Spring was a busy and productive semester for the College of Engineering. Catch up with what students from all departments have achieved in the past months.
Spring was a busy and productive semester for the College of Engineering. Catch up with what students from all departments have achieved in the past months.
Build18
Named for the Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Department’s course number, Build18 is an engineering festival where teams of two to five students can come together to develop any kind of engineering project. Students make use of materials and funding provided by ECE to collaborate on anything from playful projects to prototypes for ideas they will pursue for years to come.
The first week back from Winter Break, students from all sorts of majors kicked off Hack Week, the few days they have to put together their projects before Demo Day on Friday. More than110 projects by over 200 students were demoed throughout the day.
A system converts a photo of Build18 guests into a drawable format. Then, an XYZ rig holding a pen recreates the photo by drawing on paper for a fun souvenir! Team: Homer Baker (ECE BS ’18, MS ‘19), Edward Escandon (ECE BS ’19), Joshua Goldstein (ECE BS ’18, MS ‘19), Paula Zubiri (MechE BS ’19)
Data from sleep-tracking apps are transferred to a customized alarm clock. Compare your sleep goals with your actual sleep based on how many of the buildings in Pittsburgh’s skyline pop up—a full skyline means you got a full night of rest! Team: Dominique Escandon Valverde (MechE BS ’19, pictured), Ryan Oh (ECE BS ’20)
Quidditch is a quirky sport based on the Harry Potter novels in which runners pass balls around while holding a broomstick between their legs. The goals consist of three large hoops per team, through which the balls need to be thrown to earn points. Goal Line Technology uses sensors to light up LED strips when a ball has gone fully through a hoop, providing visual feedback for referees and players. Team: Dominique Brych (MechE BS ’19, pictured), Cameron Selby (MechE BS ’19)
The Track-o-matic takes the public bus GPS data from Pittsburgh Port Authority’s API and converts it in data that runs a series of axles. The axels flip panels with bus ID numbers and the number of minutes away the busses are from a given stop, given new technology a retro aesthetic. Team: Tiffany Chiang (ECE BS ’19), Edric Kusuma (ECE BS ’19), Amukta Nayak (ECE BS ’19), Stanley Zhang (ECE BS ’19)
Bakole and Yates call the CAN (Campus Area Network) Bike “the power of a motor scooter meets the portability of a bicycle.” Team: Bolaji Bankole (ECE BS ’20), Ben Yates (ECE BS ’19)
On a frame of laser-cut wood, the Mechanical Dog uses various microprocessors and batteries to walk across flat surfaces. As an added bonus, a small microphone on the chassis can pick up bass noise which allows the Dog to dance to the beat! Team: Charles Aguilar (MechE BS ’19), Alex Byrnes (CS BS ’19), Matt Klein (Math BS ’18)
The Marble Xylophone releases a ball bearing from its acrylic storage bin onto the note that it needs to play next, as instructed by the Raspberri Pi. Team: Matthew Bartnof (MechE PhD), Dipanjan Saha (MechE PhD), Phil Smith (MechE PhD)
AR stands for alternate reality. Yu-Gi-Oh is a trading card game featuring colorful fantasy creature. This team created an app to enhance gameplay by taking visual input from the game mat and making 3-D virtual models appear hovering above their corresponding cards. Team: Stanley Nnamdi Adom (ECE MS), Carlneil Domkam (MechE BS ‘18), Edgar Mendoza (MechE PhD), Jean Paul Nelson (ECE BS ‘21)
Dorm room cuisine meets innovation. This team created a system of pipes, pumps, circuitry, and heating devices to cook ramen with very little human involvement. It can even crack an egg into the noodles for you! Team: Jeffrey Li (ECE BS ‘20), Jason Hsu (ECE BS ‘20), Jeffrey Huang (ECE/BME BS ‘20), Tarek Sahyoun (ECE/BME BS ‘20), Michael Wang (ECE BS ‘20)
This small glass-top table is hooked up to a light intensity detector that can sense where on the table a phone has been placed. The XY plotter then navigates to the phone and provides it with wireless charging—no more cords! Team: Rit Bezbaruah (MechE BS ’19), Michael Tran (MechE BS ‘19), Spencer Persaud (MechE BS ‘19)
Innovation Palooza and Rothberg Catalyzer Impact-a-Thon
In February, the College of Engineering and the Integrated Innovation Institute took over Rangos Hall to put on the Innovation Palooza and Rothberg Catalyzer Impact-a-Thon for a third time. The Innovation Palooza features demos from faculty, students, and companies on the amazing technologies they use in their research and work, as well as speeches from engineers in the CMU community, such as the CMU Engineering Dean James H. Garrett, Jr.
Jonathan Rothberg (E 1985), founder and chairman of Butterfly Network, Inc., as well as an alumnus and University Trustee, recently committed to supporting the competition in which student teams compete to innovate a creative solution to a problem. Now under its new name, the Rothberg Catalyzer Impact-a-Thon was a huge success, as approximately 20 teams came out to try to solve issues surrounding disaster relief efforts.
The speakers included Gioel Molinari, president of Butterfly Networks, Inc. and Peter L. Votruba-Drzal, associate director Automotive OEM Coatings, Substrate Protection Systems and Adhesives & Sealants for PPG. The event also featured a performance by Attack Theatre.
Occulus ran a demo for their virtual reality devices that was very popular with guests.
ExOne exhibited examples of the 3-D printed pieces they are able to create.
Here are examples of ExOne’s metal 3-D printed pieces. Photo provided by ExOne.
An overhead shot of the Rothberg Catalyzer Impact-a-thon section where student teams displayed their projects.
Teams thought about helping all kinds of audiences, from staff to survivors, and from young to old. This teddy bear device was designed to keep children relatively calm while volunteers help them.
Multiple teams tackled the problem of how to coordinate patients in makeshift medical centers. This team designed bracelet which would be given to patients. Staff can use the ring of colored tabs to assign a color category to the patient by simply pressing it against the bracelet.
This team used colorful signage and patient-assignment kiosks to create a database of those who needed care with different priorities.
A member of a third team explains to guests how their affordable beacon functions, serving as a way for patients in need to call medics to their bedsides.
Teams also produced a variety of products that could be used in disaster areas. One team designed a rescue boat which could autonomously search for survivors in flood waters.
At a disaster site, no task is too small. The LifeStand team designed an affordable mount for flashlights to free up volunteer hands in dark places for more important tasks.
Some teams designed for supporting from afar. This team shows off their fire-proof parachute design for sending supplies to victims caught behind blazing fires.
This team designed a useful tape-measurement-bandage combination for quickly applying wraps to injuries or measuring the circumference of limbs.
The Eco_Print team thought about how to use litter to their advantage. By placing plastic bottles on a device similar to an apple peeler, the team produced plastic strips. This became filament for a custom 3-D printer which could produce tweezers, whistles, and small sections of pipe. Team (left to right): Carolyn Chheath (Des/CogSci BHA ‘19), Lisa Yan (ECE BS ‘18), Amber Lee (Des BA ‘20), Jackie Chou (Des BA ‘20).
The Lite Vest team placed third in the competition for designing a life vest that lights up certain colors depending on the flood survivor’s status. The urgency of the color signals to overhead rescue teams who needs immediate attention. Team (left to right): Kedi Zhang (III MS), Irfan Khan (ECE PhD), Anqi Yang (Robo MS), Kathleen Ruan (CS BS ’20), John Shi (ECE PhD), Vikram Bhattacharjee (ECE MS, not pictured)
Khan models the Lite Vest prototype.
A display also showed what floating survivors would look like once they are illuminated in the dark waters.
The Phone Aerial Search Emergency Response (PHASER) team took second place in the competition. They created a way for drones to pick up phone signal from victims trapped below them, such as beneath the rubble of a building after an earthquake or tornado. Team (left to right): Pragya Chauhan (EST&P MS), Lucia Alvarez Yates Abad (EPP MS), Niles Guo (EPP PhD), Benjamin Sillman (PPM MS), Kojo Quaye (EST&P MS ‘18)
The drone is enhanced with bright green lights for visibility and a sensor on the bottom which can detect phone signal.
Dean of the College of Engineering, James H. Garrett, Jr., happily holds the drone while admiring it.
The MedHub team was the winning team this year with their well thought out system for international coordination during disasters. Team (left to right): Namita Dongre (CS BS ’20), Pavitthra Pandurangan (CS BS ’20), Anusha Chillara (CS BS ’20), Shanel Huang (ECE BS ’20, not pictured)
Making use of crowdsourcing and cloud-connected devices, the MedHub team explored how a communication network could be possible with the devices we already carry with us.
Lunar Gala Fashion Show
Each spring semester around the Chinese New Year, a student-run organization called Lunar Gala puts on a fashion show in which students from all kinds of disciplines design, produce, and model innovative clothing and accessories. It is one of the largest fashion events that happens in Pittsburgh, selling out 1,200 seats. Students often take advantage of the creative freedom to explore new ideas, aesthetics, and materials.
This year, a team from the Morphing Matter Lab created a four-piece collection called Homeostasis which demonstrated how silver-coated nylon fibers powered by embedded circuitry could be used to create dynamic tassels, hemlines, necklines, and cut-outs on clothing. Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and Biomedical Engineering (BME) student Jack Forman led the team, undeclared engineering student Alan Guo served as the fabrication chief, and Drama master's student Meng-Han (Mohan) Yeh was the garment designer. They were advised by Prof. Lining Yao, the director of the Morphing Matter Lab who is a courtesy appointed professor with the Mechanical Engineering (MechE) and MSE departments.
This machine wraps the silver-coated nylon strands into coils which can then be sewn into fabric.
Similar to how the shape of hair molecules determines if you have curly, wavy, or straight hair, the shape of the nylon strands affects the way the fibers will move when they are heated electrically.
The four models who were chosen to walk in Homeostasis could alter their clothing by using small switches which turn on and off the circuitry within the garments.
Top row: The diamond cut-out near the abdomen of the garment opens and closes, simulating a heart valve or breathing apparatus. Middle row: The tassel cones hanging from the sleeves rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise. Bottom row: Fibers coming from the waistband curl up upon themselves, lifting the hem of the sheer fabric for a new effect.
Ruhani Mumick (Biological Science BS ‘19) demonstrates the opening and closing of the diamond shaped cut-out on the bodice of the outfit. The origami-style folds hide linear thread actuators which allow it to move.
Grace Kao (CS BS ‘19) demonstrates the spinning of the decorative tassels that hang from her sleeves. The spinning is caused by actuator threads which have been wound tightly instead of left to lie flat.
Alexis Willis (Psychology BA ‘19) demonstrates the curling fibers which lift the hem of the sheer skirt. This concept could provide modular clothing for people who go through changing climates, such as the transition from a cold office workspace to a humid outdoor space in the summer.
Simone Jones (Drama BA ‘21) demonstrates the folding and unfolding fabric polygons of her neckline, creating a changing look. The thread is sewn directly into the fabric to cause this effect.
Alternative Break
During spring break, many engineering students opt to use their time and talent to travel to locations which could benefit from their service. Multiple Alternative Break groups went to a variety of sites this year to build, create, and engineer tools that locals can use to help their communities.
A group of 14 Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) students traveled to Puerto Rico this year. Their goals were to explore sustainable redevelopment and resiliency planning from three perspectives: farmers, urbanites, and government officials. They completed farming tasks, installed solar panels, rebuilt a community center, and met with citizens, doctors, professors, students, and policy makers in the Puerto Rican Energy Commission.
The student group chose Puerto Rico as their destination because it has struggled to rebuild since category four Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
Students held fundraiser events to prepare for the trip to Puerto Rico.
Jorge (foreground, pointing) is a farmer in Utuado who also worked as a tour guide before tourism ceased due to hurricane damage.
The trip group worked with Jorge on his farm both to learn about farming and to assist with tasks. Here the group is gathering carrots.
Group photo with Jorge at his farm.
The group has a meal in an hacienda after a hard day’s work.
When they were not volunteering, the group was participating in educational tours. Here they are on an Arecibo Ecology Tour to learn about local ecology.
The group also went on a bike tour of Caño Martín Peña, a channel area which is being gentrified by U.S. hotels and businesses. They met with non-profit organizations ENLACE, G-8, and Community Land Trust to learn about how these groups were fighting to take back the location, improve the water flow of the channel, and ensure that public spaces and schools in the area remain accessible to locals.
The group visited the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez to learn about urban agriculture from civil engineering and surveying professor Daniel Rodriguez Román and microgrid implementation from electrical and computer engineering professor Marcel J. Castro Sitiriche.
A staff member at the Añasco Cocovada Aqueduct explains what it means to be the last remaining cooperative water system on the island.
The group photographed at the Añasco Cocovada Aqueduct.
The group worked together to repaint and repair sections of a community center.
Meeting with the Puerto Rican Energy Commission.
During CMU’s Energy Week, many of the group members were able to meet with alumna and the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto (PPM MS ‘86).
Booth
Every year during CMU’s Spring Carnival, the College of Fine Arts parking lot and surrounding lawns transform into Midway, the main hub for rides, games, and student-constructed attractions called booths. These one- or two-story wooden structures involve impressive feats of engineering, architecture, design, and teamwork; they adhere to construction code, have functional electrical wiring, and tell a story through decorations and games.
Student groups who have access to storage space on campus (such as a residence hall basement or Greek housing garage) usually build many of their pieces before transporting and assembling them during Build Week, the six days they have to construct and decorate. But for student organizations that do not have the storage space to pre-build wall sections and props, there is a competition category called Blitz Booth.
This was the perfect option for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) chapter at CMU because the Blitz rules require smaller booths (a maximum plot size of 8’x18’ and only one story, as opposed to the 18’x18’ plot and two-story option for sorority, fraternity, and independent categories) built almost entirely during Build Week.
This year, ASCE had three student leaders serve as Booth Chairs: Gaurav Chatterjee (CEE BS ‘18) was the Structural Chair, in charge of designing the layout, finalizing and submitting CAD drawings, leading build sessions, and overseeing electrical installation. James Crnkovich (CEE BS ’18, MS ‘19) was the Design Chair, who coordinated with members to come up with the overall theme of the Booth (The Carnegie Intelligence Agency, a fictional secret-keeping organization at CMU that is a play on the US Central Intelligence Agency) and convey it through props, painting projects, and games. Rose Usnay (CEE BS ’18, MS ‘19) was the Logistics Chair, in charge of scheduling and communicating with the students and staff who run all the booth competitions, as well as the ASCE members.
Students from Alpha Phi sorority and other organizations carry pre-built wall and floor sections to Midway during Move-on.
Booth construction progresses over Build Week.
An ASCE team member works to level the foundation of the Blitz Booth early in Build Week. Chatterjee explained, “The process for making plans is the same [as non-Blitz categories]. We were at a disadvantage this year because we didn’t have space to paint or build frames beforehand. Last year we had the loading dock at the CEE department.” Due to construction projects on campus, space became more limited this year, so the organization had to be more efficient with their time and resources.
Usnay stands at the entrance of the booth. “The majority of the team were students from the CEE department, but some were just friends or students who didn’t have another organization to build with,” Usnay shared. Around 25 students helped with the project overall, but usually, “there were only around eight students at any given time at the Booth construction site.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and CMU President Farnam Jahanian take a stroll through the booth section of Midway after cutting the ceremonial ribbon that signifies the official opening of Midway.
CMU President Farnam Jahanian was amused to see that he was featured in the lore of ASCE’s Booth. “We focused on the myths of campus because CMU itself is very deep, and there are lot of hidden layers,” both historically and architecturally. Crnkovich gave examples of the types of topics the booth explored, such as, “The role that the Defense Department had at CMU. There’s the mythology of the steam tunnels. There’s a sense of forbidden areas that aren’t easily visible to the public. A lot of the architecture at CMU is very good at reinforcing this idea. It’s very easy to get lost in Doherty [Hall]. There’s a lot of mystery at CMU, so underneath it all we wanted to have this conspiracy theory or deep state organization that was pulling all the strings.”
ASCE received second place in the Blitz Booth category. Thinking ahead to the future, Usnay said, “We’re all seniors, so we won’t be Booth chairs next year. [James and I] are going to be here for grad school, so we’ll try to help the team out.” Crnkovich added, “We’re excited to come back for Carnival to see what ASCE’s Booth will look like and how it will evolve over the years.”
Buggy
The other large competition that students participate in during Spring Carnival is Buggy. Although no traditional records were broken this year, both autonomous buggy teams made great strides for robotic buggy racing. RoboBuggy and The Atlas Project both achieved driver-less rolls on the buggy course which surrounds Flagstaff Hill on the south side of campus. The Atlas Project’s Baby Buggy completed the course entirely autonomously in 6:00.79, doing slightly better than the first, only, and record time that RoboBuggy’s Transistor set last year (6:00.82).
This was The Atlas Project’s first complete race after last year when their other buggy, RoboQuasar, was unable to complete the course. Since Baby Buggy took a few unconventional turns, there were around eight pushers throughout the course to supervise its progress. RoboBuggy had a similar setup when they first completed the course in 2017 with Transistor, who took a few bumps along curbs and needed the pushers to retrieve it when it went off the road. The Atlas Project was able to get Baby Buggy through the course with only clipping a curb slightly, an improvement for safety.
Also this year, RoboBuggy’s newer buggy, NAND achieved a 3:09.67 with remote controlled driving and the typical number of pushers, meaning that it completed the free roll section without assistance except for the remote. (For reference, the fastest time with human drivers and only five pushers is 2:02.16 which was set last year by the Student Dormitory Council’s top men’s team).
Spirit’s top women’s team comes across the finish line during the women’s finals. Alexandra Moy (MSE BS ’18, MS ‘19) is pushing and Beichen Liu (ChemE/BME BS ‘19) is driving in Inviscid. Teammates wait across the finish line, prepared to catch the Buggy so it can safely slow down without wearing out the brakes.
Apex’s Phoenix is a traditionally driven buggy. Here Phoenix is coming through the Chute, a section of the course that features a large right turn, nearly 90 degrees. This is one of the most challenging parts of the drive, both for humans and robotic systems.
The Atlas Project’s RoboQuasar on display at the Design Expo from 2017. RoboQuasar’s shell and frame were a gift from The Atlas Project’s parent organization, the Carnegie Involvement Association. Quasar was a traditionally driven buggy built in 2002 that raced until 2016 when it was converted to an autonomous buggy.
The Atlas Project’s newest model at the Design Expo, which takes place before race day. Its name, Baby Buggy, is a playful reference to its unconventional design which looks more like a baby stroller than a carbon fiber torpedo.
The Student Dormitory Council displays the four buggies that they raced in 2018. Left to right: Malice (which holds the record for fastest roll on the course), Inferno, Avarice, and Vice.
Spirit displays their three buggies at the 2018 Design Expo. Mapambazuko (Zuke) is in the foreground, Seraph is raised on the crates, and Inviscid is in the background.
RoboBuggy’s NAND on display at the 2018 Design Expo. Instead of a traditional paint job, this newer buggy has a translucent case and programmable colored LEDs inside for a completely new aesthetic.
RoboBuggy props open Transistor at the 2018 Design Expo to show attendees what goes into an autonomous system.
Proud RoboBuggy alumni Haley Dalzell (ECE BS ’14, ECE MS ‘15, left) and Carl Curran (MechE BS ’14, MS ’15, right) embrace Transistor.
Meeting of the Minds
At the end of the school year, students across the university present their projects, portfolios, and research at Meeting of the Minds, CMU’s academic symposium for undergraduates. Many engineering students present a poster of their research during poster sessions or in the Sigma Xi Competition, a STEM honors society competition. The College of Engineering also has presentations of honors theses—this year, 36 students across all seven departments presented brief slideshows to their advisors, a graduate student in their field, as well as a general audience. Students in BME take over a part of a gymnasium to create a corridor of biomedical demonstrations from their course projects.
Jae-Eun Lim (CS/Robo BS ’19, giving the presentation) focused in robotics and was advised by Aaron Johnson (right), a professor in MechE.
The Sigma Xi Competition.
Sara Misra (ECE BS ‘20) explains her research to a judge at the Sigma Xi competition. Her work centers around robots used in confined spaces for maintenance and inspection purposes.
BME Design Expo
BME Design Expo
BME Design Expo
Samraj Kalkat (ECE/EPP BS ‘21, left) and Joel Miller (ECE BS ‘20, right) explain their poster to a passerby. They worked with teammates Nikolas Gupta (ECE BS ‘20) and Ripley Lyster (ECE/EPP BS ‘20) on modifying drones for agricultural monitoring tasks such as scanning fields of crops.
Kamal Carter (MechE BS ‘19) presents his poster “Mobile Robot Outdoor Lines.” Mobile robots (called Mobots at CMU) are trained to complete a sidewalk course outside of Wean Hall where the robots must autonomously sense winding white lines in order to follow the course path.
The locomotion of lizard-like robots was the poster topic for Hai Duy Tran (MechE BS ’19).
Hardik Singh (MechE BS ‘19) presents a poster on the effects of adding tails to quadruped robots.
