The fastest-ever 50cc motorcycle, a bicycle-powered irrigation pump for low-resource farmers, and a fertilizer-spreading drone were among over 200 senior capstone projects on display at the 2024 Engineering Expo, sponsored by Pacific Power. The all-day event took place June 7 at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center and LaSells Stewart Center.
“The Engineering Expo is a great example of all we’ve done together for our students,” said Scott A. Ashford, Kearney Dean of Engineering. “The scholarships, faculty support, research programs and facilities: Everything our community invests in shows up in this successful Expo event.”
Around 3,000 visitors engaged with teams of graduating students who presented their projects throughout the day with interactive demonstrations, working models, product prototypes, and posters. Student teams receive support and mentorship from a variety of sponsors, including individuals, companies, national laboratories and other government agencies. Industry partners sponsored awards in a range of categories, with representatives of the companies serving as judges and award presenters.
The bicycle-powered pump received the Pioneering Concept Award, presented by Daimler Trucks North America.
“What interested me specifically in this project is that it had to be designed in SolidWorks,” said mechanical engineering senior Hannah Gibson. “I have about three years of SolidWorks experience already through my internship. And I thought, ‘That's perfect! It’s a great way for me to use my experience for my big senior project.’”
The 50cc Land Speed Racing project team received a steady stream of visitors to its booth outside the LaSells Stewart Center, where its mechanically optimized Aprilia motorcycle was on display, along with a big screen displaying video of the team’s historic speed run. The team set a new record in the 50cc class on May 19 at El Mirage in the Mojave Desert, reaching a top speed of 87.66 mph.
“We had been working on this motorcycle for several months,” said computer science senior Ethan Wickman. “It was hard to really grasp what we were working on until the moment we were getting the rider all set up and watching the motorcycle speed off on that first run. It was a really great moment, to see all the work culminate in the record that we set.”
Other noteworthy projects included a robotic percussion instrument called OctoDrum, a gel that reveals a patient’s veins when applied to the forearm, and a lollipop that tests for strep throat in children.
Award-winning teams
Boeing Engineering Excellence Award
HALT
Hoffman Construction Process Excellence Award
Fish Tank Monitor
HP Innovation Award
TOPO-Gel
INTERA Innovation and Stewardship Award
Ruminant Remediators
Jacobs Multidisciplinary Collaboration Award
OSU HMSC Housing Team No. 7
NuScale Humanitarian Project Award
Environmental Gamma Ray Monitoring for Earthquake Prediction
Pacific Power Presenting Sponsor Award
Stormwater Detection Table
Pioneering Concept Award presented by Daimler Trucks North America
Bicycle Power Generator
Portland General Electric Environmental Impact Award
Chem E Cube 1