STUDENT RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2020 PRESENTATIONS

Engineering

Master-Slave Terminology in Engineering Education
Amman Asfaw, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

My presentation aims to assess the effects of master-slave terminology on inclusivity in engineering education.

Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Development and In Vitro Evaluation of a Novel Device Integrating a Biosensor with Automatic Transdermal Delivery of Naloxone
Benjamin Barron, American Heritage School Boca Delray

Acoustic Signal Modulation and Logic Operation Utilizing Phononic Crystals
Sumit Chakraborty and Sunghu Kim, Coppell High School

The presentation details the progression of our development of a GIDD structure, a dynamically alterable phononic crystal, its various usages, and our progression through its engineering and development.

Improving the Braking System of a Formula Student Race Car with Better User Input
Grant Fields, Pine Crest School

This research analysis optimizes the braking system of a Formula Student Race Car (FSRC), a race car division organized by SAE International. The vehicles mechanical geometry was examined and mathematically formulated to improve safety, performance, and usability.

Real-Time Assessment of Flash Flood Threat using Optical-Acoustic Technology
Anika Fuloria, The Harker School

With the acceleration of climate change, floods are becoming more frequent and less predictable. In 2018, flooding accounted for 24% of all worldwide deaths related to natural disasters, second only to earthquakes. Flash floods, which involve the rapid flooding of low-lying areas, are particularly hazardous. Just 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult and 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars. The power of a flash flood increases linearly with water depth and with the cube of water velocity, both parameters that vary greatly by location. As a result, conventional techniques are inadequate for assessing flash flood threat and need to be supplemented with localized, real-time methods. The goal of the project is to prototype technologies that can assess flash flood threat at a specific location in real-time so that appropriate warnings can be generated for impacted people. This is done through robust measurements of water depth and water velocity. Water depth is measured acoustically, via an ultrasonic range-finding sensor and an Arduino. Water velocity is measured optically, via two implementations of large-scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV): a smartphone application and a desktop software package. Early testing in a flume demonstrates both the viability of this approach and opportunities for improving measurement reliability. The technologies prototyped in this study, namely ultrasound depth sensing and LSPIV velocity measurement, can be incorporated into low-cost, weather-resistant devices that can be easily installed overlooking flood-prone locations for real-time assessment and communication of flash flood threat.

Creating a Cost Effective Device for the Early Detection and Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
Ward Genoway, American Heritage School Boca Delray

The purpose of this project is to create a cost effective test for coronary heart disease and heart attacks. The device developed during the project is meant to function as an easily accessible alternative to current blood tests used to determine if someone has suffered a heart attack. Additionally, it has the ability to serve as a preventative test, due to its ability to measure levels of oxygenation quickly and over multiple points in time, thus establishing data in which a medical professional could base their diagnosis on.
Conventional testing can range from $100-$300 dollars for measuring various biomarkers, such as Troponin-T, CRP (C-Reactive Proteins), and myoglobin. Additionally, these methods of analysis for someone who may have suffered a heart attack can take time to produce results, which may prevent an individual from getting the most optimal treatment for their situation. This test instead would be reusable, and a single unit for manufacturing would, in a production variant, cost as little as $20 dollars to produce. Additionally, another part of the purpose was to create a device which could remain mostly separate from a lab, as to allow for developing countries who might not have access to those types of facilities to still get help for their populations.

Gelatin-Based Hydrogel with BMP-2 to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Roshni Ghandi, Rowan University

Creating a Cost Efficient Color Based Test Strip for Detection of Diabetes
Baano Golawala, American Heritage School Boca Delray

This project provided a cost efficient (less than one dollar) and non invasive testing technique to identify diabetes. It reinvented the already created glucose sensing strip as a diabetes testing tool. By experimenting with different sweat glucose levels and utilizing already published research an alternate gradient strip was created, that users could employ in order to see where they fall on the spectrum of hypoglycemic to hyperglycemic. First sweat was represented through a glucose solution composed of just proportions of glucose powder and DI water in accurate percentages that are prevalent in non diabetic and diabetic perspiration. The glucose sensing strips were dipped in each solution and photographed for the color intensity they showed. This was then repeated in real non-diabetic sweat for more accurate application. Using these colors a gradient was formed that showed where users fell on the spectrum of blood sugar levels. This was all once again accomplished for less than a dollar and all that is required of the user is a bit of exercise to release the perspiration needed. This product can be restyled to provide consumers with a take home style test that can help them determine whether they should consult a doctor for further testing regarding their sugar levels, and can save consumers from spending unnecessary money on a blood test.

Long Lasting Scuba Diving with the Use of an Electrolysis Machine to Take in Water and Produce Oxygen for the Swimmer to Breathe
Srihari Gotluru, American Heritage School Plantation

Using electrolysis on sea water I am able to produce oxygen by sending an electrical current through the water to break into Oxygen gas and Hydrogen gas and then deliver it to the diver. With the changing depth more oxygen is required and an arduino circuit was set up to change the voltage based on the pressure changing the output of oxygen.

Hydrological Modeling for Local Decision Making in a Large, Heavily Regulated Rural Basin
Luria Greene, Cornell University

Tools to aid in understanding basin-scale hydrological responses are essential to water resource management and planning. This study focuses on comparing the ability of two conceptual hydrological models to simulate long-term (multi-decadal) historical runoff in the Oswego River Basin at multiple temporal scales. The Oswego River Basin is a complex, heavily regulated, mostly rural sub-basin of the Lake Ontario Watershed.

Developing and Optimizing a Manufacturing Process for RbAg4I5 for Use in Solid-State Supercapacitors Membranes
Bill Hung, Pine Crest School

Developing and Optimizing a Manufacturing Process for RbAg4I5 Using Wet Chemistry for Use in Ionic Conductivity Membranes in Solid-State Supercapacitors.

VLAL (Vacuumed Linear Accelerator Launcher)-A Novel Approach to Aerospace Propulsion
Rohil Khare, Dublin High School

Rockets today are extremely expensive to launch due to the cost of fuel. This project aims to reduce the fuel cost for rockets by replacing the initial boosters with a magnetic linear accelerator.

Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffold-Based Regeneration of Osteochondral Defects Enhanced by Three-Layer E7-Coupled Gradient Morphology, Cross-Linking, and Mineralization
Hannah Li, William P. Clements High School

Research conducted on a method to make bone and cartilage regeneration more efficient and effective through different Bioengineering mechanisms.

Developing and Characterizing a Stiffness Tunable Kombucha-Gelatin Hydrogel Platform for Stem Cell Therapy
Angelin Mathew, American Heritage School Plantation

Over 85% of patients in the United States who are in need of a transplant are waiting for a kidney. Although dialysis is a temporary solution, it is often inaccessible to patients due to exorbitant costs. Mesenchymal stem cell and endothelial progenitor cell therapies have the potential to trigger signaling regenerative pathways of damaged nephrons through cellular secretions. Through this research, I developed a crosslinked gelatin and kombucha cellulose-based hydrogel to improve cell retention. Key unique features of the platform include tunable stiffness, integrated nanofibers, sustainably derived base polymers, and up to 10 times greater cost efficiency. 2%, 5%, 5% composite, and 10% gelatin hydrogels were synthesized and viscoelastic properties were characterized. Rheological characterization of the varying composite formulations' storage, loss, and complex moduli suggests that the novel platform developed can not only potentially be used as an adjunct in stem cell differentiation but are also suitable as a cell encapsulation material, platform for 3D culturing of diseased biopsy samples, disease progression modeling, and cell seeding constructs for transplantation.

Investigating the Genetic Association between Huntington's Disease and Diabetes
Kanav Mittal, Saint Francis High School

Patients with Huntington's Disease are more susceptible to developing symptoms of diabetes, but the question is why? We hypothesized that a genetic association between Huntington's Disease and diabetes exists, perhaps in the genes TSPAN8 and TCF7L2. We investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (similar to mutations) in TSPAN8 and TCF7L2 and analyzed their correlation to Huntington's Disease.

Fabrication and Empirical Analysis of Graphene Dispersion/Activated Carbon on Conductive Networks in Porous Graphite Felt Supercapacitor
Brayden Noh, Auburn High School

It has been shown that supercapacitor assistance to the battery in electric vehicles is beneficial. However, current supercapacitors have poor capacitance to weight ratio, which averts the use of them in electric vehicles. In this research, the supercapacitor electrode was optimized using activated carbon, and graphene dispersion and devices were tested for finding capacitance. In comparison, the sample devices had three times higher specific capacitance than commercial supercapacitors; this meant in the same capacitance devices, researched samples were three times lighter. The supercapacitor shows commercial feasibility as the materials and the fabrication process is low-cost and safe.

The Effect of The Creation of Inter Wing Winglets on Aircraft Flight Dynamics
Roman Rabbat, American Heritage School Plantation

A presentation of data collected and analysed from a self designed control and experimental aircraft wings and their effect on aerodynamic properties.

Sanjeevani: A Novel Automated System for Infection Monitoring and Prevention
Samyak Shrimali, Jesuit High School

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.7 million people suffer from hospital-acquired infections each year in the United States alone, which accounts for 99,000 deaths. The most prominent reason for the spreading of these infections is substandard hand hygiene compliance in hospitals. I designed an automated system which can monitor and enforce proper hand hygiene compliance in hospitals as stipulated by WHO. My system, Sanjeevani, is a multi-module system based on microcontroller and multiple sensors that tracks hand hygiene compliance throughout a hospital, sends real-time compliance alerts to staff on their wristband for immediate corrective actions, and also provides automated compliance report generation for the hospital staff. This system is based on four modules, one module is worn by staff and provides staff’s unique ID to other modules. This module is connected to a central server to receives real time hand hygiene compliance alerts. The other three modules detect staff and use unique algorithms to do detailed hand hygiene compliance checks at patient beds, sinks, and alcohol dispensers. A custom Arduino based application was developed to control all modules and is used to upload data to the central server. All the modules’ enclosures were 3D printed to meet specific module requirements and keep them compact. This system makes hospital hand hygiene compliance monitoring and tracking fully automated, real-time, cost-effective, and scalable which once deployed in a hospital has potential to significantly reduce the rate of hospital acquired infections and save numerous lives.

Using Electrical Stimulation to Provide Reliable Haptic Feedback
Sierra Stocker, Pine Crest School

My research is on the use of surface electrical stimulation to provide haptic feedback in a virtual environment, specifically focusing on object identification.

STUDENT RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2020 PRESENTATIONS

Engineering

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