Engineering Projects Expo 2025

People’s Choice 1st

Team: E-pic Team

Sponsor: Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory

Project Title: Semi-Automatic Pick and Place Machine

Description: A semi automatic pick and place machine, The main benefit of the Semi-automatic Pick and Place machine is its ability to enable the user to accurately place
small hidden lead ICs (micro-circuit packages) onto a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) for soldering. The Semi-automatic
Pick and Place machine can place these ICs onto irregularly shaped PCBs that are already populated with other
components that are half an inch high.

Students:
Sayed Ali Alhashemi
Hamad Al-Saleem
Michael Pogrebitskiy
Gala Bokhadour
Hanzhang Yu

People’s Choice 2nd (Tie)

Sponsor:  Boeing

Project Title: Airbag Automatically Deployable Flight Recorder

Description: The reliable and timely recovery of flight data is imperative to safety and preventing future aviation emergencies. Due to new industry criteria, Boeing designed an innovative safety system for the post-flight localization and recovery of flight data. The Airbag-Automatically Deployable Flight Recorder creates a unique solution to prevent the loss of accurate, potentially life-saving flight data.

Students:
William Anderson
Luke Carey
Madelene McNary
Brewster Beck
Swag Das
Trevor Groves
James Cadagan
Cole Sheyka
Max Patwardhan

People’s Choice 2nd (Tie)

Sponsor:  Ball Aerospace

Project Title: In water Fluorometer for Plastic Pollution

Description:  Marine pollution is an erupting global crisis. A first step in solving this crisis is monitoring marine debris. In concert with Ball Aerospace, we developed an in-water fluorometer that detects plastic pollutants using LED excitation and photodiode detection. Our data will motivate the development of in-situ sensors to monitor plastic transport and validate future LIDAR-based flight instruments.

Students:
Alexandra Todd
Sydney Koehler
Emalee Takashima
Sebastian Bouckenooghe
Peter Daichman
Palmer Dick-Montez
Cole Radetich
Miles Sanders
Tyson Trofino

Mechanical Engineering 1st

Sponsor: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Project Title:  Unique Signal Interlock

Description:  In conjunction with LANL, our project aims to enhance security through a signal interlock device that requires a unique mechanical and electrical input to unlock. Uses of this device include increasing security of nuclear waste barrels in transit to a disposal site. In the event of an incorrect input, a fail-safe is triggered, which prevents further operation until the device is manually reset.

Students:
Lexi Dinser
Reed Beidleman
Ben Fougere
Alex Lawson
Nick Monahan
Owen Vandersmith
Ivan Werne

Mechanical Engineering 2nd

Team:  Collegiate Wind Competition

Project Title: University of Colorado Wind Competition Team

Description: The third CU Wind Team participating in the DOE’s Collegiate Wind Competition will compete in three distinct segments: designing a small-scale offshore wind turbine abiding to various design constraints, financially optimizing a theoretical offshore wind farm while considering environmental mitigation strategies and promoting the exciting future of wind energy to local K-12 and CU communities.

Students:
Jeremiah Pare
Lauren Mullen
Ryan Tasto
Ryan Stoltz
Rhett Nutter
Heather Walker
Amanda Shields
Ariana Carmody
Ethan Smith
Will McConnell
Regan Barton
Chris Holladay
Luis Munoz

Mechanical Engineering 3rd (Tie)

Sponsor:  Ball Aerospace

Project Title: In water Fluorometer for Plastic Pollution

Description:  Marine pollution is an erupting global crisis. A first step in solving this crisis is monitoring marine debris. In concert with Ball Aerospace, we developed an in-water fluorometer that detects plastic pollutants using LED excitation and photodiode detection. Our data will motivate the development of in-situ sensors to monitor plastic transport and validate future LIDAR-based flight instruments.

Students:
Alexandra Todd
Sydney Koehler
Emalee Takashima
Sebastian Bouckenooghe
Peter Daichman
Palmer Dick-Montez
Cole Radetich
Miles Sanders
Tyson Trofino

Mechanical Engineering 3rd (Tie)

Team:  FretFree

Project Title:  FretFree Ukulele Assistive Chord Fretting Device

Description: FretFree has developed a device that makes playing the ukulele accessible for all. Many new ukulele players and those with certain disabilities have difficulty fretting, or pressing down various strings at the same time to create chords. This device allows fretting of a chord with a single finger and also features interactive lighting to create an engaging and fun playing experience.

Students:
Bennett Verderame
Kyra Anderson
Paula Hill
Donovan Branch
Lindsay Donnellan

Mechanical Engineering Graduate

Sponsor: UCAR

Project Title: A Thermal Analysis of a 6U CubeSat in a High Beta Angle, Dusk-Dawn Low Earth Orbit

Description: WindCube is a 6U CubeSat mission aimed to study the influence of thermospheric winds in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Thermospheric winds are an important property to measure in order to understand the behavior of the ionosphere. Our team has been tasked to analyze the thermal environment in which WindCube is expected to operate by combining data from thermal vacuum chamber tests and computer models.

Students:
Connie Childs
Nick Zarilla

Electrical Engineering Best Overall Achievement

Team:  fIReflies

Sponsor: Amazon AWS

Project Title:  Lava Lamp

Description:  Lava Lamp is an elastic network of wired infrared cameras designed to provide more effective temperature monitoring of data center hardware. It creates a highly detailed and in-depth perspective of temperatures throughout a location which enables more rapid detection of hardware faults than would be possible with the use of simple temperature sensors.

Students: 
Collin Graham
Matt King
Tucker Travins
Ivan Rodriguez
Marceline Milligan
Will Snider

Electrical Engineering Most Challenging Project

Team: UWBuffs

Sponsor: Medtronic

Project Title: UWBits 5000

Description: UWBits 5000 is an inventory management and diagnostics system for cordless surgical devices. We help nurses to locate and fix devices. We help the medical industry to understand how surgeons use their equipment.  We have easy-to-use custom software that connects to multiple devices simultaneously. And importantly, we do it all over the ultra-wideband, avoiding WiFi and BT network congestion.

Students:
Emily Harrison
Nicholas Goralka
Joel Clark
Jiaqi Tao
Justin Robert
Yama Qasemi

Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Senior Design Project Presentation Award

Team:  Team SyNTACQ

Sponsor: Medtronic

Project Title: Building and Characterizing a Ferromagnetic Electrosurgical Pencil

Description: Monopolar electrosurgical pencils release harmful smoke, cause thermal injury, and require cords. This research explores using ferromagnetism as a new energy modality. A prototype was designed to optimize power transfer and impedance. Ferromagnetic devices show promise in reducing smoke, thermal injury, and compatibility with electromagnetic-sensitive devices.

Students:
Sydnei Lewis
Avril Cruz
Nicole Gunderson
Caitlin Mascio
Quinn Beato
Tony Salcido-Alcántar