Mechanical
Engineering
Senior
Design
2015
from the chair
Design is at both the foundation and the apex of our mechanical engineers’ experience
here at Hopkins. Engineers are, at heart, problem solvers. So, beginning freshmen year, we
challenge our students to put into practical use all of the skills and knowledge they are
learning in classrooms and laboratories.
The students’ capstone experience is, of course, the Senior Design Project. Senior
Design is an opportunity for our students not only to demonstrate a knowledge of
theories and scientific principles, but also to apply their deep understanding of engineering principles to tackle design projects offered by sponsors from industry, non-profit, and
government organizations.
The results are nothing short of remarkable—for both sponsors and students. Sponsors
come away with working prototypes, complete with user manuals, specifications and
design histories. In addition, they get an up-close-and-personal look at promising
potential employees. The students get access to the sponsors’ resources, and technical
contacts, and learn to work within a budget to create real solutions to problems.
LOUIS L. WHITCOMB
Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering
“Senior Design taught me the design process,
which I use every day at my job. More importantly,
I gained valuable insight into teamwork on
engineering projects. For students looking
to become engineers, practical and hands-on
experience is so valuable. In fact, through my
Senior Design teacher, I contacted an engineer
at SBD, and after sending him pictures of my
senior design project, I was asked for an interview.
Now I work there.”
­— J E N N I H E R C H E K ‘ 1 4
D E S I G N E N G I N E E R AT S TA N L E Y B L A C K & D E C K E R ( T O W S O N , M D )
“ Working with these teams brings fresh
perspectives and new insights to bear on some
of the technical challenges we face. There have
definitely been successful developments of
product components as a result of this program,
and it also helps us identify and hire
talented young engineers.”
— D O U G L A S T R OT TA , B A LT I M O R E A I R C O I L C O .
f.
Why sponsor a Student Design Team? Every organization has a nagging problem that it just
can’t seem to solve. Johns Hopkins engineering students excel at solving such problems.
With their strong technical backgrounds, JHU students offer sponsors innovative
approaches, solutions, and knowledge of the latest tools.
We can provide you with access to prospective employees who have the skills and
qualities you need.
By sponsoring a senior design project, you can observe students’ teamwork and
problem-solving skills firsthand and determine if a student is a good fit for your
company’s culture. The senior design program provides an effective and efficient means
to build relationships and identify top talent.
What is Mechanical Engineering Senior Design at Hopkins? The capstone experience in
mechanical engineering at Hopkins, the Senior Design Project, challenges small teams
of students to tackle design challenges posed by industry, government, and non-profit
organizations. Sponsors provide teams with funds for materials, access to world-class
resources and technical contacts, and students provide sponsors with a real-world
prototypes that have been tested.
Senior Design Day:
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
current projects
1. SPONSOR: AAI TEXTRON
Team AAI: Greg Langer, Alexander Spinos, William Wagers,
Martha Whiting, Kiana Duncan*
Designed a mechanism to allow a quadcopter to land in, and
“My senior design project was
the thing on my résumé that
potential employers most wanted
to talk about during interviews.
It showed that . . . I had been
able to successfully apply my
knowledge on a project with
a real budget and a real client.
It allows employers to put more
trust in you from day one.”
— M AT T H E W PA R M A N , ‘ 1 3
M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R , S PA C E S Y S T E M / L O R A L
( PA L O A LT O, C A )
take off from, a tree.
Technical contact: Matthew Velazquez
2 . SPONSOR: AIR FORCE RESEARCH L AB
Team AFRL: Yvana Adhab, Samuel Frishman, Maxwell Yaron
Designed a system to keep soldiers cool in hot, humid climates.
Technical contact: n/a
3 . SPONSOR: JHU APPLIED PHYSICS L ABORATORY
Team APL: Tucker Kearney, Jack Riley, Jonathan Ung,
Ian Wilkes
Demonstrated new methods to improve modularity,
vibration attenuation and thermal management in spacecraft
electronics packaging.
Technical contact: Clint Apland
4. SPONSOR : ORBITAL ATK
Team ATK: Roger Banks, Ronald Caspers, Ted Staley,
Alex Szigeti
Designed a robotic lighting system to replicate the motion of
the sun within the Robotic Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) lab.
Technical contact: Jeffrey Braden
5. SPONSOR: BALTIMORE AIRCOIL COMPANY (BAC)
Team BAC: Jacob Dooling, Catarina Neves, Demilade
Obayomi, Ned Samson
Designed and constructed a full-scale, pump test stand to
simulate the water distribution systems on a variety of
evaporative cooling products.
Technical contacts: Michael Leibel ’13 and Douglas Trotta
6. SPONSOR: BALTIMORE GAS & ELECTRIC,
DIVISION OF EXELON
Team BGE: Andrew Ceruzzi, Jacob Enterlin, Alexander
Naticchia, Austin Stecklair, Trevor Holmgren*
Designed an electrically actuated drain plug with filter for use
in a transformer as secondary containment when oil is
detected.
Technical contacts: Alan Pressman, Cigashamwa Akilimali,
and José Santiago
7. SPONSOR : JHU BLOOM BERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
12 . SPONSOR: ALLEGION
HE ALTH CENTER FOR I N JURY RESEARCH AND
Team KRPT: Jonah Eidman, Gideon Hou, Thomas Liu,
POLICY
Ryan Stolz
Team CIRP: Megan Carney, Joseph Hajj, Joseph Heaney,
Explore different materials to produce a theft-resistant bike lock.
Welles Sakmar
Technical contacts: Daniel Kindstrand, Alison Donlan, and
Designed an anti-theft and tamper-resistant portable opioid
Samir Tamer
pill dispenser.
Technical contacts: Andrea Gielen and Kavi Bhalla
8. SPONSOR : JHU DEPARTM ENT OF CHEM ICAL
AND BIOMOLECUL AR ENGI N EERI NG
Team HFE: Lucas Broganer, Patrick Carney, Kanav Kathuria,
Omar Randall
Developed a research-grade etching rig for a powerful acid,
enabling quality etching with much less liquid volume.
Technical contacts: Zachary Gagnon and Dan Kuespert
9. SPONSOR : HON DA R & D AM ERICAS INC.
Team HRA: Abdulmohsen Al Belushi, John Bacon,
Wesley Cohen, Kyle Wall
Designed a system to determine the heat transfer
coefficients of automotive radiators.
Technical contact: Adam Baumgartner ’10
10. SPONSOR : JHU I NTERNATIONAL INJURY
RESEARCH UN IT
Team IIRU: Yun Ahn, Young Jae Hue, Karen Kim, Sean Lee
Designed a low-cost helmet impact testing system for use
with helmets manufactured in developing countries.
Technical contact: Kavi Bhalla
1 1 . SPONSOR : SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE
INSTITUTE
Team JWST: Nicole Cade-Ferreira, Wesley Ericksen,
Bailey Hannon, Michael Levidy, Rami Bedewi*, Colin Egan*,
David Levi*, Bailey Surtees*
Designed a one-fifth scale deployable model of the James
Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space
Telescope. The model captures the complicated folding and
deployment of the real telescope and will be featured by
STScI in exhibits worldwide.
Technical contacts: Jason Kalirai and Hussein Jirdeh
13 . SPONSOR: WALTER REED NATIONAL MILITARY
M EDICAL CENTER
Team LIFT: Jorge Alvarado, Matthew Daum, Ryan Johnston,
Walter Mayfield, Samantha Lott*
Designed a prosthetic foot for use with “shortie” prostheses,
to improve gait and reduce rehabilitation time.
Technical contacts: LeRoy Oddie, with additional support
from Dr. James Gilman
14. SPONSOR: LOCKHEED MARTIN
Team LMC: Alexander Demas, Joshua Friedman, Dev Patel,
Thomas Schwietz, Luke Moloznik*
Developed a system to move a heavy shipping container
within confined spaces aboard a ship.
Technical contacts: Jordan Ledford and Erik Phillips ’08
15. SPONSOR: JHU MILITARY AND VETERANS
HEALTH INSTITUTE & JHU CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Team MAL: Rachael Guess, Juan Carlos Villalonga
Developed a biochamber with drug concentration control
for malaria research.
Technical contacts: Theresa Shapiro, Rahul Bakshi,
and Elizabeth Nenortas; with additional support from
Dr. James Gilman
16. SPONSOR: SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE
INSTITUTE
Team STAR: Bobak Kiani, David Morra, Evan Rodbell,
Sri Krishna Uppaluri, Joonghyun Ahn*
Developed an atmosphere light attenuation measurement
system which is carried aloft by a balloon, and returns
autonomously to “home base.”
Technical contact: Susana Deustua
* indicates team member is a Junior classman and a student in the
Junior level Engineering Design Process course
“Sponsoring a JHU senior design team
is a meaningful way for AAI Textron to
support and advance education in the field
of engineering and have an opportunity to
evaluate prospective talent. It’s always a
pleasure interacting with the students and
seeing the creative solutions they develop.”
—J E R E M Y B L E Y, M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R ,
A A I TEX TR ON A I R VEH I CLE DESI G N & DEVELOP M ENT
“ Senior Design was enormously helpful. I learned
how to properly attack a design problem, how to
communicate with suppliers, how to effectively
prototype and iterate and many more skills.”
— K I E L A N C R O W , ‘ 1 3 , A S S O C I AT E M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R , G O P R O
( S A N M AT E O, C A )
Department
of Mechanical
Engineering
SeniorDesign
To sponsor a project or for more information,
contact Nathan Scott (nscott@jhu.edu) or visit the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at me.jhu.edu.