ME Design Day Highlights Undergraduate Innovations

The Department of Mechanical Engineering held the Fall Semester Design Day on December 6, 2011. Teams entered projects from their Mechanical Engineering capstone design class (ENME472) in a design fair-style competition. Three teams – Team Green Tech, Team Barracuda Innovations, and Team SAE++ – were awarded honors for their designs.

Team Green Tech, which placed 1st overall, submitted an Eco Power Tent that uses solar power to allow campers to charge their electrical devices in a sustainable, eco-friendly fashion through an internal power system.

Team Barracuda Innovations placed 2nd. Their design, the Power Pad, consists of a mechanical device that allows footsteps to generate electricity; Barracuda Innovations suggested that the device could be used in an electricity-generating piezoelectric dance floor.

Team SAE ++, who presented the TIG Automatic Feed Pen placed 3rd. The TIG Pen, designed for use in TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding, is a tool targeted towards both amateur and professional welders that greatly simplifies the welding process.

Congratulations to all of the award winners and participants!

For more information on the Department’s capstone design course, visit ENME472

Published February 17, 2012