches / simplified CAD-models and simulation results of the final candidates
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Actuated Medical, Inc. Companion Case of Vital Information for Older Adults during Medical Emergencies Lei, Yuguo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

When older adults are hospitalized, vital medical information is often unavailable which leads to medical complications (e.g., over medication, allergic reactions, falls and extended lengths of stay). In addition, their care is often compromised when they lose personal items (e.g., eyeglasses, dentures, and hearing aids) while in the medical system. The Medical Mirror was designed to solve these issues. It is a small, personalized companion case that contains individualized compartments that hold vital medical information, photos, personal items and background stories about Medical Mirror’s owner. In addition, it has icons clearly visible to inform caregivers and facility staff about personal items and medical status of Medical Mirror’s owner.

The Medical Mirror design will also assist with the treatment of delirium which is often overlooked and mistreated. It is experienced by 89% of older adults who have dementia when they are hospitalized.

With the growing population of people over 65 years old (10k people turn 65 years old every day in the US), the Medical Mirror will be in even greater demand. It will easily provide the information known about its owner, provide accurate medical information, minimize the loss of essential and expensive personal items, and offer medical staff a glimpse of the personal life of its owner. The Medical Mirror will also shorten scene time for EMT and paramedics. When they arrive at an older adult’s home, they can open the Medical Mirror and have baseline medical information quickly and in an organized format.

Objective: Update and improve the current Medical Mirror prototype through end user discovery, product redesign, and create a manufacturing plan for the product.

Deliverables:
+ End user discovery of at least 50 stakeholders
• Determination of product specifications and features
• Determine an acceptable selling price range
+ Updated design and prototype of the case
+ Develop a Bill of Materials with cost
+ Determine additional markets where a personalized suitcase would have market need.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) Aluminum Extrusion Kit and Playbook for STEM Education Mittan, Paul 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Aluminum extrusions provide unmatched design solutions, and the PSU team will complete development of a technical kit and training aids for educational use. The goal is to establish an easily scalable method of delivering fun technical training using a comprehensive kit and playbook. The project team will advance the work completed by the three prior successful capstone projects (first place award Fall 2023!) and enhance the aluminum extrusion design challenges, physical packaging, and associated educational "playbooks" for use with students and educators in high school, Vo-Tech, and undergraduate technical colleges and universities.

Additionally, the student team will conduct on-site testing of the enhanced aluminum extrusion kits and educational materials in local schools, refining and customizing them to establish an engaging and adaptable platform for enhancing technical, scientific, and other educational pursuits. The kits will leverage the versatile design capabilities of aluminum extrusions, offering a unique learning experience for students.

Upon completion of the enhanced kit, the student team will define and create the appropriate instructions and details for packaging, ordering, logistics, delivery, and assembly for at least 50 kits to be distributed throughout all North American STEM high school classes and Universities as chosen by the sponsoring extrusion companies.
This effort will be supported by several North American leading aluminum extruders working together as members of the trade association "AEC" (Aluminum Extruders Council), which has supported aluminum extrusion development, training, and implementation for over 75 years.

The final deliverable will be a completed kit and playbook appropriate to pique the interest and help advance students’ technical prowess through using the aluminum extrusion kits (guided by the educator's playbook) in their curriculum. By developing both a fundamental, beginner-friendly kit/playbook and more advanced versions, the AEC and its members can effectively engage with local high schools, Vo-Techs, colleges, and universities. This outreach will enable them to provide comprehensive training on the material, process, and design potential of this crucial material/process.
(Bonnell Aluminum TSLOTS on LinkedIn: TBUILD Tutorial on Navigating the Scene) See: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7087866752776212480?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Analex Corporation, DBA Arcfield Non-Carbon based Thermal Protection System for Hypersonic Movers Kimel, Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Hypersonic fliers require thermal protection systems (TPS) to survive their operating environments. Currently utilized TPS's are carbon-based ablative technologies and exhibit known characteristics. Non-Carbon based TPS's represent a next-generation TPS capable of enhancing the performance of hypersonic fliers.

This project is a continuation of work from another PSU Team who identified candidate non-carbon TPS materials. Their work will be made available to the current team.

The objectives of this project are to:
1) Develop Project Plan and Schedule with Proceed/Adjust Gates.
2) Continue development of Identified candidate non-carbon based materials for TPS for hypersonic movers.
3) Continue analysis of candidate non-carbon based materials and compare it to typical carbon-based TPS's.
4) Demonstrate capabilities of candidate materials via testing in hypersonic wind tunnel with a conceptual hypersonic mover geometry.
5) (Stretch Goal) Verify demonstrated performance to analytical performance

Deliveries for this project include:
1) Deliver Project Plan and Schedule.
2) A report detailing the analytical work performed including assumptions, material properties, boundary conditions, and results.
3) Test Plan outlining planned test procedure, test setup, test conditions, instrumentation, risks, and recovery.
4) A test report discussing the test setup, materials tested, tests performed, test conditions, observations, anomalies, methodologies, measurement types & location, and test results.
5) (Stretch Goal) A report discussing the comparison results between demonstrated and predicted material performance.
NOTE: A single report is acceptable with each of the above as sections within the report. Each section is expected to be completed upon completion of each task and can be used as a reference for subsequent tasks.

Cadance:
- Minimum 1 hr. Virtual Meeting Weekly with Team (Students, Professor(s), and Arcfield)
- Gate Reviews per Delivered Project Plan
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Armstrong World Industries Inc Improved Method of Recovering Acoustical Ceiling Tiles from Construction and Renovation Projects Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Overview:

We believe over 600 [Msf] of acoustical ceiling tile can be recovered annually from renovation projects and construction sites in the United States. Some of this material (about 10 [Msf]) can be directly recycled into new acoustical ceiling tiles. Most of it has no financially viable end use. We know that at least 15 other potential end markets could make beneficial use of the material if the cost of recovery is reduced. Like many other forms of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, the value of the material is affected by costs associated with removing the material, moving it to a different location, and processing it for a new end market. If we can address these challenges then we could open up new end uses for this resource.

The state of the art right now involves teams of people working from low scaffolds manually removing and stacking tiles onto pallets. Those pallets are them moved through the building and loaded for transport to another location. This can be a costly and inconvenient process that drives up the cost per unit weight of the material making it less viable for repurposing. Instead of it being a resource for new uses, it becomes a waste that is landfilled.

We want a team to apply BREAK THROUGH THINKING that will 1) decrease time and cost of removal, 2) increase safety on the job, 3) reduce the potential for contaminating the recovered material with other C&D waste, 4) process/ package the material into a form that is best for transport and the next end use. This could involve development of novel tools, equipment, processes and logistics. Solutions developed in this project could extend to other forms of "hard to recover" C&D waste and help to expand the re-use of our scarce resources on this planet.

Deliverables:

1. Document the existing recovery process from a time, cost and safety perspective.
2. Complete a patent search on tools, equipment, and methods of deconstructing/ handling/ removing "panel-like" materials.
3. Explore multiple approaches for solving the problem. Identify one for further development.
4. To the extent practical, produce early working prototypes of any tools or equipment involved in the new solution.
5. Produce a before and after process map that demonstrates the advantages of the new solution.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
AstaZero AB - Global with Chalmers Drone platform for safety in testing - Global with Chalmers Smith, Tahira 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Background:

AstaZero is a proving ground located deep in the forests outside Gothenburg, Sweden built for testing of advanced automated driving, driver-assistance and active safety systems in road vehicles, such as automated emergency brake systems commonly found in modern vehicles. AstaZero is a non-profit organization owned indirectly by the Swedish government and performs independent testing, verification and certification for its customers.

Previous Capstone projects at AstaZero have focused on using drones to support day to day operations. A previous project improved site security by detecting breaks in the fence enclosing the track with the help of AI-image analysis, while another project developed a system to film ongoing tests for documentation purposes.

AstaZero has developed an Autonomous Vehicle Test Operating System (ATOS), which is used to carry out scenario-based testing on the test track. This system controls test participants such as the vehicle under test, crash targets, and surrounding infrastructure. ATOS features functionality that ensures the safe and secure testing of AVs. However, AstaZero is always looking for new ways to improve test safety and efficiency. During testing with ATOS, the test leader at the proving ground is responsible for the safety of equipment and personell. To aid the test leader, drones can be used to automatically detects dangerous situations, further improving the test safety.

Goal:

Inserting image...The goal of this project is therefore to develop a software-based system for automated supervision of tests at the proving ground, which will be showcased at the AstaZero proving ground at project’s end. The showcase will demonstrate a drone-control system that integrates with ATOS to plan drone routes, simultaneously using AI and machine learning-based techniques to e.g. detect endagered persons or dangerous and/or anomalous behaviour of test objects in the scenario.

The task:

In this global project, students from Pennsylvania State University will collaborate with students from Chalmers University of Technology in achieving the goal. Your task will be to design, implement, and test a system for detecting dangerous situations during testing, building upon previous students’ work.

- Understand code and systems produced by previous students

- Make a plan for how to develop new software and integrate it with existing systems, based on a gap-analysis between previous systems and the system described in the goal section.

- Integrate a drone control system with ATOS, enabling the efficient control of drones

- Develop an object detection method for use with drones
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Atkore Optimizing Extrusion Cooling Water Management Busse, Margaret 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Our Atkore facilities manufacture HDPE Pipe and Conduit via a continuous extrusion process. This process melts plastic pellets with electrical and sheer heat to form a pipe with a die and vacuum sizing; once the pipe is formed, it is cooled with chilled water. We aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the extrusion process by reducing the large amount of power and tonnage needed to generate chilled water used in these operations. This project will require mechanical engineering students to perform a design simulation analysis of the cooling process in flow and temperature, energy consumption, process optimization, and a load study to determine the actual chiller demands. Additionally, it will require developing a chiller water management strategy to determine the appropriate control and system design for the chiller water system pump and compressor to reduce overall electric load and aid in the decarbonization efforts. The goal is implementing the cooling water recommendations and reduce the energy consumption on the chilled water process by approximately 10-15%.

Atkore
Founded in 1959 and becoming a publicly traded company in 2016, Atkore is a global company with over 5,000 employees and 76+ facilities located around the world. Recognized as a leading manufacturer of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions, our products are used every day to power and protect the world. The Electrical segment manufactures high quality products used in the construction of electrical power systems including conduit, cable, and installation accessories. This segment serves contractors in partnership with the electrical wholesale channel. The Safety & Infrastructure segment designs and manufactures solutions including metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management for the protection and reliability of critical infrastructure.

We are committed to continuously improving our corporate citizenship. The goal of Atkore’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) effort is to promote growth that takes into account human well-being and the environment. Through the disciplined use of the Atkore Business System, we seek to utilize sustainable business principles and processes that achieve a balance between profitability and protection of all stakeholders including our workers, customers, suppliers and communities, while reducing our impact on the environment and climate.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
B Braun Medical Inc Develop a means to administer fluid through a tubing via a secondary connector Medina, Scott 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Various medical procedures require administering medicinal products through tubing via a secondary connector. Working with B Braun the team will develop:
1) Project Scope
2) Requirements: User, Performance, Manufacturing
3) Design Concepts
4) Design Rankings
5) Prototype(s)
6) Prototype testing
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
BP Production 1 Hydrogen economic model & Green Hydrogen Value Chain Top SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) Toraman, Hilal 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project has two parts that can be worked on simultaneously:

PART 1:

At the beginning of the hydrogen value chain is developing hydrogen via an electrolyzer, using a balance of green energy from wind and solar. Further down the value chain there is battery energy storage / distribution and hydrogen storage and distribution. The goal is to model this to develop an economic solution including the following:

1. Dynamic models for:
a. Wind generation
b. Solar generation
c. Hydrogen from the electrolyzer

2. Inputs to the model based on contracts for:
a. renting storage,
b. spot market versus wholesale for hydrogen
c. spot market versus battery storage.
d. Sale or purchase of power from the grid
e. Ancillary services to the grid for the balance of frequency
f. Sale of purchase of hydrogen
g. Constraints based on regulators
h. Tax credits

3. External inputs:
a. Wind predictions
b. Solar predictions
c. Hydrogen demand prediction
d. UK and US type agreements including tax credits.

The desire is to use the Electrolyzer dynamic Hysis simulator which has already been developed. Other parts of the simulation include wind & solar generation using simplified models already developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The end goal is to develop a dynamic visual simulator using historical wind and solar availability & including electrical grid usage or sale to use or generate hydrogen. The final output will be how much revenue this type of value chain can generate in a year.


PART 2:

BP has the vision of a Top SCADA system for its green hydrogen assets. The SCADA shall be scalable to multiple facilities of systems in the green hydrogen chain including wind, solar, storage, electrolyzer, battery management and pipelines. As new systems are added on to the value chain, the Top Scada system will need to be scalable having similar human machine interfaces, alarms and management to enable for a single operator. The Top Scada system will reside in the cloud. GeoSCADA from Schnieder Electric is a potential top SCADA, Factory Talk from Rockwell, and MiScout from Emerson (local for wind) are potential local SCADA systems.

Areas for project exploration:

1. What will the requirements for the system be for confidentiality integrity and availability (CIA)?

2. What would be the cloud and network architecture requirements be to meet the cyber security and availability requirements?

3. What standards should be considered such as graphical typicals should be used to make the development of the top SCADA simple, operator friendly and scalable?

4. What would be the process be to introduce a new facility to the Top SCADA system including when adjustments to CIA would be required for additional redundancy?

5. Develop a process for tagging systems for local level facilities to streamline adding more facilities to the Top SCADA system for HMI alarms and historian to this Top SCADA system.

6. Is there a unique way to do alarm rationalization so that it appropriately minimizes alarms to the Top SCADA system.

Additional Resources to Review for Consideration:
https://blog.copadata.com/mtp-revolutionizing-industries
https://www.dicomat.com/wp-content/uploads/catalogos/WAGO_MTP_EN_60419038.pdf
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
BP Production 2 Wind Farm Optimization for Green Energy Production Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This is an ongoing project that will be in its fourth semester at Penn State. There is a baseline simulator already developed on the FLORIS (python-based) platform (from National Renewable Energy Laboratories: NREL). It uses wind speed and direction to optimize the direction of the wind farm turbines (yaw) to minimize the wake (the disrupted air flow behind the turbine), while maximizing energy production for the entire wind farm.

Goals for this phase of the project are to:

1. Develop an expert system based on the offline FLORIS simulation which would take real-time weather conditions to create a graphical user interface (GUI), detect statistically significant changes in the median weather conditions, and send communications (e.g., emails or work orders) monthly/weekly/daily on the optimal offsets for each wind turbine for nine different onshore wind farms.

a. Complete the simulation by loading data for the remaining 5 wind farms.
b. Complete the offline simulations to generate data which will be used to develop the expert system.
c. Develop the method to import real time data into the expert system.
d. Develop and implement the expert system on the organization’s laboratory systems.

2. Quantify and predict mechanical loading.

Does wake optimization cause additional loading? If so for what ranges of yaw offset?
Can we quantify this?

a. What are the critical components of wind turbines which are impacted by yaw offsets for wake optimization?
b. Is it possible to estimate the impact on maintenance or the life of the critical components?
c. Develop a prediction (soft sensor) for maintenance or asset life based on loads?
d. Discussion with NREL and vendors to understand maximum yaw constraints.
e. Implement the loads/maintenance/lifetime prediction in the expert system so that when optimal yaw offsets are proposed the potential loads impact can be considered.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
BPMI Explosive Gas Mitigation System Cubanski, Dave 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The proposed design project is an explosive gas mitigation system (EGMS). By definition, the EGMS prevents damaging gas detonations by burning and consuming potentially explosive gas at low concentrations within a confined space, before gas buildup within that space is unsafe. Gas mitigation systems have various uses throughout industry, including in residential airspace, industrial power plants, and geological situations. The project consists of the design of a gas mitigation control panel (GMCP), the choice and analysis of igniters for ignition of the explosive gas, and the interface between the GMCP and the igniters. The students will be provided a scope of work that defines the specific requirements of the system.

The students will be expected to provide the following deliverables:
1. Schematic of designed control circuitry
2. Parts list of all parts chosen for the design
3. 3D-Model of the igniter mounting structure and connected GMCP
4. A GMCP that performs the necessary electrical functions, with associated indicators and switches
5. A mock-up of the full GMS including the igniter mounting structure
6. Develop a means of testing the mocked up system for compliance with the scope of work
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
ChamberMade Meat Curing Chamber Conversion Kit Neal, Gary 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The goal of the project is to produce a prototype of the ChamberMade HT1, a two-part conversion kit comprising a control box and humidifier reservoir that mounts to the side of a refrigerator or 'wine fridge'. The control wiring and a water line pass through a small hole drilled into the side of the refrigerator and connect to the internal components, consisting of a vaporizer, H/T sensors, and a variable speed fan. While the controllers and fan are off-the-shelf components, a custom humidifier will need to be engineered to have the external water tank feed the internal vaporizer.

Deliverables for the project include:
* A Literature Review Report
* A Design and Analysis Report
* A "Best Efforts" Prototype with Blueprints
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
CiviLink LLC CiviLink Grant Administration Platform Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Many potential grant applicants/recipients do not use project management software to manage applications, in part due to the time it takes to input the tasks to a project management solution. This causes missed deadlines, reports, lost or redundant record keeping, etc. Tracking costs and valuing in-kind contributions for match are often missed. Communication can be hampered when grant writers are separate from the receiving agency or other relevant departments, such as fiscal.
CiviLink is a software company based in Warren County, Pennsylvania developing a suite of related cloud-based software solutions for local government. CiviLink currently has three stand-alone products - CiviDocs (document management), CiviPro (process management), and CiviLive (survey management). The company would like to develop a fourth product - CiviGrant (a grants management portal).
CiviGrant would be subscription-based and initially built specifically for rural Pennsylvania local government clients. Users would gain access to a portal preloaded with grant application and grant administration tasks. Those tasks can be assigned to roles within the organization with automated task reminders. A dashboard could give management and stakeholders an overview of where an organization stands with grant applications and status.
Such systems exist, but none are preloaded with templates specific to Pennsylvania grants. Hence, the first and most important deliverable is to research, analyze, license and customize/brand an existing grant or project management tool on the market (if not open source). If that objective is met, the project scope could extend to additional objectives: Second, CiviGrants should be tied to CiviLink's existing Azure login system, used for login to all its existing platforms. Third, the system could have an API that automatically add transfers documents (authorizing resolutions, agreements, etc.) from CiviGrant to the CiviDocs database. Fourth, the system could connect to CiviPro to access its role-based user database.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Constellation Energy Generation LLC PLC Simulator Banyay, Gregory 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project is intended as a benchtop simulator using real-world Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) encountered at Peach Bottom Clean Energy Center for nuclear operations.

The simulator will be a working ‘level control loop’ where water can be pushed to maintain level in a tank from a controller. An Engineer or other technical person can ‘play’ with the PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) values using the vendor manual to give the Design Engineer detailed knowledge to develop Work Instructions to be written. This is also intended to be used to aid troubleshooting and train new engineers exposed to equipment. This simulator will be situated on a benchtop for

PSU Student team will be provided the PLC (and some other key components from Constellation) and then create an interface that mimics what is experienced in the field. PSU Team is encouraged to think creatively to design, procure, assemble the bench top version that allows for interactive intuition building for PID control loops. Therefore, this may require transparent components and tubing, for example.

A separate 'digital twin' is also desired such that the PLC could interact with a purely digital environment. This could be in the form of a 100% computer simulation software program that has a GUI (graphical user interface) that mimics the PLC inputs and mimics the outputs also graphically.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
DG Group Holdings, LLC Advanced Traction Controlled Yoga Mat Kimel, Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

We are thrilled to introduce a unique opportunity for you to apply your engineering skills in a hands-on project that combines creativity, functionality, and sustainability.

We are launching a project focused on the design and creation of an innovative non-slip yoga mat. This semester-long endeavor aims to explore cutting-edge materials and textures, including but not limited to cutouts, raised surfaces, and strategic perforations, to engineer a mat that not only enhances safety and performance but also addresses the evolving needs of yoga enthusiasts.

Project Overview:
In collaboration with our team, you will have the chance to:

1. Explore Materials Science: Dive into the world of materials and textures to identify those that provide optimal grip and durability for a non-slip yoga mat.

2. Incorporate Innovative Design Elements: Experiment with cutouts, raised surfaces, holes, and more to create a mat that stands out for its functionality and user experience.

3. Sustainability Focus: Consider eco-friendly materials and production processes, aligning with the growing demand for environmentally conscious products.

Why Join?

Real-World Application: Apply your engineering knowledge to a tangible project with practical implications for health and wellness.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Work alongside peers from various engineering disciplines, fostering a dynamic and enriching collaborative environment.

Enhance Problem-Solving Skills: Tackle challenges associated with material selection, design optimization, and manufacturing processes, honing your problem-solving abilities.

Project Management Experience: Gain valuable experience in project planning, execution, and delivery, preparing you for future roles in engineering leadership.

We look forward to working together on this exciting venture, and we believe your expertise will be invaluable in making this project a success.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Discovery Space of Central PA Interactive Digital Aquarium Exhibit Smith, Tahira 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

We propose an interactive digital aquarium exhibit that allows children to color in a pre outlined marine creature and then scan the creature into the computer and see it pop up, swimming in the digital aquarium ecosystem on the screen or being projected. This new exhibit will pair with our current Marine Life Center to bring a creative learning element to the experience.
At Discovery Space, we see 50,000 people each year who visit, explore our exhibit floor together, and learn STEM. This exhibit will be part of our regular offerings and available to all visitors.

The exhibit deliverables include:
- A single button/switch (not noticeable to the public) to turn the entire exhibit on such that the program automatically runs upon starting up (no need to click anything else to make it work)
- A large screen or projector to show the designed digital aquarium
- A small station where kids can choose a marine creature and colored pencils
- A simple mechanism for kids to reliably scan the marine creature they colored into the program so that it pops up in the digital aquarium, swimming around
- Picture-based directions so that the exhibit works for kids too young to read
- A back up file of the computer program running the exhibit
- A list of all technology and parts in case we need to replace items
- A troubleshooting guide
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Dorman Products Automotive Harmonic Balancer Torsional Spring Rate and Slip Testing Neal, Gary 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Create a tester used to benchmark the functional characteristics of the rubber ring contained within a typical automotive harmonic balancer. This test shall be conducted by holding either the hub or inertia ring statically in a fixture and applying the other with a torque until the rubber ring ultimately slips or shears. The tester shall collect live data showing the relationship of torque vs. angular displacement in order to determine the torsional spring rate and overall torque resistance of the assembly.

Deliverables include:
- Tester, test fixture, and data recording system
- Plot of torque vs. angular displacement (analogous to stress-strain curve)
- Calculation of the torsional spring rate of the rubber ring (analogous to elastic modulus)
- Data showing torque resistance of the rubber ring (analogous to ultimate strength)
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
FeatherSafe Transport Chicken Transport Crate Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Chicken crates (or coops) are used to transport chickens on a trailer from the farm to the customer. They go through a lot of abuse, including being thrown, dragged, and stepped on. We're looking for a durable yet lightweight crate to withstand the rigors of poultry transportation, created from a material that is chemical and bacteria resistant and able to take custom coloring. Easy to open and close, with a portal big enough to push birds through and a hatch that will stay shut when closed. The bottom specifically must be durable- when coops are dragged on the ground, it wears down the bottom to the point where they are unable to be locked into a stack with the other coops. Coops must be able to be stacked with the current standard coop design, specifically Pakster’s coops. A possible feature is the coop is designed to be packed flat for delivery and assembled upon receipt, so the customer can save money on transportation costs if desired (if this doesn't negatively impact durability). Final design should not infringe on any current patents.

At the end of the project, we're looking for:
*CAD design put thru simulated stress tests and ready for contract manufacturing
*a reasonable price point per unit manufactured
*a physical prototype built to scale
*analysis of potential contract manufacturers and associated costs
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
FirstEnergy Corp 1 Electrical Substation Vegetation Control Robot Zajac, Brian 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

PROJECT 1 – HARDWARE AND PRELIMINARY SOFTWARE

Develop a robot or similar type vehicle that will kill weeds in an electrical substation.

Problem Statement:

FirstEnergy has thousands of electrical substations across 5 states
Substations are covered in gravel with an electrical ground grid to protect workers, weeds reduce the effectiveness of this ground grid and are a safety concern.
FE spends millions of O&M dollars every year to have weed control contractors spray the substations to control/kill the weeds.
A robot solution would reduce the O&M cost.

Project Needs:

Robot must be able to navigate gravel and larger stone terrain
Robot must operate fully autonomous with no human interaction
Robot must be able to recognize and avoid obstacles such was equipment foundations, open pits, fences, and materials in substation yards.
Robot must be able to hold and spray a weed/grass control chemical (if chemical solution is chosen)
Robot will have 2 spray modes - 1)open spray to apply a preemergent chemical (spray whole yard) and 2)in later months, spot spray any area that is growing weeds/grass
Robot will need to recognize growing weeds/grass in order to operate in mode 2
Robot must be able to operate on a schedule (know time/date)
Robot must be able to withstand strong electrical fields

Students will test robot in pilot live substation near campus (FE to provide electrical safety training and PPE)

Note that this is a phase 1 project with the deliverable being a prototype with basic functionality - additional projects will further expand and mature the capabilities. This project team should collaborate with the Docking Station team to ensure compatibility across solutions.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
FirstEnergy Corp 2 Electrical Substation Vegetation Control Robot Docking Station Zajac, Brian 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

PROJECT 2 – DOCK, COMMUNICATION, OPERATING STRATEGY (SUPPORTING INFRASTRUTURE AND DEPLOYMENT MODEL)

Develop the supporting infrastructure and operational strategy for a vegetation control robot.

Problem Statement:

FirstEnergy has thousands of electrical substations across 5 states
Substations are covered in gravel with an electrical ground grid to protect workers, weeds reduce the effectiveness of this ground grid and are a safety concern.
FE spends millions of O&M dollars every year to have weed control contractors spray the substations to control/kill the weeds.
A robot solution would reduce the O&M cost. One LF Capstone team is developing the robot. This team is developing the docking station to support it.

Needs for the docking station project:

A dock/garage that will protect the robot from weather and contain the robot through the winter months
The dock/garage will charge the robot.
The dock/garage will have indicator lights to notify the onsite personnel of low chemicals or other issues with the robot
The dock/garage will have a "return home" button when worker's are in the substation - this will require communications between the dock and the robot

The docking station team will need to closely coordinate with the robot team to ensure compatibility.

Project team will determine the best strategy to deploy the robots in FirstEnergy's operating system, this could mean one robot per substation, or a portable robot/dock that can be deployed as needed. FE will provide raw data as requested by project team to ensure strategy is backed by quantitative modeling and analysis.

Project team to provide cost/benefit analysis of operating strategies, research any environmental permits required for autonomous weed control robot, and deliver a prototype dock that can communicate with and charge a prototype robot from Project 1.

This project will continue into the fall 2024 semester to fine tune operations and testing.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Flowserve US Inc Simulating Centrifugal Pump Bearing conditions on Floating Production Storage and Offloading Units Banyay, Gregory 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Simulating Centrifugal Pump Bearing conditions on Floating Production Storage and Offloading Units (FPSO)
Flowserve Corporation aims to continuously improve its flow control portfolio and provide extraordinary solutions for its customers to make the world better for everyone. Flowserve offers a wide range of pump types that support power, oil, gas, chemical, and general industries.

Project Overview:
Develop and characterize the thresholds for proper bearing lubrication in a traditional API bearing housing frame with oil flinger rings and sump configuration, when the bearing housing is used in an application on an FPSO unit. The test rig development will be used to simulate the effects of a ship's natural oceanic oscillations on shaft lubrication. Bearing housings are traditionally mounted on mostly flat surfaces and thus sump oil level is not a concern. A flinger ring rotates with the pump shaft and "slings" oil up onto the shaft providing adequate cooling. When a bearing housing moves with the ship it is fixed to, the oil level in the sump will fluctuate and provide varying amounts of cooling oil to the shaft, ultimately decreasing the life of the system. Understanding the effects the oceans oscillatory nature has on performance, and material wear will ultimately improve the competitiveness of our engineering between pump services &/or reduce the risk of warranty cases, especially where FPSO units is a focus.


Objectives:
o Understand the state of the art with bearings and bearing housings for API applications, including, but not limited to, materials, cost, availability, effectiveness & application limitations.
o Define & understand critical design parameters surrounding tilting pad simulation for fluid vessel level applications, such as materials, tolerancing, wear etc.
o Research & define the physical requirements for the test rig.
o Prepare a comprehensive test plan to determine the optimum design for the tilting pad demonstrator showing how oscillations affect fluid level in the sump.
o Create a CAD model of a test rig and Manufacture test rig.
o Conduct FEA/ Calculations and analysis to understand design characteristics.
o Present final deliverables to Flowserve

Deliverables:
o Research report on current applications of maintaining constant oil level in an industrial FPSO unit environment
o Summary report outlining options & proposal of the final selection of materials, and components required to simulate bearing housing oil fluctuations on a ship.
o Final design of test rig including assembly drawings, supporting calculations & design review documentation.
o Final report and presentation
o Test rig which simulates fluid level in an environment similar to that of a bearing housing/pump skid located on a ship in the ocean

Throughout this project students will need to exercise their engineering judgment and intuition as they investigate this technology. The students will present their study, design, results, test rig and conclusions to Flowserve.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Fluid Conservation Systems Inc. Under Manhole Mounting Bracket for Wastewater Sensor Banyay, Gregory 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

We are looking for a bracket design that crosses a few engineering disciplines. The design should avoid entering confined spaces under manholes and in vaults to install radar sensors to monitor stormwater infiltration and inflow into the sewer lines. The bracket should adjust horizontally and vertically from the surface. The sensor needs to be within 3 meters of the wastewater level. The bracket must be resistant to H2S, quick to deploy, fall-in resistant with road vibration, and easy to remove if the manhole needs to be entered.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Detecting trace amounts of water. Kimel, Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 3

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project will identify and test potential novel candidate liner and/or coating materials to support an alternative leakproof liner for nuclear power plant equipment and liquid-containing concrete or steel-concrete composite pools. Candidate materials should be validated to be comparable to stainless steel liners for expected conditions and be easier to install, have lower installed cost and ideally be lighter in weight than the state-of-the-art stainless steel. Design considerations such as water tightness, ability to seal penetrations, puncture resistance, rub resistance, etc. are to be validated through material certification surveys and testing as needed to confirm the selected novel materials meet nuclear power safety requirements. Operations and maintenance impacts shall be considered and summarized in a benchmarking report. A feasibility study report shall review candidate liners and/or coatings and should include a benchmarking report in comparison to stainless steel liners and provide certification survey and physical testing reports produced during the project.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Hatch Associates Consultants, Inc. 1 Optimized Natural Convection Heat Removal System - Team 1 Banyay, Gregory 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Typically, the most efficient method for heat removal using air as the cooling medium is a forced air system (using a fan or other mechanical device). However, for systems that require fully passive operation, a natural convection heat removal system is the only option.

The purpose of this project will be to optimize the heat removal capability of the system where there is a constant heat source. The system may be optimized by modification of the flow path, modification of materials, addition of materials (such as insulation), or slight modification of the geometry of surrounding structures. The design should first be developed using hand calculations, then confirmed using analysis (such as CFD), and finally proven with a scale model test. The design should then be optimized by varying several variables and worked through the 3 design steps.

Overall, the project will be focused on proper mechanical design with the need to optimize instrumentation use in the scale model test.

Due to the nature of the project, further visuals and details will be provided during the initial project meeting.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Hatch Associates Consultants, Inc. 2 Optimized Natural Convection Heat Removal System - Team 2 Banyay, Gregory 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Typically, the most efficient method for heat removal using air as the cooling medium is a forced air system (using a fan or other mechanical device). However, for systems that require fully passive operation, a natural convection heat removal system is the only option.

The purpose of this project will be to optimize the heat removal capability of the system where there is a constant heat source. The system may be optimized by modification of the flow path, modification of materials, addition of materials (such as insulation), or slight modification of the geometry of surrounding structures. The design should first be developed using hand calculations, then confirmed using analysis (such as CFD), and finally proven with a scale model test. The design should then be optimized by varying several variables and worked through the 3 design steps.

Overall, the project will be focused on proper mechanical design with the need to optimize instrumentation use in the scale model test.

Due to the nature of the project, further visuals and details will be provided during the initial project meeting.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
HCAP Holdings, Inc. GreenQuest (working tradename) app feasibility/technical analysis, functional requirements and prototype Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The ultimate objective is to develop an app that will materially contribute to a large, multi-facility organization's energy/water conservation and sustainability goals. Target organizations include K-12, college/university, city/county govt, and commercial real estate. A successful commercial analogy is the navigational app Waze. Waze allows drivers to easily "flag" road hazards, speed traps, construction sites, etc. The GreenQuest (working tradename) app will provide a tool for environmentally-conscious constituents (students, residents, customers) to quickly report energy/water wasting conditions in and around an organization's facilities, thereby extending the "eyes and ears" of the physical plant dept in promptly identifying and correcting the problems. Deliverables include: analysis of similar or related tools in the marketplace; development of functional requirements for success such as issue reporting and validation, incentive system, preferred database and technology tools, administrator features (registration, logins, etc.), interface with facility work order systems, and an app prototype.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Highview Honey BeeSmart Zajac, Brian 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

In order for beekeepers to understand the health of a hive. A beekeeper must open and interact with the hive. This causes damage and stress on the hive as well as being labor intensive and requiring advanced skill sets.

The team will advance the development of the BeeSmart product to allow beekeepers insight into the workings, productivity, and health of a hive in a non-intrusive manner as well as being able to compare characteristics of hive across an apiary, region, etc. In addition the device needed to do this needs to be produced at a cost that saves sufficient time or increases the productivity sufficiently to warrant implementation.

The intended solution is to implement simple sensors on each hive including weight, vibration and temperature that connects to the cloud and uses the sensors to determine: Number of bees actively foraging, mass of honey, bee count reduction due to sickness and disease, etc.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Hoffman Appalachian Farm Expandable, Multi-Tier, Adjustable Heat, High Capacity Oast Design for On-Farm Hops Processing Busse, Margaret 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

An oast, or hop kiln, is an apparatus designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. Hops are to be dried within 24 hours of harvesting to preserve their use for an extended period of time. Oasts are typically a specialty piece of equipment specific to hops, and as a result particularly for smaller hop Farms (under 10 acres), are not available for sale commercially at this scale. The design should also allow for the drying of hemp as a secondary crop. This is a new, but growing endeavor for Hoffman Appalachian Farm as well and uses a similar drying/processing process.

This project will design and construct a multi-drawer, multi-tiered, adjustable heat, oast system that fits the space specifications available at Hoffman Appalachian Farm's barn attic. After harvest, hops will be delivered via a conveyor system to the attic, and then distributed by variety within the various drawers. Air will be drawn into a central distribution system and passed through the drawers that will have slatted floors to allow the maximum volume of air to pass through them. An adjustable, low-heat source will be added to the central distribution system to shorten the drying time, while still preserving the quality of the hops.

The drawers will have slatted bottoms that can be turned to allow the hops to drop to the next level of drawers, helping churn the cones for better, more efficient drying. This is identical to the drying system used by much larger oast houses in use by commercial hop growers in the Pacific Northwest and Germany. When drying is complete, the system's design will then allow for the hops to be passed through a collection tube, down to the base level of the barn where they can either be bagged or entered into a pelletization system.

The design will allow for modular expansion of drawers when needed for increased drying capacity, taking advantage of the existing airflow/distribution system, as well as the collection system to the lower floor.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) Digital Twins for People in Business and Societal Roles Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

ISSIP is a non-profit professional association for "Service Innovation Professions" from students to mid-career to retirees. ISSIP has over 1500 members, including 400 companies and universities in over 40 countries. Service is defined as the application of resources (e.g., for the benefit of another). Innovations positively (win-win) change stakeholder interactions at micro, meso, and macro scales in business and society - and inevitably create new capabilities, benefits and potential harms for stakeholders. Professionals in ISSIP are lifelong-learners who strive for problem-solving depth and communications breadth (T-shaped).

Previously, PSU Learning Factory students helped ISSIP in 2023 by developing a playbook for using generative AI to create historical service innovation cases, including essay, images, videos, and html webpage layouts of elements, and also including ethical AI usage citations. As a next step after this successful project, ISSIP would like to explore the creation of digital twins to help ISSIP volunteers be more productive and able to have high quality interactions with more ISSIP community members. "A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity. They use real-time and historical data to represent the past and present, as well as to simulate predicted futures." (Isaacs). To do this, we would like PSU Learning Factory students to build digital twins of themselves and evaluate the pros and cons, from a capabilities, benefits, and harms - service innovation perspective.

This project will require the students to become familiar with O*NET and the distinction between an occupation and the ever evolving set of tasks and tools associated with an occupation. ISSIP would like to highlight student and other members efforts in building digital twins of themselves as service innovation case studies for the ISSIP website. A proposed sprint-based schedule will be outlined during project kick-off to provide initial direction.

This project will prepare students to come into an organization and build a digital transformation plan focused on helping employees build digital twins of workers to augment worker performance. This includes factoring in some of the existing tools that employees might be using or could be using (simulations of processes in the business organization). Their analysis of ISSIP.org and sprint experiences could result in improved recommendations for doing such IE-oriented digital twin/digital transformation plans for organizations in general.

PLEASE NOTE: Students should have already completed or be concurrently enrolled in IE 327 (Introduction to Work Design) and/or IE 453 (Simulation Modeling for Decision Support). Simio will be heavily utilized throughout the project, and prior experience is STRONGLY encouraged.

Reference: Wakefield J (2022) Why you may have a thinking digital twin within a decade. BBC News Online. URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61742884. O*NET (2023) Detailed descriptions of the world of work. URL: https://www.onetonline.org. Isaacs D (2023) Evolution of the Digital Twin."
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Lockheed Martin Small Dynamic Wind Tunnel Mittan, Paul 0 0 3 3 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Aircraft rely on numerous sensors to monitor the airflow characteristics around the control surfaces and fuselage during operation. While the pitot-static tubes are the most visible, near the aircraft nose, other sensors are used during testing and operation to monitor air pressure and flow. Kiel probes are used to measure the total pressure of a flow with high accuracy over a wide range of flow angles. The ability to measure pressure in a fluid stream where flow direction is unknown or varies with operating conditions is useful for UAV/UAS.
The scope of this project is to design and develop a wind tunnel that can be used to calibrate Kiel probes. The wind tunnel shall include electromechanical controls to change the roll, pitch, and yaw of the sensor relative to the primary airflow. After construction of the wind tunnel, rough dimensions 36"x24"x24", the team will run tests to quantify the quality of the airflow. Kiel probes will then be provided to the team to record signal values at various orientations relative to the flow. After demonstrating system performance, the team & sponsor will review options to optimize tunnel design for operator safety to deliver to Lockheed Martin for use in our Innovation Garages. This project will be a multidisciplinary project requiring team with software, electrical, testing, and mechanical skills to be successful.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Mambo Partners LLC Optimized and scaled production of spice blends Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Spice Sisters is a small manufacturing and distribution business that produces sauces and spice blends in Johnstown, PA. The raw ingredients used to make the spice blends use fair-trade when possible. The blends have no sugar, salt or fillers that range in heat level. The goal of our company is to increase our sales and our customer base to include wholesale buyers.
The primary objective of this project is to scale up the production of spice blends to meet the growing demand for high-quality spice blends in the market. Currently the entire process is done on a small scale. The problems that need to be addressed are:
How to roast seeds (some are very small in size) and spices, larger quantities to proper state without scorching or burning occurring.
Even mixing of fine powders while preventing loss of product.
How to decrease manual labor for filling individual packages for sale by automating the weight calibration of each package and then automated filling.

Scope
The scope of this project includes the following:
Study and baseline current production process and equipment
Researching and recommendation of new equipment to increase production capacity.
Propose/recommend new production processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Quality control measures to ensure product quality and consistency.
Deliverables
New equipment recommendations.
New production processes recommendations.
Establishing quality control measures.
Increased production capacity of spice blends.
Reduced production costs of spice blends.
Improved product quality and consistency.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Metaltech, Inc. Adhesion of common powdered metal powders to common wrought/rolled steel sheet goods Kimel, Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Project is to adhere powder metal filters to wrought steel sheet goods, removing an additional assembly step in such a manner that full permeability of original filter is not degraded by process of fastening to wrought steel carrier, without distortion of the wrought material.

Project is to fully document and correlate all attributes/results of the experimental process to determine scalability to larger/smaller filter sizes. Concurrently, investigation into potential markets for the filter assemblies along with investigation of other industries for the process.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Nittany Mountain Biking Association (NMBA) Ride Dirt Not Mud! Cubanski, Dave 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

In 2022, the Nittany Mountain Biking Association and Harvest Fields Community Church partnered to build the Centre region's first mountain bike skills park…Hamer Park in Boalsburg PA. This project is a huge community success but not without some challenges. It takes an enormous volunteer effort to keep a park like this in good condition and safe for all ages / abilities. Frequent summer storms and spring freeze / thaw conditions in the spring often create soft and muddy conditions. During these conditions, the dirt trails and features are very susceptible to damage caused by ruts from tires which form low spots that cause the trails to hold even more water and then stay muddy for extended periods. Damage also causes additional volunteer effort since this park is non-profit with no paid maintenance staff.

The objective of this project is to provide an automated solution to notify the public of conditions and open / closed status. Ideally, this would be communicated in two ways, (1) at the bike park in some visual and / or physical form and (2) over the internet via the website below. Bonus points for automating social media updates in an engaging and informative way!


Deliverables:

Automate a physical and / or visual signal at the entrance of the park to inform potential users.

Currently, all that exists is signage that requests riders to use their judgment to “Ride Dirt not Mud” along with a short explanation of why. Neighborhood kids, some parents and “shred bros” who have driven long distances to ride the park seem to be easily confused by this request and often pretend to not notice the signage. We need something obvious and that cannot be ignored.

Automate a status banner at the top of the following page:

https://nittanymba.org/harvest-fields/#:~:text=Harvest%20Fields%20Mountain%20Bike%20Skills,for%20progression%20at%20multiple%20levels

Currently, a static banner reads "All Open! RIDE DIRT; NOT MUD. Please AVOID Hamer Park and trails when muddy."

This banner is left up during the riding season and changed once a year manually. The desire is to automate this banner in order to notify the public of the closed / open status of the park based on current weather conditions (at the park). Ideally this would be up to date by the hour and bonus points for adding info about actual soil and weather conditions.
Accurate means to accomplish the above could be (but not limited to) soil moisture, temperature, sunlight, wind and rainfall sensors. Solutions are not limited to physical sensors but accuracy is essential and must not rely solely on regional forecasts or history since rainfall amounts can be highly localized…especially during thunderstorms. Sensing / measurement data of actual conditions could also train machine learning to provide predictive forecasts for future conditions. This project could be multi-disciplinary, containing mechanical, electrical and software engineering components. The preceding paragraph is only meant to provide suggestions…innovative and novel solutions are highly encouraged!



Additional info:

Check out a video of the bike park here:

https://nittanymba.org/harvest-fields/#:~:text=Harvest%20Fields%20Mountain%20Bike%20Skills,for%20progression%20at%20multiple%20levels
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
NuWeld, Inc. New Heating System Design Toraman, Hilal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Project aims to design a new heating system in an old manufacturing facility to improve energy efficiency, reduce operational cost, and enhance overall comfort for occupants. The current heating system is outdated and inefficient, leading to increased energy consumption and uneven heating throughout the facility. The new heating system will leverage modern technologies to provide a more reliable, cost effective, and environmentally friendly solution.

NuWeld encompasses 211,000sq feet with 188,000sq manufacturing shop. There are currently 108 60,000BTU infrared heaters and 16 125,000 BTU tube heaters all approximately 18 feet off the floor. The current heating source is Natural Gas.

Objectives
Energy Efficiency Improvement:
Upgrade the existing heating infrastructure to incorporate enhanced energy efficient technologies.
Design smart controls and automation to optimize heating operations based on the occupancy and the usage patterns.

Cost Reductions:
Analyze and compare the life cycles cost of the current and proposed heating systems.
Design measures to reduce energy consumption, leading to long term cost savings for the facility.

Improved Comfort and Temperature Regulations:
Design the new heating system to ensure consistent and comfortable temperatures throughout the manufacturing facility.
Address any existing issues related to cold spots or uneven heating in the specific areas.

Environmental Impact:
Minimize the environmental impact of the heating system by exploring renewable energy sources and eco-friendly technologies.
Comply with relevant environmental regulations and standards.

Project Deliverables:
Site Assessment Report
Evaluation of the current heating systems condition
Identification of areas requiring improvement and potential challenges

System Design and Specifications
Comprehensive design documentation for the new heating system
Technical specifications for all components, including heating units’ controls and sensors.

Cost Benefit Analysis
Comparison of the cost and benefits associated with the current and proposed heating systems.
Financial analysis demonstrating the return on investment.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Penn State College of Medicine Adjustable acetabular cage for hip replacement Hylbert, Lyndsey 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The main objective is to develop a new acetabular cage device for hip replacement in the presence of bone defects. The device should enable attachment of an acetabular component with adjustability in position and/or orientation. This project will require device mechanical design and structural analysis (likely including finite element analysis), resulting in a prototype. Students will also need to consider biocompatible materials, surgical constraints, and hip biomechanics, with basic guidance provided by the mentors at Hershey Medical Center including an expert hip replacement surgeon.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Penn State Hershey Medical Center - Urology Development of a Uroflow Generator Lei, Yuguo 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 3 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

I plan use the Center for Biodevices Innovation Grant to develop a device to mimic different urine flow patterns consistently in order to evaluate and share information about new apps on the market that can assist Urology patients. With an aging population, the risk of developing lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia is increasing in the United States. One objective way of diagnosing and evaluating treatment (medical and surgical) for this condition is documenting uroflowmetry. Currently, patients come to the PSU Urology Clinic and urinate into a machine that generates a flow curve (mL/s on the y-axis plotted against time on the x-axis) and
calculates maximum urine flow, average urine flow as well as total voided volume. The time and travel involved with this process, as well as trying to come to the appointment time with a relatively full bladder can be challenging for our patients. There are apps available for the smartphone whose developers claim to be able to accurately generate a uroflow curve based on the sound of the urine hitting the toilet bowl water. If the claims of the developers of these uroflow apps can be validated, it would be an advancement in patient care and would allow PSU patients to use the uroflow apps at home at their convenience when their bladders are full. Although a goal of this project is to develop the device that can consistently mimic different uroflow patterns, the
primary goal of our work will be is to use our machine to help validate the claims of the makers of the sound-based uroflow smartphone apps regarding its accuracy. If we are able to verify the accuracy of the apps in generating flow curves using sound, after the results are published and shared, both PSU and other institutions would be able to confidently use or recommend these apps to improve patient care and experience.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Polar Alliance LLC 1 Increasing Wind Turbine Power Generation Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

“Whichever way the wind blows,” so they say. Hopefully it will be blowing in our direction for this project and it is a breeze.

The modern day windmill has a huge wingspan for its comparative amount of power that is output. We are bridging a problem here by creating innovative ways to increase power output in windmills. If you're a renewable energy enthusiast, this is definitely a project you will want to be a part of! I am thinking that there will be at least double the amount of energy output per windmill.

The student team will produce a benchtop prototype demonstration device.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Polar Alliance LLC 2 Investigating the Power of Crystal Power Cells and Earth Batteries Cubanski, Dave 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Shockingly (pun intended) these are alternative batteries that have huge potential and are highly understudied. This will be a project for people who are creatively minded and good at coming up with multiple different solutions. Looking for alternatives to the modern day battery is the main idea here.

I have several angles of ways we could potentially improve these two types of batteries and I am excited to hear about ones that you may have!
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Polar Alliance LLC 3 Power Generation for Electric Cars - Team 1 Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

First I would like to say hello to all the Penn State University students, and thank you for reviewing my project as a potential Capstone Project. The main objective of this project is to produce two proof of concepts that prove they can increase the range of electric cars. Although I am not Elon Musk trying to go to mars, I am looking for deliverables in electric cars, so let's set our bar high and shoot for the stars!

The first team will create a system that can charge the electric car while driving, or braking through a unique system that combines mechanical and electrical properties to capture rotational energy and turn that into power. The second team will work on similar concepts as the first team, however they will be implementing it into a different type of regenerative driving and regenerative braking system different than the first. The objective is to make these out of a remote kids electric car that is the size that they can sit and drive around in; or alternatively you can make them out of your own four wheeled battery/remote operated design. Overall this is a fantastic opportunity for students, and a remarkable breakthrough in electric vehicles.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Polar Alliance LLC 4 Power Generation for Electric Cars - Team 2 Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

First I would like to say hello to all the Penn State University students, and thank you for reviewing my project as a potential Capstone Project. The main objective of this project is to produce two proof of concepts that prove they can increase the range of electric cars. Although I am not Elon Musk trying to go to mars, I am looking for deliverables in electric cars, so let's set our bar high and shoot for the stars!

The first team will create a system that can charge the electric car while driving, or braking through a unique system that combines mechanical and electrical properties to capture rotational energy and turn that into power. The second team will work on similar concepts as the first team, however they will be implementing it into a different type of regenerative driving and regenerative braking system different than the first. The objective is to make these out of a remote kids electric car that is the size that they can sit and drive around in; or alternatively you can make them out of your own four wheeled battery/remote operated design. Overall this is a fantastic opportunity for students, and a remarkable breakthrough in electric vehicles.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Precision Custom Components, LLC Optimization of Grinding Equipment, Media, Metal Removal Rate Expectations, and Potential for Automation. Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Background
Precision Custom Components (PCC) is a manufacturer of custom fabricated pressure vessels, reactors, casks, and heavy walled components requiring highly specialized fabrication, welding, grinding, NDE, and machining. PCC has a 405,000 square foot manufacturing facility located on 14 acres in York, Pennsylvania. PCC capabilities include Engineering, Drafting, Inspection, Non-Destructive Testing, Metallurgical Testing, Fabrication, Welding, and Machining. Grinding is an essential element for the manufacture of every product.

Project Objective
PCC is seeking PSU student expertise to evaluate PCC’s current grinding tools and media compared to available state of the art tools and media as well as opportunities for automation.

The evaluation shall include surface grinding of welds, inter-pass grinding of weld beads, grinding establishing complex contours, and grinding of base metal weld preparations. In each of these cases, the students will evaluate the following:
1) Quantify performance of current material removal process.
a. Material removal rate (material removed per unit of time)
b. Media cost rate ($/hr based on tooling cost and wear life.)
2) Research, evaluate and recommend with quantitative and qualitative data:
a. Improved grinding equipment
b. Improved media selection
c. Potential for automation with identification of specific equipment

Deliverables for the Project Include:
1) Comprehensive report meeting the objectives of the project.
2) Provide brief evaluation of process from student’s perspective including, but not limited to, key lessons learned by each team member, evaluation of partnership – was PCC fulling engaged in the process, providing adequate feedback, supportive of student learning objectives, and other relevant perspectives on the project.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU ASME HPV ASME e-Human-Powered Vehicle Neal, Gary 3 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The goal of this project is to design and build a vehicle for entry into the ASME human-powered vehicle competition. For the first time in 2022, the competition rules were significantly altered to allow electric pedal-assist vehicles. The capstone team is responsible for either significantly altering the previous year's vehicle platform or designing and building their own vehicle from the ground up. Deliverables include an operable vehicle, a description of the innovation over previous team's designs, and video demonstrations of several safety tests. Safety tests include roll over, turning, and breaking distance.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU BME 1 Micro-extruder for processing microbioreactors - Team 1 Lei, Yuguo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The paper "Metre-long cell-laden microfibres exhibit tissue morphologies and functions (Nature Materials volume 12, pages584–590 (2013))" published a design for a microextruder for processing hydrogel fibers. The project will duplicate, improve and multiplex the design, make the device. The Lei lab will test the performance of the device.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU BME 2 Light activation system for cancer therapeutics - Team 1 Medina, Scott 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The goal of this project is to develop light activation system to be used with a photodynamic therapy for cancer. The system will provide controlled nIR light delivery at several discrete nIR wavelengths with precise control of energy delivery.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU BME 3 Micro-extruder for processing microbioreactors - Team 2 Lei, Yuguo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The paper "Metre-long cell-laden microfibres exhibit tissue morphologies and functions (Nature Materials volume 12, pages584–590 (2013))" published a design for a microextruder for processing hydrogel fibers. The project will duplicate, improve and multiplex the design, make the device. The Lei lab will test the performance of the device.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU BME 4 Light activation system for cancer therapeutics - Team 2 Medina, Scott 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The goal of this project is to develop light activation system to be used with a photodynamic therapy for cancer. The system will provide controlled nIR light delivery at several discrete nIR wavelengths with precise control of energy delivery.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU CBEB 1 Improved Design of Rolling Cane for Improved Mobility - Team 1 Hylbert, Lyndsey 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Many disabled and elderly individuals need walking assistance to prevent falling, which is a leading cause of injury and death for this population. However, there is also substantial social stigma and inconvenience in using a bulky walking assistance device. Furthermore, smaller canes do not provide the requisite stability throughout walking since they need to be lifted for a portion of the time. Therefore, there is a need for a small walking device that can provide continuous stability support. Prior work has developing a rolling quad cane, however, this device is still bulky, heavy, and provides suboptimal performance. The goal of this project will be to improve upon an existing cane to serve the needs of an individual with cerebral palsy.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU CBEB 2 Improved Design of Rolling Cane for Improved Mobility - Team 2 Hylbert, Lyndsey 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Many disabled and elderly individuals need walking assistance to prevent falling, which is a leading cause of injury and death for this population. However, there is also substantial social stigma and inconvenience in using a bulky walking assistance device. Furthermore, smaller canes do not provide the requisite stability throughout walking since they need to be lifted for a portion of the time. Therefore, there is a need for a small walking device that can provide continuous stability support. Prior work has developing a rolling quad cane, however, this device is still bulky, heavy, and provides suboptimal performance. The goal of this project will be to improve upon an existing cane to serve the needs of an individual with cerebral palsy.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU CDC Rapid Biodiagnostics for Adult and Congenital Syphilis Hylbert, Lyndsey 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention show that more than 3,700 cases of congenital syphilis were reported in 2022, which is more than ten times the number reported a decade ago. The etiologic agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, causes a multistage sexually transmitted infection (STI). During the last decade, there has been an increase in the reported incidence of syphilis in industrialized countries, emphasizing the need for reliable diagnostics for syphilis. But currently there is no FDA-approved point-of-care (POC) test that can directly detect Treponema pallidum DNA at any stages of syphilis, especially at its primary and secondary stages. In this CDC funded project, a rapid point-of-care (POC) in vitro diagnostic (IVD) device for direct molecular and electrochemical detection of Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum), ideally for multiple stages of syphilis, is being developed here. This nucleic acid-based molecular recognition test is amplification-free, requires minimal sample processing, and has a turnaround time of <10 minutes from sample to result. The deliverables for the capstone design project is 1) design and build a working prototype for the device and 2) develop an algorithm for analysis and display of the results.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU CLIPSE Design of the Electrical Circuit for the Plasma Patch Surface Barrier Discharge for treatment of inflammatory skin conditions Cubanski, Dave 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The Cross-disciplinary Laboratory for Integrated Plasma Science and Engineering (CLIPSE) has recently developed a novel cold plasma device for treatment of inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis, shingles, etc. through the Center for Biodevices Seed Grant program. The device, called the Plasma Patch, consists of a sheet of polyimide film (Kapton), on one side of which is a patterned silver electrode deposited with screen printing. The other side has a silver layer sputtered onto it, shown in Figure 1. The sputtered side is attached to the high-voltage side of an laboratory-grade electrical amplifier and the patterned side is attached to the electrical ground. Applying an approximately 1 kV sinusoidal waveform (at kHz frequencies) creates an alternating electric field through the Kapton and at the surface of the patterned electrode, where the ambient air is ionized, creating a plasma discharge, shown in Figure 2. This arrangement is called a surface barrier discharge (SBD), which produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), powerful biomolecules capable of pathogen inactivation, immune response regulation, cell proliferation, among other actions. The Plasma Patch has been tested and shown effective at eradicating both E. Coli and S. aureus within a minute, shown in Figure 3, with no negative effect on keratinocytes at the same dose. Further, it has been shown that the Plasma Patch is truly “cold” by measuring the temperature of the patterned surface after treatment, demonstrating only several degrees increase above ambient temperature. Collectively, results indicate the Plasma Patch has strong potential for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions, but advancements in the electrical circuit and packaging are needed to move it out of the laboratory.

The Senior Capstone team’s project goal would be to create an electrical circuit upstream of the actual SBD to replace the laboratory-grade voltage amplifier, resulting in a self-contained Plasma Patch that a person could sit comfortably or even walk around with during treatment of the skin condition. Deliverables include: 1) replacing wall power with some stored energy mechanism, ideally rechargeable, such as batteries; 2) stored energy must be converted and amplified into a similar sinusoidal kV waveform as delivered by the laboratory amplifier; 3) conduct lifetime testing (i.e. duration of continuous treatment until recharge is required; 4) design a safety circuit to both set a current limit from the battery, and to turn off the device if it is damaged; 5) design and prototype a packaging method to minimize the footprint and mass of the device, increasing the likelihood of adoption by consumers/clinicians. Customer discovery, interviews, and prototype evaluation by customers is expected in this Capstone project.

An ideal Capstone team would consist of electrical engineering students as the primary discipline followed by biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering students as secondary and tertiary disciplines. PI Sean Knecht and CLIPSE senior graduate student, Ali Kazemi, will act as the team mentors and would expect to meet weekly with the student team. As their design develops, it will directly integrate it with the Plasma Patch prototypes for biological and safety testing, providing them additional feedback on their design.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU College of Arts and Architecture 1 - Global with SJTU Site-Specific Renewable Energy Art and Design Working Prototype - Global with SJTU Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The project aims to create a working prototype that combines art and design with renewable energy, specifically solar-based electricity generation. By showcasing the benefits of renewable energy through artistic expression, the project aims to raise awareness and appreciation for this sustainable form of power. Renewable energy art and design is an emerging field that integrates renewable energy sources into public art and city design, emphasizing the connection between aesthetics and ecological functionality. By presenting renewable energy engagingly and educationally, the project seeks to foster a desire for involvement and learning in sustainable practices, recognizing them as integral to our long-term future.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU College of Arts and Architecture 2 End of the Arm Tool (EoAT) for a robotic concrete 3D printing system Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Project Overview:
The project focuses on the comprehensive redesign and fabrication of the End of the Arm Tool (EoAT) for a robotic concrete 3D printing system. The existing EoAT comprised a metal pipe as a nozzle, an aluminum extension arm with brackets and screws holding the nozzle in place, and a metal plate connecting the tool to the robot flange. There are specific design issues with the current EoAT setup. Improvements are planned for the tool-robotic arm connection, particularly concerning the integration of a tool changer. Moreover, the extension arm's joints are now more likely to loosen, jeopardizing the tool's stability and reducing print accuracy.
Additionally, the brackets holding the pipe in place are covered in concrete and crumbled, making the pipe unstable and occasionally causing it to slide while printing. The proposed redesign should address these problems, emphasizing stability, ease of assembly and disassembly, and low maintenance. The objective is to develop a more reliable and steady End of Arm Tool (EoAT) that can endure frequent use, makes cleaning concrete and water damage prevention more manageable, and integrates seamlessly with the existing robotic concrete 3D printing system.
This project offers a unique opportunity to enhance the efficiency and reliability of robotic concrete 3D printing by addressing critical design flaws in the End of the Arm Tool design, combining technical analysis, financial justification, and prototyping within a 15-week semester timeframe.

Deliverables:
1. Documentation of existing nozzle designs: Study different nozzle designs used in concrete 3D printing and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each design.
2. Redesigned EoAT Prototype: Develop a new design based on the preliminary studies and fabricate a fully functional prototype of the redesigned End of the Arm Tool that incorporates improvements in stability, ease of assembly, and resistance to wear. This prototype will serve as a tangible representation of the enhanced design.
3. Detailed Technical Analysis: Provide a comprehensive technical analysis of the redesigned EoAT, highlighting improvements and their impact on stability, accuracy, and overall performance. Include documentation (3D models and 2D drawings) of the redesigned tool, connection mechanism, and joint stability and durability features.
4. Financial Justification Report: Present a detailed financial justification for the redesign project, outlining the anticipated costs and potential savings through increased efficiency. This report will help assess the economic viability of implementing the redesigned EoAT.
5. User Manual and Maintenance Guide: Develop a user manual that provides clear instructions for assembling, disassembling, and operating the redesigned EoAT. Additionally, create a maintenance guide that outlines best practices for cleaning and preserving the tool to ensure longevity.
6. Integration with Existing System: Demonstrate the seamless integration of the redesigned EoAT with the current robotic concrete 3D printing system. Verify its compatibility and functionality within the existing setup through successful printing tests.
7. Presentation and Documentation: Prepare a comprehensive presentation summarizing the project, including design considerations, improvements implemented, and outcomes. Produce detailed documentation covering the entire redesign process, from conceptualization to prototype development.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU College of Arts and Architecture 3 Together, Tacit Mittan, Paul 3 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

“TOGETHER, TACIT”
Tacit knowledge refers to something that one does automatically, after a period where it was once learned sequentially. A skill you do in a “flow state” would be considered your tacit knowledge.

In May 2018, I participated in a tour at the Palmer Museum with the Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA, stood beside low vision and blind individuals, and watched as their hands moved over two sculptures I exhibited in their Plastic Entanglements: Ecology, Aesthetics, Materials exhibition. As I listened to a blind person translate my work through a sense of touch, it was clear that she was assembling forms in her mind, but I lacked the tools to access her visualization. Through my participation with these museum visitors, I became very interested in developing a project where the visually impaired and sighted could work together to build sculptures inspired by how both groups “see.”

“Together, Tacit” proposes an inclusive experience between low vision, blind, and sighted individuals to exchange one another’s tacit knowledge, through the act of creative collaboration. One workflow employs the use of a haptic, virtual reality glove, which has a vibrational feedback system that simulates a sense of sculpting in virtual space. Movements by visually impaired participants get translated as three-dimensional marks. These virtual shapes get 3D printed and become tangible models which are used by *BVI and sighted team members to collaborate with. Collaborators begin to negotiate, communicate, and experience through the art making process to create a form that neither group, the sighted or visually impaired, could have built without the other. In this way, “Together, Tacit” aims to create a shared language that knits a meeting place between what we see, and how we know, through acts of experiencing, together.


CURRENT DEVICE:
The VR/haptic glove has been in development for two years (2021-2023) by Penn State Engineering undergraduate students, Paul Mittan, Director of Engineering Leadership Development; Professor of Practice, myself, and *BVI volunteers. The current device utilizes two main pieces of technology: a haptic glove using the Arduino platform and an Oculus virtual reality system that integrates a unique program with the Arduino to track and translate what the glove is doing in the physical space to the virtual environment. The haptics are delivered from 4 flex sensors and 6 haptic motors, with wiring routed through channels in a custom designed glove. Users can subtract or add three sizes of material. Audio cues exist so users can change between tools, or change the size of tool. Users can save and export to a mesh for 3D printing.
*BVI stands for blind/visually impaired

SP24 OBJECTIVES| DELIVERABLES:

• Participate in a hands-on clay modeling demo led by Professor Collura to become familiar with how additive and reductive sculpting feels.

• Reduce the total number of Oculus controllers required to be used by furthering a Summer 2023 prototype utilizing camera recognition software.

• Implement a wireless connection between the hardware and software to eliminate cords in the sculpting space.

• Develop additional audio cues that signify the amount of increased or decreased material being used

• In collaboration with the project sponsor, develop a new glove design that will integrate an enhanced hardware solution for use with or without an Oculus controller (i.e. utilizing camera recognition).

• Meet with BVI volunteers two times during the semester to receive guidance on usability.

• Design & Assemble a minimum of four physical gloves (2 sizes, 2 configurations). One configuration for Development & Test and one configuration for Demonstration Purposes.

• Develop BVI accessible packaging so the glove, and related hardware, can easily install in a public setting (think schools, community centers, hospitals, libraries).



Bonnie Collura , Professor of Art. Penn State School of Visual Arts, College of Arts & Architecture.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU College of Engineering Facilities 1 Rooftop Patio Awning Banyay, Gregory 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Design a motorized retractable awning for the new Engineering Design and Innovation Bldg. roof top patio that runs on either cables or rails. Project includes design options, complete design with associated design calculations, construction estimate, cost analysis (Awning vs. long-term tent rental), renderings, 3D CAD drawings, and a scaled model. Team will need to work with various awning manufactures.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU College of Engineering Facilities 2 - Time Capsule Penn State College of Engineering Time Capsule Wong, Tak Sing 3 0 3 3 0 0 3 0 2 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The College of Engineering is looking to bury an underground time capsule near the new ECoRE building on the west side of campus. Project entails designing the underground time capsule that would last 50 years, research and determine which items should go inside the capsule, and design the monument that will go above the capsule.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Decision Neuroscience Laboratory Development of a Mobile Software Application to Assess Cognitive Impairment from Alcohol Intoxication Kahn, Dan 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Alcohol intoxication is a serious public health concern that has significant societal impact. There is a need for the development of an “easy and reliable” technology to track and diagnose cognitive impairments associated with alcohol intoxication. This technology would allow non-invasive collection of data from human users to determine their level of cognitive impairment in order to aid in their decision making (e.g., deciding whether or not to drive home while under the influence of alcohol). The sponsor has developed experimental tasks to assess individual measures of risk preferences and cognitive control, which have been used to explain and identify suboptimal decision making behavior. Importantly, these experimental tasks have been used to identify potential neurophysiological correlates associated with individual differences in risk preference and cognitive control. The sponsor is looking for a creative student team to translate experimental tasks to a software application that will simultaneously collect information from a human user’s phone such as GPS and accelerometer data. Additionally, the sponsor would like the application to be able to integrate and collect data from other biosensors that may be attached to the user’s cellular phone (e.g., breath alcohol concentration, heart rate variability). This software application would support the lab’s data collection efforts aimed at engagement in risky behavior in the real world. The second objective will be to develop a machine learning model that will be able to use data collected from the application to determine the level of cognitive impairment and potentially differential individual states such as “intoxicated” or “sober”. The team will need to: 1) Enhance the design of a user-friendly software application to be used on a cellular device that integrates the sponsor’s cognitive tasks while keeping in mind data collection, storage, and access constraints and is able to access/store any additional data from other proprietary biosensors (i.e., heart rate, breath alcohol concentration); 3) Develop a method for acquiring, time-stamping, storing, and accessing data for researchers; 4) Develop a machine learning model that uses data collected to determine the human user’s a) level of cognitive impairment and b) physiologically-informed state of “intoxicated” or “sober”; Stretch goals: 5) Develop an IRB protocol to collect data from human subjects to validate the software application and demonstrate proof of concept; and 6) Collect data in laboratory and real-world environments.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM) Smart Surface Prototype Development for 5G Infrastructure Mittan, Paul 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The 5G revolution will inspire entirely new applications in telecommunications, automotive, and health industries. Future building spaces and autonomous vehicles will depend on high-speed communication for real-time connectivity and navigation, which will be achieved through high data rate and low latency 5G systems. Earlier generations, such as 3G and 4G, operate at frequencies below 3 GHz with omnidirectional antennas covering large areas. Higher frequency mm-wave propagation at 30 GHz differs from previous generations because 5G signal paths are beam-like and attenuate over short distances. A fundamentally different design approach will be required for 5G involving smart antennas and new building architectures with reflective structures.

In this project, prototype metal/dielectric structures will be applied to office and home environments to learn about the impact of materials and structures on 5G communications. The technical objective of the project will be to provide a new approach for understanding the roles of materials and structures on mm-wave scattering in complex and cluttered environments.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Environmental and Biological Fluid Mechanics Lab Interactive display for Shaver's Creek Environmental Center Busse, Margaret 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Students will create an interactive educational activity to engage visitors to Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center (SCEC) on the topic of aquatic freshwater macroinvertebrates (e.g. water boatmen, backswimmers, diving beetles, crayfish, and the larvae of mayflies, caddisflies, and dragonflies, among others), which are important indicators of stream health and a key component of aquatic ecosystems. This activity will be hosted on a touchscreen display, which students will design and build using an inexpensive light triangulation approach. Students will use affordable LEDs and photosensors to augment a large-screen monitor with a frame that localizes user touch locations. They will build on existing content developed by a previous Capstone team, which created a rudimentary web app for identifying freshwater macroinvertebrates. Developing the interactive app for the display is an important part of the project; the final product should be usable to SCEC as-is; students with an interest in biology, ecology, and the outdoors are encouraged to select this team. As part of the project, students may engage in an in-person stream study at Shaver’s Creek to identify macroinvertebrates for themselves.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Huck Life Sciences Ketone breathalyzer for cattle Kimel, Allen 2 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Ketone concentration in exhaled breath is a reliable indicator of blood ketone concentrations. Blood ketone concentration is an important marker for the metabolic status of an individual. Ketosis (high blood ketones) is a common post-partum disease in dairy cattle that causes significant morbidity and mortality. There are several commercial assays for measuring ketones in blood, milk and urine available for livestock. These are invasive and require animal restraint and some discomfort. Ketone breathalyzers are available commercially for humans, but not livestock. The goal of this project is to develop a ketone breathalyzer for cattle visiting a stationary feeding station. The device should incorporate a standard rfid sensor and be able to accurately record exhaled ketone concentrations in cattle visiting the feeding station throughout the day. Cattle who exhibit high exhaled ketones should generate a flag that would alert the farm manager that professional intervention is needed. The goal is to identify the animals early before they develop clinical ketosis and more severe disease. The device needs to be able function reliably in a harsh environment.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU IME Service Systems Engineering 1 Automated Guided Vehicle Zajac, Brian 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Modern supply chains are becoming increasingly reliant on automation to meet challenges such as staffing shortages, increased customer demand, reduced lead times, and high network complexity. Long term, this project aims to create a fully automated, end-to-end supply chain and manufacturing system on a small, table-top scale. The scale is small to make the system low cost and safe for education and research, while still representing a complete end-to-end supply chain. The final system will consist of multiple robotic manufacturing facilities, autonomous transportation vehicles, automated distribution centers, and overarching cloud-based software.

Multiple student project teams will each design, build, and integrate *one* link of this chain through the course of a semester. In this project, the team will produce a transportation vehicle. It should transport various cargo (unassembled Lego bricks, completed subassemblies, and a final assembly of multiple letters) via a simple road network; automatically receive cargo from a distribution center or manufacturing facility; use cloud software to receive a delivery destination, plan a route, and autonomously navigate while transmitting real time location, cargo manifest, and energy usage data; avoid obstacles and blockages while re-routing if necessary; automatically unload cargo to a manufacturing facility or end customer; include control and monitoring software written in Python to be run on a Raspberry Pi; and be setup in the FAME Lab in the Leonhard Building.

A documentation package (e.g. schematics, CAD, source code) and a fully functional vehicle with line following, obstacle detection, waypoint detection, and basic cloud monitoring will be provided from a previous Capstone project. This semester, the team will pick up the work and fulfill the final vision of a fully automated supply chain by updating the current design and building a fleet of three (3) vehicles. This includes developing the hardware and software to enable automated loading and unloading of goods to be transported; building a representative road network with shipping lanes and hubs across the United States; maturing the software to do live obstacle avoidance and route planning; moderately re-designing the vehicle's body to make it more representative of realistic logistics vehicles; and completing cloud integration for control and monitoring.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU IME Service Systems Engineering 2 Robotic Manufacturing Zajac, Brian 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Modern supply chains are becoming increasingly reliant on automation to meet challenges such as staffing shortages, increased customer demand, reduced lead times, and high network complexity. Long term, this project aims to create a fully automated, end-to-end supply chain and manufacturing system on a small, table-top scale. The scale is small to make the system low cost and safe for education and research, while still representing a complete end-to-end supply chain. The final system will consist of multiple robotic manufacturing facilities, autonomous transportation vehicles, automated distribution centers, and overarching cloud-based software.

Multiple student project teams will each design, build, and integrate *one* link of this chain through the course of a semester. In this project, the team will produce a single manufacturing facility. This facility should automatically receive material from a transportation vehicle; automatically transport material throughout the production floor and between multiple robotic assembly stations; make use of a previously developed low cost, 3D printed robot arm to perform assembly functions; use IoT sensors and cloud software to monitor material flow, assembly progress, equipment health, and energy usage; efficiently assemble the appropriate subassembly using Lego bricks; automatically load finished products into a transportation vehicle; include control and monitoring software written in Python to be run on a Raspberry Pi; and be setup in the FAME Lab in the Leonhard Building.

A documentation package (e.g. schematics, CAD, source code), three (3) fully assembled robot arms, and a functioning but basic vision system will be provided from a previous Capstone project. This semester, the team will pick up the work and fulfill the final vision of a fully automated manufacturing facility. This includes assembling and calibrating the motor controllers; developing a multi-robot strategy for collaborative assembly of the finished goods; programming and testing the vision and control system to perform component recognition, assembly, and error detection; automating the receipt of raw materials and hand-off of finished goods to IME2 for transportation; and complete integration with the cloud for control and monitoring.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Industrial Engineering Department Penn State Metalcasting Lab Facility Layout Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Description: Revise the layout of the Penn State Metalcasting space in the Leonhard Building FAME Lab to accommodate a 3D Sand Printing System (LightSpeed Concepts Inc.) and the associated storage and handling of sand and printing of molds and cores as well as their eventual disposal. The layout should include the layout and design of a simple shrink-wrap system for storing printed molds. Layouts can include re-location of some current equipment in the lab

Tasks:
-Develop 2 alternate equipment layouts that would allow future incorporation of a simple sand reclamation system. Include recommendations from equipment manufacturers and the Metalcasting Lab Technical Staff
-Plans should include consideration of power/compressed air/maintenance requirements and added costs
-Incorporate ergonomic and safety considerations, along with a smooth material flow of raw materials, molds (various sizes and shapes) and castings through the lab and disposal of waste sand
-Provide cost estimates for all auxiliary equipment/storage/etc.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Kraft/Choi Labs Development of a wearable multifunctional circuit board for measuring head impacts in sports Gall, Oren 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Project Background & Overview: Brain injury is a significant concern and issue for athletes playing contact sprots. Recently there has been interest in creating wearable technology with accelerometers, gyroscopes, and proximity sensors for collecting head impact information in contact sports, such as football. This capstone project is for the development and comprehensive testing of wearable multifunction Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for wearable data collection. The project will cover various aspects, including data acquisition, PCB design analysis, battery efficiency testing, wireless charging, Bluetooth technology integration, and firmware development.

Objectives:
The project's objectives are the comprehensive development and the testing of the wearable multifunctional PCBs. Initially, the team will focus on the PCB design familiarization, analyzing the PCB designs to identify key components and understand their specific functions. The next objective is to examine battery and wireless charging analysis. Here, they will select an appropriate battery, ensuring it is compatible with the size of the PCB, and rigorously test the wireless charging functionality. This testing will include assessing the battery charge over time and under various conditions to ensure reliability and efficiency.

Next, the project will focus on Bluetooth communication testing and implementation. The team will integrate Bluetooth technology with the Microcontroller Unit (MCU) and conduct tests for wireless sensor data transmission. This step is vital for ensuring communication and data handling capabilities of the PCBs. The next objective is the creation of a test protocol and software development. In this phase, they will develop a detailed test protocol specifically tailored for evaluating the PCBs' functionalities. To complement these protocols, corresponding firmware will also be created.

The final objective involves the development and implementation of firmware onto the PCBs. This stage is critical as the team will conduct functional tests to ensure the firmware's performance and reliability. Through these steps, the project aims to achieve a thorough understanding and effective optimization of the PCBs, ensuring they meet the required standards and functionalities.

Sponsor Interaction and Collaboration:
• Active and hands-on collaboration with the sponsor, with expectations of in-person meetings once a week for laboratory work and testing.
Expected Outcomes:
• Thorough understanding and documentation of PCB functionalities and performance.
• Successful implementation and testing of battery efficiency, wireless charging, and Bluetooth communication.
• Robust and reliable firmware, validated through comprehensive testing.
Team Requirements:
• A team of 4-5 students proficient in areas such as computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and firmware development.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work closely with the sponsor.
Version Control and Design Tools:
• Utilization of GitHub for maintaining all software, firmware, and design files.
• Use of EasyEDA for hardware design modifications, if necessary.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Learning Factory 1 6 Sigma with the Penn State Learning Factory Zajac, Brian 3 0 3 3 0 0 3 0 0 1 3 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

6 Sigma (or 5S + Safety) is the mindset that promotes and sustains a high level of productivity, efficiency, and safety in a manufacturing environment. The Penn State Learning Factory has moved into the new Engineering Design and Innovation Building and is seeking to establish and continuously improve our 6S practices to run our student manufacturing space more effectively.

This project seeks students passionate in manufacturing, optimization, and 6S to identify a “pain point” in the Learning Factory Facilities and determine an action plan on how to implement best practices to resolve the issue identified.

Students will be required to gather data from staff and faculty that utilize the Learning Factory, determine which data point would yield the biggest ROI, and determine an action plan on how to our student staff can implement the solution.

Deliverables will include:
Dataset of “pain points” in the Learning Factory’s 6S Infrastructure.
Industry research and technical reports showing what industry is doing to improve 6S practices.
ROI Calculation to support the choice of desired solution.
Final Presentation
Action (Implementation) Plan
Including Cost of Integration

Examples may include (but not limited too):
In-House Student Staff Scheduling Software
Improvement in Inventory/Organization Practices within the Learning Factory
6S Floor Tape Layout and Implementation for All Learning Factory Shop Spaces
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Learning Factory 2 Interface design for team management tool Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

A former Capstone team created the foundation for the current tool used to manage project team assignments. A team member has continued development for the last six months. The result is a tool that is functional, but challenging to interpret and use.

The project team will redesign and implement a new user interface for the tool. There are two primary views: Instructor and Director. The server is written in C++, although it utilizes a simple framework so even people with minimal experience in C++ can work on it. The UI is in JS/HTML/CSS.

The team should prepare and receive feedback from stakeholders on several alternatives throughout the development process. The final design should be fully tested and ready for implementation.

We are looking for students that are familiar with UI design and have strong aesthetic sensibilities--we want this to work well and look ??.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Mechanical Engineering Microfluidic System Design and Control for Droplet and Particle Generation Busse, Margaret 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project is focused on designing and fabricating a microfluidic system that integrates multiple pre-fabricated microfluidic droplet generators. The system comprises a casing housing several pre-fabricated microfluidic droplet generators and an external fluid control system, enabling the adjustment of flow rates for individual fluid channels to each of the microfluidic droplet generators. Once completed, this microfluidic system will empower users to precisely control and adjust the flow rates of multiple fluid streams into the microfluidic system, facilitating the parallel generation of monodispersed droplets or particles.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Medina Lab 1 Peptide Planning App Hylbert, Lyndsey 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The Medina lab interfaces chemical biology and peptide design to create new diagnostic and therapeutic biotechnologies in precision medicine. This work often requires members of the lab to chemically synthesize and characterize peptide reagents. While the chemical synthesis part of this work has been optimized, the steepest learning curve for many of the lab personnel is understanding how to characterize and further modify the peptides synthesized. The primary goal of this project is to create software/app that can allow users to input amino acid sequences and output predicted biophysical and analytical properties, including: molecular weight, predicted secondary structure, predicted solubility and mass spectrometry peaks. Secondary goals include an add on functionality that allow users to calculate the amount of reagents needed for secondary chemical functionalization of fabricated peptides. The software/app should be simple and easy for users to navigate and use with little or no coding experience.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU Medina Lab 2 Uncovering the Role of Human Milk Peptides Lei, Yuguo 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Human milk is composed of an array of biomolecules that are finely tuned to support the health of mother and baby. While much is known about the role fats and carbohydrates play in human milk, little is known about the function of milk peptides. These peptides arise from digestion of milk proteins in the infant gastric fluid. This project will utilize a suite of computational tools to generate hypotheses on the functional role these peptides play in human physiology. These tools will include use of online protease prediction algorithms to predict protein degradation sites, Alphafold software to determine structure of the resultant peptides, and co-factor tolls (e.g., AlphaFill) to predict peptide function.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU REID Lab 1 Revealing Mechanical Engineering in Non-Traditional Spaces: Salons and Barber Shops - Team 1 Busse, Margaret 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The objective of this project is to design a learning discovery space and modules accessible to K-12 audiences inspired by elements in salon spaces/barber shops. There is a need to rebrand mechanical engineering (ME) so that people from all walks of life can see the many ways ME can make a difference in our world, especially in non-traditional spaces. Teams in this project will have creative freedom to design a learning discovery environment using elements common in salons and barber shops to help K-12 audiences generate excitement about mechanical engineering as a potential field of study in the future.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU REID Lab 2 Revealing Mechanical Engineering in Non-Traditional Spaces: Salons and Barber Shops - Team 2 Busse, Margaret 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The objective of this project is to design a learning discovery space and modules accessible to K-12 audiences inspired by elements in salon spaces/barber shops. There is a need to rebrand mechanical engineering (ME) so that people from all walks of life can see the many ways ME can make a difference in our world, especially in non-traditional spaces. Teams in this project will have creative freedom to design a learning discovery environment using elements common in salons and barber shops to help K-12 audiences generate excitement about mechanical engineering as a potential field of study in the future.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU REID Lab 3 Inclusive Innovation in Overlooked Spaces: Bring Design Revolution to the Hair or Beauty Care Industry - Team 1 Busse, Margaret 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The objective of this project is to re-design hair/beauty care spaces/tools to better accommodate individuals with physical limitations either as clients or service providers. In addition, stylists without disabilities often develop health conditions due to some aspects of their workplace. Teams will have creative freedom to explore the design space and target design solutions that address one or more problems.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU REID Lab 4 Inclusive Innovation in Overlooked Spaces: Bring Design Revolution to the Hair or Beauty Care Industry - Team 2 Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The objective of this project is to re-design hair/beauty care spaces/tools to better accommodate individuals with physical limitations either as clients or service providers. In addition, stylists without disabilities often develop health conditions due to some aspects of their workplace. Teams will have creative freedom to explore the design space and target design solutions that address one or more problems.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU RERC on AAC Map Building and Navigation in Augmented Reality (AR) Application Kahn, Dan 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project will contribute to the development of augmented reality (AR) software that will assist individuals with disabilities in navigating and communicating in complex environments. For example, an individual with a disability may want to buy 3 different items at a Walmart. The individual may require support in navigating to the different sections of the store to obtain desired items. A desirable support would be an AR software tool that could identify their current location, and provide "directional arrows" (presented in AR on a tablet device) to assist them in walking to the target locations. Longterm, the AR software will also include communication supports - the Spring 2024 team will focus on navigation supports.

The Spring 2024 team will start from the work of our two Fall 2023 Learning Factory teams. The Fall 2023 teams developed (a) an Augmented Reality application and (b) a Navigation plugin. The Fall 2023 AR application and Navigation plugin were written using Unity tools and C#. The Spring 2024 team will incorporate use of the Navigation plug-in into the main AR application. The Navigation plug-in currently uses maps created by a Vuforia engine, but that will not work as a long term option. The Spring 2024 team will focus on the computer vision problem of scanning the environment to create a map of walkable paths that can be used by the Navigation plug-in. The "scanning the environment" approach is the preferred method for supporting indoor navigation, but the team may also look into methods of outdoor navigation using GPS.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
PSU SEDI Global Building Network - Global with SJTU Solar-powered indoor cooling and infectious diseases prevention - Global with SJTU Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The world experienced unprecedented temperatures in Summer 2023 endangering millions of lives and pushing electricity grids to their limits as people cranked up their air conditioners, if they have them, to keep cool. In a resource constrained context, cooling solutions must account for the risk of shortages, restrictions, blackouts, and brownouts. Against this backdrop, previous student teams have explored the feasibility and viability of addressing cooling needs using affordable, solar powered devices.

Building on this effort, this capstone project will reflect on the extent to which such devices can also help mitigate the risk of infectious diseases transmission in the indoor environment. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of building-related interventions in infectious diseases prevention actions. Within buildings, infectious diseases can spread directly through the air. Several interventions emerged in response to COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for their efficiency and cost-effectiveness to be tested and validated using real-life use cases. Prototypes from previous semesters and a DIY-based solution that was developed by a group of researchers at UC San Diego will be the starting point for exploring the notion of an affordable device that cools and also cleans the air based on a use case of a school building in Kisumu, Kenya. The final deliverables will be a technical report and a prototype.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Quaker Houghton Design and Fabrication of Aluminum 356 Workpiece to Provide Complex Interrupted Cutting in Drilling and Face Milling Operations Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Aluminum 356 is generally used for aerospace and automotive applications due to its high strength nature. The material can be difficult to machine and can cause issues with formation of burrs, tool wear and surface finish. Machining aluminum 356 parts of more complexity in which require large amounts of discontinuous cutting often significantly increase the challenges with machining. This project aims to design, fabricate, and validate the construction of an aluminum 356 test part that offers the same types of machining challenges that are present in the machining of a transmission valve body. The two different machining operations that will have to be used once the workpiece is designed and fabricated will include top face milling and drilling. Conditions and tooling will be picked by the team.

Deliverables:
1. Design aluminum 356 test piece which provides significant discontinuous cutting conditions in subsequent drilling and face milling operations.
2. Provide Cadcam schematics and G-code required for construction of the test piece.
3. Validate test piece in actual face milling and drilling operations.
4. Develop quantitative measures of machining output which includes quantification of burr formation, surface scratches, drilled hole dimensional accuracy, and tool wear.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
RTKRNX design a test fixture to measure power output for small-scale prototypes of human-powered vehicle (e.g., bicycle) components Neal, Gary 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The purpose of the project is to design and build instrumentation which will measure the output of a small-scale, bench top bike component. Ultimately the goal is to validate the design and move on to full-scale human sized models. Currently manual analog devices are being used to measure output, but don’t provide enough resolution or precision for proper validation of results. The goal of this proposed instrumentation is to save the considerable cost of building full scale models before validation. The deliverables will be the instrumentation, the fixtures to hold the instrumentation, the directions of how to use the device with any associated software. Similar to an owner’s manual. Stretch goals would be to propose improvements in the bike component design and to produce full size prototype components, with emphasis on additive manufacturing of the prototype components.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Schneider Electric USA, Inc. Improve high-amperage circuit breakers through data science models Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

As an alternative to traditional simulation, this project will involve applying data science models to analyze and optimize the factors affecting the thermal performance of high-amperage circuit breakers for industrial applications. The impact of multiple live circuit breakers in the same enclosure needs to be evaluated as a tradeoff between number of features of a model and its complexity. This project team will closely work with Schneider Electric’s engineering innovation and high-power lab teams to review existing data, propose experiment design changes, and create Machine Learning models to achieve the desired performance.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Sheetz, Inc. 1 Bulk can/bottle handling solutions Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project will be a continuation of the Fall 2023 semester project, Sheetz Cooler Restocking. This project will solely focus on a tool or mechanism to hold multiple cans/ bottles at one time. Tool must be reuseable and stack on top of each other.

This project will work parallel with 2 other projects: distribution center repacking of cans/bottles and monitoring retail cooler stock levels at store level.

Team can review Fall 2023 semester report for background.

The tool should serve multiple purposes. It should act as reusable packaging for shipping the drinks. It should also act as a mechanical aid and efficiency enhancer for Sheetz staff performing the restocking operation. The design must also be compatible with the automation solution selected by the capstone team studying the distribution center.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Sheetz, Inc. 2 Distribution center repacking of cans and bottles Zajac, Brian 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Continuation of Sheetz Cooler Restocking Project from Fall 2023 semester. Focus on depalletizing cans and bottles at the distribution center then repacking them into a tool (ex: c-channel) to ship to the store in bulk. Can be fully automated or semi.

This project will work parallel with 2 other projects: monitoring retail cooler stock levels, and bulk can and bottle handling solutions.

Team can review Fall 2023 semester report for background.

Ideally the solution can be developed using technology that already exists in the marketplace. Students should begin with a market survey and application analysis. Custom development may be required to apply and integrate multiple, purchased components into a complete system and solution. Alternatively, students should demonstrate that a significant market gap exists and propose novel conceptual solutions. Due to the expected scale and cost of these components, physical prototypes and tests are likely impractical. However, a complete market study, CAD layout, integration design, and simulation are some of the potential deliverables.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Sheetz, Inc. 3 Monitoring retail cooler stock levels at the store. Zajac, Brian 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

This project will be a continuation of the fall 2023 semester, Sheetz Cooler Restocking. This project will solely focus on monitoring stock levels at the store; especially the cans and bottles availability for customers.

Process/Tools can be fully automated or semi.

This project will work parallel with 2 other projects: distribution center repacking of cans and bottles, and bulk can and bottle handling solutions.

Team can review Fall 2023 semester report for background.

The project should continue to mature the previous team’s concept of a ‘smart shelf’ that uses sensors, electronics, and software to provide store managers with real time inventory tracking. The system should automatically log drinks as they are stocked by employees and removed by customer while alerting staff when additional stocking is required. The team should develop a mature prototype that can be retrofit into an existing cooler and tested at a Sheetz location.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Shell 1 - Current Car 1 Shell Ecomarathon - Shell Current Car 1 Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Shell Eco-marathon is a global academic program focused on energy optimization and one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions. Over the past 35 years, the program has consistently brought to life Shell’s mission of powering progress by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. The global academic program brings together Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students from across the globe to design, build and operate some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles. All in the name of collaboration and innovation, as students’ ideas help to shape a lower carbon future for all. There will be three spring teams. This team is tasked with making design improvements and building on the existing car to compete in the April 2024 Shell Eco-marathon at Indianapolis.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Shell 2 - Current Car 2 Shell Ecomarathon - Shell Current Car 2 Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Shell Eco-marathon is a global academic program focused on energy optimization and one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions. Over the past 35 years, the program has consistently brought to life Shell’s mission of powering progress by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. The global academic program brings together Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students from across the globe to design, build and operate some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles. All in the name of collaboration and innovation, as students’ ideas help to shape a lower carbon future for all. There will be three spring teams. This team is tasked with making design improvements and building on the existing car to compete in the April 2024 Shell Eco-marathon at Indianapolis.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Shell 3 - Future Car Shell Ecomarathon - Shell Future Car Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Shell Eco-marathon is a global academic program focused on energy optimization and one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions. Over the past 35 years, the program has consistently brought to life Shell’s mission of powering progress by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. The global academic program brings together Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students from across the globe to design, build and operate some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles. All in the name of collaboration and innovation, as students’ ideas help to shape a lower carbon future for all. There will be three spring teams. This team will design a new car that will be built later for a future Eco-marathon competition.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
ShipItDone LLC Streamlined printing for order fulfillment Gall, Oren 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Fulfilling orders is complicated, specifically printing and including the various required documents and labels, because they change with per customer, order type and destination. We manual process each document and print to the correct printer with the correct size paper or label. The objective of the project would be to prototype a hardware component where each button is preset to a specific printer and document type so that it’s easy to print the correct paperwork for each order.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Swapp 1 Swapp - Team 1 Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Swapp is a clothing swapping app that allows users to complete 1:1 permanent swaps from their device. This application will utilize AI-tools to generate new suggestions and create an intuitive experience. Gamification will also be implemented into the app to keep users engaged. Overall, this is an app that will make “having style” more affordable at no cost to the environment.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Swapp 2 Swapp - Team 2 Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Swapp is a clothing swapping app that allows users to complete 1:1 permanent swaps from their device. This application will utilize AI-tools to generate new suggestions and create an intuitive experience. Gamification will also be implemented into the app to keep users engaged. Overall, this is an app that will make “having style” more affordable at no cost to the environment.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
The Boeing Company UAV Autonomous Flight and Object Detection using AI/ML Gall, Oren 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The aerospace environment is continuing to evolve with the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles for package delivery and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) air taxis to provide fast, efficient, and clean transportation within a local area. Boeing is also researching areas to implement autonomous solutions that further enhance the safety, predictability, and reliability of our products.

This project will focus on a technology demonstration for a UAV to mimic a package delivery. After an initiated vehicle take-off in a specified direction, an on-board camera system will search the ground for a landing zone (LZ) using an object detection algorithm, and ultimately land on the identified LZ before returning to base. This project will be a continuation of a Spring and Fall 2023 project to further enhance the integration of the flight controller, camera, CPU, and algorithms (object detection, ranging, and autonomous flight control). Enterprising teams can pursue a stretch goal of implementing a physical (lightweight) package delivery.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
TMP Manufacturing Company, Inc. Reducing the amount of tape required to hold metal in a foaming fixture Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Review the current foaming fixture design and suggest modifications to reduce the tape required to hold the metal skins in place and avoid leaking. We can provide photos to help explain this better this week.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Triangle Laboratory 1 Enhancing ELISA Assays for Oligonucleotide Therapeutics: Developing Specialized Assay Buffers to Optimize Pharmacokinetic Assays Medina, Scott 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Oligonucleotide therapeutics remains at the forefront of healthcare innovation, rapidly growing as one of key segments in therapeutic research. In the development of these drugs, pharmacokinetic analysis plays a crucial role in understanding their Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME).

Probe-based hybridization ELISA is preferred for pharmacokinetic (PK) assessments due to its high sensitivity and specificity. However, the unique characteristics of oligonucleotides, such as their negative charge, often render standard assay buffers ineffective. This is primarily due to non-specific binding with the oligonucleotide analyte, which can lead to decreased assay specificity and sensitivity.

This project is dedicated to the investigation of specialized assay buffers for oligonucleotide-centric ELISA assays. Our goal is to gather scientific knowledge and potentially develop prototype products that enhance the accuracy and reliability of these assays, addressing the specific challenges posed in developing oligonucleotide therapeutics.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Triangle Laboratory 2 Enhancing ELISA Assays for Oligonucleotide Therapeutics: Developing Specialized Assay Buffers to Optimize Pharmacokinetic Assays - Team 2 Medina, Scott 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Oligonucleotide therapeutics remains at the forefront of healthcare innovation, rapidly growing as one of key segments in therapeutic research. In the development of these drugs, pharmacokinetic analysis plays a crucial role in understanding their Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME).

Probe-based hybridization ELISA is preferred for pharmacokinetic (PK) assessments due to its high sensitivity and specificity. However, the unique characteristics of oligonucleotides, such as their negative charge, often render standard assay buffers ineffective. This is primarily due to non-specific binding with the oligonucleotide analyte, which can lead to decreased assay specificity and sensitivity.

This project is dedicated to the investigation of specialized assay buffers for oligonucleotide-centric ELISA assays. Our goal is to gather scientific knowledge and potentially develop prototype products that enhance the accuracy and reliability of these assays, addressing the specific challenges posed in developing oligonucleotide therapeutics.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Victoria's Victory Foundation 1 In Motion Manual Wheelchair Braking System Menold, Jessica 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Currently manual wheelchair users must have the strength and ability to control the speed and stop their wheelchair with the use of their own hands. Many use a sticky glove.
There is a need for a light weight, in-motion breaking system that does not get in the users way of using their chair. The brakes would need to be easy to reach when actively pushing the chair and leaning back. The challenge with this positioning on the wheel is it could mean the brake would end up being awkward and in the way when the user is moving their arms to push. Additionally, if the brake has a slip differential this could aid with safety concerns when operating on a slope. Many wheelchair users identify their chair as an extension of themselves and do not want any extraneous devices on their chair.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Victoria's Victory Foundation 2 Upper Body Freedom Exoskeleton Legs Menold, Jessica 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Existing exoskeleton legs that aid a paralyzed person in walking require the use of crutches for enough upper body support for the individual to remain upright. The goal is to allow the individual more functionality and independence to use their hands in places like the kitchen, workstations, upper body physical training, shopping and more.

While there are exoskeletons being developed to ease with work place fatigue, day to day exercise, these are designed for the able bodied person and are not cost effective and readily available to the paralyzed population in the US.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Victoria's Victory Foundation 3 Adaptive Golf Harness & Grip Menold, Jessica 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

A paralyzed individual can enjoy the game of golf due to the developments of adaptive golf chairs and grips for the clubs. In order to actually have more control of the club, improve on their swing and overall game, the development of an upper body harness that allows flexibility and momentum while providing support would improve an individual's playing ability and increase their overall comfort and safety. Additionally, if they had a more flexible grip device for holding the club it would allow their hands that often are low in tone to have more control.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Victoria's Victory Foundation 4 Adaptive Meal Time Solutions Menold, Jessica 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

A real life struggle a person with limited arm and hand mobility is the ability to cut their own food. Imagine being an adult that has to depend on your caregiver to cut all of your meals. A plate that has a spike that could hold the food stationary on the plate would allow for someone to use a knife and cut their own food. The plate would need to be stabilized as well as have the ability to stabilize the food on the plate. This would allow for independence and dignity during daily meals.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Viele Exploratory Sustainable Solutions LLC Generative LLM: AI Assistant for Business Operations Kahn, Dan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: NO

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

LLMs are revolutionizing the way that we consume and generate content from social media to term papers to art, so why not business practices as well? Proposal writing and market research are tiresome, take a long time, and cost a lot of money with only marginal success. Student teams will help in developing LLMs to short circuit these processes so that we can spend more time innovating on the technical work and less on the paperwork.

Reasonable expectation would be a command line utility that has some memory using freely available tokens from openai that students use to generate and critique (like peer review) for quality, correctness, etc.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Volvo Trucks North America 1 Under Hood Heat Removal System for Use in a Class 8 Vehicle to Remove Heat Generated from an Internal Combustion Engine Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Increasing demands for aerodynamics and cooling air flow optimization has restricted the flow of ambient clean air into the under-hood region of class 8 tractors. Due to the heat generated from an internal combustion engine, temperatures in the region are elevated and have the potential issues for sensitive electrical components. Increasing airflow into the under-hood is not ideal, as this has a negative impact on aerodynamic performance and introduces other potential issues including debris entry into the under-hood region and dirt contamination concerns. Develop a system, either active or passive, to evacuate and disperse heat from the under-hood region without significantly impacting other important features, such as fuel economy, aerodynamics, visibility, safety, etc. with a minimal cost and weight impact. Deliverables: System description, prototype/proof-of-concept, estimated impact to cost, weight, and other features.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Volvo Trucks North America 2 Vibration absorber and converter of lightweight chassis frames for Battery Electric Vehicle Banyay, Gregory 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The goal is to propose ideas for a vibration absorber and converter of battery electric vehicles, BEVs as shown in Fig. 1. The proposed idea must fit well with the vehicle conditions, including layout and design constraints. This project will go through the following steps:
Step 1. Review the conventional way for vibration absorber and converter.
Step 2. Formulate the relative motion between a battery pack and a chassis frame. (Fig 1 BEV Chassis.jpg)
Step 3. Generate the ideas for a vibration absorber and converter.
Step 4. Make Python programs to evaluate the performance of the proposed idea (Step 3) by solving differential equations.
Step 5. Propose devices with QCDP (Quality, Cost, Delivery and Productivity).
Further information to be shared with capstone student team during the kickoff.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Volvo Trucks North America 3 Active Cab Suspension for Enhanced Ride and Comfort on Heavy-Duty Trucks Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Based on today’s trend, technology is moving towards advancements which in-turn will likely drive the addition of new requirements as well as opportunities. As such, an advanced active cab suspension solution may further improve the ride/comfort of a heavy duty truck and reduce the fatigue on drivers and provide quality performance.
Steps to be completed in this project:
1. Explore different active suspensions available currently on the market.
2. Investigate possible implementation on a long-haul sleeper cab truck.
3. Come up with a unique design solution and simulate it to see how much it will improve ride & comfort
4. Develop stiffness curves for the proposed design.
5. Run simulations with the stiffness curves and compare it with our current suspension design.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) Programmable Water Leak Demonstration Unit Gall, Oren 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

The WSSC Water is a bi-county, public water/wastewater utility in Maryland that was established in 1918. For over 100 years, WSSC Water has served the communities of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties providing life-sustaining water and water resource recovery services to individuals, families and businesses. WSSC Water maintains and repairs approximately 12,000 miles of buried pipes and several dozen facilities to provide water services to its community.

One of the most common sources of residential water leaks is in a toilet. A leaking toilet left not fixed can amount to a significantly higher water bill to customers. WSSC Water customers unaware of this source of leak can be surprised when receiving a higher bill and may even have trouble paying the bill. WSSC Water community outreach efforts have focused on developing a tool to demonstrate to the public the most common water leaks with the use of a demonstration toilet.

The attached photo shows the demonstration toilet that allows for simulated leaks. WSSC Water needs a student team to design and build the final aspect of the demonstration unit - the programmable digital display to be mounted on the display board.

The digital display will show live water flow and cost information as leaks are simulated in the toilet. The student team will specify and obtain all hardware needed using the project’s budget. Students will also develop the programming of the live display. The programable digital display will need to have a graphical interface that matches the visual graphic design that will be supplied by WSSC Waters Communications department. The programmable aspect of the display will need to allow a user to easily input and adjust water cost information that feeds the calculated total leak cost valve on the display.

This project will challenge PSU students to design, specify and fabricate a programmable digital display system to best inform and educate WSSC Water customers on leaks. This innovative project will help bring affordability to WSSC Water customers through knowledge and education.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
WaveBreaker Technologies LLC Navigating the Path to Mass Production: Crafting Scalable Solutions for an Innovative Kayak Dry-well Wong, Tak Sing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

WaveBreaker Technologies is actively seeking enthusiastic and innovative students to contribute to refining the current prototype, as needed, leading to the development of a comprehensive manufacturing process plan for our inaugural product: the 'Day Tripper.' This entails enhancing our Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files to align with the specifications of the manufacturing process and conducting a comparative analysis to ascertain the optimal product shape.

Additionally, these refined files will be instrumental in generating drawings that adhere to the criteria set forth by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a nonprovisional (utility) patent. To further illustrate the functionality of the WaveBreaker 'Day Tripper,' we need animations showcasing its capabilities in water diversion and item storage.

We invite dedicated individuals to join us in this exciting endeavor, contributing their skills and creativity to shape the future of WaveBreaker Technologies.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Waypoint Adventure, Inc. 1 Canoe Entry Support Menold, Jessica 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

While some canoes can be pulled across sand and rocks, nicer canoes should be floating in shallow water before people climb into them. We are looking for a solution to help stabilize the canoe and make stepping over the side of it and settling into the seat a bit easier. Objective of the project is to support individuals while entering/exiting a canoe sitting in shallow water.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Waypoint Adventure, Inc. 2 Rock Climbing Support Menold, Jessica 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Many participants have a hard time conceptualizing and implementing the appropriate body position when descending from a climb. Staff will show by example on the wall/cliff and on the ground but translating that show and tell to doing it themselves on the wall/cliff is often a big challenge. This results in people bumping their way down the wall instead of protecting their knees and faces. The correct position is to place the bottoms of their feet on the wall, keeping their body in the shape of an L. This allows them to walk their feet down the wall keeping the rest of their body away from the wall. Their feet should be in a wide stance to avoid swinging to either side. Ideally one hand is kept on the rope near their face and the other hand can be out in front to act as a bumper. Create a support that will help students descend from a climb successfully.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
Well Master Corporation - Global with SJTU Lubricator Dimensional QC Fixture - Global with SJTU Neal, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

Description:
- Well Master regards quality as a company priority and thus we dimensionally inspect every manufactured product that comes into our facility from our vendors.
- Lubricators are heavy and time consuming to inspect because of their size and the need to lift and move them safely.
- This project is to design an inspection station for our lubricators, where we can combine multiple inspections into just a few.

Success Criteria (Goals):
- Design a test fixture that can hold a lubricator securely and safely.
- Test fixture must be able to be operated by one individual
- An ideal setup would have ability to quickly check all flange connections and hole locations.
- Build and test idea at the current Manufacturer in Changzhou China and add a second unit that can be used in Golden, CO.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
X-Hab 3D, Inc. 3D Concrete Printer Assembly Factory Development Zajac, Brian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

X-Hab is a startup company that produces 3D printers that use concrete as their construction material. The critical need is to develop the factory of the present with capability to adapt capacity for the future. X-Hab currently leases a 10,000 square foot facility near State College, PA, where it plans to develop and maintain its headquarters and operations near Penn State. There is space available to expand.

Key elements of the project include:
Evaluating the current space and capturing dimensions to inform plant layout design development, including scanning
Obtaining 3DCP equipment component information from X-Hab 3D team members to inform demand for space as it flows into the facility, through assembly to testing, and prepares for shipping
Integrating 5S (components, tools, supplies), visual manufacturing, FIFO flow racking, vertical space optimization, equipment mobility, and related concepts into design options
Evaluating and including in designs the facility systems (electrical, lifting, safety, security, lighting, heating, ventilation / dust, water supply, waste, and environmental systems).
Incorporating space for a materials laboratory and QC, future R&D, offices and meeting space, computer network equipment, and other needs identified during the project
Developing a comprehensive capital requirements list and working with X-Hab to obtain estimates
Considering design options that can grow, supporting capacity to initially produce 3-4 systems per month on one shift to 2-3 systems weekly within 3 years.

Multiple teams will work across multiple semesters to accomplish the full scope of this project. This semester, the goal is to produce a recommended design (or multiple design options with tradeoffs) for the production line and manufacturing facility. Constraints on space, size, and configuration will need to be considered. X-Hab will work with the team to quickly develop viable concepts for further refinement and optimization. The team should focus on items 1-5 in the list above, with items 6 and 7 as stretch goals or scope for future projects. Deliverables should include a detailed conceptual study (including accurate CAD layouts, simulations, and modeling) and a set of recommendations.

X-Hab provides an integrated 3D concrete printing (3DCP) system comprised of 1) rugged, expeditionary, mobile printing hardware, 2) locally sourced materials capability, and 3) design and printing software. Target markets include construction (residential, commercial, infrastructure), government (DoD, FEMA, Homeland Security, Energy, State and Local) and institutional (academia and research). X-Hab is past the prototype stage, and has finished design of its beta production unit. Major subsystems include: crawler tracks, diesel power plant, electric to hydraulic system, lift mast, system computer and electrical controls, robotic arm, and major steel fabrications (framing, outriggers, cowling). Integrating the components into a world-class assembly process is vital to quality, cost, delivery, and customer satisfaction.

This will be a unique opportunity to engage multiple engineering disciplines and gain exposure to manufacturing flow technologies, lean methodology, financial modeling, and plant modeling, simulation, and build-out in a critical industry with a local company that can have a significant local and global impact.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
ZAP Engineering & Construction Services, Inc. 1 Gravity Preheater for Aggregate Eser, Semih 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

One current typical design for an aggregate preheater is a cassette style preheater in which the preheater is a series of rock boxes that allow hot air to flow through the material and a series of hydraulic rams that push the material out of the bottom of the rock boxes into the kiln. This design is effective, but may provide an opportunity for and alternative approach in which a gravity feed system is used with a series of vertical grates that collect material and preheat it. At several stages the material will build up to the angle of repose and use gravity to overflow to the next grate setup. The grates will allow for hot air to flow through the material and as it progress downward in the system it will increase in temperature until it falls into the kiln for processing. This design will decrease the energy consumption of the system as the use of gravity replaces the need for hydraulic rams to move the material. Ideally, the pressure drop in the system will also be reduced as the open area and head of material may be able to be reduced with decreases the power on the fan flow. The project will incorporate the preliminary design of the system taking into account the basic mechanical design of the overall system and calculations for the heat transfer, pressure drop and material flow properties. A potential model of the system can be created to show the material flow from the top of the tower to the inlet to the kiln to verify the gravity flow of the material.
Company Name Project Title Faculty Contact BME CHE CMPEN CMPSC DS ED EE EGEE ESC IE MATSE ME NUCE
ZAP Engineering & Construction Services, Inc. 2 Renewable Energy Preheater Tower Eser, Semih 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Physical Prototype or On-Campus Equipment: YES

Images and Additional Links (if provided)

A cement preheater is a large structural tower that houses the preheater cyclone equipment for the pyro processing system of a cement production facility. The tower is typically in excess of 300 feet tall and has a large footprint. Unlike a building of similar size, the outside of the tower is not covered in windows but is either left open or enclosed with siding. This leaves a large amount of surface area available for use that does not obstruct operations and also, with the significant structure already designed to support heavy industrial equipment, it has the structural capacity for modification. This makes it an ideal target for conversion of the outer surfaces with solar panels. Additionally, the height of the tower and in many scenarios the position of the tower near a waterway or within mountainous regions has high wind conditions at the top of the tower, presents a secondary opportunity to integrate a wind turbine into the tower. The project will present the team with an example preheater tower and location to be used as a test case. The combined solar and wind energy generation will be evaluated to determine the green power generation of the facility. A potential model of the system can be constructed with a scale 3D print of the tower and utilizing solar and wind simulations for generating power.
 
 

About

Our mission is to help bring the real-world into the classroom by providing engineering students with practical hands-on experience through industry-sponsored and client-based capstone design projects. Since its inception, the Learning Factory has completed more than 1,800 projects for more than 500 different sponsors, and nearly 9,000 engineering students at Penn State University Park participated in such a project.

The Learning Factory

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802